Arizona Unit 6A: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 6A covers 1,146 square miles, and 94.3% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national forest (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 9 elk hunts, 3 deer hunts, 2 pronghorn hunts, 1 bighorn sheep hunt and 1 turkey hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 6A, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 873 elk, 188 deer and 7 pronghorn taken.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: AZGFD's 2026 booklets. Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries to 2025. Land: USGS PAD-US 4.1. Boundary: AZGFD.
National forestState trust landAZGFD landNational park or monument (no hunting)Tribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 6ANeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 2 (Flagstaff), Region 3 (Kingman) |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,146 square miles (733,279 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 94.3% (691,636 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 9 hunts, 3,075 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 3 hunts, 570 permits |
| Pronghorn hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 17 permits |
| Bighorn sheep hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 1 permit |
| Turkey (fall) hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 300 permits |
| Towns in and near it | Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, Munds Park, Camp Verde, Cottonwood and Clarkdale |
| Highways | I-17, AZ 260, AZ 89A and AZ 179 |
How much public land is in Unit 6A?
94.3% of Unit 6A is public land open to hunting: 691,636 of 733,279 acres. The largest share is national forest, 686,636 acres or 93.6% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 6A |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 686,636 | 93.6% |
| State trust land | 4,777 | 0.7% |
| National park or monument (no hunting) | 1,000 | 0.1% |
| Tribal land (tribal permit) | 581 | 0.1% |
| City, county and other | 327 | under 0.1% |
| AZGFD land | 223 | under 0.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside AZGFD's unit boundary from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers). Public land open to hunting here means national forest, BLM, state trust land, AZGFD land, national wildlife refuges, national recreation areas and Bureau of Reclamation land. Tribal land, military land and national parks are counted on their own rows and left out of that figure. Arizona State Land Department rules let a licensed hunter on state trust land while hunting; other uses need its recreation permit. National forest: Coconino National Forest.
What can you hunt in Unit 6A in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 6A, by species. A hunt may cover other units too; the count of hunts held only here is in its own column.
| Species | Hunts | Only in Unit 6A | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 9 | 8 | 3,075 | Sep 11 to Sep 24 (hunt 3134) |
| Deer | 3 | 3 | 570 | Oct 23 to Oct 29 (hunt 1074) |
| Pronghorn | 2 | 2 | 17 | Aug 21 to Sep 3 (hunt 2045) |
| Bighorn sheep | 1 | 1 | 1 | Dec 1 to Dec 31 (hunt 6505) |
| Turkey (fall) | 1 | 1 | 300 | Oct 2 to Oct 8 (hunt 4506) |
Source: AZGFD 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information (elk and pronghorn) and AZGFD 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations (deer, bighorn sheep, fall javelina and fall turkey).
Bighorn sheep, 2026: hunt 6505 (Dec 1 to Dec 31, 1 permit).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 6A?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 6A | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 8 | 2,217 | 873 | 1 |
| Deer | 2025 | 3 | 463 | 188 | 0 |
| Pronghorn | 2025 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 6A. Source: AZGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Harvest Summary. Each hunt, year by year, is on the elk page, deer page and pronghorn page.
Bighorn sheep, 2025: hunt 6505 (06A), 2 hunters, 2 rams taken (AZGFD 2025 Bighorn Sheep Harvest Summary).
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 892 archers hunted Unit 6A for 4,594 days and took 81 deer (mule deer bucks 60, whitetail bucks 21) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 6A?
Pronghorn: 57 classified in 9 groups, 21 bucks and 10 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Survey Summary.
How do you get to Unit 6A?
Highways through the unit: I-17 (about 56 miles inside it), AZ 260 (about 31 miles inside it), AZ 89A (about 19 miles inside it) and AZ 179 (about 16 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, Munds Park, Cornville, Lake Montezuma and Village of Oak Creek (Big Park). Nearby towns: Camp Verde (on the line), Cottonwood (on the line), Clarkdale (4 miles) and Flagstaff (5 miles).
Which units border Unit 6A?
Unit 6A touches 7 other units. Their size, public land and the number of 2026 draw hunts that include each:
| Unit | Square miles | Public land | Elk hunts | Deer hunts | Pronghorn hunts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 5A | 692 | 68.5% | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 5B | 810 | 83.6% | 13 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 6B | 404 | 84.1% | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Unit 11M | 281 | 74.2% | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Unit 19A | 756 | 69.2% | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Unit 21 | 1,052 | 97.1% | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Unit 22 | 1,574 | 95.5% | 13 | 6 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 6A?
94.3% of Unit 6A is public land open to hunting, 691,636 of its 733,279 acres; the largest share is national forest at 686,636 acres. 581 acres are tribal land, which needs the tribe's own permit.
What can you hunt in Unit 6A in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 9 elk hunts (3,075 permits), 3 deer hunts (570 permits), 2 pronghorn hunts (17 permits), 1 bighorn sheep hunt (1 permits) and 1 turkey (fall) hunt (300 permits) that include Unit 6A. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 6A?
Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon and Munds Park are inside the unit. Just outside: Camp Verde (on the line), Cottonwood (on the line) and Clarkdale (4 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 6A in?
AZGFD lists Unit 6A in Regions 2 and 3. It borders Unit 5A, Unit 5B, Unit 6B, Unit 11M, Unit 19A, Unit 21 and Unit 22.
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Where these numbers come from
- Hunts and permits: AZGFD's 2026 Pronghorn and Elk booklet and 2026-27 regulations.
- Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries (AZGFD harvest reporting).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers). Unit boundary: AZGFD game management unit boundaries.
- Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Numbers are copied from AZGFD's published reports or measured from AZGFD and USGS maps; nothing here is estimated by FilledTag. AZGFD's regulations are the final word on every rule.
Arizona hunting Region 2 Region 3 Unit 5A Unit 5B Unit 6B Unit 11M Unit 19A Unit 21 Unit 22