Arizona Unit 8: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 8 covers 644 square miles, and 94.9% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national forest (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 6 elk hunts, 3 deer hunts, 2 pronghorn hunts and 1 turkey hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 8, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 372 elk, 119 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 landMilitary (closed or by permit)City, county and otherUnit 8Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 2 (Flagstaff) |
|---|---|
| Size | 644 square miles (412,419 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 94.9% (391,336 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 6 hunts, 1,500 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 3 hunts, 425 permits |
| Pronghorn hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 7 permits |
| Turkey (fall) hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 100 permits |
| AZGFD wildlife areas | Upper Verde River, Sunflower Flat |
| Towns in and near it | Williams, Jerome, Clarkdale and Chino Valley |
| Highways | I-40 and AZ 89 |
How much public land is in Unit 8?
94.9% of Unit 8 is public land open to hunting: 391,336 of 412,419 acres. The largest share is national forest, 384,776 acres or 93.3% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 8 |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 384,776 | 93.3% |
| State trust land | 6,103 | 1.5% |
| AZGFD land | 457 | 0.1% |
| City, county and other | 166 | under 0.1% |
| Military (closed or by permit) | 39 | 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: Kaibab National Forest, Prescott National Forest http://www.fs.usda.gov/prescott.
What can you hunt in Unit 8 in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 8, 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 8 | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 6 | 6 | 1,500 | Sep 11 to Sep 24 (hunt 3139) |
| Deer | 3 | 2 | 425 | Oct 30 to Nov 5 (hunt 1011) |
| Pronghorn | 2 | 2 | 7 | Sep 4 to Sep 13 (hunt 2031) |
| Turkey (fall) | 1 | 0 | 100 | Oct 2 to Oct 8 (hunt 4509) |
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).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 8?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 8 | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 7 | 1,191 | 372 | 0 |
| Deer | 2025 | 3 | 299 | 119 | 1 |
| Pronghorn | 2025 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 8. 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.
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 711 archers hunted Unit 8 for 3,421 days and took 42 deer (mule deer bucks 35, whitetail bucks 7) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 8?
Pronghorn: 77 classified in 8 groups, 32 bucks and 30 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Survey Summary.
Which AZGFD wildlife areas are in Unit 8?
Upper Verde River Wildlife Area (297 acres inside the unit) and Sunflower Flat Wildlife Area (159 acres inside the unit).
How do you get to Unit 8?
Highways through the unit: I-40 (about 17 miles inside it) and AZ 89 (about 13 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Williams. Nearby towns: Jerome (8 miles), Clarkdale (8 miles), Chino Valley (9 miles) and Cottonwood (9 miles).
Which units border Unit 8?
Unit 8 touches 5 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 6B | 404 | 84.1% | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Unit 7 | 1,390 | 75.4% | 16 | 3 | 2 |
| Unit 10 | 2,252 | 39.3% | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 19A | 756 | 69.2% | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Unit 19B | 763 | 37.7% | 6 | 3 | 3 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 8?
94.9% of Unit 8 is public land open to hunting, 391,336 of its 412,419 acres; the largest share is national forest at 384,776 acres. 39 acres are military land.
What can you hunt in Unit 8 in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 6 elk hunts (1,500 permits), 3 deer hunts (425 permits), 2 pronghorn hunts (7 permits) and 1 turkey (fall) hunt (100 permits) that include Unit 8. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 8?
Williams is inside the unit. Just outside: Jerome (8 miles), Clarkdale (8 miles) and Chino Valley (9 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 8 in?
Region 2, run from the Flagstaff office. It borders Unit 6B, Unit 7, Unit 10, Unit 19A and Unit 19B.
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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 Unit 6B Unit 7 Unit 10 Unit 19A Unit 19B