Arizona Elk · Unit 22S
Arizona Unit 22S spans 1,011,948 acres, centered 17 miles south-west of Payson. 96% of it is public land, mostly national forest (96%). In 2025, 198 people hunted elk here and took 94, a 47% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, 3029, put up 10 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 92 nonresident first-choice applicants, 5 of whom drew, and the last tag went to someone with 10 points.
4 licenses · NR capped at 10%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
96% Forest Service
1,011,948 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in Unit 22S
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3029 | General Elk | 1% | 10 ▼3 | |
| 3059 | General Elk · Antlerless elk | 11% | — | |
| 3104 | Muzzleloader Elk | <1% | 18 | |
| 3165 | Archery-Only Elk | 100% | 0 |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: AZGFD 2026 M Draw Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): $825 ($175 to apply). Open Jan 13 – Feb 3, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | 198 | 94 | 47% |
| 2024 (summed) | 193 | 101 | 52% |
| 2023 (summed) | 234 | 96 | 41% |
| 2022 (summed) | 198 | 93 | 47% |
| 2021 (summed) | 201 | 99 | 49% |
| 2020 (summed) | 191 | 96 | 50% |
| 2019 (summed) | 218 | 117 | 54% |
| 2018 (summed) | 245 | 194 | 79% |
| 2017 (summed) | 226 | 113 | 50% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archery-only bull, late | 52 | 9 | 17% |
| General bull | 71 | 44 | 62% |
| General antlerless | 38 | 21 | 55% |
| Muzzleloader bull | 37 | 20 | 54% |
2025 split: archery 9 (10%) from 52 hunters, 17%, firearm 85 (90%) from 146 hunters, 58%
What Arizona Game & Fish Department publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Arizona Game & Fish Department publishes no whole-unit line for 2025; a year's total is the sum of published weapon rows, added only where the lines do not overlap. Arizona's figures come from AZGFD's post-season hunter questionnaire - survey estimates carrying a 90% confidence interval and a return count, not a census of animals checked in. Source: AZGFD 2025 AZ Elk Harvest Summary; AZGFD 2024 AZ Elk Harvest Summary; AZGFD 2023 AZ Elk Harvest Summary.
The Ground
| National Forest | 966,803 ac | 96% |
| Private | 29,772 ac | 3% |
| Tribal | 15,193 ac | 2% |
| State land | 161 ac | <1% |
| State trust land | 13 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 3 ac | <1% |
What the Agency Says About the Area
AZGFD publishes no separate boundary for this hunt unit: the map, acreage and land ownership shown are for the whole of Unit 22, of which this unit is a part. 22 South Hunt Unit - That portion of Unit 22 located south of the following: Beginning at the confluence of the Verde River and the East Verde River; easterly along the east Verde River to FR 406; easterly on FR 406 to AZ Hwy 260 in Payson; easterly on AZ Hwy…
▸ Sources 14
- AZGFD 2026 M Draw Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- AZGFD 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information fees, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- AZGFD 2026 Game and Fish Laws and Rules Book fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- AZGFD 2025 AZ Elk Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2024 AZ Elk Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2023 AZ Elk Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2022 AZ Elk Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2021 AZ Elk Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2020 AZ Elk Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2019 AZ Elk Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2018 AZ Elk Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2017 AZ Elk Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2026 AZ Game and Fish Hunt Units boundary, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- Bureau of Land Management Arizona State Office with the Arizona State Land Department (Arizona Land Resources Information System, ALRIS) and Premier Data Services 2026 BLM AZ Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Arizona Game & Fish Department's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check Arizona Game & Fish Department's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Arizona Game & Fish Department's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Arizona elk hunts