Arizona Elk — 5BN
Arizona 5BN covers 337,221 acres and lies 24 miles south-east of Flagstaff. 77% of it is public land, mostly national forest (50%) and state trust land (23%). A further 10% is tribal land rather than public land. In 2025, 492 people hunted elk here and took 195 — 40% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 193 tags here for 34 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in 5BN, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
5% Point builder <1% as 2nd choice
-
<1% Point builder 2% as 2nd choice
-
3% Point builder 4% as 2nd choice
-
66% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
-
38% No first-choice applicants
-
100% No first-choice applicants
-
100% No first-choice applicants
-
100% No first-choice applicants
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— Not open to nonresidents
-
— Cut level
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3040 ↗ GENERAL ELK | Antlerless elk | 5B North Rifle | 5% Point builder | <1% | — | 193 / 34 | Oct 9–15, 2026 |
| 3132 ↗ ARCHERY-ONLY ELK | Bull elk | 5B North Archery | <1% Point builder | 2% | 17 +1 since 2025 | 16 / 214 | Sep 11–24, 2026 |
| 3154 ↗ ARCHERY-ONLY ELK | Bull elk | 5B North Archery | 3% Point builder | 4% | 9 +2 since 2024 | 4 / 20 | Nov 13–26, 2026 |
| 3176 ↗ ARCHERY-ONLY ELK | Antlerless elk | 5B North Archery | 66% Real chance | 0% | — | 24 / 3 | Sep 11–24, 2026 |
| 3805 ↗ General | Antlerless elk | 05BN Rifle | 38% No first-choice applicants | — | — | 3 / 0 | Oct 10–16, 2025 |
| 3811 ↗ Limited Opportunity (General) | Antlerless elk | 05BN Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | — | — | 25 / 0 | Oct 10–16, 2025 |
| 3812 ↗ Limited Opportunity (General) | Antlerless elk | 05BN Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | — | — | 25 / 0 | Oct 17–23, 2025 |
| 3815 ↗ Archery-Only | Early Bull elk | 05BN Archery | 100% No first-choice applicants | — | — | 1 / 0 | Sep 12–25, 2025 |
| 3818 ↗ Archery-Only | Bull elk | 05BN Archery | Not open to nonresidents | — | — | 0 / — | Nov 14–27, 2025 |
| 3821 ↗ Archery-Only | Antlerless elk | 05BN Archery | — Cut level | — | — | 3 / — | Sep 12–25, 2025 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- As 2nd choice —
- Arizona lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $175 | $175 | $825 |
Application window: opens Jan 13, closes Feb 3, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest 170,264 ac · 50%
- State trust land 75,889 ac · 23%
- Private 44,078 ac · 13%
- Tribal 34,562 ac · 10%
- State land 9,434 ac · 3%
- National Park Service 2,952 ac · 1%
- BLM 40 ac · 0%
How the hunting has gone
What Arizona Game & Fish Department publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Arizona Game & Fish Department publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season. 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.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 492 | 195 | 40% |
| 2024 | 464 | 206 | 44% |
| 2023 | 493 | 191 | 39% |
| 2022 | 520 | 223 | 43% |
| 2021 | 460 | 224 | 49% |
| 2020 | 450 | 200 | 44% |
| 2019 | 438 | 189 | 43% |
| 2018 | 415 | 261 | 63% |
| 2017 | 478 | 256 | 54% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Archery 49 · 25% · 223 hunters, 22% success
- Firearm 146 · 75% · 269 hunters, 54% success
What the agency says about the area
5B North Hunt Unit - That portion of Unit 5B located north of the following roads: Beginning at the junction of FH 3 (Lake Mary/Clints Well Road) and FR 125; east on FR 125 to FR 82; south on FR 82 to FR 69B; east on FR 69B to FR 69.
Source: 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information (regulations booklet)
Boundary: AZ Game and Fish Hunt Units (AZGFD ArcGIS feature service, layer 0)
Harvest: 2025 AZ Elk Harvest Summary
Harvest: 2024 AZ Elk Harvest Summary
Harvest: 2023 AZ Elk Harvest Summary