Arizona Elk — Unit 8
Arizona Unit 8 covers 413,104 acres and lies 24 miles north of Clarkdale. 95% of it is public land, mostly national forest (93%) and state trust land (1%). In 2025, 1,191 people hunted elk here and took 372 — 31% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 550 tags here for 46 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 5 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit 8, 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-
2% Point builder 3% as 2nd choice
-
21% Long shot 5% as 2nd choice
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11% Point builder 3% as 2nd choice
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<1% Point builder 1% as 2nd choice
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10% Point builder 4% as 2nd choice
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29% Long shot 21% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3021 ↗ GENERAL ELK | Bull elk | 8 Rifle | 2% Point builder | 3% | 9 +1 since 2023 | 50 / 399 | Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2026 |
| 3049 ↗ GENERAL ELK | Antlerless elk | 8 Rifle | 21% Long shot | 5% | 5 +1 since 2023 | 550 / 46 | Dec 4–10, 2026 |
| 3111 ↗ MUZZLELOADER ELK | Antlerless elk | 8 Muzzleloader | 11% Point builder | 3% | 12 +7 since 2025 | 150 / 18 | Oct 16–22, 2026 |
| 3139 ↗ ARCHERY-ONLY ELK | Bull elk | 8 Archery | <1% Point builder | 1% | 15 steady since 2025 | 20 / 356 | Sep 11–24, 2026 |
| 3160 ↗ ARCHERY-ONLY ELK | Bull elk | 8 Archery | 10% Point builder | 4% | 8 steady since 2024 | 5 / 15 | Nov 13–26, 2026 |
| 3182 ↗ ARCHERY-ONLY ELK | Antlerless elk | 8 Archery | 29% Long shot | 21% | 6 steady since 2025 | 50 / 7 | Sep 11–24, 2026 |
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.
Other licenses valid in Unit 8
Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest 385,634 ac · 93%
- Private 21,232 ac · 5%
- State trust land 6,138 ac · 1%
- State land 92 ac · 0%
- Department of Defense 5 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 | 1,191 | 372 | 31% |
| 2024 | 1,342 | 435 | 32% |
| 2023 | 1,424 | 459 | 32% |
| 2022 | 1,443 | 420 | 29% |
| 2021 | 1,319 | 451 | 34% |
| 2020 | 1,397 | 485 | 35% |
| 2019 | 1,436 | 429 | 30% |
| 2018 | 1,546 | 666 | 43% |
| 2017 | 1,344 | 538 | 40% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Archery 50 · 13% · 254 hunters, 20% success
- Firearm 322 · 87% · 937 hunters, 34% success
What the agency says about the area
Unit 8 – Beginning at the junction of I-40 and AZ Hwy 89 (in Ash Fork, Exit 146); south on AZ Hwy 89 to the Verde River; easterly along the Verde River to Sycamore Creek; northerly along Sycamore Creek to Volunteer Canyon; northeasterly along Volunteer Canyon to the west boundary of Camp Navajo; north along the boundary to a point directly north of I-40; west on I-40 to AZ Hwy 89.
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