Best quality of the lesser units?

[blazingsaddle]

I want out of the elk pool. I thought I was out this year, but took a ride on the big "U train"
Seems to me that a muzzy tag just about anywhere in the state will be the tag to have next year. I have enough points to draw many archery tags (but refuse to put in for an archery tag in 2009 with the hunt dates), and a hand full of muzzy tags in the less desirable units. I feel as all do, I want the best quality my points will buy me.
Any one have any experience or knowledge of the quality one could find with hard work and a little luck in his pocket in any of these units?
Panguitch Lake-
Fillmore OAk Creek-
Oquirrh-Stansbury-
Nine Mile Anthro-
I have read what Huntin Fool and Eastman's have to say. But I would like to talk to anyone that has spent time in any of these units. I know Oak creek is rough country, and Nine Mile has lots of private/indian. With nine mile I have better access than most through a close buddies property in the Argyle Canyon Rd./91 area.
The other two, I know nothing about.
For 2009 it is muzzy or nothing, I will be too butt hurt if I do not draw for the fact I will draw an Archery tag in 2010. But, it sure would be easier to share a muzy hunt with family and friends.
Any help would be greatly recieved.

 

[NeverStopHuntin]

I would stay away from fillmore oak creek. Very very hard elk hunt with not many animals. Of those choices i'd go panguitch lake.

 

[3point]

Panguitch Lake would also be my first choice.

 

[legacy]

Oak Creek sucks. It hit it's prime around 2000 - 2001. Since then the DWR has been hell bent into making this unit the most mis-managed unit in the country. Tough hunt, low numbers, few mature bulls. I've hunted it a couple of times, and it's not worth your points. You would be very dissapointed. The DWR considered turning it into a general hunt last year. The spike hunt will basically make it a general hunt for next year. I know a hand full of guys that had Oak Creek tags for this year, and not one of them killed a bull.

 

[southslope82]

A little info about the nine mile/anthro unit- I live just 15-20 minutes north of the unit and spend a considerable amount of time out there hunting, shed gathering, cutting firewood, and working for my father-inlaw he runs a roustabout buisness in the oilfield which is on the anthro unit. It once was a really good unit to my knowledge but has gone down hill drastically over the years for a number of reasons. Don't count on seeing much over the 300" mark or really much at all I will just have to say "IT SUCKS" I honestly really would rather hunt the any bull hunt to north of me instead I am not saying that the anybull unit is that great its just the nine mile anthro unit is that bad in my opinion. I remember as a young kid going out on anthro to cut christmas trees, hunt, whatever and sometimes running into herds of several hundred elk I mean huge herds with good bulls and even in the spring picking up a few 330-350 elk sets but now I don't even waist my time or money going down there, The elk are gone like I said before for multiple reasons. The northern end and pretty much all of the eastern end of the unit is Oilfield city trucks,tankers,construction,pumpers, its unreal I would strongly steer clear of this unit and save the points for something better, I dont know much about Oquirrh stansbury but I have heard good things about it? Just curious what does the huntin fool magazine and eastmans have to say about the unit??

 

[blazingsaddle]

s.slope-
Eastmans' lists the quality of Antho as good, and the stansbury as excellent. But they also list the quality of Oak creek as excellent as well. I'm getting mixed opinions on the Oak Creek. If i remember from last night, panguitch lake was the only one huntin fool listed.

I think I may be asking too much out of my points in regards to a muzzy tag.

I know the area around argyle rd very well and have always seen elk around there in the years past, but unfortunatly i never paid attention in the aspect of possibly hunting them. I do know pockets of land that never get hunted that hold elk, but the question is what quality of elk are in there?

 

[legacy]

>s.slope-
>Eastmans' lists the quality of Antho
>as good, and the stansbury
>as excellent. But they also
>list the quality of Oak
>creek as excellent as well.
> I'm getting mixed opinions
>on the Oak Creek. If
>i remember from last night,
>panguitch lake was the only
>one huntin fool listed.
>
>I think I may be asking
>too much out of my
>points in regards to a
>muzzy tag.
>
>I know the area around argyle
>rd very well and have
>always seen elk around there
>in the years past, but
>unfortunatly i never paid attention
>in the aspect of possibly
>hunting them. I do know
>pockets of land that never
>get hunted that hold elk,
>but the question is what
>quality of elk are in
>there?

If they have listed Oak Creek as "excellent", they haven't hunted it!

 

[southslope82]

The quality of elk on anthro in my opinion really is not that great to me I would think that a limited entry permit should only be worthy of a bigger bull, I know it is nobody elses buisness but your own to kill what you want but I know for a fact that if I happened to have a anthro tag I would have to hunt long and hard and have extreme luck to find something that I would put a limited entry tag on. But maybe I set the bar to high. Argyle is probably were I spend the least amount of my time out there thats probably more summer range than anything though out of the unit argyle is probably the highest in elevation if not damn close to the highest and you get away from alot of the things I mentioned in my last reply but you could have some luck out there??? If it were me Id just hang in tight and get a little better unit than any mentioned in the above posts but if you happen to get the tag and come across a 300 plus bull you might want to drop the trigger cause chances are you aren't going to find much better.

 

[blazingsaddle]

Thanks for all your input, i really think my best bet is holding out for my archery tag in 2010.

Any more info on Panguitch lake?

 

[huntzall]

How many points do you have? Im kinda in the same boat. I was thinking archery until the statewide spike hunt and the dates dont help. I have 12 and thinking of trying my slim chance at Pahvant muzzleloader

 

[bragabit]

With the dates falling as they are put in for Muzzleloader this year. If you don't draw try archery next year when the calender rolls back and you can hunt until the 18th. Don't be scared to hunt archery this year strictly because of the dates, just understand that there will be very little rutting and you will have to change your approach to hunting like you would deer. Mostly spot and stalk or sitting water. There will not be much calling. I shot my bull last year on the 27th of August so it can be done. IT was an awesome hunt, I only heard one bull bugle, but was in bulls everyday. If you want to hunt the archery hunt this year put in for a unit that you can glass on.

 

[Utah400Elk]

Be careful with waiting for the roll back on next year's archery hunts. 2008 was the year it was supposed to happen. You never know what is going to happen next year. Look at this year as an example.

 

[Daxter]

The bottom of Argyle is the southern boundry for the Nine Mile Anthro unit, so keep that in mind. If you go further south you are in the Range Creek unit. I would not hunt Anthro if it were me. Between oil and gas development, and how the tribe hunts elk on their lands it is a really tough hunt to find a big bull. I think Panguitch lake muzzy would be a better hunt.

 

[blazingsaddle]

With all that has been said, Nine Mile is out. I would rather hunt a unit that I know with my bow. But the question is do i do it 2009 or 2010, and chance the roll back dates?
Thank for all the help.

 

[huntntrail]

hands down...of the ones you listed it would be the Panguitch Lake....I don't personally know the unit, but several of my buddies do and it's a pretty dang good unit.