AZ late with pack goats & 9pts

[Sherlock]

Hey folks,

I'm ready to cash out my son's 9 AZ elk points. Units we are considering that are likely to draw and seem decent are 6A, 6B, 7W, and 8.

I know there are big differences in terrain and expectations. What we were hoping for, though, was something where we could use our pack goats to help give us an extra advantage getting into places less frequented by other hunters and that hold elk. Looking like it's hard to get too far from roads.

Anyone have thoughts on these 4 units and which ones might better fit our style?

And would we be at a disadvantage trying to haul the goats around to access points?

 

[Denny]

There are a couple Wilderness area's in 6B that hold elk

 

[Denny]

excuse me I meant to say 6A

 

[BGbasbhat]

I suppose if you are comfortable with the goats, you could do it..but unfortunately, I haven't found many places in AZ where there isn't a road within a few miles...

 

[cmbbulldog]

Wouldn’t need pack goats in 6A. You can walk across those wilderness areas in a couple hours if you wanted to.

 

[AZ8]

Unit 8 has Sycamore Canyon. If there’s alot of snow up top, you‘ll find elk in there. Pretty rugged area that might fit well with your goats.

 

[Sherlock]

Appreciate all the feedback from everyone.

I'm curious why 6B seems to get so downplayed on every podcast and person i hear from? It takes more points to draw than 8, and has better success rates. And it shares similar terrain (Sycamore Canyon). I would think it would also work well with our pack goats working into deep canyons. And, it additionally has lower elevation Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness area on the south central side as an option if elk bail into it.

 

[StickFlicker]

You haven't said whether you plan to apply for late rifle hunts (Nov-Dec) or archery hunts in September? Goats might help you in either unit with Sycamore Canyon (late seasons), but there are roads everywhere in the rest of both units. With regards to 6B, it has REALLY gone down hill in recent years in my opinion, at least during the archery seasons. Far, far fewer elk there than in the past.