We are still a long ways from 2018 but I'm already looking ahead to 2019. Myself and a partner will have 12 points going in to the draw next year and I've been narrowing down the units that we might have a good chance of drawing based on this years results.
I have a few questions:
I've narrowed things down to a half dozen or so units that we might be able to consider. Some of them have a fairly low percentage of public land. 28% - 43% in some. Is that a huge red flag, or are some of the available public lands still good hunting? I hesitate listing the unit numbers we are looking at here, but if anyone has any advice on any of the mid-tier units I'd sure appreciate a PM.
What are the biggest factors you would look at in trying to narrow down a unit? Success rates? Public land %? Hunting pressure? Bull/cow ratio? (Notice trophy quality is not highest on my list) It is pretty easy to see why the top tier units are so desirable, but not sure what the most important factors are on the units within our reach. Are there any units to steer away from for some reason?
I am thinking about the possibility of making a trip down there in the next month or so just to drive around and take a look at areas we are thinking about and try to narrow things down a little. Do you think a trip like that is worth the time without even having a specific unit to scout? Could I learn anything valuable in a 4-5 day trip trying to look over a half dozen units? I've never spent any time in northern Arizona and don't have much of an idea of what to expect.
At age 63 I'm not sure how much longer I want to wait to hunt Arizona. This will likely be my one and only chance. But chasing some of the highly sought after units doesn't seem like a good plan either. Naturally we'd all love to shoot a giant bull, but realistically we would both be pretty darn happy if we could find a couple of 300 inch bulls. Much of what I read about AZ is that there really aren't many bad units. Quantity over quality on the animals, and a unit where we can not feel like we are in a competition with hunting pressure would be the ideal.
Thanks for any advice you can offer!
I have a few questions:
I've narrowed things down to a half dozen or so units that we might be able to consider. Some of them have a fairly low percentage of public land. 28% - 43% in some. Is that a huge red flag, or are some of the available public lands still good hunting? I hesitate listing the unit numbers we are looking at here, but if anyone has any advice on any of the mid-tier units I'd sure appreciate a PM.
What are the biggest factors you would look at in trying to narrow down a unit? Success rates? Public land %? Hunting pressure? Bull/cow ratio? (Notice trophy quality is not highest on my list) It is pretty easy to see why the top tier units are so desirable, but not sure what the most important factors are on the units within our reach. Are there any units to steer away from for some reason?
I am thinking about the possibility of making a trip down there in the next month or so just to drive around and take a look at areas we are thinking about and try to narrow things down a little. Do you think a trip like that is worth the time without even having a specific unit to scout? Could I learn anything valuable in a 4-5 day trip trying to look over a half dozen units? I've never spent any time in northern Arizona and don't have much of an idea of what to expect.
At age 63 I'm not sure how much longer I want to wait to hunt Arizona. This will likely be my one and only chance. But chasing some of the highly sought after units doesn't seem like a good plan either. Naturally we'd all love to shoot a giant bull, but realistically we would both be pretty darn happy if we could find a couple of 300 inch bulls. Much of what I read about AZ is that there really aren't many bad units. Quantity over quality on the animals, and a unit where we can not feel like we are in a competition with hunting pressure would be the ideal.
Thanks for any advice you can offer!
