Antelope

Antelope are scattered throughout the central and southern portions of Unit 9. Most of the antelope habitat in Unit 9 is on state and private land. Please be respectful and obey all signs. The hunter success has been high and I'd expect it to continue, as I have seen good numbers of bucks this spring and summer. Those fortunate enough to beat the odds and draw a Unit 9 permit need to be aware of a few things. Every hunter should familiarize himself with the boundaries of the unit they are hunting. The southwest portion of Unit 9 has some access problems. The private landowner has many areas marked "No Trespassing", so please respect these signs or you will be cited. There are also some areas east of Valle and north of Highway 180 where access is blocked, so again please respect the private landowner rights. These closed areas encompass a small portion of Unit 9 and the open areas offer plenty of opportunity to harvest a buck. Access is not a problem in Unit 9, but it is every hunter's responsibility to know where they are and respect private property. Sportsman should obey all signs and leave gates as they find them. Please respect private property and always pickup litter, even if it's not yours. These acts of kindness go a long way to ensure access onto private property. Please be sure and identify your target and watch your background. Male antelope have a black cheek patch and a legal buck must have horns longer than his ear. Antelope groups often are composed of does and one dominate buck. They will often bunch up before they run, so make sure there are no additional antelope are standing behind the buck before you shoot. Some common problems or violations associated with antelope hunts include: camping within a quarter mile of waterholes, driving cross country and the wounding of other antelope resulting from hunters not being aware of their backgrounds.

The area west of Highway 64 to Cataract Canyon (boundary between Units 9 & 10). The Wilahawa Road goes west from HWY 64 at about milepost 221.8. This is the main access road to the west part of Unit 9. The other access road to the west part of Unit 9 is Forest Road 347 (Anita Road) and goes west from HWY 64 at milepost 228. This side is very open grassland country and ideal for glassing lots of wide open areas. The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Valle map will cover this area. But for better detail, I'd recommend topographic maps. Topographic maps for the pronghorn habitat on the west side of Unit 9 include: Box K Ranch, Metzger Tank, Howard Hill, Little Harpo Canyon, Red Butte Southwest, Valle Tank, Miller Tank, and Markham Dam.

The area east of Highway 64 and borders Unit 7 to the south. This area consists mainly of pinyon and juniper woodlands with many openings between them. It can be a little more difficult to hunt than the west side, but may offer some better quality bucks due to having more hiding cover. The main access off highway 64 is Forest Road 320 at approximately Milepost 224. From Highway 180, there are several ways to access Unit 9, mostly through State and private lands that are not numbered. I'd recommend entering Unit 9 from the power-line/gas line road, which travels along the southern boundary of Unit 9. The Kaibab National Forest's Tusayan/Williams map covers the east side of the unit well. The Kaibab National Forest map can be obtained by calling the Williams Visitor Center at 928-635-4061. Topographic maps for the east side include Red Butte, Harbison Tank, Peterson Flat, Willows Camp, Lockwood Canyon, Dog Knobs, Molly Ann Draw, Valle Tank, and Ebert Mountain. The further north you travel, approaching the Kaibab Forest, the denser the juniper woodlands will get. From the Dog Knobs east to the Navajo Reservation is where the best antelope habitat will be.

Elk

Unit 9 is a large unit encompassing about 1,600 square miles. The land status in Unit 9 is mostly Kaibab National Forest on the north end, and state private lands to the south and west. Maps can be obtained by calling the Williams Visitor Center at 928-635-4061. The Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) is on the north end of Unit 9 and hunting is not allowed on the park. The boundary is well fenced and signed. Some forest roads parallel and/or enter into the GCNP and hunters need to be aware of where they are. Loaded weapons are not allowed inside the park and this is strictly enforced. The elk are scattered throughout the unit, but the highest densities occur in the ponderosa pine/Gambel oak areas on the Kaibab National Forest. But presence of elk can be found just about anywhere water is found. Unit 9 is managed for a high bull to cow ratio, and has good numbers of older bulls in the population. This unit can be dry and elk may come to water during shooting hours during archery hunts, but rarely during the late general hunts. This unit can be difficult to hunt as it has lots of areas with good cover (thick vegetation) and is relatively flat, making glassing difficult. Access is not a big problem, however access onto state owned lands is often times through private lands. This access can be lost at anytime. It is every hunter's responsibility to respect private lands and obey all signs. Please leave gates as you find them, and pickup litter, even if it’s not yours. These random acts of kindness go a long way onto ensure access onto private property.

The Skinner Ridge area, which encompasses a mixture of ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, pinyon and juniper, and scattered pockets of sagebrush, is a good area to start. This area can be very thick, which is why lots of bulls prefer to use it. Successful hunters slowly walk the edges of the ridgetops glassing often.

The Red Butte area, which encompasses pinyon and juniper woodlands with sagebrush openings, can be very good, especially during the late general hunts. The Red Butte area is closed to any off-highway vehicle (OHV) and a successful hunter who harvests an elk inside the closure may not drive off-road to retrieve game.

The Moqui Stage Station to Lockwood Canyon area (FR 301), which encompasses mostly pinyon and juniper woodlands, has been good in the past. This area has lots of openings and is good for glassing at first and last light.

The Upper Basin, which encompasses pinyon and juniper woodlands with scattered openings of sagebrush, can hold lots of elk. However, water availability is the critical factor. If water is available, elk will be present early in the fall. If not, this area is best for the late general hunt as some elk will begin movement onto this winter range.

West of Tusayan along Forest Road 328, mostly pinyon and juniper woodlands with lots of sagebrush openings,can be very good for bull hunts. However, there is lots of country out here and if it's wet, the elk can be scattered everywhere and difficult to find. If it's dry, check the water holes for sign but rarely will the elk come into water during shooting hours on the late general hunts.

The Grandview to Cabin Tank area along FR 310, mostly ponderosa pine and Gambel oak forest, can be excellent for both early and late hunts. If it snows during or before the late general hunt, most of the elk will head for lower country as this is the highest elevation area (about 7,600 feet).

Mule Deer

Unit 9 encompasses about 1,600 square miles. Mule deer can be found throughout most of the unit, but the highest densities occur in the ponderosa pine and pinyon juniper woodlands. Much of the unit is on the Kaibab National Forest and maps can be obtained by calling the Williams Visitor Center at 928-635-4061. Adjacent lands are under state and private ownership. The Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) is on the north end of Unit 9 and hunting is NOT allowed on the park. The GCNP boundary is fenced and signed well. Sportsman traveling forest roads need to be aware that some roads parallel and some enter into the park. It is unlawful to enter the GCNP with a loaded weapon. Access is not a problem in Unit 9, but it is every hunter's responsibility to know where they are and respect private property. Sportsman should obey all signs and leave gates as they find them. Please respect private property and always pickup litter, even if it's not yours. These acts of kindness go a long way to ensure access onto private property.

Last year's hunt was tough with very few bucks harvested. This unit can be very dry with limited water availability, thus concentrating deer. Scouting around water holes can be beneficial, however, during deer season, most of the bucks will not drink water until after daylight hours. So, rather than sitting at water holes, most hunters have better success hunting on foot within a mile or two of watering areas. Unit 9 can be very difficult to hunt as lack of topographic relief makes using binoculars difficult. Successful hunter's still hunt areas or trails between watering and feeding or bedding areas, or hunt extremely slow, glassing often.The Skinner Ridge area can be good and encompasses a variety of habitats, including: ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper, and scattered sagebrush areas. The deer density is high along Skinner Ridge especially if the Gambel oaks produce acorns. If there are little or no acorns present, look for areas with lots of cliffrose as this becomes an important deer food as the fall season progresses.

The Red Butte area (pinyon-juniper and sagebrush habitat) can be good as there are no roads other than around the perimeter, which limits hunters who may not want to walk as much. If the weather is warm look for deer to be bedded in the shade under large juniper trees. The Red Butte area is closed to any off-highway vehicle (OHV) and a successful hunter who harvests a deer inside the closure may not drive off-road to retrieve game.

The Anita area, which is mostly pinyon-juniper and sagebrush, (near forest roads 347 and 306 going north to the Grand Canyon National Park boundary) can hold some good concentrations of deer. This is especially true if the weather turns cold and/or snowy and the deer start looking for areas with high concentrations of browse to feed on. This area will also attract high concentrations of hunters, which can be beneficial to move deer around, but also dangerous so please be aware of your targets and backgrounds.

The Harbison Ranch to Peterson Flats area, some ponderosa pine, but mostly pinyon -juniper woodlands, can be good, but somewhat difficult to hunt. This area is very dense, but has some scattered small openings which deer will use at first and last light of the day. Successful hunters in this area will still hunt game trails that cross these openings.

The Coconino Rim area, mostly ponderosa pines with scattered oaks and junipers, can hold lots of deer. This area is closed to OHV's and successful hunters cannot use vehicles to retrieve downed game. This area is full of big and small canyons and only those in good physical condition should try hunting this area. If acorns are present, hunt the oak thickets along the rim. Usually the ground is scattered with pine needles and oak leaves which gives the advantage to the mule deer due to their large ears, so hunting slow and glassing often is the only way to see mule deer bucks in this area.

The Bucklar Ranch to Cabin Tank area, mostly ponderosa pines with some dense pockets of pinyon trees, offers some opportunities to hunters who aren't afraid to walk. This area, especially after opening weekend, will not get a lot of hunting pressure and is worth a try. I'd suggest slowly walking the ridgetops, which are usually the areas furthest from roads.

The west side, mainly pinyon and juniper woodlands with big openings of sagebrush, some years, has high densities of mule deer. The main forest roads on the west side are 306, 328 and 335. This part of the unit can get lots of hunting pressure on opening weekend, but tapers off towards the end of the hunt. Some years this area can be very dry, so checking the waterholes for deer sign might be wise. Some of the west side is conducive to using binoculars as you may catch deer crossing the sagebrush openings. Most of the successful hunters will walk and glass areas that have a good mix of cliffrose and sagebrush. The older wiser bucks will bed down in the middle of sagebrush openings, which is usually areas most hunters avoid.

This unit has lots of square miles and it's always worth trying some of the open areas with small pockets of trees, which usually get very little hunting pressure. Sometimes the wisest old bucks will find refuge in these out of the way spots.