Unit 8

Garland Prairie first

AZGFD's own unit guide names two main concentrations of pronghorn in Unit 8: Garland Prairie and Wagon Tire Flat. Start with Garland. It sits in the northeast part of the unit, and the guide says about 50 percent of the unit's harvest has come from it over the years. We'd treat that as the strongest lead in the packet.

Know the boundaries before you commit. There are private land blocks on the north, west and south ends of the prairie. The guide also asks hunters to be careful about shooting within ¼ mile of a residence. Pull up the land-ownership layer and the Kaibab National Forest map before you go, and don't guess where the fence lines run.

Wagon Tire Flat and the second tier

Wagon Tire Flat is the other main area. After that, the guide lists Putney Flat, Sunflower Flat, McDougal Flat and Page Flat, plus the country west of the Hat Ranch. It doesn't rank them or say how many animals each holds. Think of them as backup flats when Garland is crowded or empty.

The guide says that after opening day, pronghorn move into the trees around these flats. That matters. Early on you're looking across open ground. Later, you're working the timber edges.

Getting there and reading the country

About 95 percent of the unit is national forest, per the agency guide. Ponderosa pine with scattered gambel oak dominates above 6,000 feet, and pinyon/juniper takes over lower down. Elevations run from roughly 3,600 to 9,200 feet. The packet doesn't give elevations for the individual flats, so don't assume what they are.

AZGFD says access is fairly good with two-wheel-drive, but bad weather can make four-wheel-drive necessary. The packet lists three high-clearance roads: Forest Service Road 930, Forest Service Road 527 and National Forest Road 114. It doesn't say which flats they reach. Match them to the Kaibab map or the MVUM before counting on them. I-40, AZ 89 and old US 66 are the paved routes. Williams, Parks and Ash Fork are the nearest towns.

Water and country to skip

Water here is mostly man-made lakes, stock tanks and wildlife waters. The

Opening morning on Garland

If you're going where the harvest is, expect company. Garland Prairie produces half the unit's harvest, and other hunters read the same guide. Get in before first light and decide your glassing spot before you leave camp. Don't wander the prairie looking for a spot at sunrise.

Glass from a rise or the edge of the flat, and scan the open ground first, then the timber edges. Keep the private blocks in mind. Check the north, west and south ends against your map before any stalk. An animal standing near a boundary may not be worth chasing.

Day two and after: the tree line

AZGFD's guide says pronghorn move into the trees around the flats after opening day. We'd change plans to match. Glass the open flat for a few minutes, then spend most of your time on the edges where grass meets pine or pinyon/juniper. Slow, short moves. Stop often.

The same goes for Wagon Tire, Putney, Sunflower, McDougal and Page. Walking between flats is better than driving every road, particularly when the roads are busy.

Using the knolls

The packet lists many summits in the unit that suit glassing, including Davenport Hill, Summit Mountain, Reneke Knoll and the McCracken Knolls. It doesn't say which ones overlook which flats. Don't plan around that yet. Check the topo, find the ones that look down on Garland or Wagon Tire, and scout them before the season if you can.

Rules that'll cost you

• No motorized retrieval. Only elk can be retrieved by motor in Unit 8. Pronghorn can't, on national forest land. Plan to drag or pack the animal out, and don't shoot one far from a legal route.
• Stay on designated routes. Motor travel is restricted to roads on the Motor Vehicle Use Map. Free copies are at Forest Service offices.
• Residences. Be careful of shooting within ¼ mile of one, especially around Garland Prairie.

Weapon and a realistic day

The packet shows success rates of 82 percent for rifle and 60 percent for muzzleloader. It doesn't give a bow figure or say what year the numbers cover. For muzzleloader hunters, that gap means closer shots, so lean on cover along the tree lines.

A realistic day: glass at dawn, check water if conditions are dry, and relocate to another flat if Garland is busy. Afternoons are for the timber edges. Bring a game cart or a pack frame.

Scout water first

The guide says it plainly: scouting water sources can improve your chances of locating turkeys. Believe it. Pick three or four stock tanks or wildlife waters near Barney Flats, Pine Flats, Cougar Park or J.D. Dam. Walk the edges for tracks, droppings and dusting spots. Then work outward into the ponderosa. Water is the only reliable anchor the agency gives you, and Unit 8 has plenty of it spread around.

Use the knolls to hear birds

A knoll like Dutch Kid or Round Mountain is a listening post. Get on top before first light and let the woods wake up. Gobbling carries well from a high point, and you can pick a direction before you drop in. Our rule is to commit only to birds you've actually located. Don't chase a sound across three drainages.

The guide recommends knolls and small peaks for spring gobblers, and that's also where other hunters will go. Beat them by being early. Or move to a lesser-known knoll in the same elevation band and still hunt close to water.

Weapon and expectations

The only success figure in our data is for shotgun hunters, at 35 percent. We don't have a year or sample size behind it, so treat it as a rough marker. About one in three isn't bad, but it means a lot of hunters go home empty. Plan on several days. A realistic day is a dark-hour climb to a knoll, a couple of calling setups on the way down toward water, a midday check of a tank, and an evening listen for roost gobbles. The packet doesn't give archery numbers, so we won't guess at them.

Retrieval, roads and sharing the woods

This is the agency's big warning. The Travel Management Rule allows motorized use only on designated roads, trails and areas shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map. The guide also says only motorized retrieval of elk is permitted in Unit 8. Motorized retrieval of other wildlife isn't permitted on national forest land there. Plan to carry your bird out on foot. Pick your setups with that walk in mind rather than getting deep on a whim.

• Get the free MVUM from a Forest Service office. Kaibab and Coconino both cover parts of the unit.
• Carry the Kaibab National Forest map, since most roads in the unit appear there.
• If weather turns, expect the two-wheel-drive roads to get bad. Forest Service Roads 930 and 527 and National Forest Road 114 are already rated high-clearance.
• The unit also holds elk, deer, pronghorn, bear, lion and javelina, so identify your target before you shoot.

The packet lists a rifle success rate of 22. That's a modest number, and it fits big timber country where deer have plenty of places to be. Plan for work, not a gimme.

Glass from the knolls, then move

Unit 8 is full of named summits that make decent glassing perches: Summit Mountain, the McCracken Knolls, Dutch Kid Knoll, Barney Knoll and Round Mountain, all between roughly 7,200 and 7,800 feet. Use them. Get up before light, glass the oak pockets and the edges of Garland Prairie and McDougal Flat, then slip through the pines once the deer bed. Pine country hides a deer at 100 yards. Glass first and walk second.

Acorns first, water second

The guide's tip is to concentrate on good acorn production, so scout the oaks before you commit to a drainage. Where the oaks are poor, we'd work the stock tanks and wildlife waters instead. The packet doesn't give a count of them, so mark them on your map before you go. On the low side, the canyons toward the Verde are the play. Hunt them from the Verde Ranch Road, the Drake Road or Forest Service Road 181, and glass the canyon sides rather than driving the bottoms.

Retrieval rules that catch people

This one matters. Under the Travel Management Rule, motorized use is limited to designated roads, trails and areas on the Motor Vehicle Use Map. In Unit 8, motorized retrieval is allowed only for elk. The guide says plainly that retrieving any other big game, deer included, with a motor is not permitted on national forest land here. Plan to pack your deer out. Carry the free MVUM from the Kaibab or Coconino National Forest offices, and know which roads you're allowed on.

Archery and species checks

If you hold an archery nonpermit deer tag, you must report your harvest within 48 hours. Use azgfd.gov/ArcheryDeerReport or call 623-236-7961. The unit closes to archery deer hunting at sundown the Wednesday after the harvest limit is reported, so check online or by phone before every trip. Don't assume it's still open.

Whitetails share this ground, mostly in rugged canyons and around Bill Williams Mountain and Dutch Kid Knoll. Confirm what your tag allows before you pull the trigger on any deer in that country.

A realistic day

Drive a Forest Service road in the dark, park at a knoll, and glass until the light is full. Then still-hunt the oaks. Midday you'll likely be resting in the shade. Late afternoon, glass again. Keep the pack-out in mind, because the vehicle can't help you once the deer is down.

The agency gives you two plays, and they're the same two we'd pick. Sit permanent water, or glass the rugged canyon country. With a rifle success figure of 18 percent in the packet for this unit, expect a lot of empty days even if you do both right.

Glassing the 5,000 to 6,500 foot canyons

Get above the canyon band before light. Knolls and summits in the unit give you vantage: Dutchkid Knoll, Round Mountain, Summit Mountain and the McCracken Knolls all show up in the map data as glassing spots. Pick one that looks down into a canyon system at that 5,000 to 6,500 foot band, then settle in. Glass shade lines, oak pockets and benches slowly, and break the canyon into sections so you're not sweeping the same rocks again. Low-density deer in broken country show you an ear, a leg or a patch of gray. Be patient with binoculars, then confirm with a spotting scope.

Wind matters more than anything else in a canyon. Morning air generally drains downhill and afternoon air climbs. Plan your approach with that in mind, and if you're stalking, don't commit until you've checked which way the air is actually moving.

Sitting permanent water

Because water here is mostly stock tanks, lakes and wildlife waters, permanent sources concentrate deer that otherwise vanish into the canyons. Check Forest Service roads 12, 105, 108, 181 and 354 for the nearest sources. Then walk in and sit downwind of the approach trails. Dry conditions help this tactic. Wet conditions spread the deer out.

Mule deer or whitetail?

Mule deer are found throughout the unit, including near the knolls where you'll be glassing. Confirm the animal is a whitetail before you shoot. Look at the tail, antler shape and ear size. In steep country at long range you'll want a second look, and that costs you nothing compared with a wrong-species tag problem.

Rules that shape the hunt

• Retrieval: the guide says only elk may be retrieved by motor vehicle on national forest land in Unit 8. For a deer, you pack it out. Plan your stalk with that in mind, because a canyon kill means a long, heavy carry.
• Motorized travel: stay on designated routes shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map for the Kaibab and Coconino forests.
• Archery nonpermit-tag hunters: report your deer within 48 hours at azgfd.gov/ArcheryDeerReport or 623-236-7961. The unit closes to archery deer hunting at sundown the Wednesday after the harvest limit is reported, so check before you go.

A realistic day

Be on your glassing spot before first light. Glass hard through the morning, then move to water or a different canyon in the afternoon. Expect to see mostly mule deer. Come back to the same ground tomorrow.