SCHL4444 - In my experience the normal elk habitat is often up behind the ranches on public land. In the places there I used to elk hunt the elk would graze, water, and sometimes bed on the ranches but usually headed up the mountain to bed. I only know one ranch that lets hunters cross the private land to have easier access to the public land for a fee of $750, but only if they had finished their guided hunts for the year, only if the hunter was someone that they had met in the past, and it is in a max point unit to boot.
We would just shoulder the backpacks and hike in the long way to play tag with the elk. Nine points should get you into some very good units like 49, etc. but of course it is not quite enough to get into the "best" units where the guys with Governor's Tags and the guys that have max points (and lucky draws) hunt. Nine points is kind of a no-man's-land, but even if you wait it out to get max points the chance of getting into one of those units is very slim. Point creep is a pain.
Jake - Did your group agree to pay the extra for the Special draw next year?