2020 September Colorado Elk Hunt

[Bdowney1]

A friend and I are in the infant stages of planning a Colorado elk hunt for September 2020. This will be an OTC public land archery hunt. At this point I’m not worried about where to hunt so much as what to bring. This will be a 10 day backcountry hunt. Ideally the daily routine would be wake up pack up camp find elk and chase them until it is time to set up camp again at night. We plan on moving daily if needed. I’m looking for advice on packs, gear, what is necessary...etc. really looking for gear advice at this point. I’ve got some merino wool baselayers on order but still very open on packs, tents, sleeping, cooking, water filtration....

 

[justinspicher]

I don’t think you realize the can of worms you’ve just opened....

 

[cnelk]

And how much experience of elk hunting do you have?

 

[Bdowney1]

I don’t think you realize the can of worms you’ve just opened....

I probably don’t. That is why I am asking questions. No elk hunting experience.

 

[cnelk]

I gotta ask.... do you watch a lot of YouTube elk hunting video series?

 

[SWOHTR]

Any prior Backpacking experience?

 

[jmez]

A full on bivy hunt for your first trip is a huge undertaking. I would reconsider that strategy.

For that type of hunt you need ultra lite gear. It is going to be $$.

I don't hunt that way so can't help much with gear.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Elk hunting with camp on your back is a tough row to hoe. Even with a spartan gear list and ultralight everything, it'll be difficult to get your pack weight below 50 lbs with 10 days of provisions. But there's really no harm in planning for that strategy; you can always switch to day hunting out of a base camp if carrying everything everyday proves too difficult.

Recommendations for a full gear list is too large a topic to cover in a single post or thread. I'd suggest searching past Rokslide threads on specific pieces of gear, taking notes as you read, and compiling a list of prospects for each individual piece. You didn't mention boots, which I would prioritize above everything else. If you're on a budget, buying used gear off the Rokslide classifieds can save a lot of money.

As a point of reference, attached is my gear list for the first week of Colorado's 2018 archery season. I hiked in 4 miles, set up camp around 9,500', and hunted up to 11,000' returning to camp every night. Feel free to PM me about my gear choices. I don't claim to have the be-all and end-all list, but I've pretty well figured out what works for me.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

look at the exo what's in my pack youtube videos, those guys do the style of hunting you're talking about and you can see exactly what they are using. I will forewarn you, it's super expensive to get stuff that's light enough to hunt that way, and you have to give up everything that even remotely seems like a comfort item. The list above seems reasonable for they type of hunting Mighty Mouse did, but it would wear you down in a hurry in the type of hunt you seem to be seeking.

My list for a hike in, set up base camp during late october is similar to what Mighty Mouse did, you can look at it here: https://lighterpack.com/r/4jnahp

Weight adds up in a hurry, and it's very expensive to shed it. Depending on the item it can be anywhere from 2-35 dollars per ounce to get lighter equipment.

 

[work765]

This question has been asked 1000 times over. Use the search function. Soo many great posts about this stuff. You’ll have plenty of time to pick up gear and start practicing. Do lots of backpacking/scouting pre season and you’ll be ready to give a go.


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[bowtech3dhunter]

A friend and I are in the infant stages of planning a Colorado elk hunt for September 2020. This will be an OTC public land archery hunt. At this point I’m not worried about where to hunt so much as what to bring. This will be a 10 day backcountry hunt. Ideally the daily routine would be wake up pack up camp find elk and chase them until it is time to set up camp again at night. We plan on moving daily if needed. I’m looking for advice on packs, gear, what is necessary...etc. really looking for gear advice at this point. I’ve got some merino wool baselayers on order but still very open on packs, tents, sleeping, cooking, water filtration....

“Wake up, pack up camp, find elk and chase them until it’s time to set up camp again at night. “ sounds like a good plan


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[Mn Sawtooth]

I would recomend not packing in for 10 days. We take 3-4 days of food and come back out to re-group which is nice then we decide if we want to move or not. It would be alot to hunt with camp on your back with 10 days of food at 2lbs per day thats 20lbs of food and then add 4-6 liters of water depending upon whats in there for water. Deeper is not always better if you go in blind and your a long ways in you will convince youself to stay in there when there are no elk and you should be moving out of there. I run a exo 3500 and my base weight is at 27lbs (gear not food and water) my thought is with a 3500 you wont over pack. For a tent I use a six moon design lunar solo its a treking pole tent and it has a floor and its 26oz, which I think is a big weight savings. Any other free standing tent is going to push 4lbs and is more bulky with tent, fly, and poles. They are on sale now for $184.00 https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/products/lunar-solo. For a stove brs 3000t $16.90 and a olicamp 1 liter pot $19.95 both are on amazon I would attach the link but they are long. this combo is a lot cheaper, lighter, and less bulky than a jet boil and works great. These are just a few things that jump out to me that help save weight. Another big thing is take a few over night hiking trips near your home to work out you gear gear so dialed in when you go on your hunt. Me and my buddy also went to a few 3D shoots with our full gear. We thought we would get alot of strange looks but when explained what we were doing everyone said "thats a great idea".

 

[Ryan Pent]

I went to Colorado last in September with no elk experience, and no back packing experience. Only gear I had for a western backpack hunt was my bow and some other miscellaneous gear (knives, coolers).

I read the forums, picked up and exo 3500 and got some good boots (Crispi summits). The rest of the stuff was what I could afford at the time. I prepped for about a year, went with a simple light weight tarp as a shelter, rei garage sale pad, bought a decent quilt that was more than enough for early September. Rented an inReach for the week. All said and done it was about 1500-2000 for all my gear, and that was from pretty much nothing.

Don’t look at the hunt overall, cause you could very easily be overwhelmed by the hunt as a whole. Break it down into little pieces, and have realistic expectations of what you want your hunt to be. I had never been at altitude for any period of time, never backpack hunted, and packed in an wandered around the wilderness above 10k ft. for 6 days with no issues at all. Although we didn’t get a kill we had an absolute blast. Got into some elk, saw a bunch of mule deer, bear. Our goal for our hunt was to get there and go do it. Success didn’t hinge on a kill, it was the experience, and the knowledge gained on this trip. We hiked 40 miles in 6 days and came out knowing more than when we went in and that checked a big box for us on this trip.

Everyone has an opinion, but do your research, buy budget gear if you can’t afford a 500$ ultra light tent and expensive Camo. There’s a ton of good info out there but ultimately do what you can and get on a mountain somewhere and find out what works and doesn’t work for you. And be in decent shape.

Happy to answer any questions I can on how we made it happen. Good luck.


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[5MilesBack]

It can be done the way you describe, but I would play it all by ear once you get out there. For your first trip I'd focus more on just "enjoying the ride". Do as much or as little as you want/can each day. At that point, the elk are just an added bonus. 1000's of people come out to CO every year to "backpack the Rockies" without even worrying about an elk hunt. So do what you can, and enjoy your trip either way. Worst case scenario.......you hike back out to your truck.

 

[Backyard]

Start your physical training now.

 

[Coveyleader]

Lot to be learned from Born and raised outdoors vids as well as searches here and all over the net.

 

[schwaf]

Where are you coming from? Can you start backpacking where you are and start testing your systems? I did the last 2 seasons doing 2 week backpack hunts here in CO. 10 years backpacking experience prior. September can wildly vary in temperatures, especially at different altitudes. 1-2k ft of elevation makes an enormous difference and can be the difference between a very comfortable night with minimal insulation, to a restless night fighting hypothermia. FYI, Elk are generally at 9500+ at that time in the areas I hunted. Very cold at night.

Forget about packing and setting up camp every day. Depending on where you're hunting, you'll likely be spending a considerable amount of time looking for safe and flat spots to camp. Set it and forget it. Dead timber is a real problem due to the beetle kill, and you'll have more peace of mind not camping under dead trees (they'll kill ya you know). Best to hike a couple miles in, set up camp, and hunt from there. If you insist on spiking out from camp, consider bringing an additional tarp in your pack with a sleeping bag and pad while you hunt. Regardless, I recommend a nice lightweight and insulated sleeping pad like the nemo tensor, sea to summit comfort plus, or thermarest neoair xtherm (or an accordion pad if you don't trust inflatables). They're pricey, but having a comfortable night of sleep can make all the difference. Look for backpacking gear now in the off season and you'll usually find good deals. Don't wait till spring or summer to buy them if you're looking to save money on premium gear.

 

[camelcluch]

Congrats on the plans to come hunt. A 10 day pack hunt is a huge task for someone with no experience. It can be done but it will be tough. The gear list is huge for this hunt and costly. YouTube gives a little misconception on what actually happens in the backcountry and it coming from experienced people. You may want to think about truck camping and heading out for 2 to 3 days at a time. Keeps you mobile and if something goes wrong, you are not completely screwed.
For gear, my number 1 is a great sleep system. Get to REI or the like and ask questions, try stuff out.

 

[Anywhere But Here!]

If you really plan on trying to follow the elk everyday may I also suggest getting in contact with outfitters in the area and see if they will be available to pack meat out for you if you get lucky enough to get one down. Your talking huge animals in unforgiving country at an elevation that most are not accustomed to. No small task for ever the most experienced with the best equipment, especially if you get too far back there and get caught up in the moment of having that bull in front of you. That's not the time you want to have an "oh shit" moment after the task at hand comes into focus.

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[trophyhill]

"chasing elk" with your camp and 10 days of food on your back is not ideal, but hey, at least you'll be "chasing elk". I hope that turns into "killing elk"