Colorado advice for a new hunter

[Dwight2180]

Just jump in! If your like most, me included, your 1st hunt will be a rodeo. CO is a great place to start, just expect people & have low expectations. Define success as learning, having fun and executing a plan.

 

[Jusgunn3]

I took a cow this past year in Colorado. This was my first trip and we drove deep into the unit and camped for 3rd rifle season. It was cold as hell and the wind was the worst I have been in. What I learned was take care of your truck or it will break. Stay positive and motivated even in the worst conditions. Have fun and enjoy being out in the woods. I am looking into Oregon this year possibly for another Elk hunt.

 

[cciliske]

I think the best piece of advice is to find a group partner or group to hunt with. Having the right people around you is key for when you’re going through the suck. Whether that be waking up cold and tired or getting up that final incline. Pick guys that are committed like you and you trust.

I know having a good group is important when trying to stay motivated and keep morale up.


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[JPeters218]

I am looking into heading to colorado within the next couple of years to hunt elk. I am thinking I will probably try for archery season but am not opposed to muzzleloader or rifle. I dont think I will be ready to to hike in and camp so probably looking to stay in a hotel and drive to the trail head each morning. I have been combing GoHunt researching units and draw statistics but it slways better to hear some first hand experience from people who know the area. Just looking for any advice for a first timer. Thanks in advance.

Find an area above a trailhead (miles above) get there before light. And sit and wait. People will push the elk to you

I am looking into heading to colorado within the next couple of years to hunt elk. I am thinking I will probably try for archery season but am not opposed to muzzleloader or rifle. I dont think I will be ready to to hike in and camp so probably looking to stay in a hotel and drive to the trail head each morning. I have been combing GoHunt researching units and draw statistics but it slways better to hear some first hand experience from people who know the area. Just looking for any advice for a first timer. Thanks in advance.

 

[Phlapen]

T

Start here:

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. CPW issues hunting and fishing...

cpw.state.co.us

Great info

 

[Elktaco]

Idaho

 

[Firehole Hunter]

First, driving all the time in the dark when you are exhausted to the hotel in a warm vehicle is a recipe for disaster;
Secondly, truck camping is not that expensive but can be depending on your aspirations;
Third, 1st rifle is a little bit less crowded in Colorado; and
Forth, get in great shape and make a expeditionary trip out to you area when you get it nailed down to see what your in for in the fall.

PS. Check the weather forecast before you head out so that you can make last minute adjustments to your gear list.

 

[PAhunter58]

Rely on the 3 L'S, LEGS, LUNGS & LEARN. We all make mistakes.

 

[EZduzIT]

I am looking into heading to colorado within the next couple of years to hunt elk. I am thinking I will probably try for archery season but am not opposed to muzzleloader or rifle. I dont think I will be ready to to hike in and camp so probably looking to stay in a hotel and drive to the trail head each morning. I have been combing GoHunt researching units and draw statistics but it slways better to hear some first hand experience from people who know the area. Just looking for any advice for a first timer. Thanks in advance.

Have plans from A-Z. Many will fall through. Do not stay in a hotel. Valuable hours will be lost driving to and from elk zones. Don’t get discouraged when success does not happen. YouTube makes elk hunting look easy... it is not.

 

[Poser]

Here’s a reason not to stay in a hotel:

I live in a town that’s in “elk country.” I have locations that I could drive to that are as close as 10-20 miles away. Most of those spots take 2 hours to get to, maybe a couple I could drive to in an hour, but that’s just drive time. Then it’s minimum of 2 hours hiking to get to a location I’d want to be at first light. If I told you that, on likely the physically hardest thing you’ve done in your life up to this point, you could get an extra 10-20 extra hours of sleep over the course of 5 consecutive days, do you expect that would be a game changer?

I once took an inexperienced elk hunter out for 2 days leaving from town. We had to leave at 3 am both days in order to have productive hunts and this was parking off the highway. I was completely toasted after that weekend and that was 3rd rifle, I had already been out on 2 trips that season. The difference between getting up at 4 am vs 2:30 for days in a row is considerable and in many areas, you’ll be looking at more like a 1:30 am alarm clock and rolling back into town pushing 9 pm. You’ll be driving 7 mph up a FS road, swerving rocks and spilling coffee thinking about what it would feel like to be toasty warm in a sleeping bag catching Zs, something you can easily set yourself up with for less than the cost of staying in a hotel room for a couple of nights.

You can get yourself a Mtn Hardware “Bozeman” 0 degree bag for $139 + nice basecamp pad for about the same. Coleman 2 burner stove, a cast iron skillet from home and a French press. Add a buddy heater and a $25 tarp, or be “fancy” and get a Mtnsmith Bear Creek 2p tent for $139 and you are all set. Have your meals all pre cooked and aim to be in bed within 30 minutes of returning to camp. That whole setup is cheaper than 5 nights in a cheap hotel.

 

[KaBoilers]

I think the best piece of advice is to find a group partner or group to hunt with. Having the right people around you is key for when you’re going through the suck. Whether that be waking up cold and tired or getting up that final incline. Pick guys that are committed like you and you trust.

I know having a good group is important when trying to stay motivated and keep morale up.


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Man ain’t this the truth! It makes the entire trip

 

[mtnlomo]

This might be an unpopular opinion, but if you’re not from a western state, I would suggest hunting Antelope with a rifle before hunting elk. It will let you get a feel for a sleeping situation, let you “break in” your legs and help you learn to move, navigate, glass, and stalk in the large tracts of public land. Antelope hunting with a rifle is tons of fun and significantly easier IMO than an elk hunt. Elk hunting can be discouraging, especially in Colorado with tons of other hunters in the most demanding terrain.

In no way am I saying don’t hunt elk. If you want to go for it. It’s the most freaking awesome thing in the world. In the end the best way to learn to hunt elk is by hunting elk, but I would consider doing something slightly less demanding to learn to hunt big game out west and put meat on the table.


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[Pinwheeled]

Having one CO elk rodeo under my belt now, this is all great advice


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[cth027]

Having one CO elk rodeo under my belt now, this is all great advice


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How was your experience? Have any luck?

 

[Pinwheeled]

How was your experience? Have any luck?

We had a great time and camped in some incredible country at a little over 10k...

We also hiked 5 miles in and had somewhere between 10-15 other hunters camped within a couple miles. We thought wilderness area = fewer hunters which couldn’t have been more wrong. Everyone was on a horse that far back. We also didn’t have a great backup plan. We had one but we were too exhausted to relocate and didn’t give ourselves enough time to execute it. We ended up seeing one cow the whole trip but weren’t able to get a shot.

Overall, it was a great experience and I’d go back in a heartbeat. We learned a ton and I’m pretty confident our next trip would be much better.


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[kcm2]

The trick to elk hunting is finding elk. Pitch a tent and hunt where you can find sanctuaries. Or see if you can find private land to hunt for a trespass fee. Forget the hotel. Plan on being out all day, particularly when others may bump them for you. If you find a bedding area, try to leave it alone as elk will keep using it unless bothered. So hunt when they're going to/from food and beds.