Colorado Elk Newbie

[Deerjunky]

I am moving to Colorado from the east coast and as part of that I want to start hunting elk, I have been a treestand white tail hunter for most of my life and I also do a lot of backpacking in the (little) mountains of Maine, New Hapshire, Vermont and New York. I am thinking of doing both weekend warrior backpack trips and day hunts with my bow. I will be in West Central Colorado, I dont want anyone to compromise their spots but what are some things that you all would suggest to and easterner headed west. I'm wondering about elevation how to deal with it as a flat lander, how scarce is water (generally), what do you feel are gear items a backpacker/ treestand hunter wouldnt have that would be necessities... and any tips on navigating the game laws an easterner might not be aware of (I'm going otc with tags).

Again I am NOT looking for where to go specifically just an idea of things I wouldn't know as someone who has never hunted Colorado.

 

[elkyinzer]

You'll be in the midst of all kind of great elk country. There is so much info out there to get you started, and ask more specific questions on here.

Study maps, learn to love that part of the process. Soon you'll know what to look for and develop your own style hunting areas. Elk are killed every year in an incredible variety of terrain. Explore and scout, that's a huge benefit of living near elk country as opposed to travelling across the country. Don't discount a treestand for elk unless you just don't want to hunt out of one, they can be highly effective over travel routes and waterholes.

I have never had a problem with elevation, knock on wood, but you should know the signs of elevation sickness and how to acclimate properly. If you've done a lot of backpacking the green/white mountains, you should be good from a fitness perspective, the larger of those mountains compare well to elk country in magnitude, just at a lower elevation. It's not like you need to sprint up the North face of a 14er to kill an elk. There are many places you can kill elk 100 yards off the road. Or if you want to, you can backpack in 10 miles. And anything in between. Whichever floats your boat.

Read through the game laws for sure rather than trusting internet forums, it's your responsibility. Have to leave nutz attached to a hindquarter if successful is the one worth pointing out that has no parallel out East as far as I know. Nor does it make much sense. Also check out wilderness laws if you are headed into one. Don't be the jabrony that starts a massive forest fire, watch out for fire bans. Common sense works just as well out in CO as it does back East. I don't have any electronics on my bow nor use mech broadheads, but some states prohibit those.

 

[Deerjunky]

Thanks elkyinzer I am probably most concerned about water on the backpacking side its allover in the north east and I have no idea what to expect in the greater northwestern Colorado area I will be living in although I imagine it will vary. Good tip on the stands I wasn't sure if it was worth bringing on out. I just don't want to be the guy from the east that gets himself in trouble or pisses off the locals by being a dumb@** I hate when that scenario comes up with out of staters here

 

[bz_711]

You're in the right place asking questions. And what a great problem to have...moving to CO.
I've yet to be anywhere in CO in which water was a problem finding...I'm usually surrounded by high peaks which means nearly year round snow melt and run off.

Best of Luck! I'm that poor out of stater that only gets 5 full days of elk hunting each year...

 

[Deerjunky]

bz Thanks man yeah i hear you on the out of stater deal. I guess in regards to the laws I have found it annoying that online I haven't (I could be technologically challenged and missing it) found a break down of game species A open with bow September 1 to 30 in area 1, area 2 sept 5-25, game species B area 2 etc. How does the print guide work and is it a mile thick? I tend to do much better with the print version.

 

[vanish]

Sorry if I am misunderstanding Deerjunky, but aren't these what you are looking for? I know its a lot more complicated than when I hunted deer in NY, but after a couple years it all makes sense. http://cpw.state.co.us/brochures most specifically http://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Brochure/BigGame/biggame.pdf

Note that you will still be a Non-Resident this year at this point. Takes 6 months from getting your driver's license here to be considered a resident for hunting.

 

[fngTony]

First off Welcome to Colorado! Second I've seen more local goof ball hunters than out of staters. Evidence of sex is a huge must here. For water just look in low areas. To be safe I have made two trips to base camp from the truck so I had plenty of water. If hunting a bull elk check if the "four point or better" rule applies in that unit. Get well hydrated well before the season starts and keep up with it. I'm more thirsty at 8000ft & 60 degrees than I am at 5000ft amd 90 degrees. The cpw website sucks to navigate, get a printed version.

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[Deerjunky]

Thanks for the tips on the regs man I am glad I am not the only one who found the website annoying to navigate and fng thanks for the welcome. How about bears if you get way back in the sticks we had them in Maine and they pretty much are scared as s*** of people in my experience. What kind of encounters are you having and is it worth hunting them?

 

[Felix40]

Where are you moving to? If you download the PDF version of the regulations it's pretty straightforward. There is a section for each species which is broken down into seasons. My experience with bears on the western slope is that they are not all that scared of people. I mean they always go the other way but sometimes they are not in a hurry at all. I think it would definitely be worth hunting them as a resident. No baiting

 

[Deerjunky]

felix I will be in the Glenwood Springs area. How about precautions while camping around them up in Maine we didn't use bear cans and didn't even hang our food unless we had rodent issues. Probably wasn't the best idea but anyone we knew who had been backpacking Maine for many years never bothered.

 

[COlineman78]

I don't mind navigating the online version of the brochure, but wish they had one better formatted for the web rather than simply a digital version of the printout. As far as evidence of sex, it's a big gotcha and someone forgets all the time and we have to get pretty creative to keep it attached after you get too far. We have gotten away by just keeping the head attached before, but not really possible if backpack hunting. The reg just says that you must keep evidence of sex attached to the biggest chunk of meat. Most units are 4 point on one side or 5" brow tines. In the area I hunt I have never seen a 3; they are either spike/fork or 4x4.

Other than that, water is a big problem in some areas and not at all in others. General rule would be that the further south you go the more scarce it becomes. The advantage of going in blindly to areas with less water IMO is that it's easier to figure out where they're going to be as they need water at some point.

Altitude can get you, but the biggest thing is just not pushing yourself too hard. Hunting is a marathon not a sprint. The only severe case of altitude sickness I've seen was someone coming from the east coast and trying to keep up with my buddy whom altitude doesn't affect at all. Being that it was just a 14er hike we didn't spend enough time up there to get into trouble, but they got super sick on the way down and spent the rest of the day throwing up and sleeping back in town at 9k. Take your time, hydrate with electrolytes and you'll be fine.

Almost every bear attack in CO has been in civilization or large campgrounds. I have seen some hunting (not a lot), but all have either not seen me or bolted. I had a young one get within 20 yards or so before I moved to make sure he saw me and he took off. We also have a lot of cougars where I hunt. I do carry a 45 when I am backpacking or hunting, but I consider it just as much for protection against the 2 legged dangers and a survival tool. I do hang a bear bag with my food, but I'm not super paranoid about putting anything that may smell in it.

If you are going to be doing this a lot a quality pack is a must. The first thing you will notice is how quickly the weather changes here. You have to be ready for just about everything at altitude, but most of the bad weather usually doesn't last too long. I have had snow and a hard freeze at 11.5k in mid July.

 

[fngTony]

deerjunky. p.m. sent

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[fngTony]

Also for bow hunting check the regs on broadheads and there is a limit to your let off %

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[MesaHorseCo.]

First off Welcome to Colorado! Second I've seen more local goof ball hunters than out of staters. Evidence of sex is a huge must here. For water just look in low areas. To be safe I have made two trips to base camp from the truck so I had plenty of water. If hunting a bull elk check if the "four point or better" rule applies in that unit. Get well hydrated well before the season starts and keep up with it. I'm more thirsty at 8000ft & 60 degrees than I am at 5000ft amd 90 degrees. The cpw website sucks to navigate, get a printed version.

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Most of those local goof ball hunters were out of staters last year.

 

[Deerjunky]

Anyone have any comments on what kind of snakes including rattlers you generally run into on the western slope, best practices to spot and avoid them etc. And second I am a volunteer hunter safety instructor in my current location anyone have any experience with Colorado's program, and idea what it takes to get in/ if they honor other states certs?

 

[COlineman78]

Only run into a ratler once where I hunt at 8-9000 ft. Any higher it's unlikely you'll see them that time of year. My dad was actually the one who cam across it first and it rattled before he saw it. Freaked me out a bit and for the rest of the year and was probably paying more attention to the ground than I normally do, but truth is at that altitude you won't see them ever that time of year.