First Archery Elk hunt in Colorado-Looking for a cow

Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Messages
15
I'm planning to do my first archery elk hunt in colorado this year. My plan has been to buy an OTC tag and hunt public land. I'm been researching for months, but feel pretty overwhelmed. I've purchased all of the gear that I will need to backpack in and camp. My ultimate goal is to take my 13 year old son in 2022. I wanted to try it without him first just to work out the things that I don't know that I don't know. My wife is going with me with this year, so we are looking at this more as a vacation/fun trip than an elk hunt, though our plan is to hunt hard for 4/5 days. I don't care if I find a bull to kill, I'm really more interested in just harvesting a cow because at the end of the day, I really want to bring some meat home. I guess my main question is this: How have you guys gone about figuring out which OTC unit you want to hunt? I purchased ONX and gohunt and have been looking through those, but still feel a little confused. My goal would be to get away from ATV roads and try to get as far away from pressure as possible. I'm a complete newby, but have been reading and watching everything I can get my hands on for the past year. Not looking for anyone to give anything away, just really wanting to hear some ideas of where to start. Thanks for any and all help you can offer.
 

KHNC

WKR
Joined
Jul 11, 2013
Messages
3,426
Location
NC
You will have tons of company no matter what OTC unit you try to hunt. Just pick one off gohunt that has the type of terrain you prefer, and has a decent population of elk. Grand Mesa area has a lot of elk. May be a good area to check out.
 

87TT

WKR
Joined
Mar 13, 2019
Messages
3,431
Location
Idaho
Just go. The elk will be in groups so they won't be spread all over. Just cover ground until you find them. And skip the backpack thing and car camp and stay mobile.
 

Decker

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Messages
122
Any update on this, planning on doing my first archery elk hunt this season. If this trip happen, any advice you could give? Things you learned?
 
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