First Colorado elk hunt advice

[RobertsA]

I’m originally from Florida and plan on getting an OTC elk tag for this upcoming season in Colorado. I’m not expecting to bring home anything as this is my first hunt but I’m optimistic.
I’m 23 years old and my dad will be accompanying me and he is 46 and we are both in fair shape and plan on hitting the gym and treadmill hard in preparation for this hunt.

We’re really chasing the Colorado western hunting experience and what I would like to know is which units would be the best for good scenery and a good all around experience? I’ve seen on most forums that most units in Colorado have elk it’s just about getting away from other hunters. Any advice helps. Thanks

 

[Topo_trekker]

Bow or rifle season?


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[Doc Holliday]

This looks like a pretty good starting point: https://www.backcountrychronicles.com/top-colorado-otc-elk-hunt-units/

I found it by Googling "colorado OTC units elk"

 

[CNitro]

Driving or flying?

 

[greenheadkilla]

I've hunted CO a handful of times, then Idaho last year and onto Montana this year. New to western hunting myself. Only hunted w/ a rifle so far maybe 6 years now and we have harvested some cows and young bulls. The learning curve is tough, but there is a ton of info available on this site and getting networked in w/ a biologist in the area you pick. I would say just pick an area and spend the time talking to folks and then spend the time in the woods and don't give up. You can be handsomely rewarded. We like to get away from the roads and hunters for the peace of mind, but we have killed majority of our animals in steeper nastier stuff under a mile from a gravel road. Good luck to you and your dad!!

 

[greenheadkilla]

The most important decision to make is to JUST GO. A lot of guys end up never going because they think that they have to know everything before they go. You'll learn so much on that first trip. I wish i would've started many years ago. Now that is alot of the fun is trying new states and going to areas I've never been before.

 

[RobertsA]

We’ll be driving and we’re planning for 2nd rifle season. Thank you all for the advice! There isn’t a doubt Colorado is much more scenic Than anywhere in the south east so I guess we can’t go wrong in that aspect lol. We’re starting to look into units 65, 62, and 70. We’ll be 100% on foot and Will be setting up camp semi close to where we plan to hunt once we scout out a nice area.

 

[Newtosavage]

If you're from Florida, every unit in CO west of I-25 and half the ones East of it will have awesome scenery.

My advice is to be mobile. That means setting up near a major road - even though it doesn't sound sexy - because you want to cover some ground to find elk. If you commit to an area you haven't scouted, then you're stuck there whether there are elk in the area or not.

If there is any way to scout for 4-5 days before you start to hunt, then do it.

#1 mistake new hunters make IMO is hunting where there are no elk. If you haven't seen elk in 2 days, MOVE.

 

[Olsolitaire1]

I like your outlook coming out into this, see it , feel it, have fun, and maybe get into some ELK! that would top it off. More folks should have this outlook about mountain elk hunting, the experience. I would say look west of the divide, anywhere, its all beautiful, we have lived here a good 20 + yrs. in different parts and haven't seen it all, every turn is a wow!

So look at the maps, search this site, lots of good info over the many areas here in CO. Have fun and good luck.

 

[Daniel.Leonard]

Tagging along with a buddy this fall for first time in CO

 

[RobertsA]

@Newtosavage unfortunately scouting this year may not be possible And you make a great point. I think that may be our best option to set near the road and then move if we come across nothing. I’ve wanted to elk hunt in Colorado for a few years now and this year I finally made it happen just a little later in the year than I should’ve. So unless I find the time at the end of this month I may just have to go in blind. Next year will be a different story.

@Olsolitaire1 thank you I appreciate that. My uncle did quite a bit of elk hunting in Colorado years ago but now is not in the health to go and the stories he would tell would just amp me up. Always loved the idea of truly being out in some serious wilderness. Not something you find much down south east.

 

[njdoxie]

Some units tend to be mostly dark timber so not much spot and stalk, other units have more open country, don’t show up to dark timber country hoping to spot and stalk and vise versa.


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[RobertsA]

Some units tend to be mostly dark timber so not much spot and stalk, other units have more open country, don’t show up to dark timber country hoping to spot and stalk and vise versa.


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Ok good to know ! What’s the best strategy for dark timber ?

 

[Newtosavage]

I realized my 2nd year that our 1st year we committed too hard to a single campsite - for the whole hunt - and that was a mistake. Elk hunting is not about the perfect campsite. It's about being in the elk. And those suckers MOVE. So you have to be mobile. That's a completely different mindset for those of us who grew up hunting whitetails.

 

[cnelk]

Buy this book - or the Kindle version - on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Public-Land-Hunting-Matthew-Dworak-ebook/dp/B00F100MUW

Written by a good elk hunter - and a friend of mine

 

[GotDraw?]

Not sure what level of conditioning you're in now or when you're planning to start training, but yesterday would be good!

 

[RobertsA]

Not sure what level of conditioning you're in now or when you're planning to start training, but yesterday would be good!

Lol I figured the sooner the better. I started today! Started with running a mile today and will continue that until I make it with ease and increase from there. Even thought about purchasing a high altitude mask and training with that at some point

 

[RobertsA]

I realized my 2nd year that our 1st year we committed too hard to a single campsite - for the whole hunt - and that was a mistake. Elk hunting is not about the perfect campsite. It's about being in the elk. And those suckers MOVE. So you have to be mobile. That's a completely different mindset for those of us who grew up hunting whitetails.

I can totally understand this. I grew up hunting white tail in southern Alabama and I honestly think still hunting in the way of white tail hunting is damn near boring. I’m looking forward to a good challenge.

What type of habitat should I look for that hold numbers of elk ?

 

[HondoArcher]

Scouting this year has been a mess with all the snow. I'm a month behind in my efforts. Some places the elk aren't even showing up for calving season because the snow was still too deep when they were dropping their calves. With all of this water the elk will be spread out because feed and water will be everywhere. Some say the elk are really putting on the weight because the feed is so good. I can believe it. The other key thing I found this year is fallen trees. The bark beetle came through here about 5 years ago and did some real damage. Trees have been falling at a steady rate until this year. The ground is so soft even healthy trees are falling (mostly aspen). I would plan to avoid the beetle killed areas. You can see them on Google Earth. Good luck.

 

[GotDraw?]

High altitude masks are a total joke and waste of time. Buy one for halloween, don't use one at the gym, you will simply look like a wanna be.

Elite athletes that truly want the benefit of more red blood cells often actually train at LOWER altitude so they have access to MORE oxygen so they can exert as much power as possible over their daily training cycle. Then they LIVE, SLEEP and RECOVER at high altitude in order to get the benefit due to the lower partial pressure of oxygen making the body create a higher red blood cell count.

Those dumb ass masks simply limit your ability to train as hard as you can. You have to live at high altitude to build a substantially higher red blood cell count.

Sorry to be so coarse, those masks are f'n stupid