First time colorado archery elk, backpack in or camp at the truck??

CMack376

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Im trying to nail down a OTC unit and need some help narrowing it down. I dont want anyone too necessarily tell me where to go (i am open to suggestions via pm) but thats not what this thread was intended for. Im wondering if its suggested that i lean more twoards truck hunting the first year or two hunting co in the thought of being more mobile.i feel this may give us more options if we arnt finding sign and or running into too many ppl. I have seen that a bunch of the otc units are changing to draw units and im taking that into consideration for units im looking at. If i do go the truck route should i stay clear of wilderness type units and look for units that have a lot more road access? Some of the wilderness areas ive looked at only have a couple trail heads and would limit us to only hunting the fringe. Im not sure thats good or bad. My gut says bad, but i also like to think about over looks areas. I would think most guys dont want to drive 1200 miles then hunt right next to the road. But if that's where the elk are i have no problem hunting it. Anyone have any advice on a camping style and unit type that they can recommend to someone with 0 elk experience??
 
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CMack376

CMack376

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Yeah i get the pressure thing. Im from MI we have more hunters than any other state. At one point we had nearly 1 million hunters in one year. For this year it will be Colorado but i would like to expand to other states eventually. I dont need to camp in the wilderness to have a great experience it would just be a different experience. I want to be able to learn as much as i can in the 10 days of being there.
 
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Ten days. Bring a truck camp and spike camp gear. Stay mobile until you find elk then load the packs and stay with them.

This is how we did it for our first trip last fall. We set up a base camp and had our sleeping bags in our packs and an extra days worth of food Incase we got into elk and felt it would be better to stay out. It allowed us the capability of driving to different spots and be more mobile than packing in and not being able to adjust quickly if we didn’t find anything.


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CMack376

CMack376

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when you guys are narrowing down units for truck camping are you looking at units with lots of trail heads and roads through public? Or is that not a concern?
 

5MilesBack

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when you guys are narrowing down units for truck camping are you looking at units with lots of trail heads and roads through public? Or is that not a concern?

Lots of trailheads means lots of people and/or vehicles at those trailheads......hunting or not. Same for roads.

I'd be prepared for both a base camp and the ability to spike out. That's how I've always done it.
 

bz_711

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Having done both...I always HIGHLY recommend truck camping on your first elk hunt ever...honestly, you wouldn't want to be so deep that you need bivy gear when you get your first elk...1/2 mile will seem far enough with an elk down:)
 

rbnhood

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IMO I would say truck camp or pack in for just a few days with the idea of being mobile. Don't be hesitant to go to plan b, c, d, etc.
 

Jordan Budd

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Like a few have said, I'd do a truck camp and stay mobile. Have gear for spiking out a night or two at a time. You seriously aren't going to want to backpack in 3-4 miles and have to carry 5 days of backpack gear and an elk out those 3+ miles. You'll want to be more like 2 miles and in, at least that's what I'd shoot for.
 
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The truck base with spike camp potential is a good tip. You might think you're covering lots of ground on your feet, but if you're hitting multiple drainage's and not getting into fresh sign, hit the truck.
 
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CMack376

CMack376

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Like a few have said, I'd do a truck camp and stay mobile. Have gear for spiking out a night or two at a time. You seriously aren't going to want to backpack in 3-4 miles and have to carry 5 days of backpack gear and an elk out those 3+ miles. You'll want to be more like 2 miles and in, at least that's what I'd shoot for.
Thanks Jordan! Also nice work on the mule deer video!
 

Red7006

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All depends on what you want to accomplish. If your not use to the altitude and terrain, backpacking in can be a real strain on you physically. If you have a high fitness level, then i would say backpack in and get away from the mob. I've been going to Colorado for the last 6yrs with my Dad. So we can't get in to far(he has bad knees) So we just set a base camp by the road and go from there. I see elk, but you don't get a lot of opportunities at a shot. Good luck to you on what ever you decide.
 
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CMack376

CMack376

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All depends on what you want to accomplish. If your not use to the altitude and terrain, backpacking in can be a real strain on you physically. If you have a high fitness level, then i would say backpack in and get away from the mob. I've been going to Colorado for the last 6yrs with my Dad. So we can't get in to far(he has bad knees) So we just set a base camp by the road and go from there. I see elk, but you don't get a lot of opportunities at a shot. Good luck to you on what ever you decide.
Im leaning twoards hunting from the truck based on whet ive read and been told on here by 90% of ppl. Im not sure if its one of those things like yeah yeah hunt from the road so you dont bother the rest of us that hunt deep lol. But regardless i do believe have never hunted Colorado my best option sounds like being as mobile as possible and have the gear on stand by for a spike camp if we find them deep and need to stay with them. To me thats the most logical thing i can do.
 

fatlander

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Im leaning twoards hunting from the truck based on whet ive read and been told on here by 90% of ppl. Im not sure if its one of those things like yeah yeah hunt from the road so you dont bother the rest of us that hunt deep lol. But regardless i do believe have never hunted Colorado my best option sounds like being as mobile as possible and have the gear on stand by for a spike camp if we find them deep and need to stay with them. To me thats the most logical thing i can do.

You don’t know what you don’t know if you’ve never done it. Those mountains are so much steeper than they look on the map/GE and they’re so damn big. If we’d tried to pack into the places we thought we were going to find elk on our first trip, we would have had a miserable trip. Plan E is where we found the elk. No one is trying to steer you the wrong way. Eliminate enough places where they aren’t and you’ll eventually find them. The odds of throwing a dart at the map and hitting them on the first try is pretty low compared to 5-10 darts.


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ATL-Kyle

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For the guys saying "just bring enough gear to spike out for a night or two if you find the elk", isn't the only difference between that and backpack hunting a few more nights of food? I could be completely wrong considering this will be my first year also but I'm assuming either way you'd need to have appropriate clothing, tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, water, and food at a bare minimum.
 

koupe1447

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We had a base camp from our truck for our very first time. It was great because it allowed us to find a spot off the road and away from people. We really enjoyed it and would put in quite a few miles a day. I would definitely recommend truck camping for your first time.

Im trying to nail down a OTC unit and need some help narrowing it down. I dont want anyone too necessarily tell me where to go (i am open to suggestions via pm) but thats not what this thread was intended for. Im wondering if its suggested that i lean more twoards truck hunting the first year or two hunting co in the thought of being more mobile.i feel this may give us more options if we arnt finding sign and or running into too many ppl. I have seen that a bunch of the otc units are changing to draw units and im taking that into consideration for units im looking at. If i do go the truck route should i stay clear of wilderness type units and look for units that have a lot more road access? Some of the wilderness areas ive looked at only have a couple trail heads and would limit us to only hunting the fringe. Im not sure thats good or bad. My gut says bad, but i also like to think about over looks areas. I would think most guys dont want to drive 1200 miles then hunt right next to the road. But if that's where the elk are i have no problem hunting it. Anyone have any advice on a camping style and unit type that they can recommend to someone with 0 elk experience??
 
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