Unit 55 CO logistics?

[Ebby]

Anybody got any info for me on Unit 55 for the early deer archery hunt? Not asking for hunt locations. Asking more about camping spots, best towns for supplies, terrain features, road conditions, condition of atv/bike/hike trails, weather extremes, how high to expect the deer and stuff like that. Pretty much anything that I might "need to know". My first time in the unit and just trying to get everything together. I've researched some on my own and have gotten some info about hunting spots from a buddy but just wanted to check and see what people's thoughts were on some of the other factors. Thanks guys.

Lee

 

[Thomas11]

Pm sent

 

[bowuntr]

I have the same tag. I'm figuring it out as well. I'll be up there next week for my second scouting trip. Big, beautiful country. Ed F

 

[chindits]

Maybe in September it won’t be so bad. Right now the place is a tourist trap. Go to the store and get gas early in the morning to beat the crowds. Avoid major trail heads in the crested butte area. Avoid down town Taylor Park. Expect mountain bikers and dirt bikes on all trails and utv/atv on all dirt roads with lines of them on the epic passes. The I-70 closure has detour traffic down here. Our major highway construction projects have been shut down to handle detour traffic. We have been selling out of fuel occasionally through the summer. I’m not aware of mud slides up north like down lake city way but I avoid up north like the plague so hard saying.

Gunnison stores for food: city market and Safeway

Gunnison stores for hunting: Gene Taylors

Crested Butte is all tourist trap country. I wouldn’t buy toilet paper or anything else up there.

The deer don’t have an altimeter. They’re where they can find feed and some peace. We’ve gone from hot drought to monsoons. Now if we can get a week or two of dry, the ranchers can put there hay up for winter.

 

[LFC911]

PM sent

 

[Ebby]

Ed F, let me know if you want to catch up when you are out there. I wasn’t able to pull off a scouting trip so I’ll just be coming out for the hunt. If you need anything, let me know. Hopefully we can both get a deer down!

Chindits, thanks for the heads up and the info. Very helpful. I’ll have to plan accordingly for all of that mess it sounds like.

 

[Travis Bertrand]

The last steep in CB is one of the best burgers I’ve had in my life.


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[ChrisAU]

I can make a couple Gunnison recs:

Go by the Powerstop for a burger. Great place. Convenience store/restaurant combo. They fed us when they didn't have to after midnight last year when they were supposed to be closed after we got done packing out an Elk and came into town desperate for food and everything was closed.

Also stop by Traders Rendezvous to look at some cool taxidermy and antlers.

 

[bowuntr]

The last steep in CB is one of the best burgers I’ve had in my life.


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I had one of those... pretty darn good. Ed F

 

[Ebby]

Thanks again guys! Lots of good info here. I'll be sure and pickup a burger at Last Steep and will give Powerstop some business as well to "repay" them. I'm getting excited and ready to be there.

Lee

 

[bowuntr]

I'm pretty sure he meant "last stop"... gas station at the north end of town. There are no fast food/drive thru restaurants in Crested Butte. Ed F

 

[Ebby]

Last Steep is the name of a restaurant in Crested Butte from what I can tell? That’s what I thought he was referring to?

Lee

 

[Ebby]

Just a follow up to this thread. I didn't kill. Got close a couple of times and saw a few nice deer. They are defintely not everywhere though. I covered a lot of the unit scouting and hunting and saw less than 5 deer I wanted to chase. It's a big unit and traveling between spots takes a while if you take down camp and go to another location. Crested Butte was a neat town. Had a couple of good meals. No chain type places of any kind and no fast food. No chain hotels or anything either. I came back to town and spent a couple of nights in a hotel to regroup and shower and stuff. I stayed at Nordic Inn one night and Old Town Inn another night. Spent on night in Gunnison at the Comfort Inn. Spent 8 nights in camp.

Terrain is beautiful. Gorgeous scenery which made for a very pleasant hunt. It is Very Steep in most places. Finding a deer above treeline and then trying to get to him is a 2-5 hour proposition depending on where you are. I climbed over 3000ft vertical a couple of days. Hiked at least 8 miles every day and several days up to 15. Most of the bucks were way up there above timberline. Saw a few smaller bucks and does down low but most of the decent bucks were up high.

Lots of roads and atv trails. It's good and bad. You can get to a lot of places but so can everyone else. To get away from the crowds its tricky. You have to find off trail locations with foot traffic only trails or just Off Trail hiking and those are tough. There are a few trails that allow dirt bike, e-bike and bike. That's a nice bonus.

My biggest takeway is that it's not a hunt to try and pull off alone. Not with archery gear. I would glass a good deer, wait for him to bed and then try to get to him. It would take me 2-3 hours typically to get to them and 100% of the time, they had moved locations before I got there. I tried lots of other methods and just tried to ambush them with no success. I would have killed first day and every day with a firearm and I feel certain that I would have had many more opportunities if I'd had a glassing buddy. My buddy that was going to join me went silent on me for a few days and I wondered what happened. Turned out he had to have his appendix out the day he was leaving to join me. Tough luck for him but he's ok.

If you have the points and the time and a buddy then you can be successful on this hunt but it's not an easy place to hunt. Thanks for all the help and the pm's guys!

Lee

 

[LFC911]

Lee, sounds like you had a good time overall and hope your buddy heals up good. I will have to check out Last Steep as well...heading there for 2nd rifle...I think I was the only one to draw with 4 PP's...my buddy and I scouted back in July and saw a few nice bucks below tree-line, never made it above tree-line...also saw a couple herds of elk as well but I'm assuming they'll be gone by that time. We put out a few cameras that we're going to retrieve them (if they're still there) a couple of days early. I will let you know how I do and if I tag out early and those elk are still around I'll get an OTC elk tag.

 

[Travis Bertrand]

Nordic inn is awesome! My wife loves that place.


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[Ebby]

Yeah, Nordic Inn was really nice. Great people and nice rooms.

Lee

 

[cmeyer733]

Lee, sounds like you had a good time overall and hope your buddy heals up good. I will have to check out Last Steep as well...heading there for 2nd rifle...I think I was the only one to draw with 4 PP's...my buddy and I scouted back in July and saw a few nice bucks below tree-line, never made it above tree-line...also saw a couple herds of elk as well but I'm assuming they'll be gone by that time. We put out a few cameras that we're going to retrieve them (if they're still there) a couple of days early. I will let you know how I do and if I tag out early and those elk are still around I'll get an OTC elk tag.

How'd your 2nd season go last year. I drew this year but ended up turning it back because of other tags and disappointing feedback in 55.

 

[Roguemountainhunter]

Lot's of good logistical info here.
Here's a 55 buck from a few years ago.

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[Zackw]

Gohunt has an escouting video where Brady uses this unit as his model. I’m sure that nobody watched that and went to those exact spots.