2 things I learned when living in Colorado:
1. Pre-scouting is meaningless. Very easy to find elk out of hunting seasons and not so easy during hunting season as in I never ever saw one over the several seasons I hunted there.
2. You cannot learn the density of hunters in pre-season scouting. When you think you found a good accessible hunting area, everyone else who is upright with a pulse found it before you and is waiting for you to arrive.
hehe, pretty much spot on. Living in the elk mountains I have a pretty good idea of where a lot of the herds roam and can usually spot them 95% of the time all summer and during archery season, but as soon as rifle season comes they won't be out in the open. They'll still be in the same areas, but they'll be in the dense timber and you'll have to go in to find them. Good luck catching one out in the open during daylight hours in rifle seasons though.
AussieGunWriter and BDKeg are telling you some wisdom here.
As a resident I often hear/and talk to guys in the field during hunting season - all of them comment on how they cannot believe how many hunters and trucks there are hunting in the same unit. When they scouted, and looked at the stats they never thought it would be like it really is. Even the Division of Wildlife will tell you the most often mentioned complaint on harvest studies is - too much hunting pressure.
Last year ...I saw on one forest road - 83 vehicles. And this is an area of hunting that is less than 7 miles of hunting land.
You know how many had elk hanging in their camps? One.
I'd say there has been some great advice already given to you. Fitness and health are big ways to start helping tip the scales in your favor. Scouting and time in the field are also necessary for utilizing your hunting time more effectively. And you should expect that most people have the same info you do. All the map work is out there. Google earth ect. There are no secrets these days. The difference between you and the other guys is that they might know (from experience in that unit) where the pressured elk run to, and hide. And the really successful hunters will already be laying in wait in those areas.
The best advice I can give you, is to look into the Ranching for Wildlife program in December for cow elk. It is the highest success ratio you can find. It will take a preference point or two, but when you draw you will see elk, and better yet have a very good chance on harvesting one.
As far as general units, your expectations of a nice camping experience filled with hiking with your weapon...THAT is a great way to look at it.
The last bit of advice is to find an area, and really stick with it. Every day out will teach you something, and eventually you will start learning how to run into more elk.
