Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting colorado..elk...solo..out of state

I have some 70 year old relatives in the rifle Colorado area. I'm from the Pennsylvania area was thinking about going out to that area to hunt elk by myself. I own bows,guns, and muzzleloaders. One is a flintlock and a savage smokeless muzzleloader. I gather that smokeless powder isn't legal for muzzleloader season in Colorado.

My relatives seem to think that going out hunting by myself would be a tough proposition. I am 30 and in decent shape. I have only been in Colorado for a few days so I'm not really familiar with the area.

Does it seem stupid for me to go out there and go hunting by myself?

No, people do it all the time. Do your research on the area, know basic land nav, and have a plan to get an animal out if successful.

I'm looking to hunt there too if you need a partner.

I have done it a lot for many years.

Really good advice here. Emphasis on moving an elk if successful. A lot easier to walk two or three miles in than try to get an elk back out from there, especially if the weather is anything like warm.

Other than that-go for it. With the right attitude your sure to have a great time even if you don't kill an elk. Good luck and good hunting.

Try area 521. It's not too far from rifle and has high elk numbers with lots of public land. I hunt it occasionally. I live 30 miles from rifle. I too am 30 years old, get in shape its normally steep where the elk are. Good luck

Nope....I stagger, slip and fall up and down the Rocky Mountains all by myself often

It's not hard.....add in a rifle and a license and your hunting

I've hunted that way over the years more than not. Just make sure someone knows where you will be and when to expect you back. Now that I am older, I carry a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon.)just in case. Enjoy!

Entirely possible. Davidlea is spot on - make sure you have a plan to get your elk out before its dead on the ground. Coming from PA, your likely going to be surprised what 6-700 lbs of dead animal is like to quarter. It's not rocket science but does need considered beforehand.

Also, your 30 which is good. Run some hills, pack weight as training, lift weights - in short you'll need cardio endurance to comfortably hunt elk. As young as you are, you could likely make it work with little effort but I guarantee not matter how in shape you are, you won't feel like you did too much. Elk country is big and elk use alot of it. You'll likely do 5-10 miles a day once you get off Trail to find elk. Likely need to do that for a week till you find elk. I used the word 'comfortable' above for that reason. Humping it for a week straight is tough. At 50, I normally hunt very hard for 3 day stints. Then take a morning or afternoon off to eat and rest. Then another 3 days. I usually plan on 7 day hunts. I've killed elk in the later part of CO second season. The woods are fairly empty and the elk settle down a bit

Good luck and have fun - don't make your hunt work. If you need a day off, take it.

Most muzzleloader tags are draw only, and the draw is in early April so you need to figure out where you want to hunt and put in for the draw by then.

79inpa:

Whether or not you should solo elk hunt in the Rocky Mountains depends on what you already know.

You need to own all your gear and be an experienced camper. You need to know what you are doing in the wilderness, must be self-sufficient and know how to survive when everything goes wrong. When hunting solo, you are on your own and you can't expect help if you get into trouble.

Have a backup plan, contingency for emergencies. Expect some gear to break or fail and be ready to repair it or adapt to do without it.

Expect to get injured or sick and be prepared to care for yourself.

You should be proficient at wilderness survival.

You need to be proficient at wilderness navigation so you can hike three or four miles from camp into unfamiliar country and get back to camp at night, in the fog or in a howling blizzard.

Try to get someone to hunt with you. Unless you are inclined to be a hermit, company is almost always welcome when camping in the wilderness.

Good luck, have a great adventure and a safe hunt.

KC

Just go do it.

79InPa, nothing wrong with giving a solo hunt a try in Colorado, and there is some good advice above. I would add that you need to be prepared for various adverse conditions in weather, etc., especially if you're alone.

Here is a site put on by the Colo. Parks & Recreation Dept. regarding what you should always have with you (and know how to use) in the high country of Colorado.

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=FV5ShSNIdfY&feature=endscreen[/video]

Very good advice here from a man who teaches survival in Colorado.

Best of luck to you.

L.W.

one thing you can't prepare for in Pa. is the altitude. I live in mountains of western N. C. and a grouse hunter so I can walk in steep places but when I first got to Colorado I couldn't walk but 30 yards and I was out of breath after about 3 days I was O K and some people it doesn't bother, but you have to be aware altitude sickness can be serious.

Consider yourself lucky, most out of state folks dream of elk hunting in Colorado and have no foothold here. Having relatives is a great advantage and starting point for you. I personally really like the terrain around Rifle, beautiful elk country.