Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Unit 18 CO

I hunted the troublesome back in 2007 with Samuelson's on a drop camp muzzleloader hunt. My pard killed a 4x4 and I had opportunities including a close encounter with a herd bull but the hunting god's were not smiling on me that hunt but it was a great experience and awesome hunt. I was thinking of going back this fall for a 1st rifle hunt.

Any update on what that units like today.

I've been hunting the Troublesome since 2009.
We hunt west of where Samuelson packs into.
We have been hunting 4th Season since 2011 taking turns with who gets a buck tag and the others hunting elk.
We have had great success with Bucks and So So with the elk.
We usually get 2 elk for 5 hunters on average, nothing big, just small 4's & 5's.
I personally have taken a 330 & 307 Bull when we hunted Archery.
There are some Big Bulls that migrate out of that country.
Last Year I had the buck tag and shot 180ish buck, but we must have seen 300 - 400 elk and no one shot any, snow was up to our waists and no one really could get around to get them. we all could've taken cows, but everyone was holding out for a Bull. I personally passed on 3 raghorns as i was focused on deer.

Hope that helps

There are still elk in that unit. But double if not triple the number of hunters you saw in 2007. Archery has exploded. Tons and tons of over the counter tags (unlimited actually), plus perfect combination (less than 2 hours from denver) of distance and easy access.

Archery and muzzleloader season in 18,181 is full, full of hunters. Lots of pressure. Animals quickly migrate to private land. If you can hunt on private land- then I'd say go for it- otherwise skip it entirely.

On the public side of the fence, you might be able to outhunt a few of them, but the days of hunting farther than most are disappearing in that area. Many guys are willing to get back in there. You won't be alone ever, and expect many other hunters to traipse right through whatever setup you're watching. Worse yet they won't even acknowledge what they're doing, and/or sit 100 yards from you. It doesn't matter to them that you hiked in the dark and were hours ahead of them. Hunting courtesy is long gone. If you don't have patience and/or optimism in excess then you won't enjoy any part of hunting in a crowd.

And your dream of calling in a bull--- it won't happen. The only calls you'll hear are other hunters. If you ever get bored blow a bugle or two, and watch the hills come alive with hunters. It's actually a lot of fun. But make sure you're wearing plenty of fluorescent orange. You'll be amazed at the yahoos who shoot at elk sounds.

Of course I'm generalizing a bit. A first rifle hunt will be a better experience if you stay in 18. But why hunt in a crowd? There are many other (better) units out there with much higher populations of elk. I'm not going to tell you where I hunt, but you can figure it out quick if you use the statistics from cpw.state.us -- hint start in craig or hayden and head towards the land where the men are men and the sheep are scared.

Higher success ratios, less hunters, bigger units, much bigger herd of elk. A place where the hard working hunter can still out hunt most of the crowd. And yes my freezer has elk in it.

Good luck to you.

I agree with wizzer 1000%
There are tons of people between those 2 units.
We hunt public but camp on private and during rifle season we have to start walking by 4-430 am or we will be in the middle of a parade.
From hunting the same areas for a few years, we have found a few pockets where we see / get our elk at.
We hunt them like whitetails at home, sit and wait for them. No messing with bedding areas.
Absolutely no calling, or you will have company.
When we shoot something, it gets packed out in the dark and it comes out a different trail than everyone else walks in on, it kind of like hunting public land in PA. LOL.
When he hunt archery, its the same way, No calling (except soft cow to stop them) We hunt water, wallows and trails.
Also be aware that there are a few small private ranches with driving access in there as well. Its a little disheartening to walk 3 hrs in the dark and then have a truck drive by you an hour after daylight.

Well that is soo disappointing but that's public land hunting. On that last trip 9 yrs. ago I saw 1 hunter in 7 days of hunting. We could bugle to locate and then cow call with no worries of calling hunters in.

I may regroup and think of another plan. No need to spend some $$$ to get packed in an area that full of hunters. Hopefully there is still no atv's in there. I know it's restricted but that doesn't seem to stop some of the law breaking atv crowd.

C Roy
I wouldn't use my info as a decision maker.
I'd give Samuelson a call and see what he has to say about where his camps are in 18. I know the trailhead he starts from is about 12 miles (as the crow flies) east of where we hunt.
We hunt closer to 18/181 border, even with all of my negative comments above, we will still be out there this fall.
Even though we know it can be crowded, its hard to give up on spot once you get to know it, especially when your a Non Resident.
If Samuelson doesn't give you any hope on returning and you still want a pack in type hunt, I would contact CWO I have friends that hunted with him a few times and the reports were great. He hunts in 19 & 20.

I'd bet any unit in Colorado that has OTC tags or draw tags that only take 1-2 points,hunters will see a LOT of orange. More so than what hunters experienced in 2009. It will only get worse. If you are on foot,whether you hunt from a truck camp or back pack in, you won't get away from them in rifle seasons and now archery seasons. Anything close to Denver or the front range and is public land sees serious over crowding on weekend especially.

There outfitter out of Hot Sulfur Springs that now hunts the Troublesome.

http://www.traditionalelkhunt.com/location

last year I was south of Corral Peak over at Wheatly trail head into the Troublesome and lot of hunters going in and lot of down timber from the bettle kill.

That has to be the most affordable elk hunt in colorado!

I've never seen anything near those prices. Also seems to be missing an abundance of success photos.

If you're looking for an outfitter in that area, I'd say check out Dean Billington at www.bullbasin.com - he has some great access/leases and good success on elk and deer over the years. His prices are higher but only because of his cost of leases and quality private ranches that he hunts. You get what you pay for in the guided hunt situation.