Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Best Colorado Elk Unit

Areas 82 and 86 are very rough country where the big boys hang during archery and black powder seasons. There are a few places I can take my horses, but most of my favorite spots where the really big bulls hang are backpack only. Some access to the better spots is also limited...guess that's why the big bulls are there!

I hear of groups that kill 300 inches of elk every year almost.. of course that might be 2-3 bulls added up..

I saw a big one last year, I think it would fall into the very low 300 class. It was on public land in a unit that does not require any points to draw.

Luck was on my side that day, now if I had a bull tag and not a cow tag it could have been an even better day.

I see 300+ bulls in 86 all the time.Trouble is they are about 100 yds inside the fence of Wolf Springs Ranch and know they are safe.

We ambushed one heading back across the fence several years ago,a nice 6 x 7

With two points, you can get into plenty of decent units. You don't have to go to the Northwest, but that'll help your odds of actually harvesting. There are a handful of units that kill same % of bulls every year as the Northwest units, and some of them are OTC. Units 10, 2 and 201 all harvest less than 10% of the available bulls per year. Unit 1 is a waste as they shoot closer to 50% of the bulls per year there.

The reason they only harvests 10% of the available bulls in trophy areas is so the bulls there can get some age to them. Pretty hard to get a 300+ bull that is two-three yrs old.

Same reason they put the 4pt or better restriction on bulls in a lot of areas years ago. Most of the available bulls were being shot off as spikes or 3 pointers

They kill a good percentage of bulls in the Flat Tops ,but the majority are 4 x's and small 5 x's.

Percentage of bulls killed does not have much bearing on things if one is looking for a better bull. In every unit that requires an increasingly number of preference points to get a tag,usually increases the odds of getting a little better bull.

There are exceptions and good bulls are killed every year in OTC areas. However,it is like the old saying. Even a blind pig can find an acorn every once in awhile

I'm not sure I'm reading you right or you're reading me right. Shooting a large % bulls makes it difficult to grow "trophies". That's why I mentioned that 3 of the Northwest units shoot under 10% of the available bulls each year, except for unit 1. The Flat Tops only produce raghorns because they shoot over 40% of the bulls every year. The only way for OTC units to retain 90% or more of the bulls each year is with lower success rates. And there are few places that are OTC or low preference points that will kill less than 15% and some shoot less than 10% of the bulls annually.
So I think it does have bearing if you're looking for a "trophy", in that you want a low % of bulls killed.

I also have 19 PP mine being NR. Not sure where I plan on using them. Seems 2 and 10 are getting away from me. With only 2 tags a year and 20 people ahead of me who knows when I will draw. I was lucky to draw a LE Elk tag in UT this year with potential for a 350 bull. If I get lucky and score I may just use up my CO points on a fun hunt somewhere and not worry about bone.

Curious about that. I've not hunted there, but word around is that the Troublesome gets lots of pressure. Has that been your experience?

What unit did you draw in Utah?

Exbiologist.Yep,we are on the same page

the troublesome has produced 350 class bulls and I think a 380 bull last year, but thats a maybe. The area is hunted very hard, but there is also plenty of places to get away from people. The good areas in there are 6-10 miles in, and you will not be alone. The is heavy dark timber, so the bulls will hide, and most of them wont be found by the hunters. This area is proably the last remaning habitat like it in colorado.

Like I said elkheaven.com is a fantastic site run by someone who knows this area like the back of their hand, anyone intrested in this area should take a look at the site.

Guys I appreciate the conversation.
Jeremy Gugelmeyer

Nick,

Question for you. Hope it don't offend. If the Troublesome Basin is such a great area with potential for big bulls, why is this guy dedicating a website and spreading that info around like this? 9 out of 10 guys would never give up info on places that produce big elk every year. Myself included. Great elk hunting is one of the most closely guarded secrets I've ever seen. Just curious as I'm familiar with the Troublesome area and I've just not seen what this guy is saying. Just curious..

Thanks.

Yeah, the odds are getting better--instead of 500 applicants per license for popular units/seasons, it will now be 350 applicants..............

Instead of waiting 15 years to accumulate enough points, you'll only have to wait 12 years........


Casey

As far as getting info on units, a couple of evenings on the DOW site and reading the Elk Hunting University will give you a real education on hunting elk, and a lot can be applied to all CO big game hunting. AS far as statistics, unit information and herd information, all of it is free for the looking if you just take some time.

With that said, 300+ bulls can be had even in marginal success areas with OTC tags. I know, I have one, all it took was physical effort,going where no one else would go. 4WD and ATV will get you within a few miles, after that its foot or hoof time where any sane person would not go. Serious trophy elk hunters do not pass sanity tests.

I have 12 CO points and put in for one more each year. Since each year it typically takes one more point to draw the best units, I probably will never get to use them! However, although I don't know if I have ever even seen a 300 bull in the wild, I have seen a few good elk on each of my three Colorado OTC hunts. Who cares about 300+, you can have a good hunt with NO points.

I would recommend picking an area that has the terrain you like and then keep going there. I've found it takes a few years to learn an area well enough to have a chance at a nice bull. Obviously there are exceptions... Just about everywhere has elk, and the occasional big one, knowing the area well enough to find him is another matter all together.

If you check the "what's new this year" section of the regs., I think you'll find that there are no more statewide muzzleloader tags.

Another thing to consider is to do what I have done and put in for additional preference point for first choice, then make your second choice a unit that may take 1 or 2 PP to draw. If you get lucky, great. if not, you can still hunt unit 82 or many other units with OTC licenses in certain seasons. I think unit 82 is OTC in season 3. I hunted there in 2002 and it was tough. Steep and high elevation. I saw elk every single day and passed up on one day two that had half of his rack broken off one side. After that, they were on the other side of the valley every other day, than the one I was on.
That country up there makes you wish you had gotten in better shape no matter how "in shape" you thought you were.

Good luck.