Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Ist time DIY bow hunt in Colorado for a newbie

Glad to be a member here guys.
I have been wanting to go elk hunting in Colorado for years now. I am so fed up with unreliable friends that keep me from going. I am not asking for secret spots or planning on an invasion on your favorite mountain. I am just looking for some sort of advice on where to begin researching. I am up to almost all types of terrain. I am down in Texas, so the lower portion of the state might be better to start my search.I do not plan to wait for a draw like several friends I know (going on 7 pref. points. I seriously have no starting point on where to start looking. I realize I sound pretty lame, but I have no shame. I am sure there are many ohter 1st timers who could benefit from this post as well. Again, thanks

Well, one of the closest units is 81 and has pretty decent hunting with a lot of public land. But go a little further west and the hunting really improves in the various San Juan units, like 78, 751, 75, 74 etc. Even further west, but still in the southwest, the success rates really pick up in 70 and 71. But if you're willing to consider some of the canyon country in the northwest like 21 and 30 you can do pretty well.
As for research, it depends on what you are researching, but the colorado division of wildlife produces a heck of a lot of statistics. But you'll also want to stick to a unit that is primarily public land.
Here's a place to start:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/Statistics/

Other things that I do is to determine trophy potential, I divide the number of bulls harvested by the # of available bulls. The other trophy stat I like is to extrapolate the elk density (DOW doesn't provide that) to the amount of public land and then determine the % of bulls harvested. That stat also helps you figure out which areas have inflated success rates from private land hunting (some areas kill way over 100% of the theoretical number of bulls available, likely due to private land hunting). Other fun stats are elk/hunter, bulls/hunter, hunter density on public lands if you really want to delve into things.
The other things you can research are the B&C records and P&Y records to determine top counties, but in reality, that's kind of a waste of time because it doesn't tell you what unit they were harvested in.

If I were you I would seriously consider the area just northeast of Delores Colorado (Dunton/Rico) and the Lizard Head Wilderness Area. This area is an over the counter area with an incredible elk herd for those up to the serious vertical challenge. It's steep country, but holds some real bruiser elk since most are not willing to put a pack on and stay deep on the mountain away from the lazy hunters. If you plan on going next year get Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maps for that area even though this is in the San Juan National Forest. The BLM maps are in good topo detail for just $4.00 a piece. Then get the National Geographic maps for that area at $12.00 each along with the San Juan National Forest map. Sounds like a lot of maps but each one has pros and cons. Some show better roads or trails while others are in better topo ratio. May also want to try Gunnison National Forest, which also has great elk opportunities. All I can say is get in shape (run, walk, do stairs with a pack on, and go for long hikes with a pack on) and then use a stair climber or eliptical on heavy resistance to train the last three months. Call the DOW office for those areas and find out herd ratios and herd numbers for those areas. They may not always be easy to get in touch with so e-mail can be the best way to reach the field officers.

Take care,
Mike

Travis:

As previously stated, there's lots of info on the DOW web site and if you do your home work, you might be able to find a good place to start.

Get a copy of a road map of Colorado that indicates which land is public. Compare that to the map of game management units in the Colorado Big Game Hunting brochure. Look for units with lots of public land.

Next, look on the CO DOW big game web page for the recap of preference points required to get a license in limited draw units. There are more licenses offered than there are applicants in those units that require zero points. Those are places where game populations are at or above management objectives. Look for units which require zero points and have lots of public land.

Finally, you should buy a copy of the CO DOW Big Game CD. It contains maps of winter ranges, calving areas and summer ranges in each GMU. With all that info, you ought to be able to pick an area where there are lots of elk and lots of public land. And then you should be able to determine where they are in summer, where their winter range is, the most likely routes that they use to get from one area to the other, and therefore where they are most likely to be during hunting season,,

Here�s a link to the on-line store where you can purchase the CD.

http://wildlife.state.co.us/wildlifestore

I hope this helps. Good luck and safe hunting.

KC Keen

Thanks soo much for the replies. I am actually heading out tomorrow to Denver with the wife and kids to just get away. We were thinking of going elswhere but plans fell through. Flying into Denver and heading to Estes Park for the first day. The wife is really hoping to hear some rutting bulls around. Then thinking of heading somewhere southwest. We have 4 days to kill. I have been trying to post some questions on here before we were considering Colorado as a back up vacation plan, but had a hard time getting a password setup.
So..... This will be somewhat of a pre-medonna scouting trip.



To those that are from around there, any idea of some primitive cabins that are away from town that is near decent hunting(refer to previous post)? I plan to just throw sticks on the fire and hear elk buggle all weekend. Trying to turn this in to a scouting trip without my skirt catching on too much. As many thing in my life this is way last minute. I appreciate all input fellas.

If you are headed to Estes Park tomorrow, I don't think you'll have any trouble seeing or hearing elk.

I hope you have some time on your hands to read this.


I took the wife and kids on a mini vacation a few weeks back. We flew into Albuquerque and headed north. The main purpose was to look at some over the counter GMU in Colorado and to get some contacts from the locals.

I am very new to elk/ mule deer hunting and have decided it's time to start going.
I have friends that are into their 8 year of draw in 76 for a bow season bull tag. Don't know about you guys, but that doesn't offer near enough action for me. So, what do you guys do between the years of the legthy waiting period? Do you hunt over the counter areas, other animals which have been drawn, or hunt other states where tags have been awarded? I need to come up with a plan that will offer quality hunting while I am building points in draw areas(if it is even needed). I also plan to enter the draw for mule deer as well.

I really like how the Pagosa Springs/Wolf creek area looked. I see that archery bull tags are otc in 77 and 78. What's your thoughts on this area? I would venture to say that this area sees lots of pressure.

I am new to all of this, but is 76 worth a 8-10 year wait when you can hunt 77 otc?

What about 80 as well. The south side of HWY 160 after leaving South Fork looks primo (but this is coming from a whitetail hunter). Any comments on this area?

Then of course comes units 54 and 55. I have heard many talk about Mill Creek. I checked this area out as well and I think it is definately worth checking into.

My last GMU that struck my interest(only from the road) was 49. I have heard this was a good area to hunt elk if you can tough it out. And after looking at it, I can see why.

Is there any GMU's that I left out. Sorry that was so long

This was the initial scouting trip. Once I make my decisions I plan to head there in the spring/summer to give it another look.

Travis:

I have 12 preference points for elk. I am collecting them hoping that I get to draw a tag in one of the premium units in the NW corner of the state before they put me in a nursing home.

Each year I apply for a preference point as my first choice. My second choice is for a cow tag in a unit that is under-subscribed so I know I will get a tag. I also pick a unit where you can legally get a cow tag and an over-the-counter bull tag. So each year I get a preference point, a cow tag and a bull tag.

KC

Here's an article that I wrote to explain how the application process works in Colorado.

Applications have to be received in early April. I usually mail my applications sooner. You can apply for up to four choices but I usually only indicate a first choice and a second choice. You can even apply for a preference point as your first choice. If you do no get your first choice, you get a preference point. You can accumulate only one point per species per year. You have to pay the license fee when you submit your application for the draw. But if you are unsuccessful, all but $3 is returned along with your preference point notification. If you are successful in receiving a tag for your second choice, but not your first choice, you get a preference point (for your unsuccessful first choice) and a tag (for your second choice). When you submit your application, you include the number of preference points that you have. People with the most points draw first.

There are about +/-200 game management units in Colorado, which are essentially the same for deer/elk/antelope/bear. In 2009 the dates will be as follows;
- Archery Season: August 29 - September 27
- Muzzle Loading Season: September 12 � 20
- 1st Rifle Season (Elk only): October 10-14
- 2nd Rifle Season (Deer/Elk/Black bear): October 17-25
- 3rd Rifle Season (Deer/Elk/Black bear): October 31 - November 6
- 4th Rifle Season (Deer/Elk/Black Bear): November 11-15

Antlerless elk tags are issued through the drawing, except for a few game management units in the north-central part of the state, where they are available over-the-counter at most sporting goods stores. Bull elk tags can be purchased over-the-counter for about 3/4 of the game management units west of I25. For the most part, in those same units, there are more antlerless (cow) tags offered than are applied for and there are "leftover" tags available after the drawing that can be purchased at any Division of Wildlife (DOW) office, on a first come first served basis, and you can legally purchase both a cow elk tag and a bull elk tag. Most units require a bull elk to have at least 4 points on one antler but most people hold out for a 5x5 bull. In the remaining units, bull elk are managed for trophy potential. Most of those units require several preference points to draw a bull elk tag and some require as many as 14 points. Each year I apply for a preference point as my first choice elk application, and a cow tag as my second choice. Then I buy an over-the-counter bull tag. So I get a preference point for elk, a bull elk tag and a cow elk tag, each year. This is legal in many units where the elk populations are above management objectives.

All deer tags are issued by drawing only. Deer season dates in units west of I25 coincide with the elk seasons. In units east of I25, there is a separate early plains deer season (October 22 - November 1, 2005) and a separate late plains deer season (December 1 - 14, 2005). Deer populations are beginning to rebound and antlerless deer tags are being offered in a few game management units. There are even a few leftover tags available. In some units deer tags are very abundant. But these units are primarily where chronic wasting disease has been detected.

In many units, archery black bear tags are unlimited. In some game management units, black bear tags are issued by drawing only, including the archery season. There are many units where rifle black bears tags are issued for the month of September and those tags are issued by drawing only. In most units, black bear tags are sold over-the-counter for the same seasons as the deer/elk seasons. There is no spring bear season. You cannot use dogs or bait to hunt bears and traps must have padded jaws.

All antelope tags are issued by the drawing only. In most units, at least a couple of points are required to draw a tag. Many units require a lot more points. Antelope season will be October 1 � 7, 2005.

Mountain Goats, Rocky Mountain Bighorns, Desert Bighorns, Moose and Cougar have separate game management units and separate seasons for each species.

Cougar tags are issued at the DOW offices, only in certain management units. You have to report your kills to that office and when the quota for a unit is filled, hunting is closed in that unit. Most quotas are never met. Cougars can be hunted with hounds and most lion hunters hire an outfitter with dogs.

Tags for goats and big horns are issued only through the draw. You must accumulate three preference points to get into the draw. Then you get a weighted preference point for each year that you are unsuccessful. When you apply, you get one chance for each weighted preference point. On average, it takes about 8 years to get a tag. But it's possible to get a tag on your fourth try (3 points + 1 weighted point). If you get a tag, you have to wait five years to start the process again.

The drawing for moose works the same as goats and bighorns except you only get one tag in your lifetime.

KC

Thank you for your response KC. That is some very helpful info. I think along the same lines as you do with the draw, you just have a much better way of describing it all. Any insight or comments on the GMU's I mentioned earlier?

A couple other useful tips are to make your applications on-line--it's very easy and the on-line forms won't allow you to make a mistake on you rapplication. On mail-in forms, if you make a mistake your application can be rejected.

Also, every year there is a special issue of Colorado Outdoors magazine called the "Preference Point Issue." Comes out right before the drawing is due and lists the number of preference points that were required to draw into each unit for each species the previous year. It'll give you an idea of whether you have a chance to draw into specific units.

Travis:

Of the units that you mentioned, the only one that I'm familiar with is unit 54. I've hunted that unit off and on since 1981. Right now there are about a dozen horse trailers parked at the Mill Creek trailhead.

I agree with smokepole. It's a lot easier to apply on-line than in writing.

I recently saw this preference point calculator posted on another thread. http://huntodds.monstermuleys.com/

KC