Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Craig Colorado Elk Hunting

Has anyone hunted the 1st 2nd ir 3rd season near craig colorado? if so how are they movin

I hunted first rifle in Hayden. Heat and moon phase were the killers. Got a cow on the fourth day at last light. My experience they were only moving first hour and last hour.

What unit(s) are you talking about. A lot depends on where you are hunting. Some of the units SW and W of Craig are very dependent on the elk migrating out of the mountains. No snow no elk.

im hunting unit 3 in maybell

I hunted about 30 miles south of Craig going towards Meeker, 1ST season. It was slow but I did get a nice 5x5 on the second day. Too warm!

Check with the DOW representative at the Craig info center. This gentleman has a lot of info. May be able to tell you about the migration. I have an either sex tag for this unit in the fourth season will likely be hunting along the Little Snake or Godiva Ridge. A lot of public land in unit 3 heaviest migration usually around Fortification Rocks.

Second season, there was a lot of activity in GMU #4 Black Mountain, the weather had everything moving.

Got a legal bull just after first light opening morning.

Having never hunted the area, getting the heads up that it is not really a trophy producing area for the DIY camps, to take anything legal. This bull was with cows coming from private land, about a 1/2 mile into Routt National Forest. I did not see another hunter afield the first day.

Now having spent time, it is clear that this area is under-hunted, if you compare it to most public land in Colorado. Making it a little harder to have elk being pressured to you. I just got lucky!

Lucky that I did not need to stalk-hunt, plan 'B' if it were butterfly-weather, I seen a dozen and a half elk the first day, and about a dozen deer. (no deer tag myself)

I would hunt the area again in a second, but from all I seen getting packed out of the area, I would not wait for something for the taxidermist.



This one is looking good in the freezer as well as in the slow-cooker!

Today's snow might get them moving but as of Monday they were not. A few crossed 13 after the last snow but it was a false start.

Coyote Hunter,

I would appreciate an update on the elk movement. We will be over in area 11 4th season. Getting excited with all of the snowy cold weather moving thru the NW corner of CO. Couldn't ask for better (crapy) weather to get them moving! it's a good sign for us if they are moving across Hwy 13!

Elk Country

elkcountry -

This current storm should get the migration going.

It's pretty typical that an early storm will move a few but the movement peters out quickly, which is what I saw.

If they are herded up on the hills south of 18N and a mile east of 13 then the migration is on in earnest. Typical to have 1000 or more on those hills. Private land, of course...

CH
Sure hope the migration gets moving this year. Last 2 years have been the pits. Last year hunting 11, 12, and 211 in 4th season didn't see any elk til the last day and those were 4 bulls on the wrong side of a fence. On opening day I heard only 5 shots. Later that day I ran across a guy with a 5X5 bull in the truck and he said that he had fired the shots when he jumped a solitary bull in the cedars. For two days afterward I heard NO shooting even in the distance. No one I talked to had seen any thing in 11 or 211. This year I have a cow tag for the same units and I picked up an either sex tag in the leftover tag sale for unit 3, 301. I sure hope to fill one of those tags. Will be there Monday to scout. Good luck on your hunting.