Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Seeking unit 76 Colorado Advice

My father and I are lucky enough to have collected 11(+) non-resident CO elk points. We have hunted off and on for the past 12 years with OTC tags exclusively in the archery and muzzy seasons. All of our experience has been in DIY in unit 65 with exception of one year where we hunted in White River NF. We have had very good success with both cows and bulls and have taken only one tag home during that time.

My father has expressed an interest in using his points while his health is still good on a hunt where the chances of a good bull are higher. He is 72 but in excellent condition. I am considering a semi-guided hunt for the two of us in unit 76 rifle ( probably second rifle season so we can hunt Muley as well) either this year or next. We both have an interest in a pack- in tent camp rifle elk hunt experience.

Based on my research we would have high likely-hood of drawing in 76.Some of the questions I have been mulling over include:

1. Is 76 our best choice for a good chance at a decent Bull(s) given our point totals?

2. How will our relative success and comfort in hunting in September translate to second rifle season? We are both comfortable with calling and have pulled in numerous bulls but recognize that calling success will be limited during rifle season but we also have had some success in still hunting.

3. We both enjoy the autonomy that a DIY hunt provides but worry that given our lack of experience in the unit, lack of access to horses, and desire to make the burning of our PPs worth it we are considering going with a guided hunt (2:1 is what I am thinking). Should we reconsider a drop camp or trespass hunt ( assuming such a beast is available in 76.

4. Any advice on outfitters/guides?

5. any other pointers?

Thanks in advance for any info provided.

I too have been holding out for a unit 76 tag. Have hunted several times there in recent years for deer and cow elk. Hoping to draw soon, have 13 points. The weather on 2nd rifle hunt can be brutal if not properly prepared. Snowed on us 3 yrs ago with lows in single digits. We were fine and my partner killed a nice buck. Luckily the trailer was not too far from an all weather road.
John

1. In Southern Colorado 76 and 61 are the 2 units that offer a fair number of tags and are most popular. 76 is recognized for overall good elk hunting. 61 is managed for quality bulls. If you consider Northern Colorado then some additional units might fit the bill.

2. It will be way different. (Personally if I were to spend 11 points I would want to make sure I was hunting an early season somewhere.) Unit 76 is high altitude. Winter comes early. By 2nd season you will most likely be hunting in snow. You won't be calling anything in. 2nd season saw blizzards in unit 76 last year.

3. There are quite a few hunter services available. We found elk pack-outs reasonably priced. Several outfitters we talked to discontinued offering drop camps by 2nd season because of the risk of rescuing hunters from snow. They suggested either go guided with them or else camp near a road and hike in for your hunts. That was good advice for the 2010 season.

On the deer, one guy had a buck tag that cost him 5 or 6 preference points last year. There were deer down low along the Rio Grande but by 2nd season we didn't see any deer in the high country where most of the public land and elk are.

I hunted Unit 76 in 2003, which happened to be a warm year - beautiful sunny days (second season), bulls still with the herds and bugling, though not eagerly responding to calls. But Colorado weather in October is very unpredictable.

Unit 76 has terrain for every hunter, from remote pack-in terrain to four-wheeler areas to day walk-in areas. If you talk to F&G and USFS it's easy to figure out.

AppHunter - sent you a pm.

The 2 guides I know of; Sammy Frazier has from the Rio Grande res N&W, and [now I can't think of the guides name] has the S side with a camp at the fork of the 3 Ute drainages. Both of those guys do pretty good for hunters on guided hunts.

I don't know if you can draw it with 11 [doubt it] but going muzzie would be the trick in that unit.

Well, i was in a very similiar situation last year and my Dad and I used our points with Sammy Frazier on a first season rifle hunt. I shot a 300" bull and Dad never had an opportunity. There were not as many elk as I was expecting, but I had the hunt of a lifetime. I couldnt have scripted my experience any better. Dad wasnt so lucky, although he saw elk.

I would NOT go 2nd season based on what I saw. No way, no how would I burn 11 points on 2nd season. The elk were in the timber and not showing themselves at all by the end of 1st season.

I would definitely recommend Sammy. You will get a great elk hunting experience. You wont get a mint on your pillow kind of hunt, you will get the real thing. Sounds like that is what you want...the real thing. He knows how to kill bulls and his guides are awesome.

It is high...I shot mine at 12,700 feet. It is vertical, you need to be able to climb some.....but there was a guy in his 70s in our camp who shot a nice bull. Our camp was 3 for 4.

Shoot me a PM if you want additional details.

apphunter,

Me and an out of state buddy are at 12 PPs, so we keep an eye on units like 76 and 61. Last year the DOW added an early season rifle hunt to 76, slotted in between the end of archery and before the regular first rifle. Still there this year. Looks like there was only 20 tags, but that is another bunch of hunters to tweak your calling in the second season.

Good luck - John

A lot of decent bulls in Unit 76 (290-325 B&C), but not very many BIG bulls. What happens is the elk start down out of 76 in early/mid October into other OTC units, and those 4-6 year old bulls get killed in the later seasons.

11+ PP will have 100% odds to draw for 1st or 2nd Rifle seasons for a nonresident.

Unit 76 has some of the biggest summer herds running together on the continent--even bigger than the Flattops. In the 90's some guys from Gunnison had 30+ minutes of video of dozens of nursery and bachelor herds on the alpine above the Rio Grande Reservoir. Anywhere from 100-500 elk in each bunch.

Although a buddy took a photo a few years back in late August just outside of Unit 76 of a group of 6 bulls. Two of those bulls would easily gross 345+.

Last year it took 16 PP for a NR to draw that early season. From the looks of applicant numbers, I'm thinking that number may go up this year.

On another site they have a Colorado forum where a photographer would post some amazing shots of the large herds above treeline in Unit 76. The photos were excellent, showed many trophy bulls and huge herds, and he frequently updated them. Over time Unit 76 seemed to become almost legendary among the hunters on that forum in large part due of those photos.

That photog got crosswise with a bowhunter last year and that was the end of that. If you google Rocketman you can probably dredge up some of the old threads.

I hunted it first season rifle 10 years ago. I shot a 5x5 that afternoon because i couldn't stay for the entire 5 day trip. I saw approx 30-40 branch antlered bulls ..100 cows and probably 20 spikes . We took what we could of the bull that night and hung the rear quarters overnite. The next morning driving to the spot I estimate there was a herd of more then 100 elk in a small park next to the road, both bulls and cows. They were bugling like crazy on the 1st day of the season and were the next day as well . Did I tell you that place is steep as hell at least where we were?

We were right at treeline