Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Anyone hunted CO 79 this year (or past!)?

Any scouting info you wouldn't mind passing along? I was down a few times prior to the seasons but not in the past 6 weeks. I'm hunting the 4th season - just looking for a cow this year. Need the meat in the freezer. Taking my 6yo son on his first elk adventure.

I've always hunted the north/east parts of the unit. Mixing it up this year & heading to the lower/west areas (Del Norte/South Fork). I'm doing this mainly b/c I'm going to be late to the show.

Nobody? Ugh. Anyone hunted this unit in past seasons & have anything to help me out?

Since you already have some experience there I think you are the expert.

I'm interested in it and have suggested it to the guys in my hunting party several times. They do not think it is a good fit for us.

I've only driven through it (saw 3 bears!).

Please share the results of your hunt this year. Let us know how it goes.

We took two bulls out of 79 last year, third season. It was tough, but we put in the miles.

If the snow has been good and the migration has started out of 76 you should see plenty. For elk we normally hunt the NW and W end of the unit, west of South Fork.

Bill

Alamosa,
The thing I've found with 79 and elk is if there has been no substantial snow up high then 79 is tough. Not a whole lot of "resident" elk in that unit.
If Unit 76 high country has had heavy snow they migrate to 79 by the hundreds or more. Many right across the highway between South Fork and Creede.
I've hunted 79 during both situations and if the heavy snows have hit the number of elk spotted will go up an immense amount.

Bill

Update:

I hunted Wed/Thur/Fri/Sat in 79. There was NO snow in this unit early in the week. Maybe a dusting here & there, that is it.

I hunted the southern sections (just north of South Fork and Del Norte) Weds/Thurs w/ no luck at all. I saw a TON of mulies, some really big. But, elk/sign was not there. I talked to a guy who hunted Bear Creek the season prior and took a cow out of there. She was all alone & he didn't see another. We hunted hard in Alder/Bear Creek areas - and north of the drainages, nothing. No tracks, poop, etc. I was thoroughly disgusted and decided to move back north for Fri/Sat. I heard there were some elk taken out of the Groundhog Park area on Thurs but that could have just been a rumor.

Friday, I was praying for snow to get those things moving. We decided to head up to the Boot Mtn area and see if we could find anything moving in from the north west. Nothing. We hunted hard for two days and never did SEE an elk. It snowed a bit late Friday but it was too little too late to salvage my hunt. The animals just weren't in the unit.

I talked to a few other hunters, a DOW employee and some police officers - none of them had seen any elk. Most agreed w/ me - the lack of snow kept everything from moving into 79. There were a couple BIG bulls taken out of 79 in earlier seasons (north west section). Most people think they moved in when the fires chased them out of 76. Who knows.

For now, I'm moving on to deer. I need to fill the freezer. Ugh.

ETA: My son had an awesome time. He kept up w/ me which was a real surprise. Big man for 7... ;-)

I had some luck in Unit 79 this past fall, but it was the first time I had killed an elk in Unit 79. I have normally hunted Unit 76 & 80 in the past.