Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Private Land Hunting

There seems to be a rather large amount of licenses left for purchase in Colorado. And almost all of them are for private land hunting.

I am just wondering what kind of success those who have tried it have had in gaining permission to hunt on private land in Colorado.

And if you have not gained permission to hunt on private land for no cost, then approximately what have you had to pay in order to gain trespass rights to hunt elk.

20 years ago I'd say you had a fair chance if you made a good impression. Very doubtful you'd get permission now unless you know someone. Costs can range from a few hundred dollars into the the thousands.

I wouldn't waste my time unless you know someone and find a license that is not PLO.

My 2 cents.

Well,if that is the case, then why are so many private land licenses issued if nobody can use the damn things.

It has to do with attempting to get some pressure on the elk that take refuge on private lands during the general hunting seasons. For instance, I hunt a private ranch below the Flat Tops on the White River. By the time that the first rifle season opens, this ranch and the neighboring ranches are loaded up with elk that have been pushed down off the public land by bow hunters and muzzle loader hunters. Most ranch owners limit the number of hunters or lease to an outfitter who does the same to guarantee that his clients will see lots of elk.

These ranches are on the south side of the White River Canyon and have lots of escape cover and bedding cover in the form of aspen thickets and dense mixed conifer woodlands on the north facing slopes. Elk move down to the meadows and hayfields on the floodplain to graze at night and are back in the thickets and dense woodlands by an hour or so after sun up. They still move about during the day, but do so mainly to drink and/or move to an afternoon bedding area, so these movements are limited in extent.

I would guess that the density of hunters on most of these ranches runs about one per section at the most, and many are more like one per two sections. This pressure is not enough to cause the elk to move to another area entirely. Presumably, there is just enough pressure to keep all the elk from moving down off the public land above prior to the subsequent rifle seasons.

One would think there would be some kind of website or publication where all of the landowners posted whether they were willing to allow hunters and how much they charged for a trespass fee.

One might think that but, in the real world, it's up to you to do some research. If I were you, I would start by subscribing to exbiologist's westernhuntingdata.com to learn about where there are the best opportunities for tags and hunts. If you specifically are interested in private land tags, look at the units where they are available and get to work on your computer and your phone.

Most towns in Colorado in areas with good big game populations have Chambers of Commerce that maintain lists of local landowners that may be looking for hunters. If that doesn't work, get on Dexknows.com and find out the name and contact information for local sporting goods stores, archery stores, etc., and call them to see if they know of locals who will accommodate private land hunters.

Even better, once you have identified a unit that seems likely, take a few days or a week before the application deadline and visit and talk to the locals in the chamber, the sporting goods stores and the gun and archery clubs. If you get some names, contact the ranchers or landowners and visit with them to determine if their place is somewhere that you might want to (and can afford to) hunt.

I do know folks who have scouting services for New Mexico and adjacent states and their services are worth the money if you draw a public land tag, but it will cost you for the information. The only way to find out for free (or relatively little in the case of westernhuntingdata) is to spend the time doing the research. BTW, I have no financial or personal interest in Mark's information service, but there is nothing else that I know of out there for the price.

Mudhen

Sounds like a plan!