I spend a lot of time in the National Forest in unit 58. I'm there all seasons camping, hiking, dirt biking. Hunted opening day of 2nd season deer last weekend. My take on the area is that the animals are there, but they are not densely packed. The deer and elk herds are very small compared to other areas of the state. We seldom see deer or elk during any of our excursions. In my experience the area is not heavily hunted and almost all the hunting I see is of the road hunting variety. Almost never see another hunter in the woods. Pickups with hunters glassing the open areas for animals is the norm. The terrain is rolling hills with conifer/aspen mix at the higher elevations and sage and oak at the lower elevations. Lots of grassy meadows/valleys. It's not rugged by Colorado standards. It's relatively open too. I don't know of any areas that have dark timber. I don't hunt any private ranches in CO, but see a lot of elk on them. The elk aren't dumb. If you were coming from Alabama to hunt the public lands in 58, I'd say you are wasting your time. Private is a completely different situation and could be good - if the outfitter knows where the few animals around are. I'd take the earliest possible season you could. It's first come first serve on herd bulls, which are going to be few and far between on public or private.
