Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Help with Western/Elk hunting...recommendations please

Damn, this sounds familiar. I have been longing for an elk hunt for years. Noone has been willing to man up and go. My fiancee is pushing me to go and she wants to go as well. Guess I need to pick friend with some guts!

Thinking we will just rent a cabin and hunt from there. I realize this won't put us miles deep in the elk. But oh well. We will be out there in the mountains, me with a gun, her with a camera. Sounds like a good time to both of us.

Getting a ways back is best but the vast majority of elk are shot within a 1/2 day hike of the camp trailer. You'll get more sleep, though, by going in a ways to camp. You don't have to get up so early in the morning to get to where the elk are.

Funniest thing, made that first trip to Colorado and actually scored on a nice bull,

the following year, after me doing all the previous research and leg work, and then actually putting meat in the freezer,

suddenly the 'talkers' were much more interested.

You'll have a great time, especially if you can hunt an early season in September when they're bugling. Don't forget your fishing gear.

IMHO, it's not really a good idea to commit to an area thats miles deep until you know the area and are reasonably sure it holds elk. You don't want to be stuck in there with no options. Hunting out of a cabin and doing day hunts is a good way to identify areas for future hunts.

Some funny stuff right there.

catorres1, how old are your sons?

BSA, that is golden!

Anyone have any info on units 80/81 for 1st or 2nd rifle elk?
Looks like I may need to use points to get 1st rifle.

Thinking about the Jasper area. Not looking for spot on info. Just general info on herd, hunting, and pressure... Please pm if you feel it is neccessary. Definitely looks like some amazing scenery.

Also, is the weather any different in Southern Co.?

I took a friend elk hunting, He had hunted elk for 6-8 years and never killed one, but he had shot a lot of mule deer. I got him on herd and he shot one, He went to clean it and as I came up behind him a minute or two later, I heard him muttering. " I had no right to be hunting elk" Asking what he meant, he explained that he had hiked miles and miles looking elk over the years, and had no idea how big they were or how much work would be involved in getting an elk off the mountain. That if he had actually shot an elk when he had been hunting by himself, he had no idea how he would have gotten it off the mountain.

On another occasion, I had a hunter come into camp, He had seen our horses and came to ask if we would go pack his elk off the mountain. We had been hunting for 3 days, working the horses hard, I had planned to give them the next day off for rest before hunting the last couple of day before the season ended. This hunters elk was 20 miles up the road and 12 miles back in from the road. I'm usually a helpful guy, but I've only got x number days to get my elk, and the fish and game is not going to extend the season because I was busy helping somebody else. I wasn't too interested in taking a day to go pack out his elk nor wear out my horses.

My point being, Make plans on how you will get the elk out of what ever area you hunt. If you are willing to hike into the deepest darkest timber to hunt, Make sure you are willing to pack out of that same location. I was called nasty names for not being willing to help him. But I paid for a tag, I took days off work to hunt, I feed and cared for horses for a year. Why am I selfish to want to fill my tag or the help the others in my camp fill their tags first before helping a stranger who just didn't plan.


Next, understand that hunting tactics vary by the region you may hunt. I am very successful in harvesting Elk in Utah, But I was really surprised to see how they hunted them in New Mexico one year when I drew a tag down there. And I felt like a newby trying to figure out how to hunt in that area.

This is so true. It's even different going from the Gila up to the Carson.

It also holds true in the constant rifle/cartridge/bullet arguments.

For the OP,

Elk hunting is not as tough as most here are making it out to be. Don't be intimidated by the BS you read on these boards.

Listening to the crap you read, see on TV, and read in magazines you would think you need to run marathons, shoot a magnum rifle, and practically risk your life to find an elk.

Not true, even on public land DIY hunts (which is all I do).

The biggest obstacle to over-come is thinking that you cant do it on your own...trust me, you can.

Just get out there and do it, time waits for nobody.

PM inbound

This is so true.

KC

I also agree. The hardest part is figuring out how you're going to pack one out if you get it. Don't take that part lightly because elk aren't lightly.

You do need to be in good shape to hunt the public land in Colorado that holds my camp. Set up camp at 9/11k ft ele from 500 a ft ele just days before.... 21% oxygen vs 17% with no excersize prep and the mountains WILL punish your body and soul.

No BS

KC -

Thanks for posting that again.Lots of good info there.

#5 took me a few years to figure out. The elk would be there in the summer the few times i was able to scout but we couldn't find them come hunting season - because they had moved.

We used to camp high and basically hunt from camp when the elk had moved down. Wasn't very productive.

If you aren't seeing elk, move.

"You do need to be in good shape to hunt the public land in Colorado that holds my camp. Set up camp at 9/11k ft ele from 500 a ft ele just days before.... 21% oxygen vs 17% with no excersize prep and the mountains WILL punish your body and soul." ++

If you can pull together an appropriate camp, and appropriate clothes for variable weather, you are probably equipped to make a stab at elk hunting. Until you have tried it once yourself, best to not try to bring the kids - you don't say how old - but unless you are all really experienced wilderness campers, work a few of the bugs out yourself before you add kids and additional complications into what can be challenging weather and logistics the first time or two. It can be hot or what for you will be really cold. Maybe freezing, maybe -20 degrees over a season. You need good boots that will stand up to the terrain, and if cold you need boots that will keep your feet warm enough. These may be 2 different pair. Don't neglect several pairs of gloves. If it is wet or snow you will want dry spares to swap out. Under these conditions, the supplies for kids may be more challenging.

But seriously, if you are in TX, the elevation will probably be an issue for a few days. Getting to elevation a couple days before the season opens will be beneficial. Yes, I know, I lived on the Gulf Coast a few years and came bsck north to elk hunt. I trained on stadium stairs with a pack full of weight plates. I was younger and pretty tough then, and it was still tough going making the transition from basically flat and a hundred feet above sea level to 10-11,000 feet and steep terrain. Yes it was DIY, that is what I still do.

There is no substitute for acclimatization. After TX, I lived at 8,400 feet. What a difference, but I still felt it a bit at 13,000 feet.

In most places you will hunt stuff that is up and down and up and down. Maybe not ridiculously steep, but usually a lot of elevation gain and loss each day. You can get into rugged and very steep, or maybe more gentle in some places, but while you are busting your lungs trying to catch elk, they simply don't care. They live there and it is normal for them.

After a while, you will learn how to find them, but you have to be there, put in your time, pay attention, and learn. But as Buzz pointed out, "time waits for nobody". If you never start, you will never hunt elk.

We are all full of advice...

Good luck and good hunting.

Elk hunting can be as tough or as easy as you make it. "Establishing camp" can be as simple as driving your truck into a spot and setting up your tent next to the truck. Or getting a room at a cheap hotel. It doesn't have to be at a high elevation, in fact most late season hunts are at lower elevations at or near their winter range.

To the OP,you could always do a late season private land cow hunt, that is probably the surest bet to get you and your boys some elk. The going rate seems to be around $500. If you're interested in that kind of hunt, shoot me a PM.

That was great advice for a DIY hunt. You can increase your odds greatly, by getting an outfitter in unit 4 of NM. Lots and lots of elk, not lots of big elk unless are are hunting the giant ranches and paying lots ands lots of money. There's lots of small properties that have tags and lots of small outfitter lease them up. Plus you get the benefit of having a fixed camp inside a building and being shuttled everyday. One guy that was in camp with me was hunting for a cow, he said he paid $600 for the 5 day hunt, very reasonable for a freezer full of meat and it's not as gamey as bull.

I hear everyone talking about us flatlander having problems with altitude, Chama 9k feet and I was not fazed. My guide who lives there stopped more times to rest then I did. (might have help that I go skiing every year at better then 12k feet)

Altitude response is a very individual thing. I have known people who were fine one trip and not the next. Altitude response does not have a direct relationship to your condition, either. Some super athletes get whacked with it at times. Lots of in-situ research has been done. But getting there a few days ahead can often make a difference. Did for my brother this year who came from 1,300 to 9,400 feet. He trained all summer, but it still took a few days until it was getting better. Yeah, we are not kids, but even kids have to deal with it.

Sounds like that cow hunt is a good deal. It would allow a guy to get his feet wet without too much investment.

"I had a hunter come into camp, He had seen our horses and came to ask if we would go pack his elk off the mountain."

He would probably have had a better chance of getting help if he had come into camp loaded down with the head/antlers, and the backstrap. That would have shown some planning and willingness to do some of the work. I have a little fanny pack with knife, etc. but if I have any real expectation of finding an animal, I wear the pack frame, not just the rifle.