Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Colorado elk unit 65

First time Elk hunter heading to unit 65 for 2nd rifle season. I'm still planning and would take any opinions, advice or suggestions that anyone is willing to share.

I have really general questions if someone would volunteer some time to have a conversation.

Where is unit 65?

Get maps and start looking at the unit. 1:24,000 scale. Look for places you can hike in and get a bare minimum of a mile from public access; 2-3 miles would be better. Look for places with a good mix of timber, open areas, and water. The best timber for cover can be on north-facing slopes, but not necessarily. Good cover will have dense timber with big tress for shade and a decent amount of ground-level cover. With good feed (grasses) either in the timber or nearby in parks, and water sources. The best water sources are small streams, seeps, and springs that might not show up on a map, but if you know what to look for you'll know they're there. Can you go out before the season opens to look around? Don't put all your eggs in one basket, i.e., have a few different places that you've checked out. You never know from year to year what the level of hunting pressure will be, you might find a great spot before the season that has a few wall tents smack in the middle of it when the season rolls around.

Have a plan and all the gear you'll need to dress the animal in the field and take care of the meat. Which means a good pack and the ability to pack out some hefty loads of meat. And don't plan on packing heavy loads uphill any distance if you've never done it, better to hike/hunt uphill so your pack out is downhill. Plan on hanging the quarters while you're packing, because it'll be more than one load. Plan on boning the meat, no need to pack elk bones on your back.

Get in the best physical shape you can; have good boots, and keep moving until you find them.

Good luck.

Hunted 65 for the first time last year.
The area was too big to scout everything. I was interested in the Red Mountain Pass area and Ralph Lauren Ranch area but we selected the Cimarron and Little Cimarron areas and concentrated our efforts there instead.
I would describe the Cimarron areas as high mountain glacial valleys that are separated from one another by steep ridges. There are trails to allow you to pass from one drainage to another but you are committed once you select one of them. Then add in a patchwork of private land to complicate hunt plans.
Did you ever play the childhood game called 'Chutes and Ladders'? The Cimarron areas reminded me of that game. In these areas you ascend and descent on the existing paths available with not much opportunity to deviate from the path until you reach the next ridge or valley.
There are elk there, but elk have a lot of advantages there. I spoke to some of the local guys who said they knew exactly where elk were and there was no way they were going there. I found out what they meant. The area they were referencing was a labyrinth of rock dikes on the cliffs above the Little Cimarron. My experience with that ridge was that it was difficult to get to. Once there I had to pay considerable attention to navigating through the rock walls and the steep dangerous grades and moving anywhere really distracted my concentration away from hunting.