Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Want to hunt elk in CO with my 13 year old daughter!

This will only be my third year hunting myself and my 13 year old daughter has decided she wants to hunt with me. I'M THRILLED!! Last year was her first season and she just missed her shots on a an antelope (both very long shots). She ended her first season without an animal. Having said that, we live in CO. She really wants to hunt elk. I have yet to do so myself. So, I desperately want to see her, and help her, harvest her first animal. Any recommendations for an elk hunt in CO for a father and daughter tandem? The application deadline is coming so I want to get this figured out.

Thanks!

I'm not sure whereabouts in the state you're looking, but I'm guessing it's for a weekend hunt. If you read the fine print in the elk section, you'll see that many units offer later extended hunting opportunities for youth. Not all, but many.

I'd look to the units that are accessible in the later seasons, i.e. where the elk start to make it down to their winter range, and go from there.

If you're in my neck of the woods, shoot me a PM.

SD

Same here.

Why not lok into unit 201 for her.The chance of a youth drawing tga is exceptional as they set aside a percentage for youth and there is not a big number that put in for it.
Chances for a big bull are exceptinal, the country is not rugged, nor very high, and very accessible in early October

Thanks guys! I live in the Denver area and am not necessarily looking for an ultra close hunt. Due to my work schedule and her school schedule, something that could be done on a long weekend would be great.
I'm just thrilled she wants to do this with me (my 9 year old daughter isn't happy she can't join us until next year) and she wants to make a go at an elk.

Contact your local DOW office, they have a program set up exactly for your daughters situation where they can actually get to hunt on private property with a guide, of course Dad gets to go along to. Other wise, draw a cow elk tag in an under subscribed unit where you may get out for a weekend and if she doesn't fill the tag, take her out for late seasons which youth tags convert into if not filled during the regular season. Best units to hunt for cows during late season with easy access are units 10 and 11. Just make sure she takes plenty of ammo.

Check out Ranching For Wildlife tags, find out which Ranches require 0 prefrence points for cow tags to hunt on. I've hunted them a couple of times and have had great luck, the Ranch staff will usually help you in what capacity they can especially since your daughter is a first time elk hunter.

Other than that all the suggestions of a DOW sponserd youth hunts, that is the best places I know to apply. You both could hunt one of these properties toghether, but you had better have a big freezer in case you both fill your tags. Two cow elk will take up a lot of room!

Thanks for the tips! Looking forward to the draw!

I don't believe the CDOW sets aside bull licenses for youth, at least the last time I checked.

Elk can be tough to hunt even if you know what you are doing. To successfully hunt Elk in an area that you are not familiar with the local herds patterns is going to require some scouting, and could still be impossible to hunt if you are not familiar with how to approach the Elk without them hearing you or smelling you before you even know they are there. Sometimes luck does happen and you might catch them on a bad day and get one. I would recommend contacting Broncolope either on here or on his web site at www.broncolope.com. He knows some pretty good areas to hunt up around your neck of the woods. Sometimes he can tell you how to approach the elk or what to look for in order to be successful. Best of luck and happy hunting.

Remfak, I started my daughter Elk hunting when she was 14, and she shot a cow. It was really great to get to do this just the 2 of us. The only suggetion I would have based on my experience with her, and her 2 brothers ( I started one of them at 13 and the other at 12 ) is to think about hunting the fist season. I suggest this for a couple of reasons, 1) It will probably be a little warmer/nicer weather wise. I did not want to risk ruining them on hunting over having to deal with real cold temps or lots of snow. 2) The first season is draw only and you shouldn't have to worry about too many other hunters crowding you out. I hunted unit 411 and 52 ( Grand Mesa Natl. Forest ) with my kids and we never had a problem drawing cow tags or getting leftovers. We did hunt 2nd season some and the number of hunters was kind of a bummer for them. Anyhow I think it is great for you and your daughter and I wish you the very best of luck for a safe hunt with lots of memories. RugerRunner

You might also consider building up a few preferance points and getting her in on a RFW hunt.

Rem,

Here's a thought for you. Find a unit where she can draw a cow tag with a 2nd choice (or just buy an OTC bull tag and put in for a preference point), hunt in 08 and get one preference point built up. Next year put her in for RFW Three Forks Ranch for a cow. The Three Forks provides you with a guide, free of charge, and is crawling with elk. It is as close to a guarantee for shooting a cow as you can get and it will be a good experience for her, not a hard time with potential bad memories.

BeanMan

Area 4 or 11 Both have really good population and fairly easy tags to get. Stick a mule deer tag in your pcoekt as well!

I don't pretend to know anything about raising children but it seems mighty strange that a child's first game animal should be an elk. Have you considered something smaller, something a bit more approachable or at least a bit easier in some way? Antelope seem like a good start, given that no kid today seems willing to bother with small game.

I don't know, but starting on elk just seems odd.

Brent

Coming from a person with children, I'm with remfak here. If my daughter wanted to start hunting with me and I could take her on a cow elk hunt I most definetely would. It may be a harder hunt for her and not the easiest to be successful on, but hey, it;s time in the field with your kids and the fact they want to join you is what is important.

Good luck remfak.

Daddie63

I personally would look into an WY antelope hunt.The oppertunities are plentiful, tags are easy to get and antelope are EVERYWHERE! A youth doe tag is about 20 bucks. My wifes first animal was a doe antelope. You would have thought she shot a Booner Elk the way she acted!

My daughter had a shot on a doe antelope last year. Unfortunately, they were real spooked from getting shot at for a week prior to our hunt. This year, we will hunt either doe or buck antelope again, and go opening weekend. That will be a slam dunk. I put her in for a youth elk tag in New Mexico with decent draw odds. I am crossing my fingers on that one. I will likely put her in for a muzzleloader deer hunt in CO too. On the elk front, that is where I need help for CO. Lots of over the counter cow hunts so I will likely try that. Another forum member has also offered his help so may go that way too.

Thanks for all the thoughts and recommendations. Like daddie63 says, I just want to spend as much time as possible with my daughter while she still wants to.