Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting unit 53 co elk hunt

hi all, my dad and I are planning on hunting elk in unit 53 this year as long as he gets drawn for a cow tag. I was wondering if you guys from around the area can give me any insite on the unit or where some of the places are that may hold elk. any pointers in general will work. this will be my first time after elk, my dad has been on about a dozen. we would like to get away from the crowds if possible. we don't have horses so it will be all on foot and we are not ruling out packing a camp in if we have to. never seen this area and any pointers or tips you might have would be appreciated. I am not looking for your spots just general areas where a guy might find success.

I don't hunt there as my reports from foot hunters that do is a lot of ATV's.

I have a friend that worked for an outfitter and cowboyed some when he was going to college there in Gunnsion .He always talked about Cement Ridge, but I have no idea where that is

thanks saddlesore. so can they use atvs all throughout the unit. we are looking at west elks wilderness area around the beckwith mountains. I found the usfs trail maps but I thought they were for hiking or horseback only? this is always the hardest thing about out of state hunting is I can only see the area from a satillite map. any other input is great
thanks again

Foster,
The motor vehicle use maps (MVUM) will show allowed uses.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/gmug/home/?cid=stelprdb5191814

thanks for the maps. great info there. we will be hunting the west elks wilderness. does anyone have any experience in this area or hunted it before that can give some insite. thanks

OOPS..I read Unit 55,53 is indeed restricted motor vehicle use and a lot of wilderness area. My sincere apologies.

I hunt east of there, but assume you are thinking about going in from the north if you are talking Beckwith. I know elk are run into that country from Unit 54 ,especially after 1st season.

So I assume the are elk there to start with also. I can't help you much since I don't hunt in that particular vicinity.

I do know one party that goes into 53 from Unit 54 and hunts the 2nd season in there. They do quite well. They are young tough guys though as the pack out is quite a distance.

Again, sorry about the misunderstanding on my part.

saddlesore Cement creek drainage is in Unit 55, off Rt 135, turn right onto FR 740, s/e of Crested Butte.

Foster; Sent you a PM, see the red flashing envelope by My Stuff.

thank you saddle sore. that is good info. yes we are coming in from the north. thanks again

I put in for the draw for 53 this year but not too familiar at this point. Here is a great resource for you...

http://ndis-flex.nrel.colostate.edu/HuntingAtlas/

I last hunted Unit 53 more than 20 years ago, so I cannot speak to current usage level and other hunters. Also, I only hunted the northern side, from Lost Lake Slough campground. If you go in from Lost Lake, you can hunt west along the north side of Beckwith Mountain which slopes down to the road that divides 53 from 521. There is private land along the bottom, and the elk tend to congregate around the fences. Relatively easy hunting,though steep, and I've seen mostly cows there, although a friend shot a 5 point raghorn not far west of the slough. I suspect it gets pretty heavy use by other hunters now. If you want to go back into the wilderness, you will have to take the trail from Lost Lake Slough to the east, and hook around Beckwith Mountain to enter. About 3 miles to the boundary as I recall. A steep trail comes up from the road there, and is heavily used by outfitters and horse hunters who camp down on the road. The trail goes on south into the wilderness. There is a flat area off to the right (west) of the trail that is called Beckwith Mesa, that holds a lot of elk in the summer because it is cool, but usually they move down lower once the later seasons arrive. There are some monster mule deer in the area too. Beckwith Mesa is about a 5 mile hike from Lost Lake, and if you take an elk back there, it will not be fun to bring it back without horses. Good luck!

Foster,

I have hunted the Coal Creek drainage many times. Coal Creek is just west of the Beckwiths and accessed by FR 709 off of the Kebler Pass road. There is no legal ATV access in the West Elk Wilderness. Outside the boundaries of it there are places where an ATV will be helpful but not many (Coal Creek Mesa comes to mind). Once past first season the elk will have learned where access is easy and stay out of those areas unless weather dictates a change in their habits. The wilderness is not for foot hunters unless they are really tough and in shape. Locating the services of a packer can change that for you somewhat. If I were to hunt it I would have horses and head for the Porcupine Cone, Haystack Mountain, North Curecanti Pass etc. You could access Minnesota Pass and Hoodoo Gap on foot from Beaver Reservoir and hunt the slopes of Mt. Gunnison etc. You had better be in shape. I've hiked in from Lost Lake to climb the Beckwiths but never hunted that portion until you hit Swampy Pass but I came in on horseback from Little Robinson Creek when we hunted it.
PM me if you like.

I hunted the 2nd rifle season in GMU 53 last year. We hunted out of a drop camp near the Cowboy Camp area by Little Robinson Creek. The area had a lot of pressure last year as there were 8 other hunters in the area so, we did a lot of hiking to get away. Three years ago, we hunted within a mile of the same area and only saw one hunter. We saw one small bull and two cows the entire week we were there but, one of the other hunters did get a decent bull.

well from what i am hearing it sounds like it is pretty tough terrain. any of the locals know of an outfit that could at least pakc out an animal if we harvest one.

There is not a lot of them and not many horse rental operations in southern CO a compared to northern CO. There is one, down by Blue Lake, but you have to go pick the horse up as they cannot deliver. I think they have an old horse trailer for rent.

There isn't much money in it for an outfitter to just go and pack meat out. They need to keep those pack strings busy packing in hunters. You might find one in mid season that isn't busy.

It's illegal in CO for a private individual to do it for compensation unless they are licensed. There is a pretty hefty fine if caught.

Folks, I have offered some info to Foster, and am offering this info to anyone needing it, It is links to images from a web site called, www.summitpost.org/ The next two links will give you info on the West Elk mtns as well as East Beckwith Mtn. On the page for East Beckwith Mtn, in the block called Geography see nearby mountains and rocks. If you click it, it will give you more images of the nearby areas. For those who have never been here, or in Colo, it is good information.
http://www.summitpost.org/elk-mountains/171580 This will be for the Elk Mtns and nearby Wilderness areas. Lots of images and info

http://www.summitpost.org/east-beckwith-mountain/151955 This is for East Beckwith with images. In the Geography block in left margin, click nearby mountains to see more images of nearby mountains. Ruby Range, Marcellina Owens and such. Those are in unit 521.
Hope the links work. Hungry Horse

Folks: Here is one more link with a good image from Storm Ridge looking into unit 53 and East Beckwith Mtn's back side and Cliff Creek area in the deep ravine.
http://www.summitpost.org/storm-ridge/236080

Folks Here is a link to Mt Gunnison in unit 53.
http://www.summitpost.org/mount-gunnison/154805 See the access road information to Beaver reservoir.

Thanks for the photos. It is a shame, the Castles are not among the photos. Probably the most iconic formation depicting the West Elk Wilderness.

saddlesore, can you give an idea of what weather is typically like during the 2nd rifle season in and around these areas