A group of us are heading to Colorado third rifle season for a do it yourself unguided hunt on private ranches. Has anybody hunted with black elk outfitters on coyte Ranch or Rocky Mountain ranches. Any info would be greatly appreciate it. This is our first trip out west.

They may be South enough to not have issues but parts of N Colorado are getting hammered this winter. You might contact them or the biologist in that area and see how the deer are wintering.
Tons of snow in N Colorado and up into Wyoming.
We've got deer and pronghorn dyeing in droves right now all across the state, Wyoming I mean. The Snowies has tons of snow and over to Platte Valley and down into Colorado.

Ranch sounds nice for hunting, if deer are ok then you should have a nice hunt. I like the no atvs except for retrieval.
Make sure you have a decent pack frame for packing to the roads, just a frame with a meat shelf would be fine, no need for an expensive pack and frame combo.
Walden area is a neat spot and I've driven by the Spicer Ranches. Should be fun.

Be ready for travel delays, road closures and make sure your vehicle is prepared for snow driving, they have specific laws about 4 x 4 and snow tires during winter in Colorado.

Thank you for the information, hoping they are south enough.

I hunted there about 15 or so years ago. My dad his buds hunted there for 8-10 years before that. All for elk but we dud see a few dandy mule deer.

I'm with the advice to call the bio on snow and deer conditions. It could be ugly if the snow doesn't leave soon.

thank you I will be calling monday

South has had their share snow also, Monarch has had 35 feet of snow for all winter.

It's not all doom and gloom but some areas will be affected greatly by this winter.

This was about 30 miles south of Craig Co, 8000 feet, about a month ago.They have more now.

wow, is this one of the worst winters in a while? That's going to put a hurting on the deer herd.

Monarch Ski Resort is reporting 220" total snow so far - that's 18+ feet, not 35 feet.

https://skimonarch.com/conditions/

Where you getting your intelligence?

Buffalo Pass which I think is just west of Walden is supposed to be the snowiest place in the damn state ? Anyways.... pretty funny but I have hunted with BOTH of those outfits. Pm me if you wish and I will share what I know.

Keep in mind also that many herds migrate down from the deep snow.
Lots of snow up high is good for runoff.
Winter range is where they get into trouble with deep, crusted snow.
Looking iffy at best in Colorado also.
Hoping the drought is eased.

WOW. That is a lot of snow. Got to be hard on the actual residents too??

Harday, I tried to pm you but it won't let me do it? if you could pm instead would greatly appreciate it or another way to contact you thanks

I spoke with cpw out of steamboat and they said they are expecting a 30% winter kill from this winter.

I searched for Black Elk Outfitters and the website, shows northern Colorado Ranches.Their address shows Steamboat Springs. All ranches are in North Park area ( Walden) Colorado.That is about center of the state, near Wyoming Line. They have been having trouble with a wolf pack that moved in there from Wyoming, killing calves and cattle dogs.

https://blackelkoutfitters.com/

Here is a review.

https://www.nexthunt.com/Black-Elk-Outfitters/565

The photos look like it would be better deer country.

Looks like Walden has 9" of snow right now and Buffalo Pass has 125"

You can keep track of snow depth here.

https://weatherstreet.com/city_snow_depth/80480-Walden-CO-snow-depth.htm

You don't have enough posts yet to send or receive pm's. Long story short, I hunted with Black elk outfitters two different years over in the Walden area.... this was back in mid 2000's but not a place I would recommend for deer hunting.... the 2 separate ranches I hunted didn't have very good populations and the elk are strictly migratory in most of that area.... they could be a herd of 100 on the ranch one day and gone the next.... they are basically trying to make it from the high country to the wildlife area in the bottom of the valley.

I hunted with Joe from Rocky Mt ranches about 4 years ago by Craig.... this was ALOT more fun.... years ago we had a friend with a ranch in Craig and the deer numbers over there are...or were great..... we hunted one of his less desirable ranches and still we probably saw 50-75 bucks a day on about 4k acres..... it's a lot of fun for a "hotel" style hunt.... relaxing.... waaaay better places to eat and hotels in Craig vs. Walden and they also have a couple good meat processors if needed.

These were all trespass fee hunts..... Black elk were good people just the areas they hunt don't have the same game populations that they do over the hill in Craig. Good luck.

A guy here in Jersey has been hunting Rocky Mountain Ranches for a couple of years in units 3/301 for both elk and mule deer with both rifle and bow. His success was around 25%. His last hunt about two years ago was a third season season rifle hunt and he shot a very average mule deer and did not see an elk. When you pay the trespass fee the ranch helps you get the animal out which he appreciated since he was hunting solo and spent from hunting all day every day. Good luck.

Thank you for the information!

NW Colorado might be iffy this year and a few years to follow for mule deer due to a predicted winter kill of 30-40%. How well the herds will actually fare depends on the next several weeks of weather. If the deep hard pack snow cover is not off soon, it will be disastrous for an already grim situation. For the first time in years, I’m not applying for a deer license and I’m just donating to CPW for a preference point and hoping for the best on an OTC elk license. Good luck!

CPW announced yesterday,it has been recommended to cut tags 40%.. Not official yet

I also have heard the same thing about them cutting tags. Not looking good but we sent in our deposit so could be a camping trip. LOL

Only for a cluster of units...

Yes. I talked to them late Friday. It's basically the units in Moffat, Routt and edges of surrounding counties. It does seem grim in that part of the world, WY included.