My friends and I are looking for our very first elk trip to CO. We will be traveling from Pa and really do not have the slightest clue on elk hunting. We are all seasoned whitetail hunters, however very new to elk. I have done many hours of research on where to go. I found a resort that looks nice in the Paonia area. Appears this is unit 521, and is part of the Grand Mesa NF. The range closest I believe is Electric Mountain.

Can someone give me some good advise on this area. We are all in good shape, and not particualry worried about the difficult terrain. We are not picky and are not worried about killing trophey bulls. We are more concearned about being in an area that produces numbers and not size. We would like to hunt the 2nd Rifle season and will also be hunting deer. Horses are out of the question for our hunt, but a quad is a possibility.

Help...anyone? lol

i've never hunted 521, but if you do a search i believe you will find that area has been mentioned. if memory serves, 521 didn't get very good rewiews. keep bumping this to the top and perhaps some more folks will respond. good luck.

Flattops, white river area has more elk than anywhere in the state or the world I guess.

I have hunted it about 10 years ago. It was kind of tough unit we always saw elk. We had most of our luck in the early elk only or with the snow in the last season.

Good area and there are some trails you can use an ATV on. Get a forest service map to see which ones are legal, but mostly on the West (Grand Mesa) side of the unit. The east side of the unit has a bit of wilderness that may or may not be out of your league.

Five0archer:

Some of your statements popped out and I have isolated them in the quote.

"do not have the slightest clue on elk hunting. " The rest of your post makes that statement superfluous.

"seasoned whitetail hunters". What you've learned while whitetail hunting will most likely work against you when hunting elk.

The idea that you can hunt elk from a "resort" is down right unrealistic and illuminates your inexperience.

"We are all in good shape, and not particualry worried about the difficult terrain." That statement is so arrogant that you could get yourself in trouble. Altitude sickness is a very real concern no matter how good your physical condition.

"We are more concearned about being in an area that produces numbers " So is everyone else who hunts in Colorado. If you want trophies go to Montana, Wyoming or New Mexico. If you want quantity vs quality come to Colorado.

"Horses are out of the question for our hunt" Too bad, because that's the best way to get into the elk.

"a quad is a possibility" In California they have road rage. In Colorado we have ATV rage. Sometimes ATVs (quads) "accidentally" get shot during hunting season.

I'll send you a PM containing an article that I wrote on elk hunting. I would insert it here but I think all the frequent visitors have read it enough times.

KC

Our group hunts Electric mountain in the early bow and muzzleloader season. There are elk there but you need to get quite a ways off the road to find them. Not sure about the second rifle season though, Electric mountain lodge is very nice and the owner is a good guy. He made a 8 mile Atv ride last year to bring me the news of a family emergency and to bring me a sattelite phone to call home on. He wouldnt take my money for his troubles so if you are up that way drop in and have a meal at his lodge. Pretty country and not real rough like some other areas so I am sure the rifle season is crowded. Paonia is full of hippies.

I see youll be deer hunting also. We dont see a lot of mulies but there are some there. There is small areas of private ground around Electric Mountain so you need to pay attention to your maps. They get pretty testy about trespassers.

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