New to Elk Hunting with a few questions

[Devilduck32]

Hello everyone,

I have been lurking on this forum for a few months gathering as much information as I can about this adventure you call ELK hunting. I am from Louisiana, an avid bowhunter, My last kill was a 140 class (10 point) free range whitetail buck at 30 yards. What a great hunt that was. But, that story belongs in another section of the forum. (Going into the Louisiana Record Book) I am planning on going into elk country of Colorado in either 2015 or 2016. As it sits right now a few guys I know have an interest in going, but most want to go in the 2nd or 3rd rifle season. I personally would rather go OTC archery, mainly to hear the wonderful bugle of the bulls. I am well aware that the possibly of harvesting an animal either with a rifle or bow is as slim as in whitetail hunting. I do have a couple of questions that maybe you guys can help with.

1) DIY or drop camp from outfitter-(We do not have any camping worthy of using in the colder temps.-I plan to try to make hunts every 2 years if possible, Need a year off to go to Disney world for the kids/wife)
2) I have concerns about bears. If out archery hunting in Colorado, does bear spray work? ( I have never encountered bears in the wild) What about self-defense issues per the law?
3) I saw that Elknut has a few books about Elk. Can anyone recommend a few others worth looking into?
4) If hunting rifle seasons is it worth having any type of calls, like cow calls, bugle call, calf etc. Will elk respond that late into season or are they call shy? Like late season public land turkeys. HAHA

I have read and re-read Colorado's Elk hunting University. I am slowly narrowing down GMU's I wish to hunt. Personally, I am looking at high Elk populations with the opportunity to take a cow Elk. I will probably buy an either-sex tag because with my LUCK having only a COW tag the godfather of ELK would walk by and I would be kicking myself..HAHA.

BTW-this will be OTC hunt, are Colorado OTC tags Unit Specific? Also, are Tags season Specific? For example, if hunt 2nd rifle but do not harvest an Elk is the tag valid for 3rd season? I did not see anything in Colorado Regs about this, but they are kinda confusing for a NR hunter.

Thanks for reading and good hunting,

Devilduck32

[cohunter14]

I'll try to answer a few of your questions:

1) DIY vs Outfitter: If you are planning on trying to go every couple of years, I would recommnd just biting the bullet and getting your own gear now. It will end up being cheaper in the end instead of paying an outfitter and you can start to learn an area on your own. Depending on how many guys you have, it still might be cheaper to purchase a solid camp setup between all of you instead of each of you paying for an outfitter.

2) In Colorado, you don't really have to worry too much about bears as we don't have grizzleys. That being said, you can still use bear spray or carry a handgun. If you shoot one in self defense, you should be okay but I am sure you will have soome explaining to do.

4) The later you go, the more call shy they are. A cow call can still potentially come in handy though.

5) Yes, tags are season specific. If you look through the regulations brochure, you will see what units are available for over the counter. Those are not unit specific.

Good luck!

[Kessler10]

You should consider going archery elk instead of rifle, in my opinion. Elk are very receptive to calling and you can get them in close. A lot more action and opportunity archery elk hunting., and lower hunter pressure in archery season. Just something to think about.

If you have never been elk hunting I would recommended to do a semi-guided or drop camp hunt. this will allow you to really have a good idea of the kind of gear that is needed. This type of hunt will give you the gear and area to hunt. Then they basically ride you in on horseback, give you topo maps and a general idea of where to locate elk, drop you off, and come back in 1 week. So you still are hunting on your own but this way you can get your feet wet and really have an good idea of how to do it all on your own the following year. So just a couple thoughts to think about. Of course I am all for people who want to do it all on their own the first time, I have heard great stories and some not so great stories about their experience.

[Fridaythe13th]

I ask myself the same question 10 years ago. Do I buy all this stuff for a sport that I know I well like, but how often do I go elk hunting. The 1st 3 time (or every other year) we rented a condo in town. Yes we put a lot more miles on the truck, but we came home to a crock pot full of hot food, 2 bathroom with showers, dishwasher, and a bed. I thought it was the greatest way to elk hunt. The price was $130 per person for the condo. The 6 of us never got skunked, with the best year was 4 cow's. That was all 2nd rifle season in CO....
Do to a job change I now go archery. 3 of us bought a tent, mess tent, shower, wood stove, generator and all the stuff we need to keep dry and safe in the woods. I LOVE IT hunting bugling elk is the best. trying to call in a 700 lbs elk.
I well go back some day to the condo and rifle but I got a feeling it gonna be a long time.
I guess what I am trying to say is, just go elk hunting, gun/bow you well love them both. I now go every year because 2 years is to long in between hunts. Buy what you can afford (DIY or outfitter) and keep adding thing you need or want.
As for bear's I carry no side arms, just my bow. There are guys in are group that carry them, to each there own. I worry about the thermals and the wind more than bears.
As for calls, why not I bought 1 the first year and I used it to call in a bull this year.
As for books, ELKNUTS playbook and the school of hard knock. but I'm sure there are more.

[Devilduck32]

thanks for all the great replies and answers. I really do appreciate it. Now, what unit and what tree should I hide behind to find an Elk. HAHA just kidding, but that does lead into this. If I am understanding correctly during archery season in Colorado, the Elk are at altitude somewhere above 8000 ft. I guess the Elk summer range is higher in altitude than their winter range.

So, does that mean you should chose a unit with really high mountains?
How tough is it on a flatlander going to altitudes like in colorado, especially during archery season?
What is the best way to determine a unit?
What maps show private land vs. public land? If, I understand again correctly the GMU's can hold both private and public land. It is something I am not familiar with.
Also, where can I get an understanding of what type of terrain to look for when studying maps.

As for right now, My group is looking to maybe rent a wilderness Cabin near a unit we plan to hunt.

Again, thanks for taking the time to help a new Elk hunter.

[Elkduds]

This from CO Parks/Wildlife website RE "big game hunting:"

Steps to Planning a Successful Colorado Hunt

Colorado's hunting regulations can seem complicated at first. The methods we use to manage harvest of big game populations allow us to have the most robust and abundant populations of big game in the world. Use the resources above and follow the steps below. We want your Colorado hunting experience to be successful and enjoyable. If you have any questions concerning applications, regulations or finding a place to hunt, please call one of our Hunt Planners at 303-297-1192.

Hunt planners are a great resource, and their service is free. Good luck, hope you make it to CO! Also, welcome to this fine forum, plenty of expertise here.

[Devilduck32]

thanks for all the information,

I am thinking of hunting in the Southwest of Colorado, somewhere out of Durango area. I would like someone to answer these few questions:

1) What is a good pack under $200 dollars?
2) Where can I find good information on how to understand elk habitat? I plan on calling Colo. Hunt Planner in the next few weeks.
3) Does anyone carry a Spot emergency locator? Do they work well?
4) A good hand held GPS unit that can hold quality maps of Colorado GMU's ?


thanks

[ak32]

thanks for all the information,

I am thinking of hunting in the Southwest of Colorado, somewhere out of Durango area. I would like someone to answer these few questions:

1) What is a good pack under $200 dollars?
2) Where can I find good information on how to understand elk habitat? I plan on calling Colo. Hunt Planner in the next few weeks.
3) Does anyone carry a Spot emergency locator? Do they work well?
4) A good hand held GPS unit that can hold quality maps of Colorado GMU's ?


thanks

2. Here are a few good resources:
Elk University: http://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/EHU.aspx
Colorado hunting atlas: http://ndismaps.nrel.colostate.edu/HuntingAtlas/
with the hunting atlas key in on migration routes/corridors and summer/winter concentration areas depending on what season you're hunting

3. I use a spot messenger, they give you a really nice piece of mind. I'm in the backcountry a lot biking/climbing/skiing, ect and it's worked really well so far. You can program a custom message besides the standard OK/need help and SOS messages which is nice. I have a message for hunting season saying "I have an elk down at this location" which will send an email or txt message to whoever is on my list of recipients. The only feature that hasn't always worked perfectly is the tracking feature. It's supposed to send out a location every 10 min, but for some reason it sometimes skips a location message (probably if the signal isn't great).

Another similar product I would look at is the Delorme InReach. It's a bit more expensive, but you're able to send 160 character custom text messages to email and phones which gives you more flexibility over the spot since the messages on the spot are just static.

[itsnlkthing]

A good pack for under $200 will depend on how you plan to use it and your style of hunting. If you are just needing a day pack, there are a lot of good options in that range. If you want an all in one pack capable of packing in a spike camp and packing out quarters, you will probably need to buy a used pack to stay under $200. I have the horn hunter full curl system and got it on sale for a bit over your price point. I really like the pack and it's modularity but wish it was a bit lighter.

[Indian Summer]

Just a quick comment: it sounds like you picked Colorado because of the ease of getting a license. But just so you know you can get guaranteed tags in Idaho, Montana, and for a few bucks more Wyoming. In Montana one license is good for 6 weeks of archery AND 5 weeks of rifle season. If you strike out in bow and have the time you can go back and give it another crack. Wyoming and Idaho tags are also both good for bow and gun. I know a unit in Wyo where you can hunt bow and then on September 27th go to gun hunting. Pretty nice, especially if some of your partners prefer archery and others rifle hunting.

Good luck to you!

I'd be glad to recommend and outfitter if you're interested. Shoot me a PM if so. It would be in Montana though if a drop camp or semi-guided. Wyoming or MT if fully guided.