Colorado Newbie

[Dbm24]

First post of hopefully many to this forum! I just joined after over a year of lurking in the shadows. I m planning my first diy hunt to Colorado this year during the first rifle season. I have zero pp and have gotten seriously confused on which unit to apply for. I have several units narrowed down but can't pull the trigger on just one. Any previous experiences or input welcome. Trying to locate a unit in the southern half of the state which, I could easily draw in the future at least every other year or so.

[Swede]

Welcome to our elk talk campfire Dbm24. I am pleased you decided to join us. Since you have been back in the shadows for awhile, you know the conversation is friendly and informative. We like it that way. I am sorry I can't help you with elk hunting Colorado. All of my experience in Colorado has been downtown Denver and the airport.

[itsnlkthing]

Welcome! There are several members here much more familiar with the draw process and unraveling the pp, etc. You always have 2nd rifle OTC as a fall back if you aren't successful in drawing 1st rifle. There are a lot of good units that don't require a draw but they are bull only. Are you set on a bull or will a cow tag do?

[Toby]

Glad to have you here, a great place to learn and share info.

[Indian Summer]

Welcome to our humble home David. Your name is so familiar. Have you and I talked somewhere else before?

A full year of lurking before signing on huh. Wow. I was just telling someone last night... I think it's important that we keep all of our posts positive. Take a minute and read them before hitting the submit button to ask ourselves: Is this a positive thing or is there a chance that my words could offend someone? The reason is because people like yourself are out there in the shadows watching and don't decide to become a member until they feel it's "safe". Meaning... unlike lots of other forums they can feel comfortable here and know that regardless of their level of experience, or even total lack of it, they won't be criticized. That they can ask or say anything they want. Yeah... we have some jokesters (looking in the mirror) but it's all good as you know since you've been around.

Thanks for pulling the trigger and I hope to see you here showing your face more often.

[cohunter14]

Welcome to the forum! The best thing you can do is spend some time on the Colorado DOW Website, specifically the statistics page here: http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/Statistics/Pages/Statistics.aspx

This can really help in narrowing down which units you can draw with zero preference points, which units have the highest success rates, etc. Trying to narrow down to a specific unit can be very difficult, but just remember that there is no wrong decision. Pick a unit that fits what you are looking for and then get to doing as much internet scouting as possible. The elk are out there no matter which unit you decide on, it's just a matter of finding them. Good luck!

[ElkNut1]

David, welcome to the Forum! CO is not my cup of tea but it is for plenty here! Thanks!

ElkNut1

[Triplebhunters]

Hello David, welcome, and maybe we will cross trails in Colorado. Don't hesitate to call CDOW they have lots of info and are happy to share it.
Dave

[Dbm24]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I talked with cdow. Yesterday have narrowed it down to unit 53 or 24. Any general info on these two units that ya ll could share would be awesome... Terrain type, water availability, pressure, what elevations to look for elk in 1 st rifle season... Pm s will work also if you rather

[cnelk]

Hi David,
Im curious as to why the CPW suggested 53 or 24?

What did you ask them?
What was their reasoning?

[Jaquomo]

Take a look at the interactive maps on the Colorado Hunting Atlas on the CPW website. Great tool, shows public/private, open roads, elk summer range, migration corridors, and winter concentrations for those two units. For your first season rifle hunt they'll still be near or in the "summer concentration" areas, but understand they've been pushed around for a month before you hunt.

[Dbm24]

Mainly because I am wanting to do a backpack hunt with an either sex tag. This area had a vast amount of wilderness area. However the more I study it i m not sure it's feasible to hike into the better looking terrain and retrieve a downed animal without horses. The distances are just a little further than i fell comfortable attempting. I am going to study a little more on the area but I m afraid i ll probably need to try again finding a unit.

[txhunter58]

There are plenty of elk in unit 53 that are not in a wilderness area. Other units in that general area: 42, 43,421,521, 54 also hold good elk populations. With the Colorado PWD links above you can research hunter numbers and success rates for each season.

Have fun. Research is half the fun!

[Dbm24]

Fun? Haha sure is the more I read and study maps the worse it gets, I just wanna hunt them all now..lol

[GetOutside]

No husqvarna fans? My slow-to-get-going winter project is to build a 346xp. Got lots of parts, not a lot of time.