1st Elk Hunt...Help!

[KShunter]

Hi guys,

New member here looking to pick y'alls mind on a elk hunt in Colorado hopefully this fall. There will be three us going on this hunt, planning on hunting the 3rd rifle season for an OTC bull tag. We do not have any points built up for the draw and we do not have any elk experience. Although we do hunt whitetails on the plains of South Central KS. Im just looking for ideas on where to hunt and whether to get an outfitter or not.

Should we try and hunt open public ground?
Go with an outfitter? Fully guided or semi-guided? What about drop camps?
We will consider paying for an outfitter to gain some experience, we would rather pay and get a good chance to get a shot than get completely skunked. So with that, any recommendations for guides?

I have had an uncle hunt on the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site with success but he has gone on elk hunts before.

Any ideas will be greatly appreciate! Thanks!

[Elkduds]

Thanks for joining us, good to have you @ the campfire. I'm going to try to answer most of your questions simply: 303 297-1192. That is the # for the CPW Hunt Planners, free service, very helpful. Most members here are DIY types, some have experience w outfitters. 3rd season has better success in most CO OTC units than 2nd season. When you have some idea RE which region and possible GMUs in the state you are considering, you will likely hear some opinions/feedback here. I'm not aware that any of the sponsors here outfit in CO. Some of the main outfitter hunting regions are Flattops, Craig area, Gunnison Basin, Spanish Peaks, San Juans around South Fork. Good luck. Is the drought easing in KS?

[Indian Summer]

Obviously you chose Colorado because it is the closest state to you. Are there any other reasons? it doesn't sound like it. So if not think outside that box.

[under H2O hunter]

Welcome. I might be able to point you in a direction. Once you have three post you'll be able to PM.

[KShunter]

Thanks for the replys. Mainly choosing CO as it is the closer state for our first hunt. Cant afford to be away from home for too long and we are familiar with Colorado. After we get some more experience we will branch out but for now were going to keep it simple.

And so so on the Drought. The far southwestern guys are still in a pretty mad drought. They caught a lot of rain last summer but not enough for the lack they have missed out on. Time will tell with them.

[ctdad]

The decision to use a guide or outfitter vs diy is more of a personal decision. If you are paying someone to guide you in public land areas, you are paying them to provide and make camp, cook and hopefully find you Elk. You are Hunting an area that any other person with a tag can Hunt. No guarantees and some of the horror story's out there about bad guides are scary. For me personally, making camp and doing the cooking and looking for Elk is what the trip is all about. I've done one guided Hunt and although I killed an Elk, it wasn't nearly as much as the many hunts I've done on my own when I didn't kill an Elk. That's a personal thing and not everyone feels the same.

If you are considering Hunting private property, in most cases your odds of killing should go up. Just get good references and do your homework. I've not used any guides in Colorado so no advice there.

[ElkNut1]

KShunter, welcome aboard sir, glad to have you stop by!

ElkNut1

[shanescottoutfitting]

If you are interested in a combo hunt put in for the Manti-san rafael general archery mule deer. Put in as a group in Utah. Aug 15- sept 5 hunt. If you draw buy an over the counter archery cow-spike elk tags.
The utah draw is open now.
Good luck. SS

[swmoelk]

I was in your shoes last year. We picked Colorado because that was the easiest state for a first timer. I did archery so I can't advise on a rifle hunt but I will say that the hunt planners,biologist,and forest service people are very helpful. With that said do your homework before calling them. Examine every otc unit on mytopo or Diyhuntingmaps and then pick the terrain you can handle and the accessibility you are looking for. Use the info provided by the cpw to see how much pressure that unit gets. Pm and I can give you some more specifics on the Dow stuff.

[bparks]

New here. Just found this website researching for our trip. This sounds like us. Me and 3 buddies are taking the trek from Virginia. None of us have ever been to Colorado. We plan on going in 2016 during the first season. We're applying this year for a preference point. We don't want to go through an outfitter. From internet researching we decided on unit 12. Can anyone offer some tips? We thought about taking ATVs. I can't find if they are allowed in unit 12. Is it worth taking ATVs?

[swmoelk]

New here. Just found this website researching for our trip. This sounds like us. Me and 3 buddies are taking the trek from Virginia. None of us have ever been to Colorado. We plan on going in 2016 during the first season. We're applying this year for a preference point. We don't want to go through an outfitter. From internet researching we decided on unit 12. Can anyone offer some tips? We thought about taking ATVs. I can't find if they are allowed in unit 12. Is it worth taking ATVs?

Check the white river mvum.