do it yourself elk hunt-suggestions????????

[devildoc]

Well your buddy was mostly right, Later in the season the Elk come down and tend to concentrate around food sources (hay meadows, hay-stacks, alphalpha fields etc.). The problem with that of course is, that those food sources are usually located on private land. Now then, if you get a hold of the local Game Warden, he'll know who's been filling damage complaints and though I could be wrong, I think the land owner has to grant permission for hunting on the property to collect on the damage complaints. The trick is you have to track down the landowner to obtain the permission, and if they don't wanna be tracked down that can be a bit of a wild goose chase. The elk will bed up in heavy timber though, which has a fair chance of being on public land, then the trick is just finding access to the areas they're using. I'd say early season is probably the best bet for public land hunting, simply because the elk are more evenly dispersed, and they haven't been pressured to heavily yet, which usually causes them to migrate to remote or private land areas. YMMV

 

[elkstalker300]

Co Diy

I have lived and hunted elk in Co all my life and never went any where else, never had to. About hunting here the biggest question is when and how do you want to hunt. Our seasons start in Aug for archery, Sept for muzzleloader, Oct starts the rifle seasons which you need to know how you want to hunt, nice weather pick the first or second season, snows usually start in mid Oct and the third season you can hunt the elk moving down from the high country but be prepared for cold and lots of snow. 4th season is usually really cold and now is a draw only tag. Also the first season is a draw only either sex tag. As for O.T.C cow tags you can only buy them as left over tags but they arent really hard to draw anyway. Co also has pref. points so by the second year you will usually draw your tag unless you are hunting in a trophy area. I myself usually hunt the 3rd season in southwest co by the town of Cortez. This year I hunted muzzleloader and had a blast and killed a 350 bull which had a forh point broke off that would have put him in B&C if it had been there (to see pics of him go to ww w hunt101.com go to elk then look for elkstalker3oo) anyway there seem to be alot bigger bulls killed each year on public land and the hunting seems to be holding its own but I have never been any where else Out of state costs 250 for a cow tag and 495 for a bull I think, they also have a youth tag that runs 100 dollars out of state bull or cow which is a hell of a deal.

 

[Guy M]

"If you are planning on killing an elk, I'd say your first priority is to find a large, burly type hunting buddy (or a couple), to take along. This is mandatory Elk hunting equipment. Either that or forget about the freezer and just pack in a frying pan."

Devildoc's got that right! Walking up to a dead 700 pound elk, miles from the nearest road, was quite a wakeup call for this deer hunter... Thankfully my buddy, the experienced elk hunter, knew what to do... And had a couple of pack animals to make it all happen.

Best of luck! Elk hunting is a hoot! Regards, Guy

 

[James H]

I know several people who have very good luck around the Craig, CO area, lots of elk around there.
I have been going South of Monte Vista along the Alamosa River unit 80.
I have always seen elk but never taken one, or fired a shot at one for that matter.
James

 

[30-06 boy]

what gmu's would you "seasoned"elk hunters suggest to start looking at?for 2nd or 3rd season?dont really like the gmu's that have a lot of hunters but aparently thats where the elk are.according to the harvest data.i read on another site that a lot of guys never even leave camp,only road hunt in the truck,never get off 4 wheeler,only get off road 300 yards,etc is this true?i'm certainly not spending time and money to fiddle it away by not hunting hard.jason

 

[elkstalker300]

I hunt the 71 or 711 units depending on the season and time of year. Lots of elk and you hunt however hard you want