I am new to this site, so I haven't read everything obviously, and hope I don't slight someone by not being aware of somethiong previously discussed. With that said I will forge ahead. I hunted, guided and outfitted for elk in several of the ranges in Colorado for 25 years. I am familiar with the area around Ridgeway, where I would personally hunt for Mule Deer in those rare seasons I didn't have clients. It is also a fine area for elk in the bow season with high success rates. The main issue with the general rifle season is the number of hunters suddenly in the field a few days before the season begins, and whether by evolution or direct observation, the elk know what's up. So the problem to solve is how to locate them. And, once the season opens and the larger herds are shot at and broken up this becomes a real challenge.
I use a USGS topo map, and was never in the field without the local quad map on my person. With a rule calibrated to the scale of the map I could accurately estimate horizontal distances to the target which is often difficult when looking up or down steep inclines and across canyons. The ranging optical aids weren't on the market then and even now they are a somewhat expensive luxury for a hunter on a budget, not to mention the added weight and bulk for a hunter alone and on foot struggling at altitudes alien to their metabolism.
Elk go into the black timber once the shooting starts, but they don't stay there because there is nothing to eat. I like to hunt the 'quakies' or Aspen groves at the edge of or surrounded by timber. Elk winter in these areas anyway when the snow covers all other browse, so they feel safer there. Small flats along hillsides are typical bedding areas, but stalking along the countour following new tracks seldom leads to anything but a stampede of elk crashing through the timber ahead of you. In my experience, elk always leave an older cow above the trail and behind the herd as a lookout. Hunting the thermals however works often unless there is a steady contrary wind. The problem is that hunting down the mountain in the morning and up the mountain at dusk typically puts the foot hunter a long way from camp at dark, which 'out-of-area' hunters just won't do. It does produce elk though.
The other option is hunting the top on horseback and the topo is just as vital there in locating those 'hidey-holes' at the base of a cliff where a small flat is knee deep in grass at the top of a scree slope with a small spring or seep at the bottom at the edge of the black timber. These spots are elk hideouts and they will be there until spooked and then they will go to another similar location. Study your map and find these small flats and openings and springs. It will save you countless hours of scouting and with luck help you find elk. Better be well versed on shooting at almost verlical angles though and if you come upon them in the quakies you better know how to shoot at point blank range with that rifle that is sighted in for a 400 yrd shot. Good hunting.
I use a USGS topo map, and was never in the field without the local quad map on my person. With a rule calibrated to the scale of the map I could accurately estimate horizontal distances to the target which is often difficult when looking up or down steep inclines and across canyons. The ranging optical aids weren't on the market then and even now they are a somewhat expensive luxury for a hunter on a budget, not to mention the added weight and bulk for a hunter alone and on foot struggling at altitudes alien to their metabolism.
Elk go into the black timber once the shooting starts, but they don't stay there because there is nothing to eat. I like to hunt the 'quakies' or Aspen groves at the edge of or surrounded by timber. Elk winter in these areas anyway when the snow covers all other browse, so they feel safer there. Small flats along hillsides are typical bedding areas, but stalking along the countour following new tracks seldom leads to anything but a stampede of elk crashing through the timber ahead of you. In my experience, elk always leave an older cow above the trail and behind the herd as a lookout. Hunting the thermals however works often unless there is a steady contrary wind. The problem is that hunting down the mountain in the morning and up the mountain at dusk typically puts the foot hunter a long way from camp at dark, which 'out-of-area' hunters just won't do. It does produce elk though.
The other option is hunting the top on horseback and the topo is just as vital there in locating those 'hidey-holes' at the base of a cliff where a small flat is knee deep in grass at the top of a scree slope with a small spring or seep at the bottom at the edge of the black timber. These spots are elk hideouts and they will be there until spooked and then they will go to another similar location. Study your map and find these small flats and openings and springs. It will save you countless hours of scouting and with luck help you find elk. Better be well versed on shooting at almost verlical angles though and if you come upon them in the quakies you better know how to shoot at point blank range with that rifle that is sighted in for a 400 yrd shot. Good hunting.
