Best place for public elk hunt?

[ray1970]

I am middle-aged, with no family background in hunting, and the guys I know from work just go out to get away from their wives and drink

Sorry for my earlier snarkiness.

I guess I can?t identify with a situation like yours and I can see where if a guy didn?t grow up around hunting it would be tricky to get started with little to no guidance.

I think I was about eight years old when my grandfather and my dad started taking me hunting. My grandfather was constantly teaching me things out in the field.

[Grant H.]

Snip...

Breaking into the game seems to require money, connections, or a government job with heaps of time off. I lack all three.

I'll politely disagree on some of this.

Money? Sure, it helps to have a decent hunting rifle (generally light weight, appropriate caliber, etc), but you can hunt with just about anything as long as it's 6mm (.24) or larger in CO. I've hunted with AR-10's, light bolt guns, and even heavy PRS rifles. It sucks hiking with the heavy stuff, but it's totally doable. Mostly just have to be willing to try with what you have.

Connections? Sure, it helps to get hooked up with a group of guys that know an area and will take you in, but that's hard to do if you don't have big game friends. Most of the groups that I know of that hunt are pretty closed/clickish, but mostly because hunting camp is often a pretty "intimate" experience. No, not that kind of intimate... This isn't broke back mountain. At least with the group that I used to run with, there was a main wall tent that most slept in, ate in, hung out in, etc... Close and cozy. Adding an unknown (from the group perspective) can really screw up the dynamic, which makes people hesitant.
Beyond having a group "adopt" you and take you with, I would suggest finding a friend or two, and make a plan to give it a shot this year. As others have mentioned, the DOW has useful resources, and with the internet and even just a couple weekends in the summer, you can have a pretty good idea of where to start. Are you going to be successful your first year? Not necessarily, but as with most things, you will learn a LOT, and likely have a fantastic time.

Time off: Sure, there is a time commitment. But, there is a time commitment even if you have a group "adopt" you. That time commitment may be limited to the fall if you are already up and running for camping/cabin etc, but even at that point, you have a time commitment of getting to your hunting area, getting camp setup, and then actually hunting. A couple guys I used to work with get 2 weeks for sick/PTO/etc and that's it for the year. They still manage to make time for hunting, since it's important to them. They largely hunt only Friday night through Sunday night if the units are remote, or they will make arrangements to start early and leave early during the week if the units are close.

Me personally? I haven't really had time to hunt in the last few years, despite having a job where I have a lot of flexibility and time off availability. Due to this, I still put in for my moose tag every year, and will prioritize that hunt the year I get it, but otherwise I don't bother.


Tags:
You don't have to hunt the "one in a million" units. Units 7/8 (up by Red Feather Lakes) are heavily hunted, and nearly always have over the counter tags available for Deer/Elk. I've pulled elk and deer out of parts of 7/8 several times. You won't get there by being close to the roads, but there are still critters. Since I am not hunting this year (that I know of) I'll suggest the northern portion of 7/8 (WY Border) as a good place to start.

Processing animals?
Youtube is your friend here. It's not hard, it just takes some basic knowledge, and that knowledge is readily available. Search "skin and gut deer" on youtube, and there are a ton of great resources.
One such example. They have another video that shows butchering the cleaned carcass as well.
Field Dressing overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sChcEu862s

I'll go find names/authors of some of the books that I learned with, and share those as well.

[Irving]

Look into The Meat Eater, both show and podcast. Lots of off shoots from him as well. Remin Warren, Ryan Callahan, etc.

[hunterhawk]

Youtube you can literally learn anything these days. I'm sure there is videos on everything scouting, map reading and how to videos on most the nitty gritty aspects. If a guy/gal really wanted to learn i have no doubt you could learn it on Youtube and also watching hunting videos...
If not get a hold of me with questions. But i nor anyone else is about to give anyone our hunting spot. Thats pretty much rule #1.. and if its not their rule number one they jusr haven't been burnt by it yet.

[fj605]

You can put in for tags in high point units and still hunt every year on leftover or OTC tags. Many units can be hunted over the weekend and are within walking distance from the front range.

Shoot me a message and I'll give some pointers. I'm not an expert but I've found critters and even put a few down.

[whitewalrus]

Most people will not give away their spot at all. I have been trying to find a new one since my old one dried up years ago. At best you can normally get a GMU from them. If you find a spot, you can normally get someone who has hunted in the past to tag along. Better yet find someone who is also fairly new and go find a spot together. Of the big game animals, I think Elk or Bear are the hardest. During the season I seem to find sign, but never the animals.

I can say that the more time you can spend in the woods the better - go hiking/camping during the summer for example.

As others have said, you need to venture where others will not go. I like to avoid places that allow the use of vehicles, nothing seems to scare them more than the ATVs coming thru...I have heard them miles away, so I am sure the animals can hear them even more.

The big game statistics and atlas from the DPW are a good place to start. You can see what it normally takes to get the tags for the area, the estimated harvest ratio, and what types of animals they say are there. OnX maps is great in the field, though its not required if you aren't going to be hunting near property lines.

[Firehaus]

Hire an outfitter for a guided hint in an otc area or an area you?d like to hunt. They will teach you a lot about elk hunting and the unit your hunting in.

Not cheap, but it will jump start your elk hunting success. Especially if you don?t have the time to scout multiple times a year.


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[TRnCO]

to get your feet wet, I'd suggest a newbie look into late season doe only antelope hunts. Your odds of being successful are pretty high, compared to any elk, and the job of field care is much easier on the much smaller animal.

[Irving]

Any antelope tag is more likely to be more successful than elk, in my opinion. Don't even have to get up early for antelope, just to beat other hunters.

[CS1983]

XJ,

I'm in the Springs as well. Are you wanting to rifle hunt or bow hunt?

Plenty of opportunity within a reasonable driving distance for archery. I'm not entirely sure on rifle as I have decided to stick with archery for the most part.

Even a quick day hunt where you set up camp after work on Friday and are back before work on Monday is doable and worth it IF you approach it with an attitude of doing what ya can and leaving the rest to fate. Putting pressure to succeed against the odds will make it less enjoyable; you can only do your part.

If you ID some closer OTC units you'd be interested in, I'd be happy to get together and do a map recon w/ my OnX subscription and some on open source intel sites and ID particular areas of interest. If it's an area I plan to archery hunt I'd be happy to do some scouting with you.