Do-It-Yourself Colorado Elk

[oo_buck]

A buddy and me are wanting to plan a diy Colorado elk hunt for next season. We have
lots of questions.

1) What parts of the state can we buy Over The Counter bull elk tags for rifle? (We are actually looking at the Pagosa Springs area.)

2) Are there any special permits needed to hunt state ground?

3) Is a 30/06 a good choice for elk?

4) Are handguns allowed?


There are so many things we don't really know about elk hunting, but I don't exactly know what to ask at this point.

ANY advice, tips, or information would be helpful.

Thanks
buck

 

[BDB]

I can only answer a couple of these for ya but I'm sure in no time they will be answered.

1. Not really sure other than the guys who live there say the over the counter zones have way too many tags and the herds are really suffering. They recommend other states to increase your odds. That may just be to keep people out of CO though

2. Not sure.

3. I wouldn't buy it as my primary elk weapon given the choice. That said it is what I have carried on my last 3 elk hunts. 2 shots, 2 dead elk. They both dropped fast! Some of the calibers with a little more ooommph would be a better all around elk gun I would imagine but for me I'll be sticking to my ott-6 with high energy loads and reasonable range and hopefully well places shots. I use it mostly for pigs and deer and sometimes elk.

4. Yup. Not sure on the rules for minimum caliber to hunt with, I carried my .44 while hunting in CO 2 years ago.

 

[SDHNTR]

1. Check the proclamation. 77 and 78 are the units closest to Pagosa. There are unlimited gun bull elk tag available for the 2nd and 3rd seasons. It will be very crowded.

2. No. Maybe campfire permits?

3. 30-06 with good bullets is a fine choice.

4. Yes, but given the limited range and crowds that you will have to compete with, it will limit your chance for success.

There are some good units in the NW part of the state too. The White River National Forest has the largest elk herd in the country. Anywhere you go with OTC tags, it will be very, very crowded. You will want to be in very good shape and pack in a long ways away from roads. A drop camp might be a very good option to consider. I personally hate hunting with crowds so IMO you may also want to consider stocking up a few preference points and applying for a limited entry hunt. You can still hunt the OTC units and accumulate points for a quality hunt a few years down the line.

 

[Coues]

Use the OTC hunts as a back-up plan and apply for some better hunts in NM, WY, Idaho, AZ, and CO. If you get lucky, you're set. If not, you still have the OTC hunt. If you go the OTC route, think about hiring a packer to get your gear away from the roads and your chances for an enjoyable hunt will much improved. Bring your own gear and food and the price for just packing gear is pretty reasonable, split 3 or 4 ways.

A 30.06 will kill anything that walks in North America

Don't know about the handgun stuff, but if you could use a muzzleloader, your odds for some good hunts aren't bad.

 

[scr83jp]

DIY elk hunts in CO.I did all of my big game hunts there from 1984 thru 1999 west of Meeker toward Rangely in Piceance Creek area and Little Hills in Rio Blanco County. 30-06: Coues said it right saw Elk taken in CO with 06's,handguns must have 500 ft lbs of energy at 50 yards so that eliminates many .On feb 2 2000 there were 15000 elk in Indian Valley north of Rio Blanco Lake and hwy 64. Piceance Creek area had the largest migrating mule deer herd in the world in the 50's,60's,70's into the 80's but winter kills,predation and hunting adversely effected the herds,friends said they're coming back.

 

[Litch]

Oil rigs and pipelines seem to be growing faster than the Deer and Elk herds in the Piceance Creek area.
There are plenty of OTC options in Colorado, I believe only the trophy GMUs require points to draw. The Colorado Division of Wildlife website has a ton of information on areas and success ratios.

 

[D7hunter]

hunted GMU 22 2nd season saw some nice bucks in 7 days of hunting a few small bulls. An 06 is fine you will have no problem with it. First time I hunted te state went Solo returned with two tags filled. The oil rig thing seemed to me be over rated it was no a problem plan on returning next year if I get draw for a buck tag.

 

[84toyota]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (oo_buck @ Nov 9 2006, 10:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

2) Are there any special permits needed to hunt state ground?[/b]

Be aware that the state wildlife areas generally require a special permit in order to hunt/fish/recreate there... Only costs a few dollars... Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...

Ken

 

[dirtpoor]

I've hunted the Pagosa area since 94 and have taken 6 bulls all on forest service land and all DIY, there is more public land than you would ever be able to hunt in a lifetime and no fee. You have been given great advice but if you are new to the sport and can't afford an outfitter then go and enjoy the experience, don't worry about crowds use them to your advantage, they're better than bird dogs. If you decide to hunt #77 put in for a 4th season tag and maybe a cow elk tag, usually 4th season is right in the middle of the migration plus you can hunt almost all the way to Durango during 4th season. I think that a handgun has to have a barrel at least 6 in long, I carried my .44 the first few years but now I leave it home because many shot opportunities will be beyond 150 yds, you don't want to put all that money and energy into an out of state hunt and watch legal game go by just out of range.if you do decide on #77 e-mail me and I'll help get you started but there are other areas in Colorado with many more elk than #77, Bill------------usahunter@aol.com P.S I'm leaving for Pagosa on sun.

 

[oo_buck]

Thanks everyone. This is all helpful. Dirtpoor, I'll be getting some questions together for you and sending you an email sometime soon.

Thanks everyone.

buck

 

[837hicksville]

oo_buck,

I just got back from 77 on Sunday - hunted the 3rd rifle season for the 6th year. Dirtpoor is right about using people to your advantage, but the problem we ran into was by the 3rd day the crowds had run all the animals off the mountain. The last 2 years seemed to have way more people than usual. Even hunting the dark and nasty stuff didn't help. Dry and warm weather made it tough to get up on anything, and I brought both of my tags home. Never would have dreamed that I couldn't fill a cow tag, or even shoot a dink mulie for that matter. I'm tempted to move North where they seem to have snow more regularly.

As for a gun, I've only used a .270 or 30-06 and I've had no problems. I don't handload, so I prefer the 06 because I can buy 180 grain loads off the shelf (and they don't cost $30 a box!).

Good luck,
Kev

 

[dbuckslayer]

There are OTC tags for Pagosa 2nd 3rd combined seasons. Some other areas you might want to look at could be in the high country near Dolores. There are still good spots on NF, especially the vehicle restricted areas. Get a map and you will see where they are. These areas usually get you away from most of the road hunters. Horses would help if you have them but are not necessary in my mind if you have got a few buddies. The guys in my family hunt the 71, 711 combined every year and have taken 6 bulls of of NF in the last 4 years. Dont listen to SDHNTR, he must see be a road hunter because he's trying to scare you with his multiple quotes about "VERY CROWDED, VERY CROWDED". I wish some of the people on this forum would be a little less negative when giving advice. I'm sick of the attitude like "Oh its so crowded, you might as well not go, but I think I'll still go". Well good luck with your trip, the good thing about CO bull tags is that you are not confined to a small area, you can move to different spots in other zones and still hunt.

 

[bohunterg]

Tools That may help you, ignore the preference point statment I was inqiuring about trophty areas from Col DFG:


You will need to accumulate preference points to obtain a draw license in some game management units. You can determine which units need preference points at WEB address: http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/6.../0/Elk_PP06.pdf.



A good place to start to obtain Colorado hunting information is on our WEB site at www.wildlife.state.co.us. Big game information is at WEB address:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/HuntingGuide/
. You can find hunting dates, fees and the regulations on our WEB site.




Good luck,
Greg

 

[oo_buck]

bump

 

[cmc]

What if one wanted to go archery elk? Anyone have season or overall unit recommendations?

First choice would be bull but then again wouldn't mind taking meat home as well if it came down to things. Any sex tag maybe?

A dream hunt would be a back pack in archery elk hunt and is something a few guys I know and I are working up towards

cmc