Elk Hunting in CO for the first time.

[killerusmc7]

Ok folks, my cousin and I are trying to put together an archery Elk hunt in CO. We are planning on trying to do a self guided hunt, but neither of us have ever been elk hunting before. We are from Alabama!!!! Neither of us care much about getting some big huge trophy bull, because a cow would be a trophy to us. And really just seeing elk and the experience would make it worth it.
SO after all that rambling, are there any units that we should try to get? What is it like in CO for the archery season? Are there just tons of hunters in the woods? Is it reasonable to think that we would be able to camp at my truck and walk into the units from there? Do we need to drag an ATV up there? Anyways, any good advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

[Howler]

If this is something that you think you'll want to do in the years to come, start applying for preference points and keep applying every year. At some point, you'll have enough points to get a chance to hunt in the best "high preference point" area.
But until then, there are a lot of OTC/over the counter tags available for many areas. Picking an area can be tough, but with some research of info. ranging from animal numbers, to success rate numbers, to bull to cow ratio numbers, etc., you can get it narrowed down.
Usually, during archery season, it's not to tough to find yourself pretty alone. Might need to skip the time frame of ML season, as it runs during archery season for a week.
Lots of places to camp right along side of a mtn. road and hike/hunt from camp.
Depending on how much you want to move around on the mtn. access roads would be the deciding factor for the ATV, IMO. Pretty much can't take an ATV off road for any reason, but some roads can be traveled much quicker on an ATV then in a vehicle. If you bring an ATV, it'll have to be registered for use in the CO. mtns.

[Hunter_59]

Killer, good luck on your hunt. You will have a fantastic time. Half the fun of going on a diy elk hunt is the planning process. A lot depends on what type of hunt you want to get into. If you stay with a designated "wilderness" area, wheeled vehicles of any kind are banned. That will eliminate alot of hunter pressure also. Once you decide on which part of the state you want to start with, download Google Earth and use it to scout the terrain and look for any areas that could hold elk, i.e., north facing slopes, water, etc. Most of all, get into the best shape of your life! This cannot be understated. Coming from Alabama, this type of hunt will tax you severely! Good luck.

[trophyhill]

did a diy otc hunt last year with a friend on the weekends and myself thru the week and loved it. took a cow elk for my first archery kill and it is so fricken awesome. i was into elk every day i was there. the muzzleloaders came in the week of the 12th so there was a decent amount of pressure but i was still able to get away from the pressure and find elk. go for it dude.

[killerusmc7]

Thanks guys. Do yall have any GMU's that you would suggest looking into?

[RaghornHS]

killer...CO's website has a ton of information on it that details the number of hunters, days afield, harvest rates, etc. Pick out a few units and then use the mapping program on the site to find out how much public land is in a unit.