Few Colorado beginner questions...

MadMav · 04-07-2009, 02:05 PM

These should be simple for you guys to answer.

What season is best? Deer? Elk? Is there a best?

I will be walkin in the areas, so is a blind a good idea or just conceal as best you can? I'm used to hunting SD and it's all open there.

What calls are recommended? Different for other seasons? Heard it's useless to bugle after 1st season. Is this true?

Thanks guys, I'm hoping to get used to hunting here so I can give out the advice in the future!

Mav

dcroxby · 04-07-2009, 07:19 PM

For startersIdon't believe there is any "best" season.When to hunt is completely dependent on where you are hunting. Late hunts can be great if youhave access to low country and the weathermoves animals down.Early huntsoften mean you'll be hunting higher in elevation. I've killed animals at 11K and I've killed them at 5k.

I've never used a blind in Colorado even when bow hunting but there are surelytimes when they can be useful.I think you will find that you will be covering much more ground here than you did in SD. During archery season it's normal for members of my group to hike 3-9 miles a day.

Iuse a bugle call sparingly even during the rut, but I hunt public land and pressured elk generally. This past season I killed a nice bull outof a herd of 70+ elk and several bulls were bugling and actively chasing cows.This was 20 minutes AFTER my buddy killed a 5x5 out of the same herd. This was during second rifle season when elk aren't "supposed" to be rutting.I use soft cow calls during all seasons.

My advice is to just hit the woods andstart learning. I'm a transplant from Georgia and it's a whole 'nother world out here. Get's some really good boots and some really good optics and start hoofing!

MadMav · 04-07-2009, 08:07 PM

Thanks for the info! Here is what we did for now.

Me and the wife applied for Deer preference point, then GMU 49(49,57,58,581)for 3rd season followed by second season with a forth choice of GMU 50(500, 501) third season.
Then we just applied for elk PP. Hoping to figure out what the hell I am doing before the leftover licenses and OTC tags need to be picked.

When is the draw and when will I find out what we got?

Seems to make sense, but at least we will be out there trying.

Thanks for the help again,
Mav

Ron Duval · 04-08-2009, 03:50 AM

removed by RD

MadMav · 04-08-2009, 06:18 AM

Thanks for the advice Ron. Looks like I need to do some more working out.

I'm sure I will learn alot and have fun doing it.

Mav

skb2706 · 04-08-2009, 10:45 AM

I know the area well. Good choice for a DIY area. I can tell you where I'd start and work from there but its your deal. The 'best' season can be totally different from one year to the next. Its more matter of weather.

In that area you can actually have the other hunters do more of the walking and you do more of the waiting to shoot....trust me. I have a cabin 150 yds. from the edge of area 49

Being able to watch elk year round from relatively close gives one a unique perspective on their travels. Don't be afraid to start early in the morning...by hunting season time they go nocturnal on you and travel by dark and without fail jump the fence into private land at first light...trick is to be at the fence before they are. Works every time.

You will find there are generally fewer hunters on the Westin Pass area than the Buffalo Peaks area but again it is your deal.

My buddies and I bought the four quadrangle maps that make up the entire GMU49 and taped the edges together to make a wall map. Shows every fence post or topigraphical change.

MadMav · 04-08-2009, 07:37 PM

Wow, thanks for the info. I will take all the free location advice you are willing to give sir. I have never been up there, but from what I have read, I believe every word. I would love to take a peak at that map sometime.

I will begine studying my maps here shortly, to see what I got, and then spend some time up there getting to know the area this summer. It would be great to have a cabin that close to mother nature. Someday I might, but being in the Air Force I have a few responsibilities down here in the plains.

I would love to be able to PM you with other questions and advice as they pop into my head. Would this be ok with you sir? Thanks again for the info, and looking forward to picking your brain sometime.

Mav

skb2706 · 04-09-2009, 05:16 AM

Not a problem at all, pm away. These days I apply for elk license in a different area....its a family thing but I always put in GMU49 as an alternate.

fourthwind · 04-25-2009, 06:45 PM

There is a map site called www.huntdata.combuy the paper map from them for the area you are hunting. The CD's are not worth the money, but the paper maps are pretty dang cool. They show summer grounds, winter grounds, and migration routes. Like what was mentioned before, the Elk will vary where they are depending on what the weather has been doing in that area. When it's warm you go high, and vice versa. I took my bull last year at 10,500 feet in deep dark timber. 38 yard shot

Normally the time of year we hunt we find them at the 9500 foot level. get off the beaten path. even if it's only a half mile. Get off the roads and work the ridges. It will take several years of working the same area before you get a feel for it, but if you see sign and or animals, keep with it! Common mistake is people jump around too much without ever learning a GMU. Good luck this coming season, and if you live in the lower elevations and come here to hunt, remember to hydrate the heck out of yourself. I drink4 liters of fluid a day minimum. Keep something in camp with bicarbonates in it like soda pop or tums. They help with altitude sickness. Nothing worse than being in one of Gods most beautiful places and being too sick to hunt!