True, they are very helpful, but for me they are really helpful if you ask about specific questions. If you ask "where is a good place to hunt elk?' They will probably say that there are elk in all areas. If however, you ask if "grizzly creek" is a good area or "bigfoot mountain" you will get specific answers which are much more useful. Start out by doing your own research at the Colorado DOW website: http://wildlife.state.co.us/ under big game harvest statistics. Will give you hunter numbers and success rates for each unit. Better yet, invest in the CD that they sell. Has all the info on the website, plus more such as numbers of animals and bull/cow ratios in each area. Once you have several areas of interest, go to some maps and find some areas off road that you would have to hike to to hunt, then call the DOW officers and ask them about those areas.

Also, start apply for preference points next spring (April1stin the deadline). You have to send in some money, but they refund all but $3 after the drawing. There are, however, lots of OTC elk tags. Most archery tags are OTC and either sex. Then the 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons are OTC in most areas. The website will tell you that as well. Good luck. Just keep doing research. No one is going to give you a honey hole where they hunt. You have to use a lot of elbow grease yourself. They do some trial and error for yourself. Good luck.