EricH4964

Hello All -

I am planning my first archery elk hunt for this Fall and am planning on going somewhere in CO. I am going with a couple of buddies on a 'do-it-yourself' hunt on public land. Or so that is the plan, more than likely it will bea 'do-it-yourself-debacle' on public land, but thats what makes hunting fun.

I would like any information anyone can provide on GMUs that have plenty of public access and you can buy a tag over the counter. Of course a healthy supply of elk in those GMUs would be a plus as well. We aren't looking to shoot record book bulls, in fact I'm certain none of us would even pass on a cow for our first time doing this. A bull would be great, but I'm sure that just like whitetail antlers, bull elk antlers don't make very good soup.

We are all fairly successful whitetail deer, black bear and misc. small game hunters and have all been hunting (archery included) for 20+ years now.I am aware of the necessity of being in shape, packing needed equipment,topo-scouting, e-scouting, anything I can do that will help make the hunt enjoyable and hopefully successful.

What I amhoping for is a jumping off point of exactly where to go. If there are certain camping or parking areas in the GMUsthat anyone could recommend that would be great. We don't mind hiking in a mile or two if necessary (from everything I read, it is in order to get away from the crowds).

As of right now our time frame is roughly September 10-24.

Thank you in advance.

Eric

txhunter58

Hiking 1-2 miles is only a starting point. Most people go that far. Outfitters go 5 + miles. The in between area can be good.

I recommend getting some videos/CD's from Elknut: http://www.elknut.com/ This guy knows what he is talking about where talking to elk are concerned. Not hunting videos, just packed with info you need to know to talk to elk.

Be sure and at least aply for a prefence point. Will cost you $28 but may pay dividends in the future. Good luck.

EricH4964

Thanks txhunter58, I got your info from the other posting about the harvest stats from 2004 as well. I was checking out the Elknut website earlier tonight and am planning on ordering all four of his videos. It seems from what you are saying, what others have said on different posts, and from reading that website, it will definately be a good resource.

You mentioned buying a preference point, can I buy a point and alsobuy an OTC tag? I presume I can and will look itup if you don't know off the top of your head.

Thanks again.

txhunter58

Yes you can. Apply for a preference pointonline at the Colorado DOW website. Will cost you aprox. $250 for elk and $300 for deer up front. Then they refund all but $28 of it around the first of June. You can then just buy an OTC tag when you get there for archery. Or, you can choose the option to just have them send you one. However, you then have to send them full price for a bull tag (aprox. $500) now. BUT, that would save you the $28. If you get a license through the draw, the preference point doensn't cost you. Also, if you buy a license this year for elk, the point won't cost you anything next year.

EricH4964

Thanks again txhunter.

fillae

EricH4964,

Take a look at the CO GMU map to figure out which units are available with OTC tags. That will help narrow your search down a bit. Then you can overlay the past harvest stats by unit to narrow it down even further.

As far as places to park and camp, you will find places throughout the Nat'l Forest to set up camp. You won't find these on a map or atlas (although you can camp in these areas and drive to where you want to hunt). I like to camp in an area where I can walk out of camp to start hunting. All of these campsites are primitive (no water, outhouse, etc), but gets you away from it all. Also, this type of camping requires a high-clearance vehicle, preferrable 4wd.

After you pick a GMU, go to a store that lets you make your own maps, such as REI. Here in CO, REI lets you print out maps by selecting the GMU. These maps are the same scale as the USGS 7.5 Quads, so you can also order those. These maps will have the forest roads on them. You can typically find good camping spots off these roads.

Good Luck!

EricH4964

Thanks fillae, I appreciate the info.

Eric

txhunter58

here is another link for making custom maps for the area you are going to hunt: http://www.mytopo.com/index.cfm?pid=huntingnet&CFID=22916610&CFT OKEN=53618488 I get the waterproof maps folded flat. You can literally put one in your back pants pocket or in a day pack without taking up any room. Reasonably priced to.

BGHUNTER00

Eric, The one thing I look for when hunting CO is wilderness areas. Thereare no motorized vehicles permitted in these areas which keeps a lot of people out. I find that by hiking 2-3 miles into the wilderness area then setting up camp I can stay away from about 75% of other hunters.

EricH4964

BGHUNTER -

Thanks for the info, I've been told the same thing from a couple of different people so far and I would guess that is the way we will go. It seems like it will take forever to get here, but I know it will go by in a flash so I need to narrow down an area and get to researching exactly where in that area we will go. Hopefully we will at least get the chance to see an elk. That in and of itself would be pretty darn cool.