mjhamel

Hey everyone, I am heading out to Colorado for my first archery hunt this fall. It will just be my brother and I and we are going to be going to the second week in September. We are both new to elk hunting, but I have done a bit of backpacking in the past. We plan on hiking in and setting up a spike camp and then hunting from there. This unit appears to be pretty rugged. Has anyone ever hunted here before? Any tips for a newbie that doesn't know much about elk hunting yet? My next step is to call the local biologist, but I thought I would check on here first to see what people have to say. Thanks for all of your help. I am counting down the days until the season gets here!

mjhamel

Anyone been here? Thanks again for any help.

RaghornHS

You're going to need much more info than can be provided here, especially if you have never elk hunted before...

mjhamel

A guy has to start somewhere, right? I have done everything that I can to be prepared for this hunt. I have learned about elk habits, how to scout, how to hunt. I have been training physically all year long and have slowly acquired all of the gear that I need. I guess the only thing missing is that first time out. I know the odds are against me in actually harvesting an elk, but that's okay. I am in it to learn as much as possible and enjoy my time in the mountains. I know that this is the beginning of a life-long addiction of backcountry hunting.

RaghornHS

This is a great place to start! Have you been in this unit before? This is a draw hunt and there are only 2 either sex hunts. In 2007 there were 16 bulls killed out of 279 hunters. I haven't seen the harvest for 2008 yet. Draw odds aren't too bad for the earlierhunt. Personally, I think there are better units to hunt,

txhunter58

Not sure what you mean about this being a draw hunt. It appears to be an OTC unit. And there were 50 elk killed out of 279 hunters (18%). I realize that there were only 16 bulls, but not all the hunters were hunting bulls. And there were 13 elk killed by 89 hunters in archery for a 15% success rate.

There are certainly better units out there. I think of this unit as more of a deer unit than elk. If I wanted to hunt elk in that general area, I think my top pick would be unit 43 in the Maroon Bells wilderness.

gselkhunter

You will have your hands full in 471. It has some serious up! The elk numbers listed for 43 & 471 are 5,010. The part in your favor if you are in shape for high altitude is the elk should be vocal. How much time have you planned for your trip? Two tips: good Binos, stay high to start. If the elk are vocal less then 10,000ft your lungs will be happy. If you aren't hearing elk and the sign isn't steaming fresh keep moving. Don't over look moving south into GMU55 if you aren't finding elk. The basins up at timberline are stunning in Sept., don't forget your camera. If you find elk and can call you have a chance.
Gselkhunter

RaghornHS

Looks like you're getting some good info...2nd and 3rd season are OTC...1st and 4th are by draw (as you may be aware)

mjhamel

Awesome info. guys, thanks. Like I mentioned earlier, I have been trying to physically train as much as I can. I suppose a guy can run and lift all he wants, but altitude can affect anyone no matter what shape you are in! We plan on leaving on a Saturday morning and returning the following Sunday. I am planning on spending at least a day, if not two, at lower altitude (7,000-8,000 ft) before we head up to higher alt.

Raghorn, thanks for pointing that out that this unit is only a OTC unit for the 2nd and 4rd seasons. Is that for archery? I am not too familiar with the regulations, so I was wondering where you found that info. out. I can't seem to find it anywhere.

gselkhunter, can you hunt unit 55 if I got a tag in 471? I am not sure how that works. Thanks.

txhunter58

He mentioned in his first post that he is going archery hunting. And yes, archery for 471 is an OTC archery tag.

As far as figuring out which units are considered OTC, you need to look at the regulations brochure.You can download the2008 one currently. All of the OTC units for 08 will be OTCfor 09. If a unit if draw only, it will be listed as an aplication code for each season. Those that are OTC will ONLY have codes for the first and fourth rifle season. Archery,second and third seasons are OTC in non limited units. For muzzleloading, limited units are listed seperately, and the OTC units can be hunted if you draw a "statewide" tag.

Here is the link for the brochure: http://wildlife.state.co.us/RulesRegs/RegulationsBrochures/

Click on Big game, then Elk seasons. It also lists the limited units in the regs. It says that unlimited (otc) archery tags are valid in all units except............. And 55 is not listed, so it is an OTC unit. Therefore you can hunt both 471 and 55 with the same OTC bow tag.