CHAMP198

im and looking at taking a trip to CO on a DIY elk hunt....will more than likely take my brother with me and he has been out there a few times over the years and i have never been...we are going with Archery gear and im looking for any kind of info i can get...i have been on the CO DNR website quite a while today looking at info and maps and harvest stats from last year and so on but am still trying to figure out where to go....last year my brother and some friends went to units 41,42,441 there were a few elk taken but not a lot which im sure is normal but looking for some good info on areas to gofor my first one.....another friend of mine that has been out there quite a few times suggested unit 85 looking at the stats from last year there were 50 bulls harvested in this area and 499 hunters...but also on the stats i see that unit 12 had 175 bulls taken but there were 655 hunters and from what the map shows a lot less area ground wise...so im still kind of up in the air...i have looked at a map with elk migration routes..cant remember the name of the site and unti 85 looked pretty good but i really dont know what im looking for or anything like that so im looking for any kind of info...would really like to get a decent bull and that would suit me jsut fine i dont need to take one thats 400" or anything but would be nice but i aslo know its not easily done so any chance that i could get would be great...so im jsut looking for any kind of info i can get....i know its a pretty general question but anything would help right now

coloradooutdoors1

GMU 12 is a great archery elk spot, just have to draw a tag. I have hunted up their alot over the past 20 years and have been very successful, taking quite a few bulls between myself and friends. You have to get away from the crowds up their, but if you are willing to work at it, you can get into alot of elk up their. It is one of my more favorite spots in Colorado for archery elk. Might think about renting a horse or two to get you up in their and to bring an elk out when you do harvest one. Their are a few outfitters up their that will pack an elk out for you for around 200.00 or so. If you have any more questions, please feel free to give me a call or drop me an email and I would be more than happy to help you out if I can. Good hunting.


Dennis Hurrell
Colorado Outdoor Adventures
719-390-5509 home
719-232-0085 cell
[email protected]
www.colorado-adventures.com

Howler

My advise to you would be, Don't set your goals too high. Be satisified with a bull, any legal bull. The success rates are low for archery hunters, so don't get hung up on size of antlers. By expecting too much, you'll be setting yourself up for disappointment.
If your brother is coming with you and has hunted those areas, then you know he has knowledge of those areas and where to look to find elk. That's a pretty good starting point.

CHAMP198

Yea we are still concidering other units than the ones he hunted in the past but thats kind of out fall back area....one of the things im having a hard time figuring out is what kind of stuff that i need to take and so on....i know good boots and clothes for warm and cold weather the normal gear with my bow hunting stuff..i have a decent backpack to take thats my Horn Hunter G2....got a laser range finder...but what are some other things that i need to take as i really dont know since i havent ever been out there before

Howler

I probably carry less than a lot of guys,probably more than others. Here's a list of "stuff" that I normally carry while archery elk day hunting. You can add to it, as you see fit for your self assurance. GPS, filtered water bottle, knives, headlight, extra batterys for GPS and headlight, game bags, parachute chord, lighter, TP, snacks, rubber gloves, space blacket, binocs, range finder, assortment of calls, bow and arrows, and my frame pack. I put most of the gear into a fanny pack and strap it onto the frame pack. When I shoot an elk, and recover it, I immidiately will quarter it, bag the quarters, hang three of them and pack one out with me. If I shoot a bull, I will carry a collapsable saw back to the kill with me to retrieve the antlers at some point. I choose to NOT carry a saw with me since I figure the antlers are the last thing that a predator will haul off and eat. My GPS was invalueable to me on my last two elk kills since I did the packing at night and one time it was in a snow storm and last year was in a thunder storm, and being able to go right back to the kill in the dark through the forest would've been impossible other wise.

Colorado Cajun

Other then the bow and arrows, you and I pack the same items, the same way except I carry my Wyoming Saw with me.

Hunter_59

You may already know this but Units 12 and 441 are "draw" units! You cannot hunt these units with OTC tags. Units 41,42 & 85 which you also mentioned are OTC units. Make sure you know the boundaries of each unit. I'm not familiar with these units you mentioned but if any of them hold private property, be sure to know the boundaries. Do your homework and you will have a great hunt. Good luck!