Okie76

Me and a couple family members are wanting to hunt elk in the fall of 2012 and I have been tasked with finding out all the info on it. First off, none of us have hunted elk prior. There will be five of us and of the five, 4 of us have hunted Oklahoma Whitetail pretty much every year for about the last 50 years. I am the odd man out and have just returned to hunting this year after being gone from it since I was a teenager and I am now in my late thirties.

I have googled elk hunting pretty extensivly for the last week or so and found that elk hunting is done in Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. I have also learned that there are some kind of restricted hunts based on some type of point system and honestly I am starting to get confused by it all.

In oklahoma to hunt deer you go take your hunters safety course and pay for a liscence, then wait till the season starts and go buy either an antlered or antleress tag. Then it's just a matter of finding the deer on public land or getting permission to hunt on private land.

I think from all that I have read the last week that this is not the case for hunting Elk, or am I wrong? Is it possible for someone here to explain to me how it all works in the states I listed?

We are intersted in hunting on public land without a guide. I know that this will decrease our chances for success as we will all be first time elk hunters but were not overly concerned with bagging some monster beast but more interested in the adventure of being together as a family, seeing some scenery that isnt native to Oklahoma (like terrain that isnt all flat with corn fields and scrub oak) and maybee one or two of us actually getting to take a shot.

Colorado is closest to Oklahoma so that Is our first uneducated choice for a state but at this stage in the planning process we are not set on it.

Some help with picking a state that is right for us is appreciated.


PS.
I already have each state above's listed Department of fish and game / Wildlife websites found an bookmarked, and attempted to read through them, but it is all very different to Oklahoma and a bit confusing on how it works.

salukipv1

A subscription to eastmans' or the huntin fool can help you navigate all the headaches of applying in different states out west, ie bonus points, etc...draw odds/good areas and what not.

Colorado seems to be more about opportunity, other states seem to be tougher to draw and higher quality.

One option is to put in for a great or even just a good unit in NM as a party, and have a backup like CO or ID...

My short list would probably be, NM, CO, WY, ID

BuckAlley

Let me see if I can help. Being from NY, and once in your shoes on wanting to go west for Elk. I chose Colorado. It has the most Elk of the western states. It seems like a natural choice for you being closest. Non-resident tags for Colorado are less expensive than most the other states now. $551 for a Bull Tag is plenty enough out of my wallet, too much actually. But its better than a Montana $1,000 plus tag!
Do It Yourself (DIY) hunt your in for alot of research. You have to pick a season type, archery, rifle, Muzzleloader likely won't be a option w/o any points to start. Then look at different areas, units, and tags avail.. Most archery tags are over the counter(OTC). 1st rifle is a draw only tag, 2nd rifle is OTC. So I'd start looking at that. When looking at units, look on maps, and see what kind of access you'll have. Some areas are wilderness accessible by foot, and horse only. So its not as simple as driving to a spot, and going in. You'll need to consider tenting it, or hoteling it. Hoteling it will most likely require daily trips to hunting grounds, and hiking from there. Tenting you can pack gear in, and setup in areas hunting.
You know what I decided my first trip out, and not knowing a thing about hunting mountain wilderness in Colorado for Elk? Go Guided. Its expensive sure, but you only have to worry about getting there with your gear. A good outfitter will get you to the Elk, provide your sleeping quarters, food, and any game you get cut up, and packed out. You will likely find it more enjoyable your first time, and alot less work and hassell. Thats just my opinion. Then if you decide to go back another yr.(and you likely will), you'll have alot better knowledge, and idea on what your facing. I consider myself a very avid bowhunter, and turkey hunter in NY. My Colorado hunts for Elk is by far the toughest hunting I've ever done in my life. Its very challenging. Feel free to P.M. if like w/any other questions.

streetglideok

As a former oklahoman who transplanted last winter to colorado, I can relate to your dilemna. I hunted alot of the last 10 years in the SE part of the state myself. Things are done differently out here, so make sure you read the hunting guidelines carefully. IMO, oklahoma is a joke, in how they manage their deer, and after you understand how the western states, ok, well colorado does it, you'll see how. Im guessing you are planning a rifle hunt? Second and third seasons, end of Oct, early Nov, would be your best bet. First season is draw only, and fourth season is closed in some areas, and if winter moves in with a vengence, its tougher then heck. Colorado is all about the numbers and oportunity, most of the other western states are about the quality. There is still big ones here though, but theres plenty of other hunters after them too. Alot of the game units here,(aka zones in oklahoma) are over the counter, the rest are draw, and vary in how hard they are to get. Basically, you pick the unit and area you wish to hunt, and figure out which season you want. In the DOW book, there is a code assigned to each season, and game unit. Just have to pick the one you want, and buy your tag then. Need your proof of hunters ed. and ID. Some areas you can get cow tags as well. Its a huge state, compared to where you are now, and the amount of land you can hunt is mind boggling, coming from oklahoma,lol. Its far from flat of course, and the areas you will hunt will be 1-2 miles higher in elevation. Need to be in good shape to handle the altitude. Most areas, you need to expect weather and temps to be anywhere from 60* and sunny, to 10* and 2 feet of snow, with a nasty windchill. Drop me a PM when you get time, I can share some pics of the area, and can answer any direct questions you have.

Okie76

The over the counter tags for second rifle season sound like what were looking for ($500 nonresident tags sounds doable). I really don't want to mess with draws and point systems for our first hunt, that can all be done for a second or third hunt. Colorado's OTC tag hunts for rifle sounds best for us.

For camping we have a 40ft tow behind gulf-stream that the 5 of us intend to use. It's my Uncle's but it's what everyone has been using for the last 4 years of whitetail hunting here in Oklahoma.

We also have an army issue 25 man canvas tent from like WW2 that has been used in the past for friends and such from the city that wanted to hunt on our land. It's big enough that it takes 3 men to set up and cant be carried by one man. It's a "no gulfstream allowed" option, for this trip, that we would consider, if it were to get us into a better area.

Can anyone recommend what areas I should be looking at in Colorado? Area's that tent's or campers can be used? I'm not looking for specific zones but more like "xxxx national forest" kind of replies

Also one other question, one of our hunters is handicapped and can walk about 50-100 yards at a time (has stage 3 kidney cancer). It has gotten worse and worse every year and we fear next year might be his last year to hunt, hence why were all making a big push for elk hunting next year. For hunting here in Oklahoma we just put him on a four wheeler and he gets around just fine. Drives it to his stand, throws a camo net on it and then walks the last 50 or 100 yards to his stand. This has worked fine for hunting on family owned land here in Oklahoma but is such a thing possible for elk on public land?

PS... the handicapped hunter has the disabled exemptions for Oklahoma hunting so if this same thing is allowed in Colorado would it apply to public lands there also?

streetglideok

We used an army tent with a wood stove when we did an elk hunt back in 2000 when I was an out of stater from oklahoma. Lot of texans, yeah I know, longhorns,lol, were up there with 5th wheel campers, and the such, but could not go in as far as what we did. This isnt always the case though, your mileage may vary. Lot them used horses, or atvs to get back further in. Depending on where you go, a good 4wd may be needed, especially if you lack an atv. We did gmu 55, gunnison national forest. I dont think they can do much for handicap, terrain is just too rugged. ATV may help him out, so he has less to travel. Its doable, just do some research. Wildfires can change things alot from year to year, so once you pick an area, keep up on wild fire news reports for that area. You'll need to make at least one trip to the area before season to plan your hunt out, and where to put your buddy at. Make a plan B as well. Lot of your otc units east of the divide get clogged with metro hunters from what Ive heard, or are rugged, like gmu 86. I liked the western slope personally, and thats where we'll prolly go back to this fall. Youll also need to look into your OHV permits for the atvs and possibly your vehicles. Wilderness areas are motorized vehicle exempt, and you can often find some big ones or good numbers there. Fossil Ridge, and West Elks are a couple that come to mind. Hunting close to them, since your friend cant ride an atv into them may work. Good luck, I pray your friend will get to enjoy at least one good elk hunt out here!

BuckAlley

You'll have to look for areas where you can get your camper in as far as possible. The camper access will limit you. I've seen hardtop campers setup, and most are quite aways from where need to be. If you setup like that, you will definitly need atv's to get you to the trailheads, and walk in from there. Atv's are only allowed on roads open to motorized vehicles. You can't even park them off of the roads or you'll be fined. Atv's also need to be registered in Colorado for use.
There's nothing wrong with that plan, you'll just have to look into it. You can obtain road access maps from the DOW. But mind you some the motorized access roads are more like logging trails to us. As a example 1 road I've traveled is 5 miles in length, and it takes over 1hr to drive in 4-wheel. No way you could haul a camper on such roads. There's alot of roads like that in the National Forests you'll be hunting. You might want to consider setting up your camper, and tent in 2 different locations. Camper as far in as able, and the tent back in closer to the area hunting. Then sorta work out of 2 camp setups.

dpalmer76

Wherever you choose to hunt, make sure you consult ScoutLook Weather to plan your hunt so you can make the most of it and prepare for the elements. They just released a new app which I've been using for my bowhunting escapades and it's very legit.

http://www.scoutlookweather.com/mobileApps.php

streetglideok

Here is some pics of gunnison county, mosquito pass, and a road in the sangre de cristos. These are decent roads, to give you an idea of what some of the good ones look like. The bad ones, well, only resemble roads in rockcrawlers eyes.

elkdeerbear

It takes a while to figure out elk hunting. I'd suggest the White River National Forest in the northwest corner of the state or the San Juan National Forest in the southwest corner of the state for numbers of elk and public land.