Elk Outfitter in Colorado
12-28-2020, 07:26 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,780
How many preference points do you have?
Outfitters are assigned specific areas. You should look into which units you can draw with your points and then look for outfitters in those areas. Of course it matters as to which type of hunt (archery, muzzleloader, or rifle) you are seeking.
After determining which units are open to you it is time to talk budget and references.
Outfitters are assigned specific areas. You should look into which units you can draw with your points and then look for outfitters in those areas. Of course it matters as to which type of hunt (archery, muzzleloader, or rifle) you are seeking.
After determining which units are open to you it is time to talk budget and references.
12-28-2020, 08:11 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,780
It is always possible to get lucky, but the OTC and the easy-draw units are going to be tough. They get hammered. The outfitters in those units are generally less expensive that most other outfitters. Some of those outfitters have a bit of private land to hunt in addition to the public land, but most of the elk hunting is on public land. I would think that private land access in those units would be a big benefit unless the private land is just all bottom land where the elk will probably not be during hunting season.
Take a few minutes to look at the drawing odds for units to find the easy-draw ones and then add in the OTC units. That should help to narrow down your search.
If you go the "big bucks" ($$,$$$) route there are always the RFW ranches that have great success rates. I do know one outfitter in an easy-to-draw unit near Gunnison that charges about $4,500 for archery. He claims good success rates - not all of his hunter would agree with him. I have heard good things about an outfit in the Western part of the San Louis Valley that charged somewhere around $7,000 for archery and was fairly easy to draw, however I can not currently remember the name of the outfit.
Take a few minutes to look at the drawing odds for units to find the easy-draw ones and then add in the OTC units. That should help to narrow down your search.
If you go the "big bucks" ($$,$$$) route there are always the RFW ranches that have great success rates. I do know one outfitter in an easy-to-draw unit near Gunnison that charges about $4,500 for archery. He claims good success rates - not all of his hunter would agree with him. I have heard good things about an outfit in the Western part of the San Louis Valley that charged somewhere around $7,000 for archery and was fairly easy to draw, however I can not currently remember the name of the outfit.
12-28-2020, 08:34 AM
#5
Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern California
Posts: 18,246
We have a separate Outfitter forum that might provide some research info for you.
https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/hunts-outfitters-57/
https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/hunts-outfitters-57/
12-28-2020, 08:37 AM
#6
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 6
Yes, those are some good options. Unfortunately, I would probably go the lower $$ range. It seems like hunters reviews can be great if they had opportunities to shoot or did shoot and hunters roast the outfitter if they did not. In my view, its like hunting whitetails, nothing is guaranteed.
12-28-2020, 08:40 AM
#8
Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern California
Posts: 18,246
All of that is true. Reviews are only an extension of the hunter who posts them as far as truly understanding what happened on the hunt and why. Kind of like reviews on any website for products-you quickly figure out who actually has used the product and knows what its' capacities are as opposed to the fluff reviews who talk about pretty colors or nice cabins, etc. on outfitter reviews. The nice thing about the reviews here is you have the ability to contact the reviewer if you have a question.
