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I would suggest looking at areas on USFS lands that are close to wintering areas as elk will start moving from the forest about that time.

Also look or public areas near private lands where elk could be seeking refuge. There will be lots of other hunters, so go where most will not go and you should have a good hunt defined by me as not running into other hunters and seeing elk.

Good Luck. Your article and stat table have been very helpful. The oil and gas closed things off and we stopped hunting it. I see unit 22 and 32 have high success rate and the oil and gas def not going to stop me from going in there and finding elk during archery season. Seems to me these are still strong units to hunt during archery? Would love your feedback.

Thank you. By now, you should be on your way to your hunt units in Colorado. I do not know those units specifically, but I have stopped hunting some of my favorite areas that have lots of oil and gas development. You are correct though. If success rates are still high, the development will not hurt your chances of finding elk. They will get used to the traffic since most of it never leaves the roads.

Thanks for the response. I just got back from my hunt and we were on elk every day. We got into the elk by hiking away from all the road hunters. I will be able to do some scouting the week before the hunt. I guess it will depend on the snow amount.

I was really hoping we would be able to backpack hunt somewhere in the Arapaho National Forest, but we can be flexible depending on the weather. I plan on driving to Frazier and Granby this week to check out some county roads that look promising as access points. Thanks for your input. Hi I was just looking for some clarity about hunter access.

I am fit and able to travel a ways but I did not want to commit to a unit if its hardly accessible. Is it a function of public access? Thanks for any tips on this matter. Hi JP. Most of the states also provide information about access.

They warn about units that are primarily private land with limited access. In some cases, there are no public roads passing through private land. What criteria are they using?

I simply ranked units by the numbers of elk harvested and the percentage of hunters that were successful. I leave it to you to decide if the combination of numbers of elk harvested, numbers of hunters, percentage of successful hunters etc. Whatever that is…. I wish some of the areas I hunt had worse access. Elk could benefit from the strategic closure of a few roads. Many hunters complain that there is not enough access on public lands.

But that is exactly why elk hang out there. But some will never be happy until they can drive to every spot on public land. I will probably be limited to where I can hunt before another 10 seasons pass. But looking for easy access will probably guarantee you will be crowded with others looking for the same. One reason I recommend the first time a hunter goes to a new areas they should choose a unit where lots of elk were harvested.

That also usually means lots of hunters, but it also means lots of elk and elk habitat is some balance of reasonable access without too much access. In most cases, if you are willing to get off the roads, you will find good places to hunt without too much competition. Instead of looking for the best access, I personally prefer to hunt certain elevation bands and habitats depending upon the time of season. I also prefer to hunt areas with long ridges or rolling hills over areas that are straight up and down, but where is that information available?

You have to find those areas, either on topos, Google Earth or on the ground. You will earn them. If you are looking at maps with areas on public lands National Forests, BLM lands or state lands, and you see roads; that is access. I still say you can throw a dart at the map of National Forest lands in the state you want to hunt and simply go to that spot and start hunting. If you spend your time hunting and not riding the roads or lounging in camp, most of the time, you will find elk.

After all, most DIY Elk hunters come out west for the opportunity to hunt and the experience. To actually kill an elk would be a bonus. I am currently planning for a 4th rifle season cow hunt in Colorado unit This will be my first midwest hunt. I have been using OnX data along with other state available data but was wondering if you had any experience with this unit and if you had any recommended areas to start with.

I know there may be snow on the ground and that could limit access to some of the areas. Lots of cow elk taken off that unit last year. I assume you are hunting public land. I am more familiar with the Utah side of that area, but yes, there will be snow up high by mid November going to snow above 7, feet here tonight Sept The questions will be is there enough snow to push animals down?

Or will you have to climb to find them? I would start hunting on mid — lower elevation 7 — 8, ft areas on National Forest lands. You will either find elk or the elk signs will tell you if you need to go up or down. Good luck. We are hunting public land primarily BLM land. We are focusing our attention on the areas that are listed as Winter Concentration and have around 5 different areas to consider.

We will have 3 full days to scout before season starts. Our primary focus will be some areas of BLM we found that is surrounded by private ranches. The glassing areas are on BLM with about a half mile on either side before you get to private. I know the weather will be a determining factor as to what elevation we hunt. In that case, you are hoping for lots of snow up high to push them down. Some years the snow will already be several feet deep up high and other years there will only be a dusting.

December would be a different story. We are planning to hunt second rifle in the Eagle area. Past years we hunted first rifle in area the problem we ran into was the excessive amount of bikers not hunters looking at maybe exploring more of the wilderness areas. Also looking at area 35 Any insight on the options would be welcome.

Thanks Floyd. Yes, there is no end to the challenges of hunting public land. At least mountain bikers stay on trails. I ranked the top units so DIY non-resident hunters and residents without local knowledge have a place to start planning for a hunt. For starters, just look at the last harvest report last report is from , only 4 elk total were harvested in unit 35 2nd rifle by hunters that spent 1, hunting days in the field. Antlerless elk hunters did even worse zero for Why not look at units 42 or ?

They are both just west on I and both units made the top 20 for both elk numbers and hunter success. Good luck on your hunt and let me know where you end up and how you do.

A man of few words. Before I begin, I should ask why these two units specifically and why Colorado in the first place? These units get lots of hunting pressure. For the the 2nd Rifle Season, units 80 and 81 had and hunters, which ranked 5th and 4th highest.

For the the 3rd Rifle Season, units 80 and 81 had and hunters, which ranked 16th and 11th highest. With hunters during the 2nd rifle season and hunters during the 3rd rifle season, that leaves between and public acres per hunter. These are not units I would hunt unless I had personal experience and knowledge in the area. But I do hunt here because I do have knowledge of the area, despite high hunter density and low harvest success. If I had no other knowledge, I would chose a unit that ranked higher for both total harvest numbers and for hunter success.

The best advice is to pick a place you like and spend lots of time there over the next few years. You will learn what you need to know. Thanks for all the great info.

Am I missing something or did they change this since the article was written? Thanks Ian. You are correct. I obviously saw or thought I saw something on the CDW site when I originally posted the article, but if they now say and they do , OTC tags go on sale 9 a.

MDT Aug. This is the hardest part of elk hunting in my opinion… We hunt, find and learn their rules if we want to play their game. I called again and was told they were good for all listed units They are good for all listed units. My husband, son and son-in-law are planning to bow hunt in Colorado this year. Is there a better place to bow hunt, with better possibility of seeing elk, than others?

I am trying to surprise them with a package. Since I am not a hunter, I have no idea what all of these charts are telling me. I would just like for someone to advise me the best place to bow hunt. Basically, if they go to any of the five Western States that have General Elk licenses and go to a National Forest and get off the roads, they will have a chance to see elk.

I could probably guess at places that are better than others, but nobody can tell you the best. If they are planning a bow hunt in Colorado, I assume they have already determined that Colorado is best as apposed to Montana, Utah or Wyoming for some reason. The charts you refer to simply show ranked elk harvest numbers and success rates for hunt units for the general elk hunt on public land. I know a few outfitters and guides in Utah, but most people come to this website to learn to do it themselves.

It is an awesome gift you are giving them. I wish someone were trying to get a package for me… I would probably trade it for an Alaskan Fishing trip, because I know where to find elk and I prefer to do it myself anyway.

I have drawn a 1st season elk tag for units 77, 78, Do you know of an area in these you units I should scout. Your hunt is Oct. Above 9, feet it can be warm and dry or you could have a foot of snow by Mid Oct. If dry, I would look for elk up high.

If it snows, some will stay be high, but some will start moving down into the P. Lots of country in those units including wilderness. Forget about specific areas, but start looking for areas you can access and then hike in.

It will all change depending on the snow. You will most likely find elk where few people have gone. That said, it is not unusual to find them as they move from high to low country or get pushed out of one area by other hunters.

If dry, look for water. If wet, look for tracks. Scouting for elk is as much about learning the country as it is about finding elk. Like war plans, hunting plans change the second the first hunter shuts the truck door.

Some like to sit and glass large areas. I like to push into and around thick forested areas north and east faces and see what I can find. The area I rifle hunted with the guys a few years ago is closed to OTC bow. After reading the above information I decided to look at area I pulled out my maps and found that I had area 62 mapped out as it was our second choice from our last trip.

It looks like a large area with several good draws. Any chance of finding out from you the best areas. Looks like from my Colorado map book most of 62 is public land other than the city areas. Is that true? I plan on driving my 4 by 4 pick up pulling a 16 foot trailer. Are the fire roads in good shape or should I try to travel with just the truck?

Also having trouble finding rules for bow. We use red dot scopes and I think that might be illegal there. Is there a age or handicap exception for cross bows? Thank you for your information. Mark Unit 62 was the highest ranking unit for elk harvest bow in and also ranked highly for hunter success. But also had lots of hunters. As far as best areas? What does that even mean? Best for driving everywhere? Best for hiking in where nobody else will? Best elk habitat? Or as your other question; best for hunting from a camper?

Anyone can hunt with a crossbow in Colorado during the rifle season. Congrats to your daughter on her degree and good luck on your hunt. Another way to compare hunt units and hunt seasons is to look at the total number of Hunter-days compared to the total elk harvest. Most states do surveys to ask hunters how many days they actually hunted. So I simply add up the total elk harvest and the total number of hunter-days and then divide the number of elk by the total number of days; harvest days.

For example; in the left side of Table 1, unit 4 had So it will take the average hunter about 5 years to harvest an elk in unit 4 and about 10 years to harvest an elk in unit What I mean by this is all hunter days according to the raw numbers are equal.

But we know they are not equal because one hunter may hike 12 miles in a day and another may drive around for 15 minutes and each can say they hunted that day. The reality of elk hunting in the west, most people put in very little effort. I am going to go out for a few weekends and Scot to see if I see any signs of elk.

Can I get some advice on where to start or what are a couple this spot. This will be my forth year going out and I have not got anything yet but I still have hope. I am a military man trying to harvest a bull elk before leaving this beautiful state, most likely summer of so this will be my last go at it. I was planning on hunting either 2nd or 3rd season OTC. I have been out elk hunting a couple times here, but have not had any success. Some days I put 12 miles or more on my boots and I am willing to go to the hard places and do the hard work.

If you were in my situation, what unit would you hunt if it were your last shot at a bull elk? No where in the state that offer an OTC tag is out of the question for me. First, thank you for your service.

The The average hunter only hunted 4. How many days did you hunt? Did you find fresh elk sign? Did you see elk? In my state, I could have taken a cow elk any of those days because I hunted within that cow unit. Obviously, putting in 12 miles per day is not the complete answer. Every one of the OTC units have elk, so elk are out there. The more time you spend where elk are the more likely you will run into them.

That depends on many factors; like rain, snowfall, dry weather and human activity. During that time of year, elk could be between 5, feet up to 11, feet or higher. But unless it snows they will not be spending much time on South facing slopes or areas where humans spend much time or areas without water.

No need to drive all over the state to find elk. Hunt close to home where you should have the best knowledge of the land. Giver yourself the best chance possible. Hunt every day possible and hunt all day everyday. If several days in one place turn up nothing as in no fresh sign , try another place.

If you find fresh sign, take you time and find the elk. When you find them, do not run them off. Be very careful, always pay attention to the wind. For the most part, most of the rut will be over. So bull elk will be recovering from the breeding season and trying to put on fat to survive the winter.

They may be alone or with buddies. A few will still be chasing cows still in heat. You probably need to just keep doing what you were doing. Put in the time and the miles. Get off the roads and trails with traffic and find areas that have water and thick cover.

As southern college students looking to hunt elk for the first time, your articles have been extremely helpful in determining if that was even a possibility, so thank you. So in your personal opinion, where would you hunt OTC archery this coming season if you were young and not afraid of getting well off the beaten path.

Any additional advice gear, tactics, etc. Thanks in advance! Mathew: First, if you are talking about the season, the OTC and general season bow hunts are over for most states.

Good luck and let me know where you decide to hunt and how it went. Dear Sir, Great work here on all your research. I have hunted area 33 since My earlier experience was always a success due to getting to the back and being near them. So we now just sit high and scope to see the elk and then pursue. Yes, closed roads hurt access, but help elk spread out.

I often think it would help my local hunt unit if certain roads were closed to travel and to camping. It would concentrate the campers, but free up thousands of acres for elk to spread out. Instead of all the elk moving to the farthest, most difficult areas to hunt, many would be in easier terrain to access. Yes, you have a longer hike, but you could start hiking or ride bike on a closed road instead of starting up or down nasty terrain.

No doubt most kids will lose interest after a few days. This is their reality now. I am surprised they are still interested for 4 days. Not just the days you find elk. What a great read. Been there did that, l am a 85 year old retired Elk hunter. It was not easy to hang it up after 45 years 75 percent success rate in multi states. I can no longer hunt by foot, the only way to hunt!

Thanks Richard. Time gets us all eventually. I just hope my knees will hold out until I am I hope you are still able to go to elk camp to teach and encourage the next generations. I am looking to go on a Rifle DIY elk hunt in the next year or so and have been reading and researching the best units and hunting tactics since this will be my first ever.

I would also love to know a list of essentials and gear I would need I will more than likely be camping. Thanks in advance. Hi Caegan. It is good to ask questions but what does best mean to you? The easiest? The most rewarding? Or numbers about hunter days in the field and elk harvested hard data? Read more of my posts. Many of the answers you seek are here. As example, I talked to a young man from the Mid-West that was planning to go to Colorado in June to start scouting.

He was surprised to learn that most of the forest service roads and some country roads above 9, feet will not be open until early — mid July because of snow. Will you be hunting in Aug? October could be warm and dry or you could be in 2 feet of snow. Wet snow or rain is great for sneaking around. Dry leaves and crusted snow are impossible to sneak around. Plus deep snow will restrict daily access to many trail heads. Then that brings up some logistic issues of being in a backcountry camp and get dumped on with snow.

You mention that you will hunt with rifle, but will you be alone or with friends? That changes tactics, logistics and safety considerations. Hunting tactics? You either spent lots of time walking or spend lots of time glassing or split time with both … Personally, I get bored glassing and I enjoy hunting on the move, so I put in the miles. I find lots of elk, but that tactic also spooks lots of elk.

Best for me may be different than best for you. This year, I was alone and over a half mile from the truck at Sunset with an elk down. I know what I need to do and was prepared. I had everything in the truck by midnight, but I was one tired puppy but not bad for an old man. Some get lucky and find and harvest an elk the first day. Some get lucky and seal the deal the last minutes of the last day.

This year, it took me 22 days 11 days into 3rd season. I finally got my elk this year in an area I had never scouted or hunted before. I started from scratch 3 days earlier. I found a herd that had at least 80 elk in it. I decided to many eyes, ears and noses to sneak in on them, so I guessed at where they would go at Sundown and I guessed right.

Hunting tactics are also different depending on the type of hunt. It is very different hunting bull elk during the rut or cow elk in late winter. Anyway, lots to learn. But there is no substitute for actually hunting. In fact, you will not learn much until you hunt and fail. Then you are primed for learning. I hope my book helps you and good luck on your hunt. I think we hunt the 3rd rifle season. Do I start my hunt high or low,any tips would be very helpful. Thank so much.

John Mullins. Exciting times. First elk hunt in new country. Since you already know which Unit you are hunting, you need to learn the access points and locate terrain you want to hunt.

Hunting high or low is a day to day decision that will depend on snow levels and hunting pressure after your hunt starts. The best advice I can give is get into the best shape possible. If you get headaches above 8, feet, drink more water. Every single person that has not spent time above 8, feet needs to be careful at first. Most of us can adapt, some can not, even young healthy folks. Are you hunting with other people? You should probably work in pairs until you are more experienced with the country.

Hunt from blind? When moving, always be ready to shoot. It gets tiring, but unless I am walking across open country, I never sling my rifle anymore. If an elk shows up while you have a sandwich in your mouth, you already know the range.

I speak from experience. Obviously, young guys should be able to cover more country and find more elk, but if you are out there, you always have a chance. No elk there. You can rest and play pocket pool and poke the fire when you get back home. Finding elk is a function of luck and effort. In some ways, it is like the old battleship game.

The more squares you check out, the more likely you are to find elk. Knowing which squares to look comes from elk hunting experience and from knowing the country. There is much to learn about elk and elk habitats as well as safety in remote areas.

My buddy and I are from Maryland and are taking out first trip out west to Colorado for a 7 day OTC archery Elk hunt this September thinking second week and working out of the woods the day before Muzzleloader starts … or maybe day of and wondering if one gets pushed in deep to us. I see your chart with the top 25 units with a 3 year average for archery is public and I figure a lot of people will select from that list … would you mind sharing what your 26th and 27th pick would be?

Hoping for less pressure. Thanks Shane. Yes, we all want lots of elk and have the whole place to ourselves.

Why not pick the last place unit? Somebody killed elk there. High elk harvest and high numbers of hunters goes together they are very highly correlated. I am working on incorporating the amount of public land in each unit into the comparisons… In general, units with lower elk harvest less than 30 are best left for the locals that know the area. As for your question, the 26th and 27 units ranked by harvest was units and I also ranked all the hunt units by the number of hunters and by total recreation days… Units , , , and had lowest number of hunter recreation days with at least 17 elk harvested….

Crunching numbers is a fun thing to do in the off season, but in reality, elk can be found in every unit in Western Colorado. Being from Maryland, you will have to rely on scouting with Google Earth. Spend more time learning how to access your unit and getting into shape than crunching numbers.

You have to show up with good cardio…. Learn what you can about elk behavior. Think about areas you can access if elk are high good bet during archery , but I also know areas where elk can be found in the PJ you know what that is if you read my book during the archery hunt. Find watering areas to hunt over since it is usually dry in the fall.

Look for small permanent streams and for small stock ponds that have been created for wildlife and cattle. Look for heavy timbered areas on the north slopes. I helped a group of vets get set up to hunt elk last year. I suggest hunt units and showed them areas to camp and hunt, but they did everything on their own.

No elk last year, but they had close encounters and stories to tell. Thank you for your tips, very helpful. There are 4 of us going. What do you think of pack in camp hunts? This is the only time I can hunt out west; been saving money a long time for this hunt. Just trying to get all the help I can get. Again thanks for your time and help. There is good and bad in every strategy. Lots of effort goes into packing a long way into an area.

It could be what takes you close to elk and it usually gets you away from most other people. But as example for another strategy, I never set up elk camp this year. I intended to set up camp after the 1st weekend crowd left. But I could not find elk in any of my normal honey holes. We had some big fires last Summer that moved elk around, but it also seemed to put them into very large groups.

So instead of lots of small bands of elk in groups of 8 or 10, the elk were in big herds more like you normally see in Winter. Anyway I hunted different places each day. If I found fresh sign, I might go back again the next day. I usually went back home at the end of every day and went over my maps and old notes and looked at google earth to decide where to go next day.

We also had an early snow, then a long dry spell, so I hunted high when the snow was soft and quiet and I hunted low when the snow was frozen and crunchy. I moved back up in elevation as the snow melted. I finally found a big herd with at least 80 elk and guessed correctly where they would come out of the trees before dark.

If you commit a lot of time and energy into a deep camp, you could get bogged down in snow and you have given up the option to move around or change from high elevation to low and back. At the time what unit is most successful? What tips do you have for going on such a short hunt? Would love to hear your feedback! Hi Hannah: The management of Unit 74 has changed over the past 20 years.

Elk populations have decreased from about 7, to about 5, because of elk conflicts with ranching interests. Unit 74 also has lots of hunters and many of those are non-residents because it is the closest unit to many states in Colorado statement in DAU E In , bulls and 70 antlerless elk were harvested by 2, hunters who hunted a total of 12, days all hunts; all weapons.

For all rifle seasons, bulls and 43 antlerless elk were harvested by 1, hunters who hunted a total of 5, days, which ranks 36th out of units with at least 10 elk harvested. Since you sent the comment to me and not your father or grandfather, I have to assume they have their reasons to continue to hunt unit 74 despite no elk harvest the past 7 years.

After 20 years of hunting the area, that will be hard to replace. I have a question for you. You mention planning to hunt the 1st rifle season due to school assume school schedule. But 1st rifle seasons are Limited Licenses that have to be drawn. Do you have a Limited License? Or do you mean the first OTC rifle season, which is really the 2nd Rifle season? You also mention wanting to hunt Northern Colorado and you have seen the rankings I posted for the OTC rifle hunts for both raw numbers and hunter success.

Units 4, 5, 12, 13 and 22 are Northern units that rank high for both elk harvest and for hunter success for the 2nd OTC rifle season. But so much of elk hunting is about logistics. I always ask why drive past areas I know have elk, just to find more elk. So I usually hunt close to home where I know the country.

It makes sense if you are going to school in Northern Colorado. Yes, these short hunts are challenging, which means you have to do all your scouting before the hunt starts. I do not do much pre-season scouting anymore because I know my local units well. I also do less scouting so there is less chance of disturbing animals in my honey holes before the hunt starts.

I am also busy taking people fishing in the Fall. Hello, We have been hunting 2nd rifle in the same area for 12 years or so. Plus a bright full moon for several days did not help too much either. We saw one bull along the road on a trailer, and heard of 4 elk killed by a local hunting party we know well, very deep in a canyon, which pretty much needed the support of horses to get the meat out. We will be back again in , but hope for better success.

We had some big fires this Summer in our areas. It ruined a trout stream, but elk will benefit in the long term, but may suffer in the short term. What I noticed was instead of many small bands of elk during the rifle and ML seasons, elk were in very large groups usually only seen in Winter.

When I finally got my cow elk, it was in a herd of at least 80 animals in an area of my unit I had never hunted before. I feel this creates an oversaturation of hunters. Hi Kevin, you could try moving, but what makes you think that another unit will have fewer hunters or that will result in success?

Units 77 and 78 are in the top 20 for the numbers of elk harvested… But not in the top 20 for hunter success. There are lots of hunters in these units see Table in post for 2nd Rifle , but much less than other units.

But first, what does hunting and scouting mean to you? Also, one of the most valuable assets for elk hunting is personal knowledge of an area. Do more research if you wish and look at the data. Raw numbers of hunters and elk populations and elk harvested give us a snap shot, but if we also took into account the available habitat it would be more meaningful….

I have been working on better ways to compare units and have some data collected on the size of the units and the amount of public land in each unit. You have been hunting for 4 years. Would you say you are an average elk hunter based on knowledge and effort? In other words, the average hunter will get an elk every 7. Because they know more about elk than you do. They know more about the landscape and habitat than you do and they work harder than you do.

Not picking on you, just stating the most likely probabilities for an average elk hunter…. So go ahead and drive past elk to go find more elk in a new place… or learn more and work harder in an area you already know well. Moving to get Mule Deer tag or cow tag is a good reason. I prefer to hunt when I can take mule deer or any sex elk. Good luck and let me know how you do this year. I have basically narrowed my units down to 4, 16, and Unit 4 I have some intel from somebody that has taken several bulls from there but unit 42 and 16 looks better as far as having sanctuaries in them where a good bull would be hiding out.

I was hoping you could shed some light into these units and maybe some good tips. Anything helps! That is good enough reason. I assume by sanctuaries, you have identified some hard to get to areas in GMUs 42 and 16?

Look for flat benches in steep terrain. Heaviest tree cover in the Southern Rockies will be on North facing slopes. Two of the units you are interested in ranked highly both in top 5 units for Colorado for elk harvest during 2nd OTC rifle season, but unit 16 ranks low; 47th, with an average of 93 bull elk harvested by hunters over the last 3 years — You are now signed-up to receive emails from Disney Books.

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