Decline of elk quality in Colorado GMU 61

[marksjeep]

Unc is juicy. Plan accordingly.

 

[TheTone]

Unc is juicy. Plan accordingly. View attachment 270107

Gonna be a massive antler growth year, all those 260-300 bulls last year are gonna be 350+

 

[Phaseolus]

I’m really looking forward to the wildflower bloom on the Unc this year. The last time there was this much moisture it was awesome.

 

[MARKANDERSON]

I’ll probably end up in 61 in the next 5 years with the points I have. It’ll be a solo DIY hunt with a cross-country drive to get there. I’m sure I’ll toss out a request for any help HT’ers are willing to give and at least won’t get the dreaded “welcome” message. Hell, send me some PM’s now if you are down so I can add to my research. All that said, my ONLY goal is an experience. Average bull. Bigger bull. One way or the other, don’t really care except how it presents in the moment. 61 would not be my only elk hunt taken or planned, so I am not “waiting” for anything other than a chance to hunt it for the scenery, for seeing more bulls than normal maybe, and to finally transition to hunting low point units as OTC fades. I’ll leave the 350 bull on the mountain, most likely, for others who need that measure of success or value more than me.

I don't know if you're non-resident hunter or not. If you are in 5 years it will take five more points for a non-resident. 15 years ago I was hoping to draw unit 10. I was your one year behind the curve. Now I'm 2 years behind.

 

[Bullshot]

I don't know if you're non-resident hunter or not. If you are in 5 years it will take five more points for a non-resident. 15 years ago I was hoping to draw unit 10. I was your one year behind the curve. Now I'm 2 years behind.

NR w/23 points

 

[Elk247]

My guess is most people with all the negative things to say about 61 have never had the privilege to draw it. I have and it was a great hunt. Don't expect to see 350 bulls all over, but plenty of solid 6pts around.

I knew this going in so that is what I expected. What you will find is lots of elk and the are totally unpressured. You will hear bugles from sun up till sun down. Go for the experience, a nice bull is a bonus.

Look up my post of the hunt back in 2019.

 

[rogerthat]

My guess is most people with all the negative things to say about 61 have never had the privilege to draw it. I have and it was a great hunt. Don't expect to see 350 bulls all over, but plenty of solid 6pts around.

I knew this going in so that is what I expected. What you will find is lots of elk and the are totally unpressured. You will hear bugles from sun up till sun down. Go for the experience, a nice bull is a bonus.

Look up my post of the hunt back in 2019.

Most people chit their pants when they see a legit 350. Of course the tales of the big ones that got away add to the inches

 

[Stocker]

Not quite half the bulls I saw in 61 on my hunt were about like this one I picked out and took home.

View attachment 269991View attachment 269992

 

[old270hunter]

I think all of you should agree that there are no elk worth shooting in 61, and stop putting in for those tags. Thanks

 

[ImBillT]

This is nothing more than a wild thought. I think that the higher the points required to draw a unit, the higher the percentage of hunters in that unit hav actually done very little hunting. When you start getting a bunch of guys who have dreamed of a hunt for twenty years, and have only been elk hunting once or twice, I would only expect the average hunter in that unit to gradually become less and less satisfied as his expectations got less and less realistic, and the average hunter’s abilities got less and less capable of fulfilling any sort of expectation at all.

Obviously that isn’t going to be all of the hunters. I do however feel like just about every unit in the country is being spoken of as if it’s going down hill, while that’s not the case for populations in every unit.

 

[WyoDoug]

Every site I look at for archery elk info for GMU 61 in Co. points towards a steady decline in the quality of the elk in the unit. I am hoping to draw an archery elk tag this fall for GMU 61. Show me your archery elk/muzzleloader elk success photos for the past number of years. Say from 2018 till now. I want to see what I can expect to see this fall in the month of Sept.

I used to hunt 61 and 62 for elk. Problem I saw way back then in the 90s was development was growing at a rapid pace. Lotta people wanna live in elk country but doing so deteriorates the quality of elk habitat. I hunted west of Montrose and Delta for years and back then you could still get plenty of quality bulls just finding a good spot and letting the orange hats push them to you if you knew how to setup and stategize. 62 is better than 61 but still development in that area is not good for hunting.

 

[old270hunter]

This is nothing more than a wild thought. I think that the higher the points required to draw a unit, the higher the percentage of hunters in that unit hav actually done very little hunting. When you start getting a bunch of guys who have dreamed of a hunt for twenty years, and have only been elk hunting once or twice, I would only expect the average hunter in that unit to gradually become less and less satisfied as his expectations got less and less realistic, and the average hunter’s abilities got less and less capable of fulfilling any sort of expectation at all.

Obviously that isn’t going to be all of the hunters. I do however feel like just about every unit in the country is being spoken of as if it’s going down hill, while that’s not the case for populations in every unit.

Maybe so, but that theory has not and is not materializing a tag for me In 61! I can say that my cc will not be charged for a 1st rifle bull tag this year, with relative certainty.

 

[ImBillT]

Maybe so, but that theory has not and is not materializing a tag for me In 61! I can say that my cc will not be charged for a 1st rifle bull tag this year, with relative certainty.

Ha! It doesn’t decrease demand. It just means that those who draw seem to be more disappointed on average, even without the corresponding animal quality.

But that’s just a WAG at why top tier units seem to be getting a lot of bad press. Could have nothing to do with it at all.

 

[SanJuanDon]

Use this free information to narrow down your hunting areas. If you have limited scouting opportunities this will help select a number of areas to scout when you can. 61 is a very long and narrow until. You could spend a month hunting from the east end to the west end. You really need to do your on-line scouting research because it is very easy to get sucked into a spot with a little activity and not want to leave when you should've after a day. Helped a local buddy hike a nice bull out of this local: N38° 29.809' W108° 36.689'

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Atlas

ndismaps.nrel.colostate.edu

 

[Stalker26]

My wife was lucky enough to draw a unit 61 archery hybrid tag this year. I was able to hunt 61 with two buddies in 2012 and 2013. It will be fun and interesting to see the changes since then. I am looking forward to getting our boots on the ground and finding her first elk.

 

[BoulderBulls]

My wife was lucky enough to draw a unit 61 archery hybrid tag this year. I was able to hunt 61 with two buddies in 2012 and 2013. It will be fun and interesting to see the changes since then. I am looking forward to getting our boots on the ground and finding her first elk.

Welcome to hunttalk! Hopefully y'all can share a great trip report later this fall!!

 

[Elkhunter0626]

From my experience it seems that people who expect to go into a trophy unit and think they will see 330+ bulls from the road usually do get disappointed. If you are willing to get out and do some scouting, get away from the main roads, put in the work.. the big bulls are still out there. Don’t get discouraged

 

[old270hunter]

Ha! It doesn’t decrease demand. It just means that those who draw seem to be more disappointed on average, even without the corresponding animal quality.

But that’s just a WAG at why top tier units seem to be getting a lot of bad press. Could have nothing to do with it at all.

My theory of not decreasing demand in fact proved itself again in this year’s draw. I was “unsuccessful”. I believe we should start a “no elk in unit 61” movement.

 

[Phaseolus]

I used to hunt 61 and 62 for elk. Problem I saw way back then in the 90s was development was growing at a rapid pace. Lotta people wanna live in elk country but doing so deteriorates the quality of elk habitat. I hunted west of Montrose and Delta for years and back then you could still get plenty of quality bulls just finding a good spot and letting the orange hats push them to you if you knew how to setup and stategize. 62 is better than 61 but still development in that area is not good for hunting.

Development in 61? Nucla and Naturita sure are booming…62 is better habitat but…

 

[COHunter67]

Not a decline, but increased pressure with add hunt availability during prime elk seasons. A lot of folks up there running around with rifles during archery season. Gotta got deep & earn it nowadays!!