Elk in unit 74 Colorado

[Dpty42]

Me and my two best friends have buck and some cow tags and will be getting OTC bull tags. We hunted 711 Glade mountain Ryman Creek area for 20 years with great success however last 5+ years its went down hill !!

We are gonna try Unit 74 around Hermosa Mountain and Grayrock mountain. We have a buddy from Durango supposed to go and help us if he get off work from a pipeline.

Would love any tips or advice on that area if anyone with experience would be so kind.

Going 3rd season leaving Monday before the opener to scout.

Many thanks! Love this Hunttalk.com

 

[TrumpkinTheDwarf]

I'm guessing you haven't read many threads like this before...

Good luck with your hunt!

 

[jdf]

Enjoy the process

 

[riv3rbanks]

Looking at 74 for 1st rifle Elk. Knowing that weather definitely plays a factor on where the elk may be, I've got a few different spots picked out in their summer range (western area) and winter range (eastern area). Looking to mostly do spot and stalk style hunting and glass heavily in some of the breaks from the 2018 fire (416 I think was the name). Willing to go in a few miles and further if required, but not looking to get too crazy. This will be my first time in this area and I'm wondering if anyone is familiar and/or lives in the area and had any tips for first timers.

 

[JD88]

I live close to 74 and hunted it since I was a kid and every year the elk numbers seem to go down. Gets a little tougher don’t get me wrong there is still elk but definitely better units out there. This just isn’t 74 all of the surrounding unit are in the same boat. I will be traveling this year out of the area for my elk hunt.

 

[riv3rbanks]

I live close to 74 and hunted it since I was a kid and every year the elk numbers seem to go down. Gets a little tougher don’t get me wrong there is still elk but definitely better units out there. This just isn’t 74 all of the surrounding unit are in the same boat. I will be traveling this year out of the area for my elk hunt.

I appreciate the feedback. Since Colorado makes you pick your unit at time of applying, I've already selected this unit. I think we'll go into it with real expectations and try to do our best to get away from the crowds and hopefully have some luck. Just hoping it's not too dry and hot during 1st rifle.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I'll get flak for this but here goes anyway.

I always thought the challenge and fun in a hunt was finding the game myself.

 

[riv3rbanks]

I'll get flak for this but here goes anyway.

I always thought the challenge and fun in a hunt was finding the game myself.

No flak from me. I agree with your statement. I was more looking for tips on what type of conditions I could expect and if I need to pack in water or not. Either way, I'll be ready for whatever comes my way.

 

[JRAguirre30]

Looking at 74 for 1st rifle Elk. Knowing that weather definitely plays a factor on where the elk may be, I've got a few different spots picked out in their summer range (western area) and winter range (eastern area). Looking to mostly do spot and stalk style hunting and glass heavily in some of the breaks from the 2018 fire (416 I think was the name). Willing to go in a few miles and further if required, but not looking to get too crazy. This will be my first time in this area and I'm wondering if anyone is familiar and/or lives in the area and had any tips for first timers.

Hey! I just applied for this hunt and it will be my first shot at out of state hunting. Just curious how your experience was and if it was easy to get away from crowds? I like to pack in a bit so I was looking into the north end of Hermosa creek wilderness area.

 

[perma]

Hey! I just applied for this hunt and it will be my first shot at out of state hunting. Just curious how your experience was and if it was easy to get away from crowds? I like to pack in a bit so I was looking into the north end of Hermosa creek wilderness area.

Welcome back to HT!

 

[riv3rbanks]

Hey! I just applied for this hunt and it will be my first shot at out of state hunting. Just curious how your experience was and if it was easy to get away from crowds? I like to pack in a bit so I was looking into the north end of Hermosa creek wilderness area.

We had a good time and got into some elk after two days of glassing. The elk we were chasing were not trophies but they were legal. This country is steep but beautiful. Unfortunately, we came home empty-handed but definitely learned some things. Don't chase elk into the valley, wait until they come back up to bed for the evening. We were only about 1.5 miles from the trailhead to our camp and only saw another group on a different ridge a couple of miles away and a few other groups several miles away. The elk were just under a mile or so hike from our glassing spot. If we got one down it would've been probably 2.5-3 miles of hiking with heavy packs. We had 3 people and it likely would've still taken 2 trips to get everything out. Are you going solo or with a group?

One piece of advice I would give is to take additional water pouches. The nearest stream from our camp/glassing area was a hike. We ended up melting quite a bit of snow because of this and almost ran out of stove fuel, but thankfully had some spare fuel in the truck. Good luck with your hunt!

 

[JRAguirre30]

We had a good time and got into some elk after two days of glassing. The elk we were chasing were not trophies but they were legal. This country is steep but beautiful. Unfortunately, we came home empty-handed but definitely learned some things. Don't chase elk into the valley, wait until they come back up to bed for the evening. We were only about 1.5 miles from the trailhead to our camp and only saw another group on a different ridge a couple of miles away and a few other groups several miles away. The elk were just under a mile or so hike from our glassing spot. If we got one down it would've been probably 2.5-3 miles of hiking with heavy packs. We had 3 people and it likely would've still taken 2 trips to get everything out. Are you going solo or with a group?

One piece of advice I would give is to take additional water pouches. The nearest stream from our camp/glassing area was a hike. We ended up melting quite a bit of snow because of this and almost ran out of stove fuel, but thankfully had some spare fuel in the truck. Good luck with your hunt!

Thanks for the info! It will be me and my brother in-law going but only I will have a tag. He wasn’t quite ready to fork out the money but he offered to join me. I have some spots marked the are about 2 miles from trailheads/roads so I’m happy to hear that should be enough to get away. You mention snow and I live in the desert so I do not know too much about snow, but, am I way off base to be looking at spots at 9000+ elevation range? It seems like a good place to start, go high then work down.

 

[riv3rbanks]

Thanks for the info! It will be me and my brother in-law going but only I will have a tag. He wasn’t quite ready to fork out the money but he offered to join me. I have some spots marked the are about 2 miles from trailheads/roads so I’m happy to hear that should be enough to get away. You mention snow and I live in the desert so I do not know too much about snow, but, am I way off base to be looking at spots at 9000+ elevation range? It seems like a good place to start, go high then work down.

I would say you're good that far in to get away from any crowds. During first rifle, there may not be any snow to speak of, but there is always a chance when you are up that high. I would also say 9k plus is a good elevation to get into some elk. Focus on the north-facing slopes and pick every piece of open space apart. The elk we found were on the mountainside we glassed for an entire day, but it was so heavily wooded, it took us another day to finally spot them.

 

[Bolts51]

I would say you're good that far in to get away from any crowds. During first rifle, there may not be any snow to speak of, but there is always a chance when you are up that high. I would also say 9k plus is a good elevation to get into some elk. Focus on the north-facing slopes and pick every piece of open space apart. The elk we found were on the mountainside we glassed for an entire day, but it was so heavily wooded, it took us another day to finally spot them.

Hey I was just curious if you guys happened to see any bucks up around 9k during 3rd season?