First Time Elk Hunter - Colorado Unit 71 (72, 73, 711)

[NorCal Hunter]

Hello Everyone,

I began hunting for the first time last year (age 46) and harvested a beautiful California Mule Deer. I owe my success, in part, to some of the assistance received on this platform--thanks to those of you who provided a total novice with some useful advice!

This year I drew a second chance Colorado Elk tag for unit 71 (also includes 72,73 and 711). This is the first rifle hunt and it runs from October 13th to October 17th.

Having never hunted Elk and never visited this region of Colorado I'm starting from scratch. So far, I've begun looking online to get a feel for terrain and I've left a message for the wildlife biologist in the area in hopes of learning a bit about the Elk in the area--feed, travel patterns and maybe a general place to start during the period of time I'll be hunting.

All this said, I'm hopeful some of you might be familiar with the area and have some advice for a first time elk hunter (also my first out of state hunt) who has never visited this part of Colorado. Any advice would be much appreciated. And, I'd be happy to return the favor to any of you looking to visit California on a hunt or even for vacation.

Many Thanks,
Newbie Hunter

 

[Bulldog0156]

Don't waste your time in 711.

 

[NorCal Hunter]

Thank you Bulldog0156! I will scratch it from my research.

 

[wannakillabigbull]

Be prepared for bad weather. The Southwest Hunting Guide written by the biologists in the area state that hunter success often depends on weather. Do not skimp on gear and expect the worst every day you leave your camp. Other than that it sure is beautiful country, good luck to you!

 

[NorCal Hunter]

Thank you WannaKillABigBull!

 

[CaliforniaPL]

Hi NorCal Hunter - I'm also a newbie hunter embarking on my first season ever this fall. Mind sharing anything you learned about locations in CA? What unit did you take your mule deer in? I'm looking pretty closely at D and C, but those are large swaths of land and I'm still trying to figure out what impact the Camp Fire will have.

 

[lifesupport4u]

Hello Everyone,

I began hunting for the first time last year (age 46) and harvested a beautiful California Mule Deer. I owe my success, in part, to some of the assistance received on this platform--thanks to those of you who provided a total novice with some useful advice!

This year I drew a second chance Colorado Elk tag for unit 71 (also includes 72,73 and 711). This is the first rifle hunt and it runs from October 13th to October 17th.

Having never hunted Elk and never visited this region of Colorado I'm starting from scratch. So far, I've begun looking online to get a feel for terrain and I've left a message for the wildlife biologist in the area in hopes of learning a bit about the Elk in the area--feed, travel patterns and maybe a general place to start during the period of time I'll be hunting.

All this said, I'm hopeful some of you might be familiar with the area and have some advice for a first time elk hunter (also my first out of state hunt) who has never visited this part of Colorado. Any advice would be much appreciated. And, I'd be happy to return the favor to any of you looking to visit California on a hunt or even for vacation.

Many Thanks,
Newbie Hunter

Look up the Colorado hunting atlas to determine their concentration areas and migration patterns.

 

[NorCal Hunter]

Hi NorCal Hunter - I'm also a newbie hunter embarking on my first season ever this fall. Mind sharing anything you learned about locations in CA? What unit did you take your mule deer in? I'm looking pretty closely at D and C, but those are large swaths of land and I'm still trying to figure out what impact the Camp Fire will have.

I was lucky and pulled X2 my first year of hunting. I took the approach of calling the game warden to learn regions I could focus on. Ultimately, I spent 10 hours a day hunting the wind in areas I chose to focus on. So, I did a LOT of still hunting. It worked for me. There are burns where one could hike to high country and glass a lot, but I enjoyed exploring. On one day I jumped a buck from his bed and did not get a shot. I marked the coordinates, came back a couple days later, stalked the area, found the buck and harvested it. It was a great hunt. Good luck to you.

 

[NorCal Hunter]

Look up the Colorado hunting atlas to determine their concentration areas and migration patterns.

Thank you. I had an amazing hunt in the unit with only a couple days prior to the hunt spent scouting. Didn't get a shot, but did have some amazing close encounters and heard a lot of bugling.