You should! Colorado has a lot of cats. I kind of geek out with lures, I have quite a few and I use different ones at each set and then take notes on what catches. To be honest, most of them will work if the conditions are right. I really like anything by Halseth, O'Gormans, Dobbins and Grahams...
Stock 2012 F-150 with Falken Wildpeaks. have a tow strap and chains but I rarely ever need them. You really dont need a fancy rig for mountain driving. I can go to 90% percent of the places anyone else does in a regular vehicle. In fact, most guys who have fancy expensive rigs are too scared to...
Does anyone have a lead as to what work is being done to stop it? I haven't seen any petitions to sign or meetings I need to attend. Maybe @Howl For Wildlife ?
I'll echo what the others have said with him not seeing any elk after your calling he may have became uninterested or spooked. or maybe not. Thats just elk hunting.
I'll echo a lot of what has been said here. Both have their pros and cons. Onx is more user friendly in a lot of cases and has better imagery. I think GoHunt has them beat with the overlays though, especially the game distribution.
Now is it's always a good idea to give people as much space as possible. If you gave them a buffer, safety wise, you aren't in the wrong at all though and likely didn't scare off anymore elk than they already have just by camping there. It doesn't seem like they are way back in the backcountry...
You dont/cant hunt those states every year, or every other year, heck maybe every 10 years. So what are the years of your life and the experience itself worth? Colorado is a cheap tag. Your state doesn't even offer nonresidents an elk license.