Backcountry Outfitted Hunt - CO or MT?

[Grant K]

I'd be doing MT or WY for a wilderness hunt for sure, CO wilderness feels quite a bit less remote in general, you just aren't that far back no matter where you go, and there are no wolves or Grizz.

 

[jmichaelberg]

Wyo Task Force - Nonres Comments!

If you are a concerned nonres and have years of applications and $ invested into the Wyo pref pt system....especially for the Big 5 species you can submit comments directly to the Task Force for the July 8th meeting. You must do this by 5:00 pm on July 6th! 90:10 would cut nonres limited tags...

www.rokslide.com

Thanks, that's good to know. I won't be hunting WY in 21 but assuming this passes sooner or later, it will change my wyoming application tactics.

 

[Laramie]

Lifelong bird hunter, adult onset elk hunter. Actually, I've yet to hunt elk, but I am presently accumulating the gear and will go in 2022. I have zero big game hunting experience and so it follows that I am greener than green when it comes to western hunting. I am resolved to go on a backcountry hunt, horses and wall tents and all that, in either CO or Montana. What are your opinions of each state, where I should go, and even better, outfitter reviews. Thanks in advance.

Coming from a long time guide - Do yourself, and the guide a favor and deer hunt at home this year so you have a little big game experience. Shoot your rifle a lot. Become proficient out to at least 300 yards with quality ammunition.

Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. Back country hunts are awesome, but they are also challenging.

Do you have any experience on a horse? Are you in shape? If no to either or both, change that long before the hunt.

I would recommend avoiding grizzly areas until you have a little more mountain experience. Colorado has some great back country hunting that is generally more affordable and still high success rate.

Good luck planning.

 

[KBrangers]

I’m thinking Colorado would be best

 

[Aviator]

Save a few Wyoming points and give Swift Creek Outfitter’s a call, ask them about the early rifle boundary hunt....I think he’s booked until 2024.

 

[Crowmangler]

Coming from a long time guide - Do yourself, and the guide a favor and deer hunt at home this year so you have a little big game experience. Shoot your rifle a lot. Become proficient out to at least 300 yards with quality ammunition.

Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. Back country hunts are awesome, but they are also challenging.

Do you have any experience on a horse? Are you in shape? If no to either or both, change that long before the hunt.

I would recommend avoiding grizzly areas until you have a little more mountain experience. Colorado has some great back country hunting that is generally more affordable and still high success rate.

Good luck planning.

THIS. Challenging and nerve wracking with a few moments of terror sprinkled in for fun LOL. Just did a wilderness thorofare hunt. You need to have your stuff in order & be in great shape, gear dialed in and be mentally prepared to handle all types of potentially dangerous situations. It's not easy spending several hours on a horse, riding them in the pitch dark through thick shit, along rock cliffs, etc. Grizzly encounters add a whole extra layer of intensity. Being in the wilderness, several hours from camp can feel like you're on another planet. Very humbling and awesome experience in a beautiful and rugged place.

 

[KOK]

for a woman i would rec CO

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

PM sent

 

[String&stick]

You do know they currently are proposing cutting nonresident tag allocations in half in WY for limited quota hunts, if you don’t have 20+ pts doubt you’ll ever draw. Next year could be your best time to use them.

Pretty difficult to have 20 elk preference points in Wyoming. . . But yes if you don't have max or max minus 1 I would be looking to burn points.

 

[Rideout3]

A good tell tell sign of what kind of outfit you dealing with is how booked they are. If a place has lots of openings, I would be wary. With draw systems now and life, holes do open up. All in all the better places will be booked a year in advance

Great point

 

[jmichaelberg]

Colorado and i would contact Tel Gates with Rivers Bend Outfitters they are in the Meeker, CO area and offer drop camp hunts exactly as you were describing. He was the most professional outfitter and guide i have ever used. PM for more details or his contact info

I ended up hunting drop camp at one of Tel's camps last fall. I didn't kill an elk but one hell of an experience for a couple of flat landers, surviving by ourselves in the Flat Tops in sub zero temps. For those that complain about the Flat Tops being a pumpkin patch, get about 10 miles back during 3rd rifle after 2 or 3 feet of snow.

 

[jmichaelberg]

That dream hunt is different to everyone. But to me, it’s the idea of the mountain man style experience. The nostalgia of hunting the same areas I read about as a kid, from both fictional and real accounts.

That means I want grizzly bears and big bulls. Which means WY or MT.

Way more barriers to entry in WY, so that would be first, MT second. That’s my “someday” hunt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got lucky with a '24 opening with Yellowstone Outfitters. I'm burning my points.