CO GMU 54 Update

[Ranger185]

Hey all,

Just spent a week out in Gunnison's West Elk Wilderness and ended up coming home eating tag soup. Really dry conditions, drainages were empty, Blue Mesa Reservoir is at 38% capacity and all sign was at least 2 weeks old. Moved camp 3 times looking for any sign in the area. Nights were quiet, and no animals heard. Spoke to a local rancher who said he's been moving his herd from area to area due to the low water.

Wondering if anyone else saw some of the same stuff around CO. Was tough hunting for sure, but not for lack of effort. Definitely put the miles in and searched from 12,500 down to 7,000.

Nonetheless, it was good to be out in the wilderness during this time of the year.

Ranger

 

[JMarbs]

I was on the south side of 53 and had the same experience. We were moving from 6am-8pm everyday looking for fresh sign and found nothing. We checked out ridges, drainages, aspens, and dark woods, and found zero sign that was within two weeks. We weren't even seeing deer and usually our area is covered up in them. I think the only thing pulled out in our area was a scraggly raghorn that someone got on a guided hunt.

Of course it was still a success to be out in the wilderness, but would've been nice to see some Wapiti.

Jmarbs

 

[Ranger185]

Sorry to hear J, but it's good to know I wasn't the only one out there experiencing it.

 

[slick trick]

how crowded was 53 ? I think 53 and 63 have gotten pounded so hard the last 4 or 5 years it has changed the whole herd movements and where the elk and deer stay. 53 and 54 are some of the most beautiful units to visit and I think the hiking and camping along with the write ups that have been posted about the West Elk Wilderness have hammered the herd. Don't get me wrong you can still find elk and deer there but man they better get a handle on them Bears- there have got to be more Bears per square mile there then any where's else.

 

[TR909]

Sheep, sheepdogs, dry condition, a silent rut and gorgeous fall color. That's what I'm experiencing in 10+ days in 53 and 521. Usually I can hear them at night on the private property on the eastern edge of 54. Not this year. I don't know much about the population dynamics of the West Elks, but I do believe we're seeing behavioral evolution in the flesh.

 

[Ranger185]

I didn't see much pressure in 54. Less than 10 hunters in the 3 drainages I ran in. But it was quiet for sure.

 

[slick trick]

yep and CPW is going to be putting a change on those units real soon Iam afraid-I bet 53 and 63 go to draw

 

[Ranger185]

54 already did go that route. But judging by the Biologists report from this year, I would bet you're right slick.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I was in places last weekend with plenty of water but low elk numbers, I wasn't hunting them so not looking hard for them specifically but still good habitat and old sign. Even when we did see a herd close up the bull was quite. Got a report from someone hunting goats last week that they didn't see/hear any elk in that vicinity as well (and its good elk country down below the goats).

 

[5MilesBack]

I was south of you and I never did see much fresh sign at all all week. But I did get into bugling elk every time out except once, even without the sign. Even had one bull just about run me over. Got to about 5 yards on a dead run as we both went around this large pine at the same time. Just about blew slobber on me as he was screaming at the same time. So hard to get a shot in that thick timber even when they're standing at 20 yards.

But man is it dry out there, and cattle and sheep everywhere. It's impossible to sneak in on anything, it's like walking on potato chips. A lot of the water spots are dry, including streams. But I'll be back at it this week looking for that herd bull that tried to trample me.

 

[Jbehredt]

I was south of you and I never did see much fresh sign at all all week. But I did get into bugling elk every time out except once, even without the sign. Even had one bull just about run me over. Got to about 5 yards on a dead run as we both went around this large pine at the same time. Just about blew slobber on me as he was screaming at the same time. So hard to get a shot in that thick timber even when they're standing at 20 yards.

But man is it dry out there, and cattle and sheep everywhere. It's impossible to sneak in on anything, it's like walking on potato chips. A lot of the water spots are dry, including streams. But I'll be back at it this week looking for that herd bull that tried to trample me.

My wife and I decided they’re only pooping in carefully selected places now. We were on elk 7 of 8 days but only through fresh sign once.
ETA, She thinks they may also be burying it.....

 

[5MilesBack]

Yep. People always say "if there's no fresh poop, there's no elk". But I saw probably close to 100 elk this past week in areas that had no fresh poop at all anywhere I saw them. I go off of bugling to tell me where the elk are.......poop or no poop.

 

[Bulldawg]

There's elk there,, no s***??

Yep. People always say "if there's no fresh poop, there's no elk". But I saw probably close to 100 elk this past week in areas that had no fresh poop at all anywhere I saw them. I go off of bugling to tell me where the elk are.......poop or no poop.

 

[njdoxie]

Yep. People always say "if there's no fresh poop, there's no elk". But I saw probably close to 100 elk this past week in areas that had no fresh poop at all anywhere I saw them. I go off of bugling to tell me where the elk are.......poop or no poop.

Agreed, few years back saw a bull come out of timber at same exact spot 2 nights in a row, after I spooked him good with my scent the 3rd night, I walked to the place the elk was exiting the timber expecting to find a trail, and there was nothing, not a trace of a trail, zero elk sign. I like to see elk sign, but the absence of it doesn’t sway me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ChrisAU]

Maybe the dryness has them constipated.