Colorado elk hunting, 1st timers looking for advise.

[trophyhunt]

Hello all, my dad is 70 years old and wants to hunt Co before he dies. He is in ok shape, can walk behind locked gates if not too steep. We hunt Idaho every year in unit 10a and he has never killed a bull in his life, we live in Wa. He has always bow hunted but this year he switched to rifle because pulling the bow back was just too tough for him, so we are looking at going rifle. I have a friend that has always wanted to also hunt Co so we would have at least 3 guys. I don't want to have to draw a special tag, that doesn't work well for me in Wa, so an otc tag would be preferred. Unless some draws are easy for 3 or 4 guys to pull down? There seems to be a ton of elk in that state but the regs seem kinda confusing and not knowing the area at all makes it tough to just pick a unit. I would love to see him kill a bull before he passes, any help would be great as I don't know much at all about hunting there. We are experienced elk hunters but he just hasn't had the right bull walk by him. Thanks for any info!

 

[SHTF]

TH,

Your from my home town area. I lived in Sumner for years. Good that you are looking to bag an elk with your dad. Sure to be a hunt that youll remember for the rest of your life. I gotta be honest with you. If I were in your shoes I would definitely look at a guide service so you can make sure you fulfill your dads dream of bagging that elk before his years keep him from the field. I would spare no expense in making that happen. Plenty of guides in Colorado who have already setup Blinds who can put him on an elk with no issues at all. It will definitely keep your dad from a hard hunt and also increase his success rate by going this route. Time is against you and his physical ability also. You want to do what you can to maximize his chance with minimal effort by him trekking in 5 to 10 miles. Guide service will also have the means to help get his Bull packed out. Good luck my friend and its good to see your looking to fulfill that bucket list item with your dad. Keep us posted.

 

[ssliger]

If it were me I would either hire a guide or look into a landowner tag on a good ranch. Good luck

 

[ckleeves]

There is tags that you could get drawn for your first year. A lot of the OTC units have a first season that is draw only but easy to draw in some units. They are units that you can buy a OTC tag for second or third season, but they limit the tags in the first and fourth season. These hunts can be (IMO) quite a bit better than the unlimited hunts just because of the pressure. The disadvantage is that your stuck in one unit , although some are good for multiple units, just need to check the regs.

A general OTC rifle bull tag can be a tough tag to fill. Look at the success rates and you will see its no easy hunt. Granted, a lot of these hunters never get out of the truck or leave camp, but I have been along on quite a few general hunts that took quite an effort to produce a legal bull.

 

[trophyhunt]

He can't afford a guided hunt and I can't afford to pay for us both, I agree with you that, that option would be the best. I will have to really study their regs, we are going back to Idaho this year so I have some time for research. Thanks for your advise, keep it coming!!

 

[bowinhand]

Consider a pack in muzzle loader hunt as the weather can be crappy in oct rifle and he can still use a firearm, but with all muzzle loader tags you will be limited to one unit