Colorado-The right way to seek unit information????

[NashNative]

Well after a long time of looking at the awesome information on here I’m looking for more on a Colorado unit. What’s the right way to ask about specific units and connect with people? I understand posting units, and especially areas/drainages etc is a big no no.

So what do you do? Is there a right way?


Thanks

 

[ramsdude47]

If you search the unit of interest you may find something on here or another forum.

Then you can either try to revive that post or PM knowledgeable contributors. This has been my approach and has seemed to work pretty well.

 

[NashNative]

If you search the unit of interest you may find something on here or another forum.

Then you can either try to revive that post or PM knowledgeable contributors. This has been my approach and has seemed to work pretty well.

I have used the search and for sure have found some info. If reviving post I’d acceptable I can do this. I will also PM a few guys. There’s a few that have talked multiple times about hunting the area and what not. Just wanna make sure I’m going about things the right way.

 

[Jacobo2012]

Been on here for a while and still wonder this question


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BullElk]

the best way is to spend your time there and boot leather....

 

[BullsDeep]

Boots on ground....can't emphasize enough. I just got back today from my otc colorado hunt. First unit I spent 2.5 days of hell in. No sign, no elk. Moved units to another unknown area but had good features on the maps and went on to work 5 bulls and 2 spikes in 3 days. 4 of those bulls in the last day alone. and i never asked a single question about this unit I made my move into. Would I tell anybody anything about this area I found? Probably not.

 

[hobbes]

I'll sound like an ass to some but you have to consider what you are asking for. Elk hunting is hard, elk country is hard, and good Intel requires serious work that sometimes takes years to aquire. On top of that, competition on public land gets tougher every year.

You may get some info on units from someone generous, but the right way includes boot leather when it's all said and done. It's just a longer process if you are not local. I've shared a little info through PMs but to expect that someone should or even will share details, that they have serious sweat equity in, beyond what the game department stats show, is rather presumptuous.

 

[NashNative]

I'll sound like an ass to some but you have to consider what you are asking for. Elk hunting is hard, elk country is hard, and good Intel requires serious work that sometimes takes years to aquire. On top of that, competition on public land gets tougher every year.

You may get some info on units from someone generous, but the right way includes boot leather when it's all said and done. It's just a longer process if you are not local. I've shared a little info through PMs but to expect that someone should or even will share details, that they have serious sweat equity in, beyond what the game department stats show, is rather presumptuous.

I agree. I definitely don’t expect much. For me it’s more of am I completely lost or is this a decent game plan kind of thing. I’m ready to put the boots on the ground and look forward to learning how to hunt elk in general and not being dependent on a “spot” having elk.

 

[hobbes]

I agree. I definitely don’t expect much. For me it’s more of am I completely lost or is this a decent game plan kind of thing. I’m ready to put the boots on the ground and look forward to learning how to hunt elk in general and not being dependent on a “spot” having elk.

You are looking at the same drive that I had years ago before moving West. I was just 2 hours north of you on I24. Colorado, any state for that matter, really is a matter of picking a region/mountain range and finding the elk that are in it. Start with Google Earth or OnX, etc. Ignore the unit numbers other than a general sense of elk numbers and for regulations. Elk herds do not follow unit numbers. The only time to really concern yourself with specific units is for regulations and limited drawings. I used to dive into the stats like crazy, the engineer in me wouldn't relent, but it was mostly fruitless. After you find them, killing them is a whole other story.

I gotta go man. My coffee is ready and I've got a tag in my pack. .

 

[sndmn11]

I always find it a head scratcher when posts get revived with, "Hey (soandso), how did your scouting/last year's hunt/this year's hunt go?"

A private message would seem a lot more appropriate for that, and best communicates how clueless the person is.

Every single unit west of I25 has elk, after that, there are no absolutes or hard and fast rules beyond water, food, safety. So, your picks and plan are probably just as good as the next guy's.

 

[KyleR1985]

As a flat lander who took 3 years to kill my first bull OTC in Colorado with a bow:

- 90% of people who head west have a misconception of where they’re starting from because of the internet. You will have to crawl before walking. You’re learning an entirely new hunting process. That includes simple stuff like tags, regulations, where the animals live (macro and micro), animal behavior, etc. just because you read posts on rockslide or watched YouTube doesn’t mean you know anything about elk hunting. I know, I was a 90%er.

- whitetail are like rats. They’re extremely prolific and adaptable. And most places you kill them it’s easy. Plus they have very small home ranges. You bump one and it’s going to be within walking distance. Elk can run for miles if bumped. Having someone take your advice and end up in your unit can cost you a shot at a herd of elk, simply because they accidentally push a herd or two around. It’s not always direct, but 5-10 random encounters will eventually add up.

- the country is big out west, but it can be hunted from glass or by ear many times. Which means one person can cover an entire drainage or bowl in a day or two simply by sitting on a rock eating snacks and watching listening. Then the above about pushing elk can occur next.

- most people elk hunting for the first time only need a mention of a unit, or a tip from a friend of a friend, or some other small random event to randomly choose a unit or spot when they know nothing. I have witnessed first hand random first timers going full tilt into the middle of elk that I have spent time locating and planning an approach. It is significantly more frustrating than meeting another patient skilled hunter on the trail, realizing you’re hinting the same animals, and coming to a gentleman’s agreement about how to approach. One ends with no elk killed, one ends with friendships and maybe elk killed. They shouldn’t be different, but people are people.

- most people have very little understanding of wind and thermals, and even with a pile of hunting skills, can push elk out of a spot in a hurry.

- most flat landers who elk hunt for the first time think they want to kill an elk and pack it out. It usually takes a few days for the enormity of the task to be made clear to them. People willing to walk 2 or 5 or 10 miles on day one, blowing through good elk habitat thinking they can do it. Only to come to the realization that they’re physically incapable of completing a hunt, or don’t desire to. But they’ve already blown through the country. No one wants to facilitate that by saying “this unit has elk”. I’ve watched it first hand - both on trail, and within my own hunting group.

I say all these things having been part of either side of the happenings.

As an owner of land in Colorado, and a flat lander who finally punched a tag:

- I got absolutely NOTHING from asking about units on the internet. Not even logistical information. I spent dozens if not hundreds of hours trying. I got more in three total hours of lunches spent on a weekend in the unit during hunting season chatting folks up at trailheads, or at restaurant. Gas station. Stop and talk to a ranch hand mending a fence. USFS workers on trail. Local bartenders, especially ones that don’t hunt. No one wants to spend time in their hunting area not hunting. But my first year hunting I would have been better off spending a week around town in the unit I chose. I’d have shortened the curve I believe.

- access is key. Most people look at crowded units and areas, whether hunters or recreators, and write them off. Elk don’t want to see smell or hear humans. Usually one steep ridge or cliff line can put enough distance in their minds. But steep ridges and cliffs almost always have a way across. Most people don’t consider them from a distance. They look at trails on maps, and follow them in. Stop thinking like a human, and start thinking like an animal that doesn’t want to be around them.

- YouTube videos show 5-30 minutes of glory. They don’t show days weeks months and years of time effort money and focus built up into those glorious minutes. Recalibrate your brain.


- I’ve gotten as much elk intel walking around the mountains backpack camping, as I have hunting. Sometimes having a different goal when out there, and no pressure, allows you to pay attention to things tunnel vision of a defined goal makes you miss.


TLDR - there’s almost zero upside to sharing any type of unit information with strangers on the internet. Go to the place you want to hunt, and interact with the people and land there, in person.

 

[FerZam]

Nothing better than just going out there or hiring a guide for the first couple times.

 

[Grant K]

I'm not opposed to asking for info but in my experience, any info from the internet is suspect at best, and may even be worse than going in blind, the people willing to give out info online about easy to draw areas tend to not be the ones killing elk every year...
even E-scouting on a map is at best slightly helpful, the issue is that if you can see it on a map or google earth so can every other person using the same filters as you are.
I hunt usually at least two states for elk every year, and I enjoy picking a random unit I've never set foot in and figuring it out, my process is something like this: before I do much online searching I look at the map and google earth, I want to have a good general idea of the area before I color that with other peoples observations, I'll try to find a handful of spots that seem to be what I'm looking for, ideally spots where I can easily cover a lot of ground and move around easily, I avoid dead-end roads that are a 4-hour drive for example, my goal is to know those general areas well enough that when I set foot in the unit that it looks familiar, I know the roads and the drainages in a general sense, from there I do some research on google and youtube, it never ceases to amaze me how many people put out videos with a unit in the description, or discuss it on a forum like it is a PM, again, take it with a large grain of salt, but if you can match up terrain features to one of the areas you picked on the map you have confirmation that you are at least in a spot to start looking.

once all of that is done I view the first day in the unit as a confirmation mission, are the roads passable? do the trails on the map actually exist? are there a bunch of trails that are not on the map? if at all possible I drive the main roads and any side roads I'm likely to use, it's a pain but it keeps you from wasting a morning on a mission to nowhere, I also try to check that I can see as well as I want from glassing points, and get a feeling for what other hunters are up to, it's always interesting to me just how much local techniques vary...

once that is taken care of and the season is on keep moving until you find huntable elk, I'll hunt a different spot every morning and evening until I get on elk, and even leave elk if I don't think they are in a good spot.