Colorado Unit/GMU 14

[Dmaggio156]

Hey all,

So first time elk hunter. Big whitetail hunter from the east. I’m looking to do an otc Elk tag october next year. From what I’m reading steamboat is pretty busy. I’m a big backpacker and hiker so moving terrain won’t be as horrible on me. My game plan was to hike in approx 3.5-4 miles and camp then continue to hunt north and east. And glass a lot. How far off am I. I have the mentality of I see an elk it’s worth wild to me. Also i have backpacked a lot carrying 90+ pounds of gear and weight. if i go it's for at least 2 weeks to give me enough time to pack meat out if i'm lucky enough. Also currently this is a solo hunt that may upgrade to a 2-3 man hunt.

 

[WTFJohn]

Hey all,

So first time elk hunter. Big whitetail hunter from the east. I’m looking to do an otc Elk tag for second rifle next year. From what I’m reading steamboat is pretty busy. I’m a big backpacker and hiker so moving terrain won’t be as horrible on me. My game plan was to hike mad creek up approx 3.5-4 miles and camp then continue to hunt north and east. And glass a lot. Overlooking Margaret lake and mirror lake and hunt between mt Ethel and the dome in those draws. I was also looking at glassing from horse thief peak. How far off am I. I have the mentality of I see an elk it’s worth wild to me.

If your plan A is to hike 6+ miles in then shoot a bull solo on your first hunt, you should work on a plan B too. That’s 4 trips, 12 miles round trip, 6 of which will be carrying over 60 lbs of meat & head. You’re going to walk past a lot of elk, run into a lot of hikers, and you’re going to get to where you’re going (maybe) just to find out that some guys got there with horses the day before and what you thought you could glass from is thick with beetle kill and offers no major vantage points.

Don’t take that the wrong way; it can be done. It’s also easier to have a successful hunt if you haven’t posted where you’re wanting to go down to the drainage on one of the busiest backpack hunting sites on the internet.

 

[Kimber22]

Lots of tips learned right here...

 

[Teaman1]

Think they were just saying that you should not go out and post your “game plan” other people may try to copy it. I’ve done it, but people don’t care to post a response on the forum because hundreds of others will read it and use the same tip you were given.
I’m hunting 14 in October for the first time. I can PM you anything that could help a new hunter out. This is only hunt #6 for me so I’m still pretty green as well

 

[elkduds]

Welcome to the forum. Good luck up there.

 

[Fishforfun]

It’s an OTC unit in CO. There are very few if any secrets. Now, hiking in 4-6 miles and starting from there solo, that concerns me.

 

[cnelk]

Again - since my first post was deleted - you are in for a rude awakening.
3-4 miles in elk country is NOT walking 3-4 mi in whitetail woods.
I dont care if you're a big WT hunter or not.

To put it into perspective, 6am on the morning of Sept 6, I hiked up from 10,000' to 11,000 in less than a mile.
Called in and shot a 6pt bull at 7am. It took me 2+ hrs to break him down to get ready for transport.

First load was a front quarter and all loose meat - 70lbs + my daypack weight = 90lbs total.

Took me another hour+ to make it down the steep slope, then take the meat back to camp.
By that time it was noon.
Ate something and waited for a couple buddies to come and help.

We then went back up to 11,000', I took another front quarter and the rack + pack weight, my buddies each took a hind quarter at 60lbs each + pack weight. That took another 3 hours.

By 6pm we were done - three of us.

If I was by myself, it would taken 2 days. And I was only a mile uphill

I wish you the best