Complete Noob.

[CayenneHunter]

Hey guys. Longtime whitetail guy here. This year will be my first time out West. (Colorado OTC) Been planning this and procrastinating for years. My son just turned 16, so I'm out of excuses not to go.

My low level objective is just to get out there, stay safe, start learning from firsthand experience and do better next time. I'm from S. Louisiana, so the terrain and altitude is new to me. Me and the son are in good shape, and my plan, after a 3 day acclimation period, is to hunt from the trailhead and hopefully get to see an elk. If we fire a shot, awesome. Mostly going for the experience first time out.

Looking for some tips and or units that would help put a cow in the cooler. Ideally I'd tag along with someone with experience, but there's literally nobody in my circle of friends.

Any advice would be helpful and appreciated. I'm married, so telling me I'm stupid won't hurt my feelings.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Tons of info on this forum, best advice is truly READ READ and more READING! From gear, e scouting, tactics, getting in shape, you'll find it here.
The learning and planning is just as much fun as the hunt-enjoy!

 

[WRM]

I'm from the Southeast as well, so I understand how hard it can be to pull the trigger for that first trip. Good luck! You'll almost certainly have a good time and make some great memories with your son. Read up is going to be advice you'll hear over and over.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

Dont worry about this or that unit. Elk are everywhere in CO. Pick the area/terrain that you view as trophy country and go hunt. Good luck this season!!

 

[eddielasvegas]

As the self-appointed chairman of the welcoming committee, it is my privilege to extend a laurel, and hearty handshake (virtual, of course) to our new member.


Eddie

 

[CayenneHunter]

Tons of info on this forum, best advice is truly READ READ and more READING! From gear, e scouting, tactics, getting in shape, you'll find it here.
The learning and planning is just as much fun as the hunt-enjoy!

Absolutely agree on the planning. I strategize all year on whitetails and when everything comes together it's awesome.

My problem now is paralysis through analysis. Sooo much information. Figure first is to find a good unit. Access, animals, habitat, etc. Then start the more refined planning. But honestly, I'm still slightly overwhelmed with my gear setup. Lots of options and none are cheap. But if I don't do it, it's always going to be intimidating.

Barring disaster, me and my boy get to make some memories. That's my only goal. Keep him safe. Everything else can be corrected next time. He still thinks I'm super dad, so anything that makes the trip more successful helps further that illusion.

 

[CayenneHunter]

As the self-appointed chairman of the welcoming committee, it is my privilege to extend a laurel, and hearty handshake (virtual, of course) to our new member.


Eddie

Thanks.

Been reading the boards for years. I haven't bought a piece of gear yet that didn't involve referencing this board first. Really other than a few overly needy conversations with the few experienced elk guys I've met and some YouTube videos, this place has been my sole resource in making this trip possible.

 

[crich]

Ill second some of the above posts and say dont overthink it. Make yourself a list of criteria you want the unit to have, pick one and just go for it. Learn what the cows are looking for the time of year you want to hunt. Much like whitetails you want to know what effects the time of year, weather, pressure etc will have on the animals. I over analyze literally EVERYTHING and my first year driving from SC to CO eventually I had to just dial in a plan and stick to it. I learned a ton on that first hunt, even more on my second and so on.

Hunting whitetails on the ground and hunting elk on the ground are completely different. My first year I stalked around like I was trying to sneak up on my sisters cat and regretted not covering more ground. The elk are either in a drainage or their not.

The Altitude had much more of an effect on me the first trip than I anticipated and everyone is different. That year my buddy and I both worked out together (i was 26 at the time) and were in fantastic shape lifting heavy and running 6min miles. The first incline I was gassed after 5 minutes with my pack off trying to catch my breath thinking I was going to asphyxiate while he stood there going "damn dude are you alright?" By day 2 I was solid. Granted we started our hike at 8k feet.

Good luck and enjoy your newfound addiction

 

[WI Shedhead]

Look at buying the elk 101 course. Great info for newbies

 

[grossklw]

You'll have a blast, one small sugestion on your first trip would probably be truck camp. Stay mobile, you can always spike in for a couple days if you find elk, but it can be a long hike out when you spike in 5 miles and waste 4 days in an area with no elk sign.

I second the Elk101, it lowers the learning curve. Treeline academy is great as well. E-scouting and when you actually see it are two very different animals, e-scouting is a start, boots on the ground is where you learn.

One other thing I think gets overlooked, don't waste time where there aren't elk. If you're not seeing fresh sign (not all that different than a whitetail), move. Dont spend 3 days in a drainage if you're not seeing, hearing, or finding fresh elk sign.

 

[bz_711]

Some quick random thoughts:
-don't sell yourself short on 1st time out, realistically you won't tag, but have the mindset you will...there are elk in OTC units
-truck camp on your first hunt, no sense in bivy - way harder than anybody leads on. This also allows you to move to another area quickly, even on same day (morning vs. evening hunt)
-pay attention to other hunters/trucks/pressure as much as elk sign...meaning i don't like parking at trailheads. Park at random roadside spots and bushwhack. Do things that are hard and help avoid other hunters...such as head uphill from road, cross major creeks...with this you may only need to get 1/2 mile to find elk vs. following a trailhead trail for 2-4 miles like everyone else is
-get a windchecker bottle and use that every 15 minutes (I'm talking archery primarily), nothing will help your success more once you are in proximity to elk than keeping your wind/scent going away from them. If you're not covered in wind checker powder at some point each day, you're not checking it often enough
-STAY POSITIVE! If it's day 3 and you've seen nothing, take a 1/2 day to drive to town for pizza and a shower...does wonders to get your head back in the game.

-Have fun, look up and smile often...take pics and share with us when you get back. Good Luck!

 

[K.S.]

Shotgun blast of thoughts:
1. You're going to have a Blast!
2. You will get your teeth kicked in by how little air there is in the air!! I'm from northeast Indiana, we can't train for the altitude either. It takes a couple days to adjust for sure.
3. Get in better shape! Google earth doesn't do any justice to how steep those mountains really are!
4. You're going to have a Blast!
5. Call the biologist for the area you decide to hunt, after you've done your own homework.
6. Line up a meet packer now.
7. ElkNut and elk 101, soak them in!
8. Stay Positive
9. You don't need a lot of the stuff you are probably going to pack.
10. You're going to have a Blast!

 

[Scoot]

All good advice and info above. Elknut and Elk101 are very good. Also, there are a million threads/posts on the internet that have so many gold nuggets in them it's crazy. Learn who provides really valuable info and listen to what they say. Lots of internet blowhards and know-it-alls who should be ignored, but the ones who know there stuff through years of experience should be listened to. Also, many of those wise old sages totally disagree on how to kill an elk. Neither is typically wrong, it's just that there's more than one way to skin a cat! Calling, spot and stalk, ambush, sitting water/wallows, etc.- it can all work!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[CayenneHunter]

Truck camping is the plan for this trip. My son isn't weak minded, but he hasn't been exposed to something like this before. I'm anticipating him being eager, but I don't want to burn him out either. I plan to bring a spinning rod, so if things get too tedious, we'll fish and make s'mores. Good time isn't an option, because he's basically my alibi. If he wasn't tagging along, I have serious doubts that his mom would be so gracious about all the money I'm spending.

Hunting season and long road trips has been our thing since he killed his first deer at 8. I anticipate the trip being a success regardless of the outcome.

And I'm gonna do the elk 101. The wife is kinda numb with the money that being spent, so I'll just tag it on there like it was the plan all along.

Thanks for all the feedback so far. Really appreciate it.

 

[ElkNut1]

Is this a Rifle hunt or Bow hunt?

ElkNut

 

[CayenneHunter]

Is this a Rifle hunt or Bow hunt?

ElkNut

Rifle. My son never took an interest in archery, but I tried to start him at 8 like I was.

 

[Shad71]

Get some quality binos and learn to slow way way down and let the glass do the walking for you ..

 

[kentuckybowman]

Pick a couple of units and go learn them, it will take time but you will figure out how to hunt them if you work hard enough and you can go back year after year and get into elk.

 

[CayenneHunter]

Get some quality binos and learn to slow way way down and let the glass do the walking for you ..

So that's honestly where I plan to skimp the first year. I have a set of 10x50s that I use for whitetail. I was planning to bring them for now.

Between outfitting my son and myself plus his gun and scope this year, I'm trying to spread it out. Besides, if we don't tag out. I can always come home and tell the wife how better glass would have made a difference.

 

[ElkNut1]

OK, rifle hunt, are we hunting Oct. - Nov. ? Is this a Cow tag, Bull tag or either sex tag?

ElkNut