Critique my scouting plan for CO/1st rifle

Chris in TN

Lil-Rokslider
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I've mentioned before - my daughter has a 1st rifle tag for the typical southern CO unit with unlimited 2nd/3rd rifle tags and a ton of bow/muzzleloader tags.

Our plan, at the moment, is to be breathing thin mountain air by Thursday morning and be 'on site' by Thursday night. Season opens the following Wednesday morning. This gives us Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon to scout, Tuesday to set up camp, then hunt all 5 days of 1st rifle if needed and if we don't tap out or tag out before it ends.

My plan is that as much as a day of this should be allowed for car troubles or other logistic issues (weather?) that could happen. We have a cabin to stay in during these scouting days, then plan to tent camp somewhere between 0 and 9 miles back (lol) during season. Realistically 1-4 miles.

Day one: My plan is to take a short (6? mile round trip) hike into an area that is both lower in elevation (10k') and, more importantly, pretty level. Very little up/down if we follow a particular ridge trail. This isn't in our 'plan A' area but it's a spot that allows us to stretch our legs, look at Plan B through glass, and not completely gas ourselves on day one. We have all day to do this 6 miles. If not for the elevation change I'd call this a leisure day. We do 6 milers here at home (flatter, but hot and with heavy packs) enough that we don't see it as a big deal. Of course, there's air down here (we live at 650'). lol. If we handle this day well, the rest of the week should be doable.

Day two - there's a named peak we'd like to climb. It's named but less than 13k'. And we don't even have to make the summit - we can bring the spotting scope and glass a ton along what seems to be a lesser-used trail and if we make it to even 12k we'll have plenty of spots to glass within our Plan A area. This would be a hike of perhaps 4-6 miles, but steep. The bulk of it is uphill from the car, so we can turn around if it feels like too much.

Day three - I'd like to hike in to our Plan A core area, about a 10 mile loop that would take us up the trail, past where I think I'd like to camp, through some spots I think we'd find elk (I mean two different days of hunting at least), then back to the car. This would be almost a 4000' elevation day. The first four miles would be a booger - about 2000' of gain - then the rest of the day is more moderate with just smaller hills and maybe a 500' to 700' uphill at the end of the day. Again, we'd have all day to do this and as it starts uphill, we can turn around at most points through the day if we feel overwhelmed and the car is downhill, more or less.

That leaves a day extra, and a day to set up camp and rest. Or an extra day to scrap all our plans and move across the county as I see the current weather, water, wind, and game or lack thereof. I have backup plans from 5-20+ miles away. I don't want to use them though, of course.

Plan C is pretty involved and anything we do within it involves a 5 mile hike just to get started and from there we could go another 2-5 miles depending on what option looked best. At this point I'm thinking that plan A and B have to be completely terrible looking for us to do plan C. Honestly, I'd prefer Plan C. I'm just trying not to overwhelm my 13 year old. But we could check it out on that 4th day. Problem is, if we do that, we have to turn around and come out then go right back in with camp/packs the next day.

We are hiking here at home, we did a hike last week on vacation with a significant elevation component, we don't have to bring heavy packs on scouting trips nor be in a hurry. What seems like a tortuous hike might not be so bad if we have all day to do it.

I 100% understand that weather factors or us being overwhelmed by the elevation (it's never been an issue in the past but I know it can happen) could cause a complete change to be needed. Or we may get there and see no elk sign. Or we may scout and have a blast for 4 days then watch as half of Texas shows up the night before season and sets up in our campsite. I can't control those things. I just want to know what to be expecting and how to make good use of the time I have.

The plan is to glass from distances where we can, get off hiking trails and walk the edges of certain meadows, and just get a feel for the area. We might even stay out late some nights and listen for bugles.

The point, in all of this, is to cover ground looking for elk and elk sign. (I also think I have found a spot where I could safely confirm zero on the rifle on some USFS land that is open and not really elk habitat).

With five days to scout before 1st rifle what should I do differently?

Also - let's say we find what appear to be two different areas being used by what we assume are two different groups of elk, and perhaps we don't think we've scented up or spooked them from, either spot. Do you plan your opening day hunt for just whichever area you think is least likely to be pressured by other people?
 
When I went to Colorado I E scouted it for roads, drainages, vantage points etc. I arrived a couple of days early, glassed and drove around most of the unit. Seen Bulls every day, found Bulls the night before opener and killed on the next morning. My point is until you get there and see the country try and remain flexible. A lot can change once your boots on the ground. Best of luck!!
 
Don't wear yourself out before the hunt begins.
Resting for a day is an option. It'll drive me nuts but if my daughter needs it, that's what we will do. I want to be out early at least 3 of those 5 days but it isn't set in stone. There's some private land I'd sort of like to drive past at daybreak at least once.
When I went to Colorado I E scouted it for roads, drainages, vantage points etc. I arrived a couple of days early, glassed and drove around most of the unit. Seen Bulls every day, found Bulls the night before opener and killed on the next morning. My point is until you get there and see the country try and remain flexible. A lot can change once your boots on the ground. Best of luck!!
Was that in a unit with OTC 2nd/3rd tags? Did you focus on a smaller part of the unit or did you circle the whole area? Was it a smaller unit?
 
I like the plan of getting there 6 days before the season -plenty of time to acclimate and do some scouting. That being said, remember that in the mountains, everything is further, steeper and takes longer to get to then you anticipate. I'd err on keeping those scouting days mellow to avoid ending up in a position where you're doing a lot of hiking for 10 days straight.

As for your question about deciding which sign to hunt, yes, I would try to anticipate which area would be less likely to have hunters show up. That being said, there are guys who have been hunting these units for years, decades even, who may know these locations as perennial spots. Whichever spot you choose to hedge you opening day on, I'd study the map and try to anticipate how these elk that are leaving sign might respond to sudden pressure and have a plan to work your way there if you encounter other hunters with the same intentions.
 
I've mentioned before - my daughter has a 1st rifle tag for the typical southern CO unit with unlimited 2nd/3rd rifle tags and a ton of bow/muzzleloader tags.

Our plan, at the moment, is to be breathing thin mountain air by Thursday morning and be 'on site' by Thursday night. Season opens the following Wednesday morning. This gives us Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon to scout, Tuesday to set up camp, then hunt all 5 days of 1st rifle if needed and if we don't tap out or tag out before it ends.

My plan is that as much as a day of this should be allowed for car troubles or other logistic issues (weather?) that could happen. We have a cabin to stay in during these scouting days, then plan to tent camp somewhere between 0 and 9 miles back (lol) during season. Realistically 1-4 miles.

Day one: My plan is to take a short (6? mile round trip) hike into an area that is both lower in elevation (10k') and, more importantly, pretty level. Very little up/down if we follow a particular ridge trail. This isn't in our 'plan A' area but it's a spot that allows us to stretch our legs, look at Plan B through glass, and not completely gas ourselves on day one. We have all day to do this 6 miles. If not for the elevation change I'd call this a leisure day. We do 6 milers here at home (flatter, but hot and with heavy packs) enough that we don't see it as a big deal. Of course, there's air down here (we live at 650'). lol. If we handle this day well, the rest of the week should be doable.

Day two - there's a named peak we'd like to climb. It's named but less than 13k'. And we don't even have to make the summit - we can bring the spotting scope and glass a ton along what seems to be a lesser-used trail and if we make it to even 12k we'll have plenty of spots to glass within our Plan A area. This would be a hike of perhaps 4-6 miles, but steep. The bulk of it is uphill from the car, so we can turn around if it feels like too much.

Day three - I'd like to hike in to our Plan A core area, about a 10 mile loop that would take us up the trail, past where I think I'd like to camp, through some spots I think we'd find elk (I mean two different days of hunting at least), then back to the car. This would be almost a 4000' elevation day. The first four miles would be a booger - about 2000' of gain - then the rest of the day is more moderate with just smaller hills and maybe a 500' to 700' uphill at the end of the day. Again, we'd have all day to do this and as it starts uphill, we can turn around at most points through the day if we feel overwhelmed and the car is downhill, more or less.

That leaves a day extra, and a day to set up camp and rest. Or an extra day to scrap all our plans and move across the county as I see the current weather, water, wind, and game or lack thereof. I have backup plans from 5-20+ miles away. I don't want to use them though, of course.

Plan C is pretty involved and anything we do within it involves a 5 mile hike just to get started and from there we could go another 2-5 miles depending on what option looked best. At this point I'm thinking that plan A and B have to be completely terrible looking for us to do plan C. Honestly, I'd prefer Plan C. I'm just trying not to overwhelm my 13 year old. But we could check it out on that 4th day. Problem is, if we do that, we have to turn around and come out then go right back in with camp/packs the next day.

We are hiking here at home, we did a hike last week on vacation with a significant elevation component, we don't have to bring heavy packs on scouting trips nor be in a hurry. What seems like a tortuous hike might not be so bad if we have all day to do it.

I 100% understand that weather factors or us being overwhelmed by the elevation (it's never been an issue in the past but I know it can happen) could cause a complete change to be needed. Or we may get there and see no elk sign. Or we may scout and have a blast for 4 days then watch as half of Texas shows up the night before season and sets up in our campsite. I can't control those things. I just want to know what to be expecting and how to make good use of the time I have.

The plan is to glass from distances where we can, get off hiking trails and walk the edges of certain meadows, and just get a feel for the area. We might even stay out late some nights and listen for bugles.

The point, in all of this, is to cover ground looking for elk and elk sign. (I also think I have found a spot where I could safely confirm zero on the rifle on some USFS land that is open and not really elk habitat).

With five days to scout before 1st rifle what should I do differently?

Also - let's say we find what appear to be two different areas being used by what we assume are two different groups of elk, and perhaps we don't think we've scented up or spooked them from, either spot. Do you plan your opening day hunt for just whichever area you think is least likely to be pressured by other people?
I don’t want to come across as critical, but I’d suggest letting your daughter decide on the game plan based on how she does when she gets a day or two under her belt.

I understand you’ve put effort into figuring this hunt out so as to be successful, but your plans seem ambitious.
 
I don’t want to come across as critical, but I’d suggest letting your daughter decide on the game plan based on how she does when she gets a day or two under her belt.

I understand you’ve put effort into figuring this hunt out so as to be successful, but your plans seem ambitious.
That doesn't sound critical at all. Her enjoying this is ultimately more important than killing an elk. Having said that....we had a lot of long talks before starting down this road, about how this would be the toughest thing she'd ever done and I would push her a long way before I'd let her quit and she had to be on board with that before we started spending money on the trip. We've done some hot-day hikes with packs this summer that *I* would have complained about at her age. No complaints yet.
 
I like the plan of getting there 6 days before the season -plenty of time to acclimate and do some scouting. That being said, remember that in the mountains, everything is further, steeper and takes longer to get to then you anticipate. I'd err on keeping those scouting days mellow to avoid ending up in a position where you're doing a lot of hiking for 10 days straight.

As for your question about deciding which sign to hunt, yes, I would try to anticipate which area would be less likely to have hunters show up. That being said, there are guys who have been hunting these units for years, decades even, who may know these locations as perennial spots. Whichever spot you choose to hedge you opening day on, I'd study the map and try to anticipate how these elk that are leaving sign might respond to sudden pressure and have a plan to work your way there if you encounter other hunters with the same intentions.
Yeah. The other hunting pressure is undoubtedly the wild card here.
 
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