Elk Hunt Colorado

all good units. i poked around in all those units a time or 3 when working in GJ. ultimately hunted elsewhere instead. but it was a tough decision not to hunt those areas. should be a fun hunt.
 
Used quality is better than new crap and often much cheaper. Wool from the Goodwill store is affordable. Spend money on boots and the pack. Lowe Alpine packs were good for less expensive. Not sure about the new stuff but I found them comfortable before I discovered KIfaru. warm bags that are a little heavy are cheap. Not fun to pack but in general, you can have light, cheap and good. But not all 3 at the same time. Tent...almost anything works except when mother nature hammers you.
 
Just a thought, REI and such outdoor stores often rent good stuff that you can try before buying. Its a good start and actually pretty affordable. Then when the season is done, buy up everyones used stuff as the rich guys stock up on new equipment :)
 
macobb said:
There’s four of us going. Units 30-32 and 21-22. Two have drawn tags and they went last year and we have a friend joining us that lives out there so there’s 5 total to pack in/out. I’m more or less going to learn and get some meat out of it. They were in elk last year and have a decent idea of the layout. I’m more or less trying to figure out how to get gear that will work on a budget. I have a good zero bag. I have badlands and first lite clothing already. I have a newly broke in pair of vaprtreks that I feel will be good boots for what we’re going into. I have a jet boil and plan on picking up some mountain house type meals and maybe break off to catch some trout in the evenings. I have binos, flashlights, knives covered. The way we hunt is more or less the plan they came up with after finding different areas through scouting the past month and what they found last year. My main items that I was wanting to focus on is tent, pack, way to filter water, and any gear tips I’m missing. Idk if this is enough helpful info. I’m very green to all this. I appreciate all the help.
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I love my mystery ranch metcalf as far as packs go. Seems to be one of the best built packs out there. Simple design yet durable and effective. If you time it right you can also find a 25% off sale and score a good price on them. Or buy their 2019 model as that will save you some dough. That is the pack I use.
 
Here is my list of absolutes. You can cut corners other places but not in these areas:

Long johns: decent poly pro wicking ones. Merino wool is great as well but much more expensive, so stick with poly pro this time. NEVER use cotton long johns. The thing you have to remember is the job of Long johns is NOT to keep you warm. It is to transfer sweat to outer layers so it will evaporate. Cotton doesn’t do that no matter how thick

socks: here is where Merino wool is absolutely what you need to use. Be sure around 70% wool. Again NEVER USE COTTON socks. If you do, your feet will be cold and wet and get blisters.

Boots: must be wellbroken in. The vaporteks will be fine.

sleeping bag: if you are cold at night you will not rest well and if you are really cold you would pay any amount of money to be warm. Don’t have to break the bank but don’t get a $30 bag. As far as temp rating, I use my 20 degree bag most. Very rarely pull out my 0 bag

Rain gear: if you get wet you will be miserable. So even if it’s sunny and warm and I am just going for a short trip to check an area, I NEVER leave-camp without my rain gear. You could end up shooting, wounding an animal, then tracking it for hours. All the sudden it’s late in the day and clouding up to rain. Rain gear can save your life. Because of that I take packable rain gear in my day pack on every single hunt. It doesn’t have to be $1000 Sitka gear. You can get by with pladtic Walmart pancho and pants if you have to but frog toggs will be better. Later you can get better ones.

as far as other stuff, people say “never wear cotton” but I have not found that to be true. As long as it is not your base layer, cotton is fine. I use jeans and a flannel shirt over long johns often.

Ibuprophen is your friend. You will need some after hiking those mountains!

have fun
 
Good comfortable sleeping pad with good R value.

Cheap tent from REI. Garage sale / return if you can. If not, if it self destructs you can at least return it.

Multiple pairs of good socks. Always have a second pair with you. Darn Tough are awesome.

Leukotape. Pre-tape hotspots. Thank me later, but you may need a belt sander to get the stuff off.

Water filtration: Nalgene, Steripen Classic, Tablets as a backup. Spare lithium batteries. Small bladder to carry extra water with you.

Gaiters: Outdoor Research Crocs

You'll need gear that will be fine in everything from warm and sunny, to rain, to deep snow. I would have decent rain gear, but puffy and insulating layers can be cheap.

Make sure your boots are waterproof and treated. If not, buy another pair now and start breaking them in.
 
macobb said:
There’s four of us going. Units 30-32 and 21-22. Two have drawn tags and they went last year and we have a friend joining us that lives out there so there’s 5 total to pack in/out. I’m more or less going to learn and get some meat out of it. They were in elk last year and have a decent idea of the layout. I’m more or less trying to figure out how to get gear that will work on a budget. I have a good zero bag. I have badlands and first lite clothing already. I have a newly broke in pair of vaprtreks that I feel will be good boots for what we’re going into. I have a jet boil and plan on picking up some mountain house type meals and maybe break off to catch some trout in the evenings. I have binos, flashlights, knives covered. The way we hunt is more or less the plan they came up with after finding different areas through scouting the past month and what they found last year. My main items that I was wanting to focus on is tent, pack, way to filter water, and any gear tips I’m missing. Idk if this is enough helpful info. I’m very green to all this. I appreciate all the help.
Click to expand...
There is no way I would spend time fishing unless you kill an elk early. And with that many guys, you won't have time to fish.
 
Lots of good deals to find for tents and bags. If you don't like it after one season, post it on the classifieds and try something else!

Completely agree on the mental attitude aspect. The mountains can destroy physically and mentally. Just keep going because right when your ready to give up, that elk will be right over the next ridge!
 
+1 for @Rob5589 - use the search feature. Try "rookie", "newbie" (and its various spellings), etc. Here are a few that might be helpful:
As for a couple of items that I found invaluable that I don't see mentioned often - chapstick and saline nasal spray. It's pretty crazy how much I used them due to the altitude, etc.

You may also want to change the title of your post to include "first hunt" or "new hunter" etc. get more specific feedback.
 
Don't leave any daylight on the table. Get a headlamp and hike in the dark. If you don't get anything, you at least want to leave thinking that you gave it everything you had.
 
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