Planning my first elk hunt (Colorado)

[xziang]

Unit 15 has intermittent coverage with US Cellular (GSM) or Verizon (CDMA), so should have some roaming coverage at the very least.

On the East side of 15 I was able to have cell service on top of a peak I hiked to. On the west side of 15 I wasn't able to get any cell service. I have sprint for a carrier. Don't plan on service but you might get lucky.

 

[COlineman78]

On the East side of 15 I was able to have cell service on top of a peak I hiked to. On the west side of 15 I wasn't able to get any cell service. I have sprint for a carrier. Don't plan on service but you might get lucky.

Agreed on don't plan on it. Sprint is CDMA so when I had them I would roam on Verizon in 131 which is the North West corner of 15. US cellular has better service and I roam on them now with T-Mobile since they are GSM. It all depends on terrain, which is why Aron always has signal above treeline. Verizon is the best for back country service in CO; especially if you want data. I'm tempted to switch in the next week before I head up.

 

[BG305]

Agreed on don't plan on it. Sprint is CDMA so when I had them I would roam on Verizon in 131 which is the North West corner of 15. US cellular has better service and I roam on them now with T-Mobile since they are GSM. It all depends on terrain, which is why Aron always has signal above treeline. Verizon is the best for back country service in CO; especially if you want data. I'm tempted to switch in the next week before I head up.

Verizon is the only cell service that works where I'm at. I have T-Mobile but bought a prepaid Verizon at walmart to have for back country excursions.

 

[Shrek]

I have a love hate relationship with Verizon. I love their network but hate the expense. I have traveled around and nine times out of ten Verizon has the best overall coverage in the backcountry and rural areas. Nothing is 100% but if you are going to travel away from cities then Verizon is your best bet.

 

[COlineman78]

I have a love hate relationship with Verizon. I love their network but hate the expense. I have traveled around and nine times out of ten Verizon has the best overall coverage in the backcountry and rural areas. Nothing is 100% but if you are going to travel away from cities then Verizon is your best bet.

Agreed, the price is what has kept me away until now. Their new plans, as of a couple weeks ago, are now reasonable as long as you don't have to have the most recent iPhone because you are now paying for the phone outright. The nerd that I am, I can put custom software on older phones and make them work great for me for a long time. The major gripe with Verizon is the amount of bloatware that they put on their devices. If I can get a good price I will probably order a used Z3V from someone and hopefully have it by Thur so I can switch. They do have the best service by far. Sprint can usually roam on Verizon for free, but only at very slow speeds on a service called EDGE, so their faster LTE towers don't do you a whole lot of good.

 

[DWinVA]

Not sure how far you are driving but we caught a few winks at the Wal-Mart in Haze, KS before driving on in the next morning. Good luck.

God Bless.

 

[Finch]

Not sure how far you are driving but we caught a few winks at the Wal-Mart in Haze, KS before driving on in the next morning. Good luck.

God Bless.

We're closing in on St Louis with a tentative goal of getting a room in or around Kansas City which is about 5 hours from us now. That would give us about an 11 hour drive to our destination tomorrow.

My truck is so full we can't recline the seats back. Hoping to get a decent night's sleep in a cheap motel.

 

[Shrek]

Keep swapping drivers and go strait through. Buy a shower at a truck stop in or around Denver. It will reset your clocks so you can sleep easy in the mountains. You're health so 36hrs without sleep is easy. Catch naps while not driving and you'll be fine and be able to hunt most of the day Saturday. Of course if you knock one down late Saturday it will suck !

 

[Backyard]

^^^ What Shrek said. When we go out we take turns, three hrs. on, three off.
You will get some acclimation while sleeping at camp the first day at altitude when you get there which will help immensely.

Good Luck!!

 

[Finch]

Well we had to stop to get a room last night. Would rather get there a little later than not at all. Gps says we should get to our spot around 6 or so tonight. Thinking we will hike towards our destination as far as we can and set up camp for the night.

Couple questions though. I've been doing a little reading about transporting carcasses and meat thru other states. Without looking at the regs for each, what is our safest bet if we were to kill a bull and decide to bring back the head for a euro mount? It sounds like most states don't want any of the brain or spinal cord coming thru their state. Guess our only option for wanting a euro is to have it done while in CO, is that right?

I know we can skull cap it and just remove all the brain matter but I'm curious from the euro standpoint.

 

[DWinVA]

What they (our guides and a meat processor) told us was brains out of the skull and it's best to debone all of the meat. Beautiful country isn't it? In mild depression since we got home.

God Bless.

 

[rayporter]

in arkansas you must not bring any bones into the state. but you can boil out the brains before you get here and be legal for a mount.

find a bucket and build a fire.

good luck-ray

 

[Archerm]

This!!!!

in arkansas you must not bring any bones into the state. but you can boil out the brains before you get here and be legal for a mount.

find a bucket and build a fire.

good luck-ray

 

[Finch]

Well,this elk hunting thing is hard. Been at it since Sunday and have only seen one elk and that was yesterday. We were both taking a nap and my buddy heard what sounded like raking. He woke me up and we got set up (him calling )and me ready to shoot. Long story short, SHE was 23 yards from me and I didn't realize it until it was too late. They can be sneaky!

Elk aren't talking but we're in fresh sign but just can't get in them. Might move deeper into the wilderness tomorrow. We see fresh poop and beds in the meadows. Sat on a meadow tonight but no luck. Mornings we pretty much still hunt and blind call. All we know to do.

Delorme inreach sucks. We have cell reception at our camp (10,600) but the inreach no worky.

We'll keep after it for a few more days.

 

[COlineman78]

Glad to hear you made it out here okay and it's too bad they're still quiet on you. With how hot it's been if you wanted to still hunt I would sit water all day and something is bound to stumble in. This won't really work if there is a ton of water around, but I would keep an eye out for any boggy puddles with a lot of tracks: you will smell them if you're in the right place. Elk certainly are sneaky though; it's funny how often a chipmunk running around in a bush can be louder than a friggen elk coming through the brush.

Sorry to here the InReach isn't working for you. Did you make sure to get everything set up an synced with your computer before you left? It can sometimes take a while to send the message as the satellite's orbit doesn't allow for 100% coverage in steeper terrain and can take up to 3-5 min worst case to get a message out. If you see the little up/down arrows flashing at the top it means that it is trying. If you don't see the little wifi looking signal at the top it means that you don't have a GPS lock.

Looking forward to heading up this weekend. Sounds like there is a lot of activity where I'm headed but they also aren't too vocal yet (I think the heat is throwing the off a bit). They really are tricky to spot at times and you will stumble upon them. If you find an area with a lot of sign be persistent as they will be back.

 

[Finch]

Thanks. There is a ton of water and meadows around. Haven't really smelled the elk per se, just see a bunch of pretty fresh sign.

The in reach is set up and we were able to send messages until we really needed to. It showed the WiFi signal but no up/down arrow. Not really worried since we can sometimes use our phones.

Maybe we should go deeper and toward less water sources? It's a little discouraging but we were warned. I'm just glad to have gotten so close yesterday.

Good luck this weekend!

 

[DWinVA]

Good to hear from you. Much respect for you guys doing it on your own.

With a guide that had multiple years experience in the area we hunted (public & private) it took 3 days before I laid eyes on my first elk....and they were almost 2 miles away. We were covering 5-6 miles a day up and down. Took another full day to get close to some, actually had 2 spikes less than 25 yards but there weren't legal. Of course the country we hunted was steep, thick and nasty...not the nice "TV" country you see on the hunting shows. I did sit water mid-days but never saw a game animal of any kind there (it rained some everyday).

Keep at it. It was a life changing experience for us and our goal now is to save vacation time and money to get back out there as soon as we can.

Good Luck and God Bless.

 

[Shrek]

Keep at it ! It only takes a moment for things to come together.

 

[SHTF]

Keep at it ! It only takes a moment for things to come together.

What Shrek said. Things happen fast and usually by being in the right place at the right time with the right situation. Dont get discouraged. And be smart. Elk are typcially quiet on public land so dont be fooled by that thinking they arnt there. They are smart. You just have to be smarter and have some luck.

Last week I had a bull come up over a hill on a game trail and stop at 10 yards and didnt see me at first. I was so pissed as I didnt have an arrow nocked. When he started feeding I tried to nock one and he busted me. Man I was bummed. But it was the coolest thing ever to be that close to a 4x5 Bull within 10-12 yards of me and not even see me. Lesson Learned I live for those types of situations. Just remember to keep the wind in your face and be as silent as you can be. Good Luck Finch. Rooting for you.

 

[bz_711]

Glad to see an update from you guys. Enjoy your time away from society!

Keep covering ground at a decent pace until you find elk...most of all STAY POSITIVE!