Questions about Units 25 & 26 Colorado for the September Archery Elk Season

[B@ckCountry]

I am from the Adirondacks of NY, but heading to Colorado to hunt units 25 & 26 for the September archery elk season. I bowhunted unit 24 back in '96 when I was 18 and swore I would be back out the following year. Well, 18 years later after college, marriage, kids and a career I am finally making it back. I am planning on hunting units 25 and 26, but am concerned about the number of other archers (mainly due to outfitting services) I might encounter based on research I have done here on Rokslide and other western hunting sites and forums. Can anyone attest to whether or not Units 25 and 26 see many bowhunters? Additional reasoning for picking these units are they are OTC, large amounts of public land, large amounts of elk and the topography might be better suited for one of my hunting party (my father) who is 60+ (we plan on hunting the interior portions of these units thus packing in our gear). We aren't trophy hunters (nor meat hunters), but rather looking to experience a western wilderness hunt with the expectation of seeing game and possibly a shot opportunity or two. Any advice would greatly be appreciated.

-B@ckCountry

 

[breakinstuffzfun]

B@ckCountry,

We hunted 25 last year during muzzle loader and there were quite a few hunters, both archery and muzzle. Also saw quite a few horse trailers at trailhead but never saw them in the woods. Hope this helps

Breakinstuffzfun

 

[Bar]

I hope you have a plan to take care of the meat since you say you're not a meat hunter?

 

[B@ckCountry]

I hope you have a plan to take care of the meat since you say you're not a meat hunter?

Good question. By meat hunters I meant we don't have to take an animal for the trip to be successful. We do have a plan to ensure getting the meat out if we are fortunate enough to harvest an elk. Aside from moose, elk is my next favorite wild game meat.

Anyone else have any advice?

-B@ckCountry

 

[5MilesBack]

Anyone else have any advice?

Regardless of where you choose to hunt.......ALWAYS have a backup plan. And plan C, D, E, and possibly even F.

 

[B@ckCountry]

Regardless of where you choose to hunt.......ALWAYS have a backup plan. And plan C, D, E, and possibly even F.

Can you clarify what you mean by backup plan? Do you mean hunting locations or packing animals out?

For hunting locations:
We have 6 targeted areas with 3 being in Unit 25 and 3 being in Unit 26. All are locations far from the hiking trails that are characterized with timbered steep slopes with benches near by containing meadows and water. Before entering into these areas, we plan to glass them from a distance to see if elk are present and how they enter/leave/use these areas to form stalking plans.

For packing out animals:
We have meat hauling packs, the name & number of a local person who can pack out game and possibly looking into beast of burdens.

-B@ckCountry

 

[5MilesBack]

Can you clarify what you mean by backup plan? Do you mean hunting locations or packing animals out?

I mean location. Might even be other units or areas of the state. One year I met a guy at a trailhead bringing some meat out. It was his first elk hunt. He said they hunted for a week about 150 miles from that current location and wasn't having any luck. They came to the new area and he shot a raghorn first morning out. He said they had looked over several locations in CO and this second spot was number 2 on their list. Don't be afraid to move locations completely if you're not finding elk. It's especially tough for guys that come out for only a week, doesn't give them much time to do much. But if you're not finding any elk or fresh sign.......move to plan B and keep going down the list until you find them. I've heard of guys that stayed in one area for over a week and never saw or heard an elk.

 

[B@ckCountry]

I mean location. Might even be other units or areas of the state. One year I met a guy at a trailhead bringing some meat out. It was his first elk hunt. He said they hunted for a week about 150 miles from that current location and wasn't having any luck. They came to the new area and he shot a raghorn first morning out. He said they had looked over several locations in CO and this second spot was number 2 on their list. Don't be afraid to move locations completely if you're not finding elk. It's especially tough for guys that come out for only a week, doesn't give them much time to do much. But if you're not finding any elk or fresh sign.......move to plan B and keep going down the list until you find them. I've heard of guys that stayed in one area for over a week and never saw or heard an elk.

Sound advice. We practice this much in the Adirondacks/Catskills when hunting whitetail deer and bear. No sign means move to another area. Usually, the mass production (acorns, beechnuts, cherries, etc) for that year (garnered by summer scouting) dictates what areas we will be hunting in the fall. I would do the same for our hunt this fall in Colorado, but it is a bit far for scouting for us. Therefore, we will have 16 days to spend scouting/hunting. I would tack on more, but the wife thought half of September was enough for this trip.

-B@ckCountry

 

[MAT]

Call the WR NF office and have them send you a map of the outfitter camps, this area has a tons of them. I did this for 12 and I was amazed at how many camps there are, part of my map included 24. I can guarantee if you go 2 miles off a road you will be by one, or more. In fact a lot of camps are only 2 miles off the road, and guys pay $1200 to get dropped to where I can walk to in 30 minutes. The NF should know when there will be hunters in these camps (most are rifle) but you can call the outfitters too. They hate the fact there is a map of their camps but as I tell them I DO NOT want to walk into other hunters as much as you don't want me to be at your camp. It's all public information.

Might was well ask where the cattle/sheep are too, as they graze a ton of them in the wilderness areas too. Lots of folks think wilderness area are pristine, in many places it looks like a barnyard.

 

[Texashunters]

What does WR NF stand for

 

[ahlgringo]

White River Nat Forest


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[fabes22]

Despite its name (Flattops Wilderness) and what it might look like on google earth, the terrain is not forgiving! Start getting in shape now. OTC units can be hit or miss with pressure. In 2018, me and a buddy had an area in 25 pretty much to ourselves but this past year he went back and it was so overrun with people he left. So, it is a good thing you have the backup plans in place already. Don't get discouraged if there are other vehicles at a trailhead though, its rare to have a spot to yourself.

Hunt hard and take lots of pictures. Good luck!