Where to hunt

[plumber1969]

Alright guys,
Let me have it...Myself and the wife are going for it next year to Colorado for the last week of archery on our first elk hunting trip. The more we plan the more I wonder about the unit that we have spent a lot of time researching (77). We are wondering if we should be looking Northwest instead of Southwest. The more you plan, the more you question yourself, although the planning is fun. We have already bought our packs and boots and are starting our exercising now. So we are not looking for specific unit information but would you choose the northwest over the southwest and if so why? We do not have the time for a scouting trip but will be there for 2 weeks next year and work our butts off doing so. It does appear that no matter where you go there are plenty of guides and drop camp outfitters on the public land. I am hoping that after the muzzle loader season is through the crowds will be smaller also. Maybe this is just wishful thinking.

 

[PredatorX]

I think you would find SW much more difficult terrain. Taking the wife and you may want to stick to something not so rugged and rough.

 

[SDC]

You're in FL. TRAIN your butt off! Starting yesterday. Get an altitude training mask, train with weight on your back, and just work at it.

Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS and GOOD LUCK!

 

[Bar]

Your scouting trip will be the first 3 days of your hunt. Then go hunt.

 

[plumber1969]

I think my wife thinks I have a some bad addiction to this elk porn stuff. Glad she has a sense of humor. I will look in to the altitude mask and we are training tonight with packs for the first time. No hills to speak of over here but we will take what we can get. For some odd reason I keep leaning toward the San Juans and I don't now why. I never did anything easy in life so why start now when I am almost 50!

 

[Cory Arola]

Don't start with the San Juans for your first hunt. Super rugged, there is only up and down there no in between. I spent a week there scouting this year. Check out Eastman's MRS section. I found some good info in there.

 

[Nuke Man]

I would recommend going somewhere very rugged if you want a good chance at success and not seeing people everywhere. We hunted the flat tops a few weeks ago for our first hunt. Saw way way too many people. Fishing, hiking,horse riding and hunters. Way too many trails to be able to get away from them. No matter where we went, we saw people. Next hunt, we're going somewhere absolutely brutal!

 

[jtw]

All good advice, except the elevation training mask. All it'll do is restrict your workouts and waste your money better spent on gear that works.

 

[Poser]

SW vs NW: go where the terrain and country looks the most appealing to you. If you are looking at Google Earth and think , "I want to kill an elk in a setting just like this", then you have found your region. Outfitters, guides, and other hunters are things you cannot control and, in many cases, not know ahead of time. The most rugged, remote area may have hunters, cattle or even sheep. You backpack hunt so you can stay on the move and find animals on public land.

 

[justinspicher]

I live/work in the San Juan National Forest and so far all the folks who come here from out of state that have been using Google to scout have been blown away by the terrain here. Google and maps just don't do the terrain here justice. It's rugged and it takes a lot of walking to getting to prime locations. There's no escaping folks or outfitters. That's just a reality you'll have to deal with. Instead look at how they can help you by pushing animals to you.

Good luck picking a spot.

 

[Cory Arola]

I live/work in the San Juan National Forest and so far all the folks who come here from out of state that have been using Google to scout have been blown away by the terrain here. Google and maps just don't do the terrain here justice. It's rugged and it takes a lot of walking to getting to prime locations. There's no escaping folks or outfitters. That's just a reality you'll have to deal with. Instead look at how they can help you by pushing animals to you.

Good luck picking a spot.

100% with Justinspicher Google maps don't do it justice. Rugged AF down there.

 

[westrnwild]

x3 what justinspicher says..
Ii am hunting outside of leadville this year, another up or down part of the state. lots of elevation, i can find the hunters down low but only run into the locals up high and away from rds.. People from out of state just stare up the nasty steep country and think its Mordor from lord of the rings...Google Earth makes it look easy...Be ready for the worst is all i can say.. its bigger then any computer screen can display

 

[Cory Arola]

x3 what justinspicher says..
Ii am hunting outside of leadville this year, another up or down part of the state. lots of elevation, i can find the hunters down low but only run into the locals up high and away from rds.. People from out of state just stare up the nasty steep country and think its Mordor from lord of the rings...Google Earth makes it look easy...Be ready for the worst is all i can say.. its bigger then any computer screen can display

Are you hearing any bugling in that area? I have been hunting near Summit County and it has been so quiet.

 

[robby denning]

I didn't read all the posts and I'm sure these guys are giving great advice. I'd also suggest joining goHunt or Huntin' Fool or both. Money well spent for the questions you're asking. goHunt will match you with units at a glance and HF has their consultants to talk to.

And yes, they're both Rokslide sponsors, but for good reason.

All the best on your hunt, love to hear about people preparing for this stuff.

 

[plumber1969]

Robby I will look into both of those. It is overwhelming at times when comparing the data from various units. We are also looking into a couple of drop camp outfitters that operate in the San Juan mountains. We talked to some of their clients, successful and not. There is no doubt that we would much rather see as few people as possible and I think this is why we are leaning toward the southern portion of the state with more wilderness areas. I have really nothing but admiration for those that have done this coming from the east, and really respect the guys on the forums for helping each other out. I cannot fathom the vastness of this area from goggle earth or the topo maps we have bought for a couple for the areas in southern Colorado. Help I am learning how to read the contour lines and what they mean. We have 51 weeks to go and my O.C.D. is in overdrive, thank god alligator season is over!

 

[Poser]

I live/work in the San Juan National Forest and so far all the folks who come here from out of state that have been using Google to scout have been blown away by the terrain here. Google and maps just don't do the terrain here justice. It's rugged and it takes a lot of walking to getting to prime locations. There's no escaping folks or outfitters. That's just a reality you'll have to deal with. Instead look at how they can help you by pushing animals to you.

Good luck picking a spot.

Hunted an area in the SJ last year that consistently took 4.5 hours to go 1.5 mile

 

[armadillo66]

I drew for a Oct 15 Bull tag in unit 68, but had I not drawn that tag I was going to go out north of Cortez near Dove Creek and Egnar on the west side of the Dolores river canyon, lots of canyons and arroyos and such for a later season rifle hunt to be good.
Not much hunting pressure in some of that area, pretty much middle of nowhere to the Utah state line

If you are doing OTC archery, I would say be flexible with a couple place in mind so if weather is hot or whatever, you can adjust to a different altitude easily

 

[justinspicher]

If you truly want to come down here, id highly suggest you take a few vacations between now and then to get an idea of this place. The San Juan forest covers approximate 2 million acres and has three wilderness areas. You'll never be truly void of people, but you can pretty damn close.

To prepare physically and mentally put your pack on with what you think you want to carry and find some bleachers. Then walk up and down those bleachers as much as possible. It's all up or down here.

I'll help in any way I can, but if you won't accept the fact that the hunting here is hard and you've got to cover ALOT of ground above 10k then stay home or go somewhere else. Otherwise you'll just be angry.

Good luck with your prep!

 

[Bearshirt]

Hunted the SJ's this year. It all seems pretty steep even a lot of the lower elevations we poked into. On average it took us a hour to go 1 mile and most areas we went in 2-3 miles plus looking around. 10-12 miles a day looking was the norm ( that was according to gps). It's navagatable just take your time and don't go straight up the mountain. After 12 days we were feeling it. 4am to 10 pm almost every day. Can't wait for next year

 

[ChrisS]

x4 what Justin says. I'm one of the out of staters he's helped. This was my first trip out west and I can hike for days at 3k feet. At 11-12k ft you're dealing with 40% less oxygen per breath. The issues with elevation are real for people not acclimated to it. My HR was generally fine, and never really spiked too high, but I was constantly stopping to catch my breath even on kinda level ground. He suggested I go out 6-8 miles. I made it about 5, realized there was zero chance I would be able pack out an elk from the hole I was about to descend into so I stopped and hunted where I was. I found two elk carcasses in some different places, but no live ones on the hoof. I averaged between 8-10 miles a day according to my GPS and anywhere from 500 to 1,500 ft of elevation change. It was all I could handle. Ultimately, a combination of the elevation and my feet did me in and I had to call it quits there. Beautiful country, but it sent me home with my tail between my legs. All the respect to guys that can do the legwork in that area, but it's not for me.

It was an eye opening experience.


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