Colorado elk

[eman614]

So my uncle and I are going on our first elk hunt this fall. We are GMU 80 with some friends who have hunted the area for years, but I was wondering if any of you gents have any info, tips or advice on that particular unit or elk hunting in general. Like I say, we are complete novices and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Eric

[ksbowman]

Eric, If you have friends that have hunted the area repeatedly I would listen to them if they have been successful. The last time I hunted 80 and 81 we ( my hunting buddy and I) covered 63 miles by my GPS in 8 days on foot and never saw an elk. sign was also sparse and old. There were 5 of us in camp and saw 2 elk as a group and one of the others shot one of them a cow. Don't get me wrong I'm sure there are pockets that are good, unfortunately we didn't  find them. I have hunted Colorado many times for elk so it wasn't my first elk hunt. The first Nonresident archery tag I bought was $25, so that shows how long I've hunted them. My personal opinion is there are more productive areas to hunt, we had a lot of ATV riders in areas they were not suppose to been in too.

[old_goat2]

Sending you a pm

[BWallace10327]

Did you turn the off-roaders into CPW?  Those and off leash dog walkers get called in too.

[DKdc]

CPW doesn't have the man power to get out and right tickets. They do try but are severely understaffed. At least they try, the forest service guy won't even try.
DK

[eman614]

Originally posted by DKdc:
CPW doesn't have the man power to get out and right tickets. They do try but are severely understaffed. At least they try, the forest service guy won't even try.
DK

This sounds like Georgia...there is one DNR officer that patrols the WMA that I hunt most. I've seen him once in the past 5 years, and I hunt there a lot. The one time I saw him we ended up talking a while and not only does he patrol the wma, which is almost 40,000 acres, but also 4 other counties. It's a wonder they ever catch someone breaking the law

[YORNOC]

Not sure of your area, I didn't research.
But I hunted between 7 and 10 thousand feet in Colorado. I trained really hard for it, and was out of breath pretty quickly once that high.
Train for cardio, you will be moving a lot. Sometimes quickly to try and intercept a herd on the move.
I can not give you any better advice than GET YOUR CARDIO up!!!!!!!!!!!!
It doesn't matter how well you shoot while relaxed, if your lungs are bursting for air, nothing else matters. Be ready. Stairmasters, jogging, rowing, whatever you can do, hit it very hard to make sure you have an enjoyable hunt.
Want to know what it is like for us flatlanders?Put a piece of duct tape over your mouth and start running full tilt for 15-20 minutes.
If you are in shape, you will have the time of your life. If not, you will suffer, ask my Dad!

[joe ashton]

I'll send you a private message.

[Michael Arnette]

I hunted 81 last year, they were very popular last year and we saw a lot of hunters, atvs and backpackers were the worst of them...stay away from popular backpacking trials.