colorado elk hunting info needed

[bowhunter97]

If you had 7 elk preference points what unit would you hunt. I will be hunting the archery season.
any other info would great. thanks Joe

[mmgrode]

Man, I wish I had seven points to work with!  Get yourself a subscription to Eastman's bowhunting journal.  The MRS section(which will cover all Colorado species in the Mar/April issue) should help you immensely in this regard. Oh, and you'll need the subscription to get the MRS...not in the newsstand copies. It's worth the money for sure!
 
Hopefully others with experience in specific units can help you narrow it down further.  OTC for me right now.  Happy researching!!     Matt

[kadbow]

Seven points is kind of no mans land.  You might be able to draw 76 (good unit) otherwise the best units take more points or you can go for a 2 or 3 point unit. Look at the CDOW website for the latest point requirements.

[Dave2old]

Kadbow nails it. Units up NW of Craig are best but last I heard need 9 points. If you're young enough to wait, apply for one of those and expect to wait. 76 can be damn good but is mostly wilderness and very high and not for most of us. Call the Craig area DOW biologist, Jamin Grigg, and he will fill you in on the details.

[PV]

You'll be waiting a long time for the units in the NW as as NR.I've got 14pts and I can't draw them. Some great elk hunting there but not the only place.Or as good as it was I'm hearing.
For the last 14 years I've been in no mans land. Maybe by the time I'm 60 I'll draw 201    
Country there is made for old men.
Eastmans and the CDOW are a good starting point as said above
Good luck

[jct]

In your situation if I felt I needed to hunt this up coming season it would be unit 12

[Whip]

Accumulating CO preference points is like playing a game with no end if you have your sights on one of the top units.  There are nowhere near enough tags given out each year to take care of everyone who has maximum points.  So everyone just keeps building points and a lucky few in the maximum point pool draw tags.  And the point total required to draw keeps going up nearly every year.  

Somewhere on the CO website I think they used to have information on how many people applied for a particular unit broken down by the number of points they had.  So if you look at unit 201 for example, count how many applicants had 8 points, nine points, ten points, and so on.  Add up all the total and that is how many people will draw that tag before you do.  (Some of them might die or give up, but not many are going to just give up after waiting that long)  Now, how many tags were given out for that unit?  If there are 300 people ahead of you, and they gave out 20 tags, you should be at the head of the line in 15 more years.

Frustration game to say the least.  I used up 7 points in unit 76 a couple of years ago.  Had a good hunt, but like Dave said, it is rugged country.  It can be done on your own with a lot of work.  A friend of mine killed a nice bull there last year - 5 miles from the trailhead.

[bowhunter97]

thanks for the info guys 76 was my goal when I started,just didn't know if I should look at any other units before I bite the bullet. thanks Joe

[wapitimike1]

Still building points myself. Can any of you guys suggest a honest strait up drop camp guy for the area betwean Craig and Meeker?

[Dave2old]

Like it or not, the CWC plans to designate more limited draw units in CO for the upcoming 5-year season structure, 2010-2014. This is a mixed bag, as limited hunts of course are generally better in every way, esp. if you like solitude. But so long as any units remain open for over-the-counter tags, that will force even more hunters into fewer units, exascerbating an already tourblesome overcrowding situation. This is for residents and nonresidents alike. So, if you want to hunt in CO without having to enter a drawing, this year is a good time to get it going, so far as what you have to choose from. I am lobbying to designate the entire state limited. That's the only way DOW can fully control all the moving parts and shift hunters around as necessary to best manage the herds and provide a good hunt op for everyone. But until they get rid of the ATVs in hunting season -- allow them to go nowhere a regular vehicle can't go -- we will continue to experience poorer quality elk hunting here. But that's the same across most of the West, except parts of ID which have already banned motors off roads in some prime units. More than you asked for, but thought some would be interested. dave

[Pig Sticker]

Sometimes Garth Carter's Mag. Huntin Fool has some good suggestions.

[rtherber]

I hunted Unit #76 out of Creede on my first and second archery elk hunt back in 1981-82...I have never accumulated points but that would be my choice,hands down. Its up in the 12,000-ft. and above but the ascent where I went up was gradual,giving me a chance for a breather-until I topped out on Snowshoe Mtn. It was the canned C rations back then with a medium Alice pack-hmmmm, I still use the Alice frame/large pack so I guess I haven't progressed much through the years. Good luck wherever you end up!

[jct]

Dave,
Some of us are interested, very interested ! I agree.

[elk nailer]

PV, what unit are you saving for? I've got 12 and am saving for 61. Hope they don't change the rules again.

[Over&Under]

elk nailer

pm sent


I have 10 points and am waiting for 61 also.  There are some good 2 and 3 unit points, but kadbow said it 7 is just somewhere in the middle.  61 is a great unit but takes 12 or more I think...

[L82HUNT]

Originally posted by Dave2old:
  But until they get rid of the ATVs in hunting season -- allow them to go nowhere a regular vehicle can't go -- we will continue to experience poorer quality elk hunting here.  dave

Dave its amazing how much ATV have changed the elk since I strated going to CO in 2001.  WE used to visit SW CO and had outstanding hunting, they let ATV come in, elk gone from that area.
  Have become very lucky to now be able to hunt Grand Mesa forest north of Paonia.  On a few thousand acres of private land.  When the ATV's start on public ground there are suddenly so many more elk on the private ground.  Were ATv are used only to get a downed animal out of the woods.  I'm not saying anything you dont know, but even this guy from the Midwest sees the change.

[PV]

I was saving for 201 elknailer.Now I'm just saving. The buddy I was saving with cashed his in for a MZ tag last year.
13 pts for a 2 point MZ tag.
Where I hunt you don't need preference points for now.

[Wapiti Chaser]

Joe, I also have 7 points and am thinking of trying for Unit 76 next year when I have 8. I can't do it this year as I have moose hunt lined up already. Are you hunting alone or with a group ?

[bowhunter97]

WC, If we can draw the tag we will hunt 76 this year. For the last few years its just been the wife an I. Joe

[Hattrick]

My buddy had 12pts an i had 7pts an we try`ed to draw 76 together last yr an failed, are outfitter could not believe it. Plan on it this yr... good luck guy!