Hello every one and thank you in advance for your information. Ok so I'm going on my first elk hunt this next year, I am going to take my father with me as it has been a life long goal for him to hunt elk and he never has gone. So my question is this we are doing a diy otc hunt somewhere in colorado I would like to get back on a utv trail then hike in farther I was planning on camping out the if at all possible but would like info on good otc units we will be rifle hunting and if there is a unit that is either sex would be great as we are Noth looking for massive bulls only thank you
First time elk hunt
- Thread starter Jake Fry
- Start date
duckhunt
Well-known member
Welcome to the forum. No info for you but good luck with your hunt.
Mason326
Member
Jake,
Much of western CO is OTC elk country so that is a pretty broad question. GOHunt.com is a good starting place to narrow down where you want to go. Here is how I decided where to go OTC 3rd season this year...
1. Decide what country I want to explore (sagebrush low mountains, steep rugged stuff, mixes, etc) . This narrowed it down to three mountain ranges/regions for me.
2. Look at the number of hunters in that season vs. total huntable land. There was lots more public land (at the time I wanted to go) in two of the three above regions so I eliminated one. Nearly eliminated a second because of sheer hunter numbers. Areas with checkerboard or weird access where you have to have a good GPS and OnXMaps or something like that is good if you have them.
3. Try to figure out how many outfitters use the area and where they are permitted to have hunters. I used their websites and searching forums. I eliminated that other area I nearly eliminated above because it had an outfitter in basically every draw. No good for someone on foot like me to try to out hike horses.
4. Check out where elk are in your season there. Use colorado hunting atlas for a ballpark estimate. They tend to be in nearer their summer range if it is still warm or cool with no snow up high or lower if snow blows them out.
Free resources you should use:
Colorado Hunting Atlas
Colorado Elk Statistics
Google Earth
Disclaimer: This is my first year hunting elk, but I have put in lots of computer scouting time and I am a GIS nerd!
Much of western CO is OTC elk country so that is a pretty broad question. GOHunt.com is a good starting place to narrow down where you want to go. Here is how I decided where to go OTC 3rd season this year...
1. Decide what country I want to explore (sagebrush low mountains, steep rugged stuff, mixes, etc) . This narrowed it down to three mountain ranges/regions for me.
2. Look at the number of hunters in that season vs. total huntable land. There was lots more public land (at the time I wanted to go) in two of the three above regions so I eliminated one. Nearly eliminated a second because of sheer hunter numbers. Areas with checkerboard or weird access where you have to have a good GPS and OnXMaps or something like that is good if you have them.
3. Try to figure out how many outfitters use the area and where they are permitted to have hunters. I used their websites and searching forums. I eliminated that other area I nearly eliminated above because it had an outfitter in basically every draw. No good for someone on foot like me to try to out hike horses.
4. Check out where elk are in your season there. Use colorado hunting atlas for a ballpark estimate. They tend to be in nearer their summer range if it is still warm or cool with no snow up high or lower if snow blows them out.
Free resources you should use:
Colorado Hunting Atlas
Colorado Elk Statistics
Google Earth
Disclaimer: This is my first year hunting elk, but I have put in lots of computer scouting time and I am a GIS nerd!
Mason326
Member
And of course.... GOOD LUCK! 
