Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

Colorado Unit 54

pollonko

New member
Joined
Oct 6, 2017
Messages
11
Location
Dillon, CO
Hi folks,

Hope everyone had a great elk season!

Myself and 2 other broken combat vets are looking at hunting the West Elk Wilderness area 1st rifle season. My buddies and I live in Colorado but are unfamiliar with this unit. I have done lots of research and found that it offers great sanctuaries and remoteness away from roads and trails. Also, there is virtually no private land. In addition, only around 400 tags are allocated for this season. Few questions for you guys and gals:

1. What is your opinion/observations on reasons why there is only a 15% harvest success? Perhaps hunters are staying near private or aren't going deep enough? Or is it that the population of elk has not bounced back from the harsh winter of 2006?

2. How will this winter's lack of snow in Colorado affect elk behavior this upcoming season? Perhaps the population of elk will be greater due to lack of snow and warmer temperatures?

Thanks for the help Hunt Talkers...

-Omar aka Doughboy
 
54 is certainly a cool area. My first thought on why it has low success rates is the scope of the land. The West Elks are no joke and there are tons of hidey holes for the elk to hang out. Also, as usual there are plenty of people on the roads, but you don't see as many in the backcountry. First rifle is a good time for that unit as elk will probably still be bugling and that makes them a bit easier to locate. There certainly won't be the winter kill there was last year, but I actually don't think the elk were hit all that hard in the area compared to the mule deer at least. I wonder how many people decided not to hunt there this past season due to the rough winter of 2016-17. Could make this year a good time to be down there. Food for thought I suppose.
 
Man, thank you so much for the response. The terrain is tough which is why we are hunting it. Hopefully, we will see some good mature bulls. We are also bringing llamas so it should help some. Honestly, even if we don't see/shoot the big one, I am confident that we can come back with some meat for our families.

You know whats funny? My father-in-law, has hunted the North side on unit 53 during the peak of the rut for the past 4 years. He camps off his camper and goes in about 3 miles. The dude has never shot an elk and says that they are not bugling hahaha. My thought is...of course not dude, you are at 8k feet at the most! He said that he wanted to come on this hunt but when I showed him the areas I was thinking he said that it was too much work for him. It is interesting to hear hunters' gripes about what made them unsuccessful but at the end of the day, most of them, never even put in the work.

Again, thank you for the insight!
 
I have hunted first rifle in 54 and here are my thoughts:

-It's freakin' gorgeous! Seriously, it would be hard to imagine a more beautiful place to hunt elk.

-The terrain is very rough. Many of the elk will be either very high up, or very far down in the bottom of a canyon. This is part of why the success rate is low.

-The sound you'll make when you picture humping an elk out of one of those canyons, like West Elk Canyon, sounds a little like a mouse that's just been stepped on.

-In my opinion, the main reason the success rate is low is that the elk just have an amazing array of places to look for security. There are huge mountains, thick forests, steep canyons, almost endless public land for them to scatter into, as well as great chunks of private land for refuge. If you blow them out of an area, there is no reason for them to stay there. It's just a massive game of hide and seek, but they're faster than you are, know the area better and are in better shape.

-There are a bunch of outfitters who use this unit and they set up in some good spots. When I first started researching the unit, I think 2 of the 3 areas I focused on, ended up being outfitter camps. They go in on horseback, so it's no big deal for them to be 6 or 7 miles in. You end up with this funny game of distances; if you're too close to the road, you run into a lot of hunters. If you get too far from the roads, you run into outfitters.

-It would be ethically and spiritually wrong for you to hunt 54 without stopping for a burger at the Power Stop in Gunnison.

-If you focus on the mountains, instead of the canyons, you're going to be sleeping and hunting pretty high. Hopefully you are all acclimated to high altitudes.

-I wished I had brought a little 3 weight fly rod.

-It's not an easy hunt, but I was lucky enough to come home with an elk and I know several other people who have hunted the unit successfully without a ton of local knowledge, horses or olympic-level conditioning. If you guys are in good shape, acclimated, motivated and do your homework, I think you'll find some elk.

-Good luck to your group and thank you for your service.
 
Thank you so much for the response Doug and your support is greatly appreciated. I will make sure to stop at the Power Stop for some good juju. The boys and I have some disabilities but we will be training for this during the off season. I live in Summit County next to Lake Dillon and my goons live in the front range.

May I PM you and share with you the spots I am looking at? I'd like to get your input. I am looking to focus on avalanche shoots.

Thanks a million!
 
Thank you so much for the response Doug and your support is greatly appreciated. I will make sure to stop at the Power Stop for some good juju. The boys and I have some disabilities but we will be training for this during the off season. I live in Summit County next to Lake Dillon and my goons live in the front range.

May I PM you and share with you the spots I am looking at? I'd like to get your input. I am looking to focus on avalanche shoots.

Thanks a million!

Sure, I'll share what little I can.
 
I have hunted first rifle in 54 and here are my thoughts:

-It's freakin' gorgeous! Seriously, it would be hard to imagine a more beautiful place to hunt elk.

-The terrain is very rough. Many of the elk will be either very high up, or very far down in the bottom of a canyon. This is part of why the success rate is low.

-The sound you'll make when you picture humping an elk out of one of those canyons, like West Elk Canyon, sounds a little like a mouse that's just been stepped on.

-In my opinion, the main reason the success rate is low is that the elk just have an amazing array of places to look for security. There are huge mountains, thick forests, steep canyons, almost endless public land for them to scatter into, as well as great chunks of private land for refuge. If you blow them out of an area, there is no reason for them to stay there. It's just a massive game of hide and seek, but they're faster than you are, know the area better and are in better shape.

-There are a bunch of outfitters who use this unit and they set up in some good spots. When I first started researching the unit, I think 2 of the 3 areas I focused on, ended up being outfitter camps. They go in on horseback, so it's no big deal for them to be 6 or 7 miles in. You end up with this funny game of distances; if you're too close to the road, you run into a lot of hunters. If you get too far from the roads, you run into outfitters.

-It would be ethically and spiritually wrong for you to hunt 54 without stopping for a burger at the Power Stop in Gunnison.

-If you focus on the mountains, instead of the canyons, you're going to be sleeping and hunting pretty high. Hopefully you are all acclimated to high altitudes.

-I wished I had brought a little 3 weight fly rod.

-It's not an easy hunt, but I was lucky enough to come home with an elk and I know several other people who have hunted the unit successfully without a ton of local knowledge, horses or olympic-level conditioning. If you guys are in good shape, acclimated, motivated and do your homework, I think you'll find some elk.

-Good luck to your group and thank you for your service.


Good response.....
 
I’m headed out to unit 54 this September with an Army buddy and a high school classmate. This will be my first ever DIY backcountry hunt. So I’m super pumped about heading out west. I’ve already identified 12 different glassing locations along with finding water sources. Leaving ohio on the 8th and returning on the 20th.
 
Have to agree with DougFir's response. Beautiful place to hunt. Was there this past fall (2nd rifle). Group saw several elk first 3 days (harvesting 2). Only saw 4 other hunters, 3 of which were "kind enough" to set their camp only a few hundred yards from ours. Never saw another elk after their arrival. Some really tough areas, great for elk to hide out in. Some of the trails get used fair amount seeing a few horse riders passing through meadows.
 
It’s been a while since I’ve hunted in 54. I did spend a lot more time on the 53 side up on the haystack and the porcupine cone right next to 54. I do know the Coffee Pot Creek and Soap Park area’s a bit. You will have your work cut out for you as foot hunters. DougFirs response about outfitters and distance is spot on. You may find yourself miles back in with a bunch of mounted hunters, maybe not. It can be a good unit that gets enough pressure that the bugling season will be short. During 1st Rifle you might have a few minutes at first light with some bugles. Weather can really influence this. Avalanche Chutes are a great choice. Don’t overlook the south facing oakbrush either as many elk like to hide in it when pressured because they know it is difficult to hunt without making enough noise to alert them.

“There are a bunch of outfitters who use this unit and they set up in some good spots. When I first started researching the unit, I think 2 of the 3 areas I focused on, ended up being outfitter camps. They go in on horseback, so it's no big deal for them to be 6 or 7 miles in. You end up with this funny game of distances; if you're too close to the road, you run into a lot of hunters. If you get too far from the roads, you run into outfitters”.
 
You end up with this funny game of distances; if you're too close to the road, you run into a lot of hunters. If you get too far from the roads, you run into outfitters.

100% agree. Hunted the area last year there were 4 camps at the trail head of guys waking in 1-2 miles every day, and then 7 horse trailers mostly outfitters (one group of guys from Arkansas). The west elks are so heavily outfitted after bugle and eastman's blew them up that it's pretty much impossible to get away from people. This isn't to say that their aren't elk or that you can't be successful... but if you think that you are going to hike 7 miles in and have the area to yourself you are going to be sorely mistaken. One of the things that kinda bummed us out was how much trash we found in the woods from all the hunters/outfitters, that whole area gets pounded in the fall. I packed out at least an entire shopping bags worth of rappers, bottled, and random detritus.
 
Good for you man! Colorado awaits you. I will tell you that even living up here, the high country can be extremely challenging. My best advise is respect the terrain, no matter in how good of shape you are, it is still challenging...
 
Man, I do not know why people come to our home of Colorado and leave their trash. Every hike I do in the back country I pack out lots of trash. I have also encountered tarp camps left behind with trash everywhere...
 
Man, I do not know why people come to our home of Colorado and leave their trash. Every hike I do in the back country I pack out lots of trash. I have also encountered tarp camps left behind with trash everywhere...

I specifically hate people using tarps for "ultra light" camping because it seems like it's just code for I'm going to pack Tyvek into the woods and leave it for someone else to pick up. I have pulled more than a couple torn up tarps out of the woods.

Buy a $400 MSR tent so when you get tired you won't be tempted to be lazy.
 
I specifically hate people using tarps for "ultra light" camping because it seems like it's just code for I'm going to pack Tyvek into the woods and leave it for someone else to pick up. I have pulled more than a couple torn up tarps out of the woods.

Buy a $400 MSR tent so when you get tired you won't be tempted to be lazy.

Totally man. I almost want to donate some tents for these poor folks...maybe we are on to something here...hahaha
 
Went to school in Gunnison, love the area, and you definitely have to stop at Power Stop. Terrain can definitely be rugged, but there is elk and its exactly what you think when you think of a western Elk Hunt.

Hate to hear about the trash, really bugs me.
 

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