PikesPeakElkHunter
Active member
New neighbors moved here from Louisiana a few years ago. Great family. Loves to hunt and we go out together often during the seasons. Seems he still hasn't adjusted to breathing at 9200 feet yet though.
511 Colorado Mule Deer
- Thread starter s10
- Start date
Shangobango
Well-known member
Well I can attest to the fact that anything over 8,000 feet of elevation is challenging for my 60 foot of elevation lungs. Of course, I am in significantly better shape than the last time I tried it ( last fall), and will be in better shape still barring unforeseen circumstances the next time I try it.New neighbors moved here from Louisiana a few years ago. Great family. Loves to hunt and we go out together often during the seasons. Seems he still hasn't adjusted to breathing at 9200 feet yet though.
It doesn't give me much hope to hear that some fellow swamp dwellers have been up there for a few years and are still having trouble lol.
HighDesertSage
Well-known member
I'm going to put in for 511 now. I should have just enough points, and have been looking for a unit to burn them in. Thanks guys.
PikesPeakElkHunter
Active member
Actually, just a bit of free advice, these types of units have become the "hidden gems" we all used to hope to find in the "deep woods". In Colorado at least, there are few to no hidden gems in the back country any more.
I know many of the top outfitters in Colorado due to my "regular job". All have been saying and complaining about the same thing for years now. People/hunters are everywhere. They complain e-scouting, ATVs, SxSs, etc. along with hundreds of YouTube channels promoting the idea of having to get into the "back country" to successfully find elk and deer is driving them nuts. They are constantly running into ill-prepared hunters often lost in the back country. People who can't read a map or use a compass and rely only on Onx or something similar. Almost all have some brand of emergency alert system which is a good thing but often makes people take unusual risks. Just the sheer number of hunters and backpackers in the "back country" has made the game animals change their behavior.
Instead of going deeper into an ever more crowded "back country", the elk that survive the increased "back country" hunting pressure along with more mature & larger deer have learned to stay even closer to human populations. Human subdivisions and especially areas with massive ATV activity and daily human use. Many of these areas also have dark timber pockets and dense growth areas. Ask almost any Colorado hiker if they see wildlife on their hikes. They will most likely say yes and show you hundreds of pictures deer, elk, moose, bear, and more. Ask those same hikers and ATV riders if they also see lots of hunters and you may be surprised by their answers.
Woodland Park, Colorado, in unit 511, is a small mountain town with one of the highest if not highest number of deer per sq mile in the entire state according to the DOW. Around or over 40 per sq mile. Like the huge bull elk walking the streets of Estes Park, CO, there are record book mule deer bucks happily walking the streets of Woodland Park during the rut with lovely ladies at every street corner. Why? Because there is no hunting allowed in the city. But, there are also "hidden gems" in the same areas open to hunting if you put in the time to find them. Something that doesn't show on Onx or Google Earth.
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PikesPeakElkHunter
Active member
Archery or rifle and which season if rifle? Let me know and I'll try to get you some info. Lots of show leather will help weed out areas and get you to find them.
Shangobango
Well-known member
I just took a moment to really soak this in.
If you think a 2023 vintage post on here expounding the high trophy potential of deer in this area will not potentially add enough applicants to this area to creep this unit a point or two I think you are naïve to the potential effects that blowing up areas on the internet can have. Add in a picture of a buck like the one posted whether it was taken in this unit or not... recipe for instantaneous point creep. The fact that it is so near a metro area does nothing but add to the possibility. In my humble flatlander opinion of course.
I think that forum etiquette should dictate that we don't add to phenomenon of blowing specific units up, but maybe that is just me.
HighDesertSage
Well-known member
3rd rifle. I would prefer to stay within site of the truck. Thanks!
MtnElk
Well-known member
I feel that some on this thread underestimate how lazy some hunters are. Last year, on the landscape pics thread, I posted a few skyline pics of a unit near my house and said the unit. I said NOTHING about seeing any wildlife, the quality of said wildlife, nothing. Just that I took a hike in the national forest. Since that post from July / August '22, I have received no less than 15 DM's asking me for information on what kind of animals I saw, their quality and quantity, whether they should put in for the unit, where in the unit I would recommend, etc.... from a single post that mentioned nothing but hiking.
This post takes my post, and gets way more specific, adds species photos and then starts mentioning city centers around which someone could focus a hunt.
Your naivety on this issue is a bit startling. Which is why people tried to kindly suggest you to maybe bite your tongue a bit. Or move to a DM
Also, look at some other threads that focus on a specific unit and you'll find the questions are often highly specific and involve a lots of responses that say "DM me" or "I'll DM you"
This post takes my post, and gets way more specific, adds species photos and then starts mentioning city centers around which someone could focus a hunt.
Your naivety on this issue is a bit startling. Which is why people tried to kindly suggest you to maybe bite your tongue a bit. Or move to a DM
Also, look at some other threads that focus on a specific unit and you'll find the questions are often highly specific and involve a lots of responses that say "DM me" or "I'll DM you"
perma
Well-known member
Louder for the people in the back.
PikesPeakElkHunter
Active member
There are potential trophy bucks in every Colorado unit. The reason 511 and other units like it don't blow up quickly or stay there for more than a year or two is due to the actual overall low success rate for taking one of those "trophy" bucks. Let alone the patience to even draw one of these very limited tags. There are ONLY (35) 4th season tags!
I can't begin to adequately express the amount of overall human activity in these units along with the no hunting regions. The truth is most hunters gaining points for deer and elk in unit 511 usually end up hunting other areas with much "easier" hunting. 511 makes glassing for game almost entirely worthless for example. The areas that are open terrain are most likely private property. There are a half million acres of national forest shared by about the same number of people. At least it feels that way every weekend and nearly every day during the summer and early fall.
This means you really have to spend the time on the ground to scout the area and find the animals that you can legally hunt during the 5 day 4th season. Can this be done? Certainly. Now be honest, exactly how many hunters do you really know who can and will spend the YEARS needed to actually gain this specific knowledge about the unit they hunt? Not knowing exactly where you're going during this 5 day hunt means you're just wasting your points!!! Again, THERE ARE ONLY 35 TAGS FOR 4th season!!!
The Colorado units with the highest points needed to draw and the craziest point creep are also those with the most open terrain, lowest human population, and have by far the highest mule deer populations in the state. If you truly enjoy a real hunting experience where you need to spend countless hours learning about the animals you're hunting, their home terrain and their behavior you'll love waiting up to 5 years to draw a tag. If not, you'll hunt somewhere else no matter how much info I were to offer. Unless I guaranteed you a monster buck already tied to a tree waiting for you in the open.
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Shangobango and MtnElk, not naive at all about what exactly has been posted in this thread. The OP honestly asked for help on a forum supposedly created to offer that help if possible. No more or less.
I know exactly how lazy and impatient most hunters truly are. That's due to 52 years of actual hunting experience not being naive. Most hunt by key board and e-scouting today. Then once in an area they never leave the road and often never leave their vehicle. Once in an area they are completely demoralized within 48 hours if they haven't seen any animals. Even worse if they see another hunter packing out a mature animal because they know for sure that was the last one!
I know that most hunters WILL NEVER APPLY FOR THIS TAG! Again, not naive. Just experience. Would either of you actually apply for this tag? Or, would you choose a unit or units having many more tags and much higher deer population counts? If either of you wouldn't apply then why do you care what is posted here?
Note, I didn't post a specific waypoint on public land in 511 and guarantee if he hunted this specific area only for 3 days during 4th season he would see at least one 180"-200" level buck. That would be downright naive and foolish. I have never met the OP. Yet!
Naive would be posting exact buck waypoints, maybe special wallow areas used by elk, or exact ridges where generations of large bucks have been seen year after year. Foolish me I would never do that on a open forum like this. I would use DM instead and have for other forum members around the state.
Perhaps a Hunttalk OP could be a 16 year old boy recently moving into the area and needs just a little help learning where to even look for mule deer since all he knows is Texas terrain. His passion and energy only tempered by his current lack of knowledge and experience. Perhaps I was naive helping here first on this forum and then in person. Although he has turned out to be a great young man and a helluva hunter!
Perhaps another Hunttalk OP could be a veteran who has served this country and saved his fellow soldiers' lives while putting himself at risk. Truly a quiet hero. Now elk hunting was on his bucket list and he posted his request for help, just like our original poster s10, and he just asked for some help to get started. I was naive all over again. Not only did we communicate on this forum. We bow hunted together that fall. He had to drive from his home state. He had his first bull bugle at 40 yards on our very first morning hunting together. During the entire week he was in elk every day. His adrenaline never had a chance to drop. He was exhausted but extremely happy with his first ever elk hunt.
He was also surprised when he purchased his non-resident elk tag and was told there are few elk in Teller County (unit 511). Then every bow hunter he met either in the woods or in town while getting more supplies told him they hadn't been seeing any elk at all. Guess we were both naive or just extremely lucky.
I am happy to help Hunttalk forum members. I have been helped by Hunttalk forum members. You NEVER know who the Hunttalk forum member is you're communicating with or their personal situation. Many of our members asking about units 511, 59, and 581 are service men and women. The member rules were written for a reason. There has never been a rule telling anyone not to help other forum members with as much help as you are willing to offer. Since living in Colorado I've taken 22 mature bucks and 42 elk not counting private land elk. I am glad to still be alive to help others.
rogerthat
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2015
- Messages
- 2,602
My how times have changed
PikesPeakElkHunter
Active member
Ha. This may tweak a few members. If you're hunting unit 22, I DO have waypoints and info for buck and bulls.
We were there just a few years ago using 16 points for 4th season buck tags and we also had bull and cow tags. Sent elk waypoints to another forum member last year and he did great. We bow hunted using cow only tags in September to learn about the area. We found two different resident elk herds which were still there for the 4th season. Saw no bucks during archery but a lot during 4th season (at least 50 different between 4 of us).
After waiting 16 years for tags we were all disappointed by the size of the bucks we did see. Mature bucks but not the 180+ size that this area was known for when we first applied. But, this is the case for nearly all units now on public land. You just won't know until you draw and go. Most of the big bucks and bulls you see now are off of private land and through outfitters.
PikesPeakElkHunter
Active member
I wouldn't expect much luck then. This unit is OTC elk for 3rd season. Everyone and their brother will be driving the roads literally everywhere. The does, which are usually comfortable being near roads all summer and early fall, learn quickly to disappear when they hear any vehicle or atv on the roads. Plus, every year we see an increase in poacher activity at night during 2nd & 3rd season. The deer get away from the roads. The dumb ones go home with the hunters. Large bucks will never show up unless pushed by someone else.
Shangobango
Well-known member
I appreciate your well thought out response.
As to the first question, possibly. Would definitely not be a 4th season tag though if I did.
As to the second, I care in more of a general sense rather than about this specific unit or even the west. I live and do the majority of my hunting in the east. I have seen several pieces of public completely overrun by hunters due solely and provably to social media posts on how great the hunting was on such and such WMA or in such and such area. Heck, I have seen private land leased out from under other people on several occasions because of people on the lease posting kill pics and/or trail cam photos on social media. All of the sudden Mr. Fat Wallet swoops in and their lease of 30 years was gone to someone who could afford to pay outlandish prices. Most of those social media snipers were chasing bucks that were in the freezer, at the taxidermist, or on someone's wall. Doesn't matter, the damage was done.
Loose lips sink ships.
As to your point about helping others, I don't think anyone is saying don't help others. We are able to send private messages on this forum for a reason.
PikesPeakElkHunter
Active member
Ok, I'll bite. Based only the "specific information" I have included about unit 511 please answer these questions?
1. Were the OP's original questions about a specific unit answered?
2. Are you encouraged to ever apply for these tags?
3. Where exactly in unit 511 would you specifically hunt or even begin to scout knowing you only have 5 days based on my supplied information to find a single mature buck?
4. Are you interested enough to spend a lot more time learning about this unit to draw one of 35 tags in 2-5 years vs other much more popular Colorado units?
I totally get it and agree with you. All of my responses regard this specific unit only. But, Colorado isn't PA (where I began hunting on state game lands) or Texas where every piece of dirt is owned and/or leased. Private land is most often handed down within the family. Outfitters have already leased the best areas under long term leases. Hunting 2nd or 3rd season is a complete waste of time in my opinion in this unit. The entire unit is OTC for 2nd & 3rd elk seasons. Every road, trail, campsite, and non-campsite will be swarmed. There are only 35 buck tags during 4th season. If this were over the counter I wouldn't have even responded.
The amount of orange you will see is only rivaled but scenes of PA during opening week of whitetail hunting. Now that the Colorado DOW has removed buck antler point restrictions if it's seen it gets shot at. If it doesn't drop immediately the road hunters assume they missed. The bears and coyotes eat well during 2nd & 3rd season. Sorry if you happened to be hiding behind that tree when I shot. I didn't see you among all of the other orange out there! (Actual words from a jackass who almost shot me while I was in blaze orange walking on my private land. He had just shot at a doe not a buck on my property.)
What you've all been calling specifics regarding this specific unit amounts to me telling you I'm in Philadephia. I'm wearing an orange coat and hat so you'll recognize me. Come and meet me for dinner at 8pm. Just my opinion but just as valid.
LuketheDog
Well-known member
I would say I have gotten more relevant "secret" info from a simple call to a Wildlife officer for a specific unit over the years. It is weird, they don't hesitate to share information. Someone should tell them their public sharing is a detriment to western hunting. Hell, they even have specific videos for units on Youtube to provide more info that are published by CPW. The righteous arrogance in this thread is quite the spectacle. You guys might want to start a GoFundMe or something to start to work on de-platforming GoHunt, TopRut, OnX, etc., I think they are giving out too much precious info to the public.
For example, a great unit in Wyoming I like to pronghorn hunt has crept up over 3 points since 2019 to draw. I can barely find a shred of info online about it outside of the afore mentioned websites. Forum discussion does nothing more for a unit than anything else currently out.
For example, a great unit in Wyoming I like to pronghorn hunt has crept up over 3 points since 2019 to draw. I can barely find a shred of info online about it outside of the afore mentioned websites. Forum discussion does nothing more for a unit than anything else currently out.
rogerthat
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2015
- Messages
- 2,602
So here’s the deal, I have hunted unit 511 roughly 14 times in 30 years. I have killed 5 bucks that scored over the B&C minimum in that time in that unit. Several of them well over 200. It’s probably one of the best if not the best trophy mule deer unit in the state.
