Hunted CO this year with a buddy from work, both of us being first time elk hunters. Special thanks to Big Fin for the kick in the butt to go by making so many how to videos and eliminating all excuses with the Hunt Elk every year clip. I'm a Midwest convert drinking the public land Kool-Aid now.
We both scoured the OnX maps and used both phone and GPS but I highly recommend the phone version with a portable charger (Anker version recommended on here was awesome and have me 6 full re-charges from one battery pack). When we put boots on the ground for first rifle we had a sharp reality check at the trailhead- what looked like solid 2 track was a VERY rough ATV trail with lots of pressure.
Stubborn or stupid we hiked in 6 miles past those smart enough to have horses and set up camp. We scouted a day and a half and saw cool country but no elk. Opening morning saw plenty of muleys and snow midday. Sat and glasses on a high knob all day but didn't see any elk until last 30 minutes of legal, too far to stalk.
After two days in the NFS high country we moved to some lower BLM. It took time but we eventually found the elk- crossing the road every night into the next unit lol.
After a week we packed up and headed home. No bull for either of us, we learned at least one person should have a meat tag
I want to extend a sincere thank you to all members on here for the trips/tricks/and gear suggestions. Also a very big thank you to Connie, from the Meeker area. As a first time non-resident elk hunter from the Midwest it was humbling to talk with you for that afternoon. The experience and advice you shared was unbelievably generous, and I am challenging myself to be as helpful to the next generation of hunters.
Top 3 takeaways:
1. Go Elk Hunting (as a kid from the Midwest I always dreamed of hunting elk and when you put pen to paper almost anyone can afford a hunt)
2. Use Hunttalk.com and OnxMaps to plan ahead, but be ready for the inevitable curve ball
3. Give back. If you go on a high country elk hunt once you will be an advocate for public lands and all the opportunity they provide.
If any new elk hunter is heading out next year and wants to skip a few of the mistakes we made let me know. I'll share what little knowledge I have because more people need to get into this awesome sport
We both scoured the OnX maps and used both phone and GPS but I highly recommend the phone version with a portable charger (Anker version recommended on here was awesome and have me 6 full re-charges from one battery pack). When we put boots on the ground for first rifle we had a sharp reality check at the trailhead- what looked like solid 2 track was a VERY rough ATV trail with lots of pressure.
Stubborn or stupid we hiked in 6 miles past those smart enough to have horses and set up camp. We scouted a day and a half and saw cool country but no elk. Opening morning saw plenty of muleys and snow midday. Sat and glasses on a high knob all day but didn't see any elk until last 30 minutes of legal, too far to stalk.
After two days in the NFS high country we moved to some lower BLM. It took time but we eventually found the elk- crossing the road every night into the next unit lol.
After a week we packed up and headed home. No bull for either of us, we learned at least one person should have a meat tag
I want to extend a sincere thank you to all members on here for the trips/tricks/and gear suggestions. Also a very big thank you to Connie, from the Meeker area. As a first time non-resident elk hunter from the Midwest it was humbling to talk with you for that afternoon. The experience and advice you shared was unbelievably generous, and I am challenging myself to be as helpful to the next generation of hunters.
Top 3 takeaways:
1. Go Elk Hunting (as a kid from the Midwest I always dreamed of hunting elk and when you put pen to paper almost anyone can afford a hunt)
2. Use Hunttalk.com and OnxMaps to plan ahead, but be ready for the inevitable curve ball
3. Give back. If you go on a high country elk hunt once you will be an advocate for public lands and all the opportunity they provide.
If any new elk hunter is heading out next year and wants to skip a few of the mistakes we made let me know. I'll share what little knowledge I have because more people need to get into this awesome sport
