Good morning everyone,
As the hunting seasons quickly approach, I find my level of anticipation growing at a fast pace, but also my confusion about how to approach the hunting itself. I'm wondering if those of you with some high country Elk OTC 2nd/3rd rifle experience (preferably units 36/361) could give me a better idea of what sort of tactics have helped you become successful in the past. I think this could also help others out who look at the success rates and wonder how they're going to get 'er done.
To give you a better idea of what I'm dealing with, I will be hunting with my wife in units 361 and/or 36, likely around 10,000' in the more dense habitat that doesn't allow for much glassing. I have scouted these units about 4-5 times this year, driving almost every FS road and hiking into a bunch of random roadless areas. I have turned up only 1 cow elk, and a number of deer, along with some good elk sign (mostly late summer). An acquaintance has shot a number of elk near where I'm hunting, hence my interest in those particular units (he's old and in no hurry to find elk though). I'll be going out again this weekend again to check on animal movement, hunter density, sign, etc and to pick out where I want to be opening day. We have 2-3 locations in mind, all around 10k feet, and 2 lower locations around 8-9k for if the weather gets bad and the elk move. We are pretty successful AZ hunters, but this will be our first CO hunting season.
The questions I have in mind are as follows. Do you find that elk are mostly moving around, without much pattern? Do you base your hunt decisions off of only really fresh sign, what you saw 2 months ago, or is year-old sign OK? If you don't find elk or fresh elk sign in an area after 1 day, do you move to an entirely different area hoping to catch them? Do you think on average that the elk are in large herds, rather than a bunch of small herds? Do you think that a person who is good at still hunting (AZ) will have a decent shot at still hunting the thick spruce/douglas fir/lodgepole forests of CO high country?
Thanks for all of your help, and good luck to you all!
As the hunting seasons quickly approach, I find my level of anticipation growing at a fast pace, but also my confusion about how to approach the hunting itself. I'm wondering if those of you with some high country Elk OTC 2nd/3rd rifle experience (preferably units 36/361) could give me a better idea of what sort of tactics have helped you become successful in the past. I think this could also help others out who look at the success rates and wonder how they're going to get 'er done.
To give you a better idea of what I'm dealing with, I will be hunting with my wife in units 361 and/or 36, likely around 10,000' in the more dense habitat that doesn't allow for much glassing. I have scouted these units about 4-5 times this year, driving almost every FS road and hiking into a bunch of random roadless areas. I have turned up only 1 cow elk, and a number of deer, along with some good elk sign (mostly late summer). An acquaintance has shot a number of elk near where I'm hunting, hence my interest in those particular units (he's old and in no hurry to find elk though). I'll be going out again this weekend again to check on animal movement, hunter density, sign, etc and to pick out where I want to be opening day. We have 2-3 locations in mind, all around 10k feet, and 2 lower locations around 8-9k for if the weather gets bad and the elk move. We are pretty successful AZ hunters, but this will be our first CO hunting season.
The questions I have in mind are as follows. Do you find that elk are mostly moving around, without much pattern? Do you base your hunt decisions off of only really fresh sign, what you saw 2 months ago, or is year-old sign OK? If you don't find elk or fresh elk sign in an area after 1 day, do you move to an entirely different area hoping to catch them? Do you think on average that the elk are in large herds, rather than a bunch of small herds? Do you think that a person who is good at still hunting (AZ) will have a decent shot at still hunting the thick spruce/douglas fir/lodgepole forests of CO high country?
Thanks for all of your help, and good luck to you all!
