Colorado... 2, 10, 61 or 201? God help me!

[Bullmanroyal]

My dad and I have 14 points going into this year's draw. Every time I think that I've finally made my mind up for sure, I second guess myself.

Here's what I've come up with so far...

The northwest corner probably has bigger bulls than unit 61, but from what I understand, 61 is a really fun hunt and you have lots and lots of public land. I've been told I can't go wrong with this one.

For a long time, I thought unit 10 would be the one I'd go with. Then, a trusted friend who has hunted both units told that 61 was a better hunt. Evidently, unit 10 was a bit too checker-boarded with private land for him. He seems to think there's a chance that a guy could get caught looking at the big bull from the wrong side of the fence for much of your hunt.

Unit 2 has plenty of public ground, but this is the unit I know least about. I guess I kind of wrote this one off a few years ago when a friend, who had a bunch of family from that area, hunted it hard for a couple of weeks and only saw one bull that he thought would go 340. He never drew his bow...

Unit 201 is the one that has my attention right now. I've read some really cool hunt stories about this unit. Its smallish looking though and I just don't know enough about it.

Gents, I sure could use some help here. If you have experience in any of these units, I sure would appreciate your input. Feel free to PM me if you'd like. The draw will be here before we know it and I'm just hoping to have a little hair left on my head after making this decision.

Thanks in advance!

Bullmanroyal

 

[dwalton]

I hunted 61 first rifle season last year. This area is over-hyped as far as trophy quality is concerned. My buddy and I hunted with Garvey Bros. Outfitting. There were seven of us in camp, and we all took 6-point bulls. They ranged in size from 265-295 points. There are some 330+ bulls on the unit, but they are far and few between. Nobody in camp saw a bull of this size. The game warden stopped by camp. We asked him about 61, and he said our bulls were typical of the area. He said CDOW manages area 61 for a quality hunter experience rather than a trophy unit.

That being said, area 61 is a cool place to hunt. We saw mature bulls every day. Garvey Bros. puts on a hell of an elk hunt in 61, hunting both private and public land.

I would say if you saw a 300+ point bull in 61, you should shoot him.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

You have it about right. The NW corner stills offers your best shot at a bigger bull if you are looking to unload a pile of points. There are units that produce bigger bulls consitently, but they don't take but a few points to draw. Unit 2 and 201 are both good elk units. If I was to hunt there I'd make sure I had plenty of time off, and 2-3 days before the season to look around. Mid-300 bulls don't grow on trees even there. You are a little light on points if you area a nonresident, but if I had 14 I'd wait to draw one of those two units.

 

[littlehunter23]

61