7 Colorado points,best places

milkie62

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99
I have only been out west twice.My last was with Winterhawk on a muzleloader hunt.My buddy and I now have 7 points for Colorado and are looking for a place to go for maybe a 1st rifle season or another muzzleloader.Guided hunt.Are private ranches a better bet than public.Can't say enough good about Winterhawk but would possibly like to try where mid 300's class are more possible.Thanks
 
>I have only been out west
>twice.My last was with Winterhawk
>on a muzleloader hunt.My buddy
>and I now have 7
>points for Colorado and are
>looking for a place to
>go for maybe a 1st
>rifle season or another muzzleloader.Guided
>hunt.Are private ranches a better
>bet than public.Can't say enough
>good about Winterhawk but would
>possibly like to try where
>mid 300's class are more
>possible.Thanks


I have been hearing some not so good stuff about Winterhawk the last year or so. I don't think I would burn my 7 points with them.
Best of luck!

Lien2
 
You are in the same boat as the rest of us with 7 to 10 points, not enough to draw the good units.

Late season unit 20 maybe, but this is a migration hunt so it's hit or miss, I talked to one guy that did this hunt and the weather was warm and the elk never came out of the park. Fifteen hunters killed one elk.

Maybe 2nd or 3rd season unit 40.

Possibly unit 49.

Private land is better if it's in a unit that has OTC tags. If tags are limited then maybe not so much.

There are some good hunts on Ranching for Wildlife ranches and they have the tags, but these will cost two or three times more than the cost for Winterhawk.

These are just some ideas of places of start looking.
 
I would look more towards the draw units along the front range About 7 years ago I lived west of Denver and seen several nice bulls along the highways traveling to and from Silverthorne, that were on public land. It's thick forested country so they will be more exposed during the early seasons around treeline or avalanche chutes.
 
If you are looking for a 350 bull and are willing to pay the cash, unit 40 has some great private land hunts. But, they ain't cheap. For trophy class bulls, you may want to look at a different state. Just saying....Colorado is a great hunting state, but not a lot of trophy bulls are around IMHO.
 
Look at 40 and hire a guide with access to a good ranch. Good ranches will cost more, and be better. There are good and bad ranches. Research a LOT.
 
Front Range, units 39, 51, 84 and 69 give up 350 type bulls each year and gaining access to private land in those units won't bankrupt you. Keep in mind some sleeper units for big bulls in the eastern slope, 128, 110, 104, 105. Don't require a ton of points and access is cheap compared to the western slope.
 
I live in unit 51 and unless you have someone in your back pocket, You will not find a private land hunt for a bull that big for less than 5k.
 
>I live in unit 51 and
>unless you have someone in
>your back pocket, You will
>not find a private land
>hunt for a bull that
>big for less than 5k.
>


I live here too and to be honest $5,000 won't even get you on the good properties.... I've tried knocking on doors, making calls, sending letters, emails, carrier pigeons, you name it and those bulls will either die of old age or get hit by a car.
 
Was thinking the same thing. I would gladly pay $5000 for a 350 bull. They want twice that in Unit 2 for a chance at one that size.
 
I was curious about the $5,000 hunt also. That would be cheap for even a high success 300+ private land bull hunt with tags available.
 
Clearly my attempt to make my point has failed. There is one property that will let you pay a trespass fee, though they call it a donation to their foundation, and the "suggested" donation was over $10,000 when I checked about eight years ago. Most other landowners I have talked to wont even consider letting hunters on their property, no matter how deep your pockets are.
 
The "GAP" in Colorado is huge.
For 3 or 4 points, you can get a tag that's better than an OTC tag.
After that, it's crazy.
I have 14 Colorado points for elk. I can get a 2nd or 3rd season tag in a "good' unit, but to draw a 1st season or muzzle loader tag, it may take the rest of my life to catch up.
 
Whats the deal with ranchers not wanting any hunters on their properties ? I would think a waiver made up by a lawyer and signed would take care of any problems.I only have 100 acres where I live that use to be good hunting and would gladly allow a hunter or two on to help offset my property tax bill.Cash of course.Thanks to all so far about enlightning me on how tough and expensive it is to find just a decent bull.I live way to far away--2000 miles to take a weekend or two to go scouting,so I either have to have my kids marry into property owners out there or just pay an outfitter.
 
>Whats the deal with ranchers not
>wanting any hunters on their
>properties ? I would think
>a waiver made up by
>a lawyer and signed would
> take care of
>any problems.I only have 100
>acres where I live that
>use to be good hunting
>and would gladly allow a
>hunter or two on to
>help offset my property tax
>bill.Cash of course.Thanks to all
>so far about enlightning
>me on how tough and
>expensive it is to find
>just a decent bull.I live
>way to far away--2000 miles
>to take a weekend or
>two to go scouting,so I
>either have to have my
>kids marry into property
>owners out there or just
>pay an outfitter.

Many of them are not ranchers anymore. Instead rich hobby farmers who work in town and had enough money to buy "the place of thier dreams". Much the same issues in my area. Many of the ranchers sold out and much of the property is not hunted at all...
 
A lot of them are owned by the wealthy people from other states also. I was in eastern Wyoming a couple of years ago and the locals said one of the large ranches was owned by a guy from Spain and didn't allow hunting at all. I met a couple of guys from Tennessee who had just purchased a ranch in Wyoming, I think they gave $4 million for it. A father and son had their landowner tags and were hunting but that's all the activity that was going on.

David Letterman has a ranch I think in Montana with no hunting. Ted Turner has 400,000 acres in New Mexico that does allow hunting but it's pretty expensive.

Once you get to the higher quality ranches they usually don't sell trespass hunts, they can produce more income with less hassle by leasing it to an outfitter. And I think a ranch that can consistently produce 300+ bulls is a quality ranch.

I know you are looking for a hunt where your points will be of some benefit to you, either for hunting on your own or a reasonably priced guided hunt, I'm in the same boat and I don't know where that is.

There are some good Ranching For Wildlife places in Colorado for $7,000 to $10,000 dollars but you don't need any points for those, they have the tags.

Good luck with your hunt search.
 
I've got to believe that a place that has a reasonable chance at a 350 type bull will cost $10,000. There have been land owner vouchers for NW Colorado that sell for that much and that typically just gets you on public land.

Except for unit 40 I think 7 points isn't worth much more than 3 or 4. This is basically true accross the west. 350 bulls are tuff unless you have lots of money or lots of points.

Wyoming might be the exception, but their point sytem is relatively new. They also have wilderness hunting that can be drawn pretty regular, but a non-res will have to hire a guide and put in some time, maybe years hunting for the big one.
 
I am happy with the hunt Winterhawk provided for me.Only problem is I know weather is unpredictable and my muzzle loader hunter was brutally hot --up to 85 during the day.May just do a first rifle with them to get a more of a hunting feel with hopefullly cooler temps.$10k is out for me.I would rather pay $5k twice with them.Winterhawk has spoiled me with their base camp setup.Can't ask for anything more IMO,just have more elk moving.When it was hot they stopped bugling by 6:30 am.
 

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