Unit 40 Elk

ironranger · Jan 17, 2018

A friend and I have 9 points for elk and I've been looking at different units to put in for. There isn't a lot out there for the points we have but have been looking at Unit 40 bow and also Unit 20 MZ. I'd really like to wait for unit 76 bow but not sure we can catch the point creep. Not sure we could even draw 40 this year but just wanted to get opinions on whether that unit can be hunted DIY or whether anyone knows of a good outfitter for a drop camp. Any other suggestions on units would be appreciated. More than trophy size I just enjoy getting into a lot of elk. I've developed a spreadsheet from all of the stats on CO website (draw odds, success on bulls, etc) and have exhausted that effort.

sticksender · Jan 17, 2018

Are you a non-resident? If so, you most likely won't be able to draw 40 archery elk for many years. Last year (2017) when you had 8 points, it took 11 points to guarantee draw for NR, meaning you are a full 3 point's behind. Even worse than point creep, if you check the trend in the draw stats, you will see that hunt is actually experiencing "point leap". This is probably being caused by a large number of NR's finally realizing that building points for elk in Colorado is a waste of time if you are hoping for any of the top 5 or 6 units, and you're several points behind already. So guys with say 12-17 points, facing the very real prospect of never drawing an elk tag in Colorado, are starting to look to burn their points on "lesser" hunts. Unit 40 is not a lesser hunt because there are no good bulls, but rather because there's so little public land.

As far as unit 76 archery, I have 12 points and figure I'm 7-10 years away from drawing that unit. With 9 points, you're a good 20-25 years away from drawing it, assuming nothing changes. IMO for a hunt like that, for 250-300 class bulls, is probably not worth that kind of wait.

ironranger · Jan 17, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Jan-17-18 AT 01:39PM (MST)[p]Thx Sticksender....appreciate the input...Yes I am a non resident...it seems there is a limited number of areas we could draw where we are at. May just burn them on a lesser unit at this point.

txhunter58 · Jan 17, 2018

Looks like you could draw unit 20, but the points required there have been dropping, so keep that in mind. Also, I have heard that you probably have your best chance there with an outfitter that has some private leased.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

bowhuntinnut · Jan 17, 2018

Pm sent

arns · Jan 17, 2018

I was one of them that realize that I was never going to draw a unit 2,10 or 201 tag with 18 NR points.We have hunted unit 40 for deer and the Utah side for deer.During these hunts we have seen some real nice bull on the unit.So I dumped my 18 points for the 4 season. I was hoping for some snow and it didn't come and it still hasn't came.We hunted hard for 5 days and I seen close to 40 bulls in that 280 to 310 class.The only 340 class bull I seen was broke.So I went home with tag soup ,and that's ok my 3 boys were with me and a few friends.We road our horses,side by side and walk in to some great country. That's why they call it hunting and not killing.So pick a unit and go hunting and don't worry so much about the killing.But that's just me talking,I've killed plenty.

jims · Jan 17, 2018

Both 40 and 20 have private land issues. The elk in 20 get hit pretty hard from Aug through January every year so they pretty much know where the private land is where they are safe. If you can get permission on private land in either unit you will have a lot better hunt.

ironranger · Jan 17, 2018

bowhuntinnut....I didn't get your PM....I checked my email and I had an old address in there....reset it so should be good now...thx...

HiMtnHntr · Jan 18, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Jan-18-18 AT 07:13AM (MST)[p]The elk in 20 don't get hit very hard, as there are very few tags offered. The difficulty of 20 is fractured public land, rough terrain, and the fact that elk are not found everywhere. It's not uncommon for a hunter to search for several days on public land and see few, if any, elk.

WVHUNTER · Jan 19, 2018

I don't think you can draw any bull elk tag in Unit 40 with nine points.

callsalot · Jan 24, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Jan-24-18 AT 11:53PM (MST)[p]I've archery hunted unit 40, This unit has a lot of private land and the guided options are pretty large dollars. The outfitters know what they have so a drop camp would be an unlikely option I would say but you could try. There is some forest in the high country in the middle of the unit but it is a small strip of land to hunt and BLM down low. Good news is there are a ton of elk and a 300 bull is common. 330+ is hard to come by still however and if you are a DIY good with a GPS and an aggressive hiker I hear you can get to the edge of private through the BLM and still have a good hunt but not easy and you will put a lot of miles on your boots. Myself I caved and went on the only guided hunt of my life but it was good.

UINTBB · Mar 16, 2018

You shared some great info and I am curious for those willing to harvest a 270 class bull Elk, would unit 40 be worth applying for as a do it yourself hunter with no access to private property?
Thank you.

Servehim · Mar 29, 2018

Just curious Callsalot who you did the guided hunt with. I'm not one that does guided hunts but am exploring the possibility in a couple years .

jims · Mar 30, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Mar-30-18 AT 06:29AM (MST)[p]I would agree that "The difficulty of 20 is fractured public land, rough terrain, and the fact that elk are not found everywhere. It's not uncommon for a hunter to search for several days on public land and see few, if any, elk.

I would disagree that there isn't much hunting pressure in 20. If you add up all the bull, cow, and muledeer hunters from August through January, overall there are quite a few hunters in 20 for an extended length of time. This is especially true when you consider how much public vs private land is available in the unit. Elk have learned over the years where the borders of the private/public land is located. If you top this off that there aren't that many elk found in a lot of country (especially on public) it can be a challenging elk hunt. You may see gobs of elk in the park and on private land around Estes Park but things are a lot different on public land.