Finally drew 61 -1st season

[oldmossback]

Well it is finally official I DREW . I think my kids are more excited then me. Now the home work begins. I plan on doing a few scouting trips and also arriving a few days before the season. Does anyone know a good place to camp with a large toy hauler? I have never set foot in the unit and will be hunting alone so any pointers will be appreciated. At my age I will never draw the tag again.

Old Mossy.

 

[elkmeat]

you can call me, i hunted 2010 and camped there with my toyhauler. Dale. 303-5885638

 

[muleycrazy23]

Hey elkmeat, I hunted in 2010 first season also. How did you do?
How many points did it take for you oldmossback? Start prayin for rain otherwise I have a feeling theres going to be some broken up antlers and growth wont be what it culd be. Good luck on your hunt.

 

[oldmossback]

Thanks Dale and yes I will call you. How did both you guys do on your hunts?

 

[oilcan]

Congrats oldmossback can't wait to hear how you do.

 

[eastside1]

Congrats oldmossback how many points did take you R or NR. Am a NR with 15 points and hope to draw before I get to old. There is alot of open space on eastside of colimbine campground kinda in the middle of unit might work depending where you decide to hunt.

 

[muleycrazy23]

I shot a 315" 5x5 on the last day. I saw a 350" bull scouting the week before but the stupid ranchers pushed him and just about every other elk out of the country herding cows a few days before the hunt. I passed a 330" bull the 3rd morning right by my truck because he was all broken up. They were still bugling the first 3 days and then they shut up pretty good. It was a fun hunt but not sure if it was worth 9 points.

 

[oldmossback]

It took me 12 resident points. Does anyone have any advice on where to get good maps?

 

[BeanMan]

Milo,

I didn't draw my tag. In regards to camping, there are lots of spots to park a toy hauler. The real trick is to find a spot just before the season starts. There will be lots of overflow campers from unit 62 as well as hunters from 61. I can get real busy along the Divide Road.

 

[notags2]

Congrats!! Its a fun hunt. I had a land owner tag last year and killed a decent bull. The picture of it is in the huntin fool under the landowner tag section in both the May and June issue. Call me and I will help ya all I can. You are in for a fun hunt. Pat 801-509-1574.

 

[SanJuan]

Personally I wouldn't worry about antler growth. This is CO not AZ. The warm winter and early spring should have a positive effect on antler growth IMO.

The mountains, not the hills.

 

[Magicman]

Just leave one for me. I finally drew a 2nd season bull license with 16 NR PP's.

Before you die.....Take time to live

 

[oldmossback]

Thanks all. I will be doing my home work for sure. My biggest worry however is getting a animal(any size) out by myself.Having never seem the area yet , I have heard some horror stories.

 

[r270]

Oldmossback,I live about 30 minutes from the unit had a archery tag 3 years ago had the most fun ever!!! if you need help this fall packing one out just let me know I would be glad to help drop me an email if you have any questions

 

[rmanwill]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-04-12 AT 05:35PM (MST)[p]Congrats oldmossback. Best of luck to you. I hope to hunt this unit also someday. I have 16 NR points and keep waiting. Hopefully in the next three years.

From all I have researched, you should have a great time. There is several MM members hat know the unit that give great advise every year - r270 has offered and lives next door and is always willing to helpout and he has offered. Dominguez also has a packout bussiness and can help after the kill, depending on the location of the unit you kill the bull in.

Best of luck and keep us informed and I will pick your brain when I draw.

 

[elkmeat]

i ended up with a nice 6x6 318 net. fun hunt. lots of small 6x6,s plenty of places to park your toyhauler.just be careful going up and down the switch backs from the north end. i bent my rear side of my hauler going down.you only have so much room to swing out on the down side curves.i will be able to help you when you call. dale

 

[BeanMan]

Milo,

Don't worry about the pack out, I'm almost as close as r270. Call and I will come help pack. Going up there this weekend to escape the heat and hunt yotes.

 

[oldmossback]

Thanks R270 and Fred, I will definately need some help and will share some meat with you if you would like. I look forward to talking to and meeting you all. I cant wait.

 

[r270]

I will try to find some pictures of the bulls my dad and brother took in 61 4 years ago will also throw in a pic or two of my bull from the archery season. You will love this hunt!!!

 

[oldmossback]

yea. r270 would love to see some pics and get even more motivated.

 

[BeanMan]

Unit 61 has two less coyotes now. We also saw a very nice 6 point bull and a few bucks. Overall it is quite dry and very dusty. 45 mph winds on Saturday hampered calling quite a bit.

 

[rmanwill]

Sweet, Beanman. Keep killing them coyote's.Wish I lived closer to help out with the dogs and enjoy the unit looking at the deer and elk more then just every few years!!!

 

[camo_deerslayer]

>Unit 61 has two less coyotes
>now. We also saw a
>very nice 6 point bull
>and a few bucks.
>Overall it is quite dry
>and very dusty. 45
>mph winds on Saturday hampered
>calling quite a bit.

I drew an archery deer and archery bear tag in 61 this year. This means that I will see the biggest BULL ever while deer/bear hunting. If I do, who wants to know where it is? ;0)

 

[Kelk]

I am New on here.
I drew a NR archery 61 Elk tag (17 points)and purchased a archery bear tag.
I drove threw the unit last weekend.
Tops are dry, didn't see much. Next trip I plan on doing a few hikes.
Any help will be appreciated.
[email protected]

 

[oldmossback]

Well, I finally made my 1st scouting trip to 61 this weekend. Lots of pros and a few cons. Looks like a great area and should be a fun hunt. Need to do somemore homework though.

Pros; Saw A nice bull,Lots of elk, Saw 4 big bucks, 1 of which was huge (180+ easy) Bears, Turkeys, Lots of nice camp spots.

Cons; What is up with the hundreds upon hundreds of cattle??? Very disappointing. Also people every where. Even on this off weekend there were campers around every corner. Also lots of horses. So questions for all the vetrans out there, Is this normal?

 

[BeanMan]

It's all normal, a lot of us recreate up there. Feed is in short supply for cattle, especially at lower altitudes, that means they are going to be higher. It also would not surprise me if there were more cattle than permitted. The USFS is not a presence. Get off the beaten path a ways and the people/campers will disappear.

 

[sjhgraysage]

In my very limited experience being there for a 1st season and a 3rd season hunt, there will be cattle roundups going on with guys on horse back riding the country looking for the cattle.
It did not affect our hunts much if at all.
Also the guys we met rounding up cattle from Olathe, were really nice guys and fun to visit with, we helped them locate a few head while we were scouting and hunting.

 

[r270]

The cattle will still be there in October the people will still be there,most of them will be hunting 62 but just the sight of all the people will make you wonder ......but dont you will find elk and good ones the further you can get away from the roads the better,the hardest thing you will have to worry about is can you pass up all the 280-300 bulls to wait for one bigger! let me know if you need any help i am only about 30 minutes from the unit and spend alot of time there in the fall just messing with the elk

 

[muleycrazy23]

Expect most of the cattle to be gone by 1st season. I hunted it 2 years ago 1st rifle. I had a 350"+ bull and a couple 340" bulls in one area and the stupid ranchers ran them out of there the week before and I never saw them again. I talked to one of them and asked them why they picked the week before hunting season to move the cows and the prick basically told me its because they dont want us non paying hunters shooting the elk they have guys paying to hunt. He was tied in with an outfitter somehow and it seems alot of them are from what I heard. So dont be surprised if you find one and hes not there come opening morning. Try to find an area(and there are some) that dont have any cattle in them and you will find more elk. I was also disappointed with the amount of people hunting up there. They give out alot of cow tags so dont be surprised to see quite a few people. I ran into hunters most any spot I went to and 90% of them had cow tags. Even with all that it was still fun and they bugled good for the first 3 days and then shut up. I passed a 330ish bull on the 3rd morning cuz he was all busted up, and ended up shooting a 315-320" heavy 5x5 on the last day in a walk in spot with closed roads. Expect a fun hunt but dont get your hopes too high beacause its still public land there there are quite a few other hunters and idiot ranchers up there chasin em around.

 

[badgerman]

BeanMan - and anybody else with a thought on it - With all the human contact the critters up there get, do they behave like they would anywhere else? Or do they get more/less skittish?
I'm curious because I whitetail bowhunt a few public areas with really heavy recreational foot and bike traffic. What I noticed was that the deer almost don't react if you act like everybody else they see. Walk the trail at a normal pace, no problem. Slow down, point at 'em, anything different and the afterburners come on! I also saw this around Granite Resevoir by Woodland park and outside of Evergreen. The deer and elk become conditioned to people after a while.
I just wonder if you could use all the human activity to your advantage during a hunt?

 

[oldmossback]

The nice bull I walked up on last weekend took 1 look at me and was gone into the thick timber within about 2 seconds literally. The elk I glassed from across a canyon had no idea I was there.

 

[oldmossback]

How often does 61 get any snow during 1st season on top?

 

[camo_deerslayer]

I've lived here 7 years now, never seen it snow during first season... If it did, it would likely melt the next day.

 

[SoleSearcher36]

It is always possible to get a big wet snow during first season but they seem to be "spotty" and not as widespread as later storms. Seems like the top of grand mesa gets hit more often early in the season than the uncomphagre. Good to be prepared for it so if it comes it doesn't ruin your hunt. Weather too warm is far more likely tho. Last year we hunted a different area of the state but at a similar elevation and had whiteout conditions as well as 10" or better accumulations in 24hrs so you truly never know. If I waited that long to draw a tag I would damn well go prepared for just about any weather conditions.

 

[oldmossback]

Yea your right.. So does anyone have any chains to fit 37" tall tires I could barrow.? lol

Im sure its going to be a blast no matter what. Time to start getting the 300mag warmed up also

 

[oldmossback]

Thanks to everyone who has given me advice and who continues to keep me posted on things. I have met alot of good people on this site. I appreciate all the advice and let me know if there is anything any of you guys ever need.