Colorado Elk 40 vs 76

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muleymaddness

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How would the quality of the hunt and quality of the bulls compare in these two units? Both would be through outfitter. #40 would be archery or 3rd rifle and #76 would be the late October hunt, rifle. Not so caught up in score as I am an old, mature bull. Thanks in advance.
 
76 is gorgeous country and would definitely be an awesome experience... That being said, the trophy potential in 40 is MUCH greater in my opinion, especially if you are going guided. My avatar picture is a bull that I took in 2020 Unit 40 - 2nd season on public land DIY.
 
40 Hands down. Mike Lawson is a great guy to call. I’ve been on his ranches in September, and you will have a great hunt.

76 is also awesome, classic Rocky Mountain Elk country. If you wanted a horseback, high country hunt, I don’t think you would go wrong. They’re very different areas, so really depends on the experience you want, and how physically challenging you want the hunt to be.
 
If you’re trying to book for ‘22, you’re probably going to have a tough time with any good outfitters. I would probably pay Mike a deposit, and get your name on the next opening, and look elsewhere to hunt between now and then.
 
One of the outfitters in 40 may run a top notch outfit, but his website is likely one of the worst I have ever seen. Almost every photo in his gallery is of a hunter head-on holding a severed head or skull capped critter. Come on, put 10 min of effort into decent field trophy photos. The other big outfit in 40 hasn’t updated their web site in forever, and I just looked and it doesn’t exist anymore. Way to stay on top of the game. What blows my mind is some of the dinks these outfits shoot. If it is so good why are some hunters shooting sub 280” bulls!!? HF currently claims even outfitted clients in 40 are having a tough time scrounging up 340” bulls. That is most certainly evident based off the outfitters IG pics and/or web site photo galleries. For the time invested in points and the outfitter fees I don’t see 40 as worth it to shoot a 330” bull.
 
40 is currently in a down period and has been for the last 6-7 years. There used to be a few really good bulls every year in the unit but that hasn't been the case recently.
I think the causes are RFW taking the cream off and better hunter efficiency vs # of tags given. Biggerstaff contributes heavily to the second cause. They are good at what they do especially on the little bit of BLM land.
40 probably still has a better average compared to 61 but I know of more top end bulls that have came out of 61 the last few years.
 
10 Years ago you could draw an archery tag for 40 with 5 points. Now it's more like 13 points, and it's only getting worse.
 
Booner said:
One of the outfitters in 40 may run a top notch outfit, but his website is likely one of the worst I have ever seen. Almost every photo in his gallery is of a hunter head-on holding a severed head or skull capped critter. Come on, put 10 min of effort into decent field trophy photos. The other big outfit in 40 hasn’t updated their web site in forever, and I just looked and it doesn’t exist anymore. Way to stay on top of the game. What blows my mind is some of the dinks these outfits shoot. If it is so good why are some hunters shooting sub 280” bulls!!? HF currently claims even outfitted clients in 40 are having a tough time scrounging up 340” bulls. That is most certainly evident based off the outfitters IG pics and/or web site photo galleries. For the time invested in points and the outfitter fees I don’t see 40 as worth it to shoot a 330” bull.
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You’re not far off. But that is par for the course for about any of Colorados premium elk units. Majority of the bulls harvested in even 2,10 and 201 don’t touch or break 320. Not because there are bulls there that aren’t In that 350 plus threshold but those class of bulls are what a lot of tag holders harvest.
 
Colorado Boy is right, alot of these tag holders have never saw a 300" bull in the field and when they do they get excited and pull the trigger. Nothing wrong with that of course but it does happen alot.
 
Went to 201 on a one day muzzleloader deer hunt last year. Everyone was chasing an elk bigger than 320. I saw a few bulls over 340 in my one day. Not to say they harvested over 320, but they saw something bigger. Now unit 40, scouted there 3rd season last year also to maybe burn my elk points. Most people in unit 40 were hoping to see something over 300. I never did, but only spent one day also. In my experience, 201 is a much better hunt than unit 40 for elk. Never did see a deer in either unit that broke 160. So sadly, not sure where to burn my points.
 
goforbroke said:
Went to 201 on a one day muzzleloader deer hunt last year. Everyone was chasing an elk bigger than 320. I saw a few bulls over 340 in my one day. Not to say they harvested over 320, but they saw something bigger. Now unit 40, scouted there 3rd season last year also to maybe burn my elk points. Most people in unit 40 were hoping to see something over 300. I never did, but only spent one day also. In my experience, 201 is a much better hunt than unit 40 for elk. Never did see a deer in either unit that broke 160. So sadly, not sure where to burn my points.
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201 is arguably the best unit in the state.. but it’s a seemingly unattainable tag unless you’ve been a slave to the preference point system since the 90s. Spending one day in unit 40 is not nearly enough to make any sort of assessment of the quality of its elk herd. 40 has quality bulls, it takes time to learn it and the willingness to drop into some nasty canyons along with the ability to pack one out of it to conquer it in the later rifle seasons on public land.
 
I hunted unit 40 this year and shot a bull that scored 353. I did it on my own on public land. You can see some photos if you do a search. It was a tough hunt and for the most part it wasn’t all that enjoyable. I scouted before the hunt in October and then came down a few days before the hunt in November. I never saw a ton of elk and the bulls I saw were typically on private or in country that was practically inaccessible due to cliffs. Hard hiking and the ability to read maps and watch boundaries is a must. In the end I still got lucky to find the bull that I found. If your willing to roll the dice and just go hunting there is a chance you could find a great bull in 40.
 
The_Coloradoboy said:
201 is arguably the best unit in the state.. but it’s a seemingly unattainable tag unless you’ve been a slave to the preference point system since the 90s. Spending one day in unit 40 is not nearly enough to make any sort of assessment of the quality of its elk herd. 40 has quality bulls, it takes time to learn it and the willingness to drop into some nasty canyons along with the ability to pack one out of it to conquer it in the later rifle seasons on public land.
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Exactly right! Just like 61 and 40…I will never draw either tag again
The 340+ bulls are there in each unit but the hunters that are willing to go deep and kill these bulls are few and far between!
These units are my backyard and I see monsters every year!
Maybe I should buy a good spotting scope and phone scope to prove it? Naw I see what I see ?
 
t_boneking said:
I hunted unit 40 this year and shot a bull that scored 353. I did it on my own on public land. You can see some photos if you do a search. It was a tough hunt and for the most part it wasn’t all that enjoyable. I scouted before the hunt in October and then came down a few days before the hunt in November. I never saw a ton of elk and the bulls I saw were typically on private or in country that was practically inaccessible due to cliffs. Hard hiking and the ability to read maps and watch boundaries is a must. In the end I still got lucky to find the bull that I found. If your willing to roll the dice and just go hunting there is a chance you could find a great bull in 40.
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Trevor you definitely put your work in unlike most hunters and your bull is the proof!
If you or anyone if your guys are ever in this area give me a call and I will buy you all dinner!
You have my number!!
 
coloradoman said:
Close to
Click to expand...
coloradoman said:
Exactly right! Just like 61 and 40…I will never draw either tag again
The 340+ bulls are there in each unit but the hunters that are willing to go deep and kill these bulls are few and far between!
These units are my backyard and I see monsters every year!
Maybe I should buy a good spotting scope and phone scope to prove it? Naw I see what I see ?
Click to expand...
When dad had the tag back in 2020 in 3rd rifle finding elk wasn’t that hard. If I remember right I looked over 30 plus bulls opening day. It was more finding something that wasn’t broken all to hell. Ended up finding one that fit the bill that afternoon and I spent the next two days with a buddy doing the worst pack out of our lives…
 
But guess what?
You put in the work to kill probably an above average bull !
Your every day hunter will not put in that effort anymore!
You and I would probably make a good elk hunting team because we both know the reality and know what constitutes a good bull In Colorado
 
coloradoman said:
But guess what?
You put in the work to kill probably an above average bull !
Your every day hunter will not put in that effort anymore!
You and I would probably make a good elk hunting team because we both know the reality and know what constitutes a good bull In Colorado
Click to expand...
Coloradoboy and Coloradoman…. Hmmmmmm I might be wrong but I’m pretty sure we live in the same town. Surprised we’ve never ran into each other
 
Bull from unit 40 with Mike Lawson. Hunted there about 5 years ago and it was a great hunt
DSC_2173(1).JPG
 
coloradoman said:
Speaking about hunting
My buddy has a bear Pursuit tag for Utah
Any ideas? Lol
Click to expand...
I hunt the Lasal mtns in Utah . Tons of bears down there. But it does get some pressure.
Right along the border of Colorado coming from the town of Lasal is good. And up high on Lasal. In summer pursuit we would catch two bears a day.
 

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