15 bulls and winter movement

[WesternSky]

I have an upcoming unit 15 muzzy tag in 2 weeks. I have been down there scouting and done A LOT of research. I know of 3 specific areas that I will hunt.
My question is how much do the bulls move down in elevation either post rut or in response to snow. Here in CO pressure and snow make them drop in elevation. Some elk winter at 5000 ft while other will stay near 9500 if they can find wind swept ridges. Most do drop some elevation though.
Will the bulls maintain the same elevation they were in a month ago. One of the areas is around 8000-8500 will they have moved down any.

Thanks
Justin

 

[Obsessed35]

I would say stay high. I made the mistake a few years back of assuming they would be low on my January hunt. I ran into a guide and he told me to get high on the peaks. Sure enough we ran into the bulls up high, but we only had a day and a half left of our hunt so we didn't end up getting one. If it snows it usually melts off so there is no reason for them to move lower. Now my friend is a guide in 15 and he says the same thing. I shot a 317 archery bull this year in unit 15 and saw a lot of bigger bulls. You should see some nice bulls if you are in a good area. Good luck on your hunt.

 

[mozey]

I would say for the first day, stick with the areas you've scouted. If you're not seeing any fresh sign, then start working your way down lower. I don't know unit 15 at all, so I can speak to the specifics of that unit, but I know further north in the areas that I hunt, this last storm pushed a good percentage down to their wintering grounds, which is right at about 6,000 ft. That storm dropped about 12 inches, which melted off within a couple days, but what's done is done.

 

[tesmitty]

Seems like those New Mexico guys aren't to keen on helping a guy with some general information. I wish I could help maybe you could give Mischa Larisch a call he seems to be very helpful.