1st season in Colorado

martinc · Sep 2, 2015

I'll be hunting the first season, starting Oct 10th, in unit 48. It will be my first unguided elk hunt, so some pointers would be appreciated.

What is the usual weather then ? I know it changes a lot in the mountains and you have to be ready for everything, but what is typical ?

How high are the elk at that time ? This is a high elevation unit, along the Divide, so where should I start to look ?

Thanks for your help

Martin

DW · Sep 2, 2015

Unless there's 3-4 ft of snow up top they can be anywhere from timberline to the hay meadows along the valley floor. They'll most likely still be buglin so if you can get there a few days early and listen from the trails you'll be able to locate some groups. When the guns go off sat mornin most of the buglin stops. It's chilly at night typically, 20's. 60 ish during the day, but as you said prepare for anything from 0-70, sunny-snowin! Good luck and tell us how it goes!

mntman · Sep 2, 2015

+1 DW's comment. North slopes that are super thick will hold pressured elk, especially if it is some sort of "hell's hole". Mainly cause most hunters refuse to go in after them. However that is the type of stuff where I love going. Most likely to find elk and no hunters

good luck

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

martinc · Sep 3, 2015

Thanks a lot guys.
I'm studying maps and Google Earth. I'm looking for areas or creeks without trails, since I believe it is a popular area with hikers. I assume there will be less hikers come rifle season, but I guess the elk learn to stay away from those popular trails.

I found a nice bench, off-trail, on a north slope. I also have a few side canyons with cover and feed, again without trail.

We plan to arrive 2-3 days before the opener. We are 2 hunters and another buddy coming to help.

Thanks for your help.

Martin

DW · Sep 3, 2015

The first couple elk I killed were in the unit just south of you. I found a pasture/hay meadow elk were feeding in nightly behind a ranch. Opening morning I was above the ranch in the timber and when the ranch guided hunter shot his elk the herd would travel up to and by me single file at a walk.

alsatian · Sep 15, 2015

Good luck. I will be hunting first season in unit 75, NE of Durango.

The elk will be close to treeline in first season. It is best to know a place where you have seen elk sign. Elk herd up. You don't generally find single, isolated elk. That's why you want to see sign, lots of sign. Because they herd up and because they are big animals, they need large sources of food -- open grassy areas. They like protection -- dark timber (evergreens densely packed).

To the extent possible, ask people for pointers and advice where to hunt. Don't just ask one person, ask lots of people. Usually people won't tell you a specific "honey hole," but they may provide helpful directions.

With no sure plan on where to find the elk, try to get up to a high spot with a good vantage over the surrounding country. Be up there glassing with good binoculars at first light. Carefully scan the country and then rescan again and then rescan again. The elk move, and hence where you didn't see elk earlier, you may see elk 30 minutes later. Elk can be difficult to see, even with binoculars. Look attentively. Rest your binoculars on something -- a rock, your knees -- to steady them. Elk coloration looks a lot like the brownish grass of the open fields, so you have to look close.

Supposing you see elk, what then? If they are too far away to launch a stalk -- which is probable -- watch them. If it is morning, they are probably going from a feeding area to a bedding area. A fair plan would be to expect them to return along the same path at evening to go back to the feeding area. You could plan to be located in a place of concealment along that path that you have identified.

In areas where there is a lot of hutning pressure, the approach of the previous paragraph may not work. The elk then may be stirred up and moving from place to place as hunters spook them. Or they may simply be removing from the area entirely, to go back further into the wilderness or into hiding in deep, tangled forest.

At 11,500 foot elevation in SW Colorado where I hunt, temperatures get down to 15 degrees over night and up to 55 degrees during the day. This is during normal weather. Sometimes it is warmer overnight, but usually below freezing.