CO Elk hunt, 2nd rifle Unit 7 & 8

Smokedbackstrap

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Me and my brother drew our first Elk tag this year in CO units 7&8. I'm in Vegas and he's in Dallas, so boots on the ground scouting is gonna be difficult. Does anyone have any experience in this area? Mostly looking for lodging and accessibility recommendations. I know a lot of the roads and campgrounds become inaccessible in the winter months. Any insight on which ones are plowed or typically closed or open during these months? Any recommendations on hotels, cabins, or campgrounds in the area? Also if you have any tips for the elk population and habits in the area, I may be able to trade info on unit 34,elk and mule deer, or a couple different units in Nevada for both.
 
To be in that 10 percent of super successful hunters I feel like getting out early and staying out late is important. Always hard to do from a cabin. Its too easy for me to sleep in if its raining or snowing or strong wind. I've hunted those units with success. I've always been a backpack hunter though. . If you are wanting a cabin, Archers in rustic would be a good location.
 
I live part time in the area… those units burned bad a couple years ago… like bad bad. Moon scaped big parts of NF that will take decades to come back. They have a lot of the east west roads closed still from the fire. I’d look at the western/ northern parts of the unit, you may find some VRBO cabins but 7/8 are pretty sparse as far as amenities go. Winter up there usually comes in Nov and sticks around till March. Last year it was really late and big snow didn’t show up till Jan. It’s hard to say could be 50/60’s during second rifle or it could dump 3 feet of snow. Those elk will stay as high as they can until the snow forces them out. My guess is the “burn” will attract guys and concentrate elk in transition zones. Thanks for spending big bucks in Co… but don’t get your hopes up too much. Good luck
 
To be in that 10 percent of super successful hunters I feel like getting out early and staying out late is important. Always hard to do from a cabin. Its too easy for me to sleep in if its raining or snowing or strong wind. I've hunted those units with success. I've always been a backpack hunter though. . If you are wanting a cabin, Archers in rustic would be a good location.
I second that, I have a cabin in the NF… but soft beds and warm blankets save elk lives. It’s hard to be in the right spot an hour before sun up when you have to drive/hike over an hour to get there. The wife thinks I’m a nut, but Ill bivy out while hunting and try to stay as close to the elk as possible
 
To be in that 10 percent of super successful hunters I feel like getting out early and staying out late is important. Always hard to do from a cabin. Its too easy for me to sleep in if its raining or snowing or strong wind. I've hunted those units with success. I've always been a backpack hunter though. . If you are wanting a cabin, Archers in rustic would be a good location.
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check them out. Staying back there is definitely the priority, but a hot shower option every few days doesn't sound bad either. Hopefully I'll be there the full 10 days I plan.
 
I live part time in the area… those units burned bad a couple years ago… like bad bad. Moon scaped big parts of NF that will take decades to come back. They have a lot of the east west roads closed still from the fire. I’d look at the western/ northern parts of the unit, you may find some VRBO cabins but 7/8 are pretty sparse as far as amenities go. Winter up there usually comes in Nov and sticks around till March. Last year it was really late and big snow didn’t show up till Jan. It’s hard to say could be 50/60’s during second rifle or it could dump 3 feet of snow. Those elk will stay as high as they can until the snow forces them out. My guess is the “burn” will attract guys and concentrate elk in transition zones. Thanks for spending big bucks in Co… but don’t get your hopes up too much. Good luck
Thanks for all the info! It's a lot and super helpful!
 

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