2019 Elk Hunt (rifle)

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  • davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    so i'm going to try this again, october 2018 was my first time. i drew a tag in nw colo. we (wife and dog went out with me) drove out (3 days) and got there a week early and scouted i think 5 of those 7 days, via lots of miles on the truck, and a lot on our boots. the weather went from nice/drought to cold/rain/snow right as we arrived and the roads went to complete crap. my units went from 5k to 9k but i couldn't get above 8k due to the roads. i sure wish i knew if that extra 1k made all the difference or not, but i saw two cow elk the first morning of the hunt and that's all the elk i saw all week. fair amount of muley's though.

    anyways, open to any and all thoughts, advice or the like. i plan on applying for the draw in new mex (this year you now have to buy a $65 nonrefundable license just to enter the draw) and colo again, and am considering other states. if i'm reading it right, ariz makes you buy a nonrefundable $160 license just to enter the draw. that's a fair amount of coin just to have a super slight chance of actually drawing.
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    Look into Gohunt. Go hunt, from what I've heard, is the greatest thing for scouting. Lets you see the history of the units.

    thanks. the couple i've looked at (gohunt, toprut) basically use what the states provide and maybe pretty it up a little. i haven't seen where they provide anything the states don't provide, but if they do i sure would appreciate that being pointed out. i have a little time on my hands so don't mind parsing thru the various state's draw and kill statistics.
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    2019 will be my first year since I've been in Colorado that I apply for elk and deer tags. I think I'm finally recovered enough from my surgeries to pack out a few hundred pounds of meat if I score something.

    Good luck with your draws!
     

    Bboarder

    Me Myself & I
    Mar 7, 2010
    1,200
    Reisterstown
    so i'm going to try this again, october 2018 was my first time. i drew a tag in nw colo. we (wife and dog went out with me) drove out (3 days) and got there a week early and scouted i think 5 of those 7 days, via lots of miles on the truck, and a lot on our boots. the weather went from nice/drought to cold/rain/snow right as we arrived and the roads went to complete crap. my units went from 5k to 9k but i couldn't get above 8k due to the roads. i sure wish i knew if that extra 1k made all the difference or not, but i saw two cow elk the first morning of the hunt and that's all the elk i saw all week. fair amount of muley's though.

    anyways, open to any and all thoughts, advice or the like. i plan on applying for the draw in new mex (this year you now have to buy a $65 nonrefundable license just to enter the draw) and colo again, and am considering other states. if i'm reading it right, ariz makes you buy a nonrefundable $160 license just to enter the draw. that's a fair amount of coin just to have a super slight chance of actually drawing.

    Pearson?
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    ok, i just entered the wyoming draw. i picked 3 super low draw odds units so most likely won't really be hunting there. i did buy 5 elk hunt raffle tickets but with my zero luck that is just a simple donation. i 'think' they usually have some general tags left over so that will be an option.
     

    Antarctica

    YEEEEEHAWWW!!!!
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 29, 2012
    1,728
    Southern Anne Arundel
    Wyoming certainly ups the bear equation, especially given some of the incidents last year. Not a show stopper by any means but gives you a good reason to pack some firepower and keep an eye on your six when breaking down that 6x6 you're gonna get...

    Are you no longer considering CO based on your experience last year? I just presumed that you gained a lot of experience with the area you chose to hunt last year and that it would draw you back. Or was the lack of elk enough to convince you to move on?

    Brent
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    It's really only the north west corner of Wyoming that has grizzlies, from the Montana / Idaho corner down through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons into the Wind River mountain range. Probably about 10% of the state's land area.
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    Are you no longer considering CO based on your experience last year? I just presumed that you gained a lot of experience with the area you chose to hunt last year and that it would draw you back. Or was the lack of elk enough to convince you to move on?

    i am still going to try and draw in nm and colo. just figured i'd try another state also, again these are super low draw odds and other than fronting the tag fee, no downside for trying.

    not sure what i'm going to do in colo. they were undergoing a severe drought and surely that affected where the elk were. folks i talked with where i was hunting said they had killed bulls there in prior years. if i try for my old unit, i still want to try and get above 8k feet so that would be new territory for me, so not sure there's a benefit for doing my old unit being that it would still be new territory. plus of course nothing is 100% draw odds.
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    i am still going to try and draw in nm and colo. just figured i'd try another state also, again these are super low draw odds and other than fronting the tag fee, no downside for trying.

    not sure what i'm going to do in colo. they were undergoing a severe drought and surely that affected where the elk were. folks i talked with where i was hunting said they had killed bulls there in prior years. if i try for my old unit, i still want to try and get above 8k feet so that would be new territory for me, so not sure there's a benefit for doing my old unit being that it would still be new territory. plus of course nothing is 100% draw odds.

    The units you had in Colorado have good reputations for both elk and black bear. It was an off year for weather which disrupted the elk's movement. I think they stayed higher longer last year. I know a lot of people who got skunked.
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    Hey davsco, it looks like a pack of gray wolves have moved into your areas.

    A PACK OF WOLVES HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN COLORADO FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 70 YEARS, PARK OFFICIALS SAY
    https://www.newsweek.com/pack-wolves-colorado-70-years-park-officials-1481332



    Wolf pack roaming Colorado for first time in recent history
    https://www.outtherecolorado.com/wolf-pack-confirmed-in-colorado-for-first-time-in-recent-history/

    CPW says evidence indicates likely presence of a wolf pack in northwest Colorado
    https://www.9news.com/article/life/animals/cpw-says-video-indicates-likely-presence-of-wolves-in-northwest-colorado/73-917b2aae-acce-4cd6-bd22-69dd73dbfa61




    This is an elk carcass that was recently found in the area, along with wolf footprints.
    884aff7d-2106-441a-94d1-4ed8bda638fd_750x422.jpg
     

    Antarctica

    YEEEEEHAWWW!!!!
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 29, 2012
    1,728
    Southern Anne Arundel
    Gonna be interesting to see how this play's out. Wolves have naturally migrated to the abundant prey (CO elk), but with bill 107 the tree huggers still see the need to re-introduce. They are already there.
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    oh crap i haven't gone back to this thread in a while...

    yeah got skunked again this past october. i hunted the units just east of meeker, flat tops wilderness. def more elevation change than in the units just west of meeker i did year before. unfortunately i didn't see a single elk this time despite many miles and vertical feet of scouting and hunting. a couple of outfitters came out on horseback with elk but that was it. one morning i did see some 6+ BIG mule deer bucks on a knoll maybe a mile away sparring with each other, that was pretty cool, i had my spotting scope.

    and yeah one day i did go way in on my sxs and hunted off those trails. that was some serious-ass terrain and was just outside the flattops area.
     

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