Colorado Unit 18 - Archery

[Wawookia]

Hey All,


New to the form and in my 3rd season of archery hunting.
The unit I've been scouting all spring is now closed due to the Williams Fork Fire, so I am setting sights north to unit 18 and am in crunch time to narrow down where to put my energy.
I'm not looking for 'where to go' information, but I am curious if folks could give me an idea of the kind of pressure this unit gets, particularly in the Routt National Forest region north of Hot Sulfur springs. I had a chance to drive up and hike around last weekend. It seemed almost 'accessible'.
Any thoughts on levels of pressure during archery season would be great!
Thanks!
 

 

[fightthenoise]

It gets a ton of pressure. Only about an hour and a half from Denver. I like it for a weekend rip, but if you hope to be alone, it?s best to get a little further from the Denver metro area. It also attracts a lot of non-hunting recreators because of Lake Granby and the Arapaho National Recreation Area.

 

[Elk Noob]

I would strongly advise against going to Unit 18. It is one of the most pressured units i've been in, and it is easily the most popular unit asked about on any of the forums/FB etc. With the Williams fork fire and Cameron fire it'll be a zoo.

 

[Bowhunter1]

Funny thing.... I hunted 28 in 2012. The experimental forest in the southwest part was shut down do to beetle kill falling near campgrounds and roads. They had someone cutting all the trees back from the roads. No use in that area. I hunted not too far away. I saw more bike riders, horseback riders, hikers, all with dogs and hunters. Strangely  I saw elk every day and had many chances. I even harvested an elk. The next year 2013 I saw one tenth of the people. I also only saw elk 2 times in my 2 week hunt in the same area. So.... You never know. Try to figure out where the people will be and where they wont'. Maybe get somewhere in between and check it out for a day or two. The elk might be moving through.

 

[adamds22]

I've hunted a lot in 18 due to having a cabin in the area and being easy for a weekend trip. Like everyone else has said, it gets some HEAVY pressure. In my experience if you are expecting to call, you'll have a better chance of calling in a hunter than an elk. That is not to say that you can't have opportunities and I do typically see elk, I have not punched my tag in 18 yet though. If you have OnX I would use the roadless overlay and target the areas where you can get away from the lazy hunter!

 

[Wawookia]

Hey all, thanks for the responses and advice! Some scouting this weekend in 18 and then push further north and west into 181 to get to the south side of Rabbit Ears Range.  Onx and google earth show some decent habitat in that area.
Good luck this season!