Information overload...

[Mr.BowJangles]

Would first like to introduce myself to the forum. I live in Michigan and I have spent the past couple months reading thru info and learning quite a bit about elk hunting from lots of the posts. Great place for gathering additional info.


I am in the process of planning a back country elk hunt to CO, but cannot decide on which GMU I want to hunt. I started gathering info late last fall and have still not been able to pick a unit. I have looked into the Flat tops but am leary due to higher number of hunters. A couple other units that I have considered have decent success rates, but some say that is the nastiest country they have been in. The back country adventure is obviously a huge part of the draw, but I want to have a realistic chance at filling a tag and bringing some meat home.


All this being said, how you guys pick an area, especially in a different state, and plan a hunt there? I can't afford a scouting tirp so the first day of the hunt will be the first time my boots step foot in that unit. There just seems to be too much variying info from different sources and everyone has a different opinion on were to hunt, how to hunt, and when to hunt. I have called Biologists, Colorado's Hunt planner, other friends that have been hunting to Colorado, and trying to make new friends and connections along the way. Are there more resources I can tap into to help me out? Not asking for specific units, but how you can gain as much accurate info as possible on a particular unit.


Thanks and I'm sure you'll hear more from me leading up into the fall. I am getting more and more excited the closer September comes!

 

[jamesctaylor17@gmail.com]

Now right off the bat I'll say that I've never hunted CO so I'm not much help in picking a specific unit. What comes to my mind though is knowing your own abilities. You said that you're thinking about hunting some of the units with good success rates but are in "nasty" country. What I think you have to decide for yourself is if you can truly handle "nasty" country? Are you confident in your physical abilities and what shape you're in? How's your calling? Are you coming from sea level or a low elevation that will make high elevations challenging? Do you have the proper gear to take to a high elevation and stay for an extended period of time? Do you have gear to handle all the variable weather high country may throw at you? etc.... I think you get the idea.


Obviously I don't know you or your experience/fitness level/ etc. and I hope my questions didn't sound arrogant or demeaning in the least bit, they're not meant that way.  I'm just trying to provide some food for thought and I know from personal experience that biting off more than you can chew can be painful (Last year was a painful/frustrating year for me lol). BUT If you can analyze your abilities and decide that you can in fact handle the high country then I say go for it. I'm always a fan of getting off the road and away from other people! You just have to know yourself and what you're capable of.  That's just my 2 cents!


I wish you all the luck though, sounds like one way or another this should be a fun trip for you!

 

[Mr.BowJangles]

Thanks for the feedback. I have really given some thought to what type of country my group and I will be able to realistically hunt. I am 29 and in decent shape, but nothing I do in Michigan will truly prepare me for how physically exerting the mountains are. I have been riding my bike into work a couple times a week, which is about 18 miles round trip, and will start ramping up the workouts through out the summer, but not sure I want to tackle vertical nasty country and not be able to hunt it hard. So that eliminates a lot of possibilities of decent units.


I have a pretty good and realistic gauge of what I think I can handle as far as the country, calling, and gear go, I just have been unable to pick ONE unit and feel remotely confident about it to do more ground level digging. How do you all pick on unit that fits within your abilities without setting foot on it?

 

[cowboystl1]

remember that if you talk your self out of it you def cant do it a lot of this is mental as well as physical no fear never say die attitude has a lot to do with it especially when your 6-8 miles out with 80 lb of meat on your back and you still have a couple more trips. your elk hunting partners must be as dedicated as you are too. fill your pack up and walk 5 miles couple days a week to break it in good and you in good keep riding that bike maybe add a couple runs squats  stair steps. no matter how much i train it still is never enough for what i want to do , but i never let that slow me down. there are lots of good OTC areas in Colorado Oregon southern Idaho etc pick a couple you like the looks of and then start calling and hunting numbers

 

[OldMan]

What did the hunt planner tell you?

 

[lang]

Even the flattest county in Michigan will have several hs stadiums with stairs, and I would imagine you have some sort of backpack you can put weight in.  Don't be afraid of the steep, just start working on now and you'll do fine. 
First year don't loose sleep over the Unit, Colorado has a couple elk.  Do your homework and make you best educated decision and have fun.  If you are running out of steam during your hunt, and have other units close by take a day to relax and scout other units that you've thought about for following years. 

 

[Mr.BowJangles]

Hunt Planner gave me good info, but it seemed to conflict some with what others were saying about the country. Hunt planner said it wasn't steep nasty country, and others said it was some of the nastiest country they had been in. Granted, it is a big unit that I'm sure various on terrain. Again, I'm trying to make the most of my resources without being able to put boots to the ground before I start my hunt.
As far as the physical conditioning goes, I am more concerned about my brother in law who is going with me who has never been out west before and doesn't know what the country is like. We do have a State Park 5 miles away from us here in Michigan that has a skyline trail/steps thru the sand dunes. Should  be a pretty good work out for getting us used to the terrain. Its a couple miles long at least, plus a bunch of trails thru the sand dunes.
Each way, I am pumped at getting back out there! Its more about the adventure than the kill, but don't want to go thru all the physical work and other preparations and not run into elk.

 

[Rich Z]

I think it's kind of a crap shoot, just make sure you have backup areas to hunt, as all units have elk in them. As far as getting in shape, do your best, i wouldn't worry to much on the terrain in the area as your body will tell you to slow if it needs to. I live in SW Michigan and there isn't much for hills around here either. I found a park in between Holland and South Haven that has some good hills and I'd load my pack up and stop there 3 days a week and hike those trails. I did just fine out in Colorado last year and Wyoming the year before.


As far as picking and area. I just pick a region of the state i want to try, then find the OTC units in that state and start googling different things about the unit. Remember just like you have bad hunts here in MI others will have bad hunts in the unit you are looking at. Don't let it deter you.


Have fun


P.S. Google Earth is your best friend.

 

[Big Tex]

Lots of good info out there that can be used like herd population studies, success rates/hunter #s, chatting with biologist offices/game wardens/outfitters/packers, P&Y/B&C info on trends, magazine articles/internet searches, and the list goes one.  I usually use my research to narrow down units to focus on and then start pulling out maps to find which units have large tracks of public land where I can get at least 4-5 miles back from the trailhead/nearest road, and prefereably in a wilderness area so I don't have to contend with atv traffic.  Usually the steeper, nastier and deeper the country you hunt the fewer hunters you'll encounter and more elk you'll see.  And after you hit the field, your success will be directly coorelated to the amount of effort and how aggressively you hunt.  Plan on being up before dawn, back after dark, and hiking/spotting/listening/chasing elk all day.  Plan on being mobile and covering lots of country.  Have a plan B and C, if the elk aren't where you first set up camp.  Do not plan to hunt elk like deer.  2 buddies and I hunted completely new country this year.  OTC unit, good elk herd but also lots of hunters.  We ended up sharing a camp location with a group of midwest hunters that had been hunting the same area for 23 years and during that time they shot one elk....1 elk in 23 years.  The reason is that they continue to hunt elk like deer, they bring a bucket and sit on wallows, sit on funnels and wait.  In five days of aggressive, moving all day, chasing each elk we heard/saw hunting we shot two bulls in 5 days and came really close to a third.  At the end of the day, the hunt will be what you make of it.  Good luck!

 

[OldMan]

Hunt Planner gave me good info, but it seemed to conflict some with what others were saying about the country. Hunt planner said it wasn't steep nasty country, and others said it was some of the nastiest country they had been in. Granted, it is a big unit that I'm sure various on terrain. Again, I'm trying to make the most of my resources without being able to put boots to the ground before I start my hunt.
As far as the physical conditioning goes, I am more concerned about my brother in law who is going with me who has never been out west before and doesn't know what the country is like. Wedo have a State Park 5 miles away from us here in Michigan that has a skyline trail/steps thru the sand dunes. Should  be a pretty good work out for getting us used to the terrain. Its a couple miles long at least, plus a bunch of trails thru the sand dunes.
Each way, I am pumped at getting back out there! Its more about the adventure than the kill, but don't want to go thru all the physical work and other preparations and not run into elk.

I live at 8000ft which I consider low altitude. I hike/scout the local mountains 250 days a year at 11,000-12,000ft. If I tell you it's nasty country. It may have a different meaning than someone from Texas. A topo map is your friend, and the DOW web site has an excellent map of all the Colorado units. There's no need to take someones word for what a unit looks like. All the info you need is available on the DOW web site.


There's also Elk Hunting University on the site which may be helpful. It would be good to spend as much time as possible here for the hunt. Give yourself time to adjust to the altitude and do some scouting before you even start to hunt.


The biggest mistake I notice from non resident elk hunters is they do more hunting than scouting. That's backwards if you want to be successful. 

 

[Mr.BowJangles]

thanks again everyone. I really appreciate all the info and help. I guess I need to brush up my skills on topo maps and do some more research online.