anyone hunted West Elk Wilderness
Elk
I am thinking about hunting the West Elk Wilderness In Colorado If I am right 1/2 of the wilderness is draw and the other OTC Any Info will help
last year the draw was easy, everyone was drawn and if you didn't apply you could buy a leftover tag
I hunted there this past fall, during the first rifle season(I wanted to go archery, but was out voted by my brother and dad). Anyways, the place was loaded with sign, but it was all a few weeks old. I never actually saw an elk, but I would def. go back to archery hunt there as the sign proved to me that the place holds alot of elk. Are you looking at DIY or going through an outfitter?
Sorry, it'll be my 1st time this year too...
Bill in MI
I've hunted it a few times. You need to cover ground. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag but there is one side of that wilderness that is covered up in elk and others areas where you hardly see a track. Keep moving.....
My buddy would kill me if I told you-sorry, I plan on going back in there.
I will kill you too! HAHA
Know some guys who hunted first rifle and only came back with a mule story.
Ran into some guys from Ohio a few years ago that hunted the OTC WE for about a week. The steep terrain kicked their butts and they moved north to where I was hunting. These were young guys in good shape so it must be pretty tough down there. They did mention they ran into Wayne Carlton camping with his mules. Must be some nice elk in there if Wayne is hunting it.
Wayne Carlton was probably just out blowing on his calls for the practice. No elk in there....[sarcasm intended]
I've backpacked in there twice. Went in over MN Pass the first time, which is on the west side, halfway up. The second time I went in from the sw end. Either way, the terrain in there can be tough, but I saw lots of elk and elk sign on the northwest end. The terrain in there can be extremely steep, especially the stuff I saw in the sw. Cattle in there too.
i have - didn't see anything tho - we stayed south. Like the others said - lots of sign but no elk - 1st timers tho so we were prolly just doing it wrong.
I went with Eagle Mountain Outfitters about 8 years ago on a drop camp. Very good hunt and service. Jon Sund is the outfitters name.
Man I had heard so many good things about CO's unit 54 specifically the West Elk Wilderness. I have probably read Cam Hanes "Backcountry Bowhunting" 4 times in total. I eat that stuff up...Anyway, decided with a buddy that we were gonna give the WEW (West Elk Wild) a shot for a week long bivy style hunt. I had an uncle who went 3-4 years ago and had good spotting success during first rifle on a drop camp hunt but just didn't close the deal so he gave us GPS coordinates for where wallows were and places to glass closely. Judging by the responses received so far and my uncles experience, time hasn't been friendly to the elk hunting in this area. It seems that all the positives were several years ago.. "A day late and a dollar short" So running began in April, running hills began religiously in July and I did a few triathlons in preparation for physicality that a Wilderness hunt invariably would bring. The hunt began bad as when we got to the access road, there were trucks parked all along where guys had pulled off to access the wilderness. This was not a good sign as we could tell there was going to be pressure. We proceeded to the areas where we would glass from via trails (about a 3-4 mile hump) not marked on maps only to be walking around horse *** and foot prints. Guess we weren't alone in finding these trails. Anyway days were spent glassing drainages and climbing ridges for better vantage points only to see no elk at all. After 3 days of this we did what I know many reading this would be thinking...we went deeper into the backcountry. About 8 miles actually. This led us into an elevation at and above 10 grand which through all the calling of the Biologists and other sources, led us to the information that the Elk would be nearly to tree line during these warmer portions. So the tail-end 3 days of our hunt was spent pushing around near tree line glassing distant north facing slopes and lower lush meadows for the mornings and evenings to no avail. We backpacked all our gear and moved every night to hit different areas each night and morning. Needless to say, in talking to a forest service worker working on the forest road, we learned that the area is nailed pretty good by archery tackle right from the get go and the elk get their ace to the private ranches that border the wilderness in the Soap Park area. It was stated that tagged elk in the area were even known to travel 10 miles from the interior of the wilderness to the "safe zones" as soon as the pressure pushes them. In conclusion, I spent $550 on a tag along with numerous not cheap upgrades to equipment and gear plus flights, truck rental and MRE food costs to simply be unknowingly racing people/horses into the wilderness for the first and only crack at the average at best elk herd before they literally run for the hills. Its not a hunt I will do again but I would do something of a guided hunt in a state like Montana, AZ, or NM or even the White River where the sheer numbers of elk up my odds for success statistically speaking. I think you can get outfitter help with acquiring a tag in Montana for certain levels of guiding service.
(And yes we went to the top of the Mountain in front of where I am glassing)
I shot a 5 point bull in there with an ear tag many years ago. The bull had been tagged as a calf 3 years earlier over 60 miles and 2 major freeways away.
I arrowed this bull in 54 last season. Saw a 5x4, black bear, and several trophy mulies. Overall elk success appeared low, but Unit 54 was good to me in 2010. It's extremely tough country without horses though.
we bowhunted around muzzleloader season.saw lots of people.the parking lot at the trailhead was full,and the guy who invited me said he had never seen that many people or cars there in 5 or 6 years of hunting.
Sounds like the word is out.
We're planning a hunt there the first rifle season next year. The guy we're renting horses from said that this year was about the worst year he can remember for the West Elk. He said he'd never seen as many hunters as he saw during the entire season. "Usually", he siad, "you'd see maybe a hunter every day or two during archery season and maybe a couple a day during the rifle seasons. This year, we were seeing 5-6 archery hunters per day and at least one rifle hunter per hour."
This man does drop camps and the like in the area and said that he was hoping/thinking that the pressure would be a little lower next year. "One thing I can tell you", he said. "Everyone I spoke to this year said they'd never be back."
I'm just hoping that we aren't saying the same thing after our trip next year. As I said, we're renting horses and packing in as far from the trailheads as possible (unfortunately, he said that the majority of the people they saw were more than 3 miles in this year), so hopefully.....
We're actually looking at the north portion (Unit 53) right now, but we aren't nailed to down to it, or even the West Elk right now. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm wide open.
I have no idea what its like during first rifle but I have hunted 54 the last 2 years for archery. We were under a mile from 53. I saw plenty of elk. 54 is a very steep unit. We did check out a trailhead on the north side of 53. We were thinking of accessing 54 thru 53. It had plenty of trucks and trucks with horse trailers.
livfree28, welcome to CO "wilderness" hunting in the Post-Cam era.
The further in you go, the closer you get to Elk Reaper and his buds!
:-)
Heck, Cam doesn't even go "back in" anymore.
"Sounds like the word is out."
Yep-You can always get a tag in CO but so can everyone else and CO is the backup plan and first timer state for every elk hunter in the U.S..
"We're planning a hunt there the first rifle season next year. The guy we're renting horses from said that this year was about the worst year he can remember for the West Elk. He said he'd never seen as many hunters as he saw during the entire season. "Usually", he siad, "you'd see maybe a hunter every day or two during archery season and maybe a couple a day during the rifle seasons. This year, we were seeing 5-6 archery hunters per day and at least one rifle hunter per hour."
That is shocking...kind of. I hunted the West Elks probably five years ago during first rifle and I honestly didn't think it could get any worse. The hunting was terrible and on opening morning after hiking in nine frickin' miles when ran into literally dozens of hunters. Without even the slightest hint of exaggeration I would guess we saw probably 30 other hunters. I will never be back for sure.
Unfortunately a lot of CO is going this way.
remember, all the guys that go way back in almost always go by elk that are closer to the trailhead. I bet you can find a good place to hunt in 54 that aint so far in that will have some animals.
Mile in from the north side.
I've rifle hunted the unit in the past. Either 2nd or 4th rifle, never the first. This upcoming spring I'm taking a swing at it with a bow.
I think the saying is "elk are where you find them."
A local told us 2nd season was a zoo this year, so yes the areas close to roads/trails are getting hit hard, get after 'em and post the pics!!!
ya when I said spring meant fall, dang!!
Bivy hunting is becoming the new "road hunting".
Jaq,
Road hunters generally have he ability to shower and reduce their scent. So, the Bivy guys are left tromping around the woods with smelly pits and old undies. Road hunters have the advantage. LOL
Many of these wilderness units in CO get hit by hunters in the thousands per year once archery, ML, and 4 rifle seasons are factored in.
CO publishes the data. You can go look at how ridiculously over hunted some of these units are.
But, by all means, please keep going :)
Between you and me Lou, these guys can hunt the back country all they want, leave the easy, no good hunting areas to us 'older guys':)
I love wilderness hunting!
I was 150 yards inside the wilderness boundary one evening last season and had 4 bulls around me, two of which were well over 300. Didn't get a shot that night but had a great hunt. Then I "trekked" a half mile back to the truck, cooked a juicy bacon cheeseburger on the grill, washed it down with a couple cold beers, then slept in a soft bed in my little trailer while it drizzled outside.
I wondered how those guys 6 miles further in were doing that night, eating mush in a bag and sleeping on the ground beneath a tarp.
:)
Hey, those back country hunts were great when I could handle sleeping on the ground for 7+ days.
I don't mind sleeping on the ground and eating mush in a bag. Do it on spike camps and all summer when scouting. The little trailer is comfy, though. It's the wilderness crowds that are annoying. The really popular wilderness areas ought to have concession stands every mile or so along the trails. Sell energy bars, gels, drinks, maybe a cute masseuse about 6 miles in?
Heck, maybe somebody with a Zodi shower should go from camp to camp on horseback selling hot showers and cold beers to hunters.
If they put a cute masseuse 6 miles in I believe I'll be going 6 miles in. You can still elk hunt, it just might not be very good. Actually, it would probably be grand if you actually did try to hunt since all the other hunters would be pre-occupied.
Franzen- I don't know how cute those masseuses might be. I heard most of them are hippie chicks from Laramie! LOL!
It's threads like these that keep me going back to my same old unit year after year. I never even get more that a mile off the road where I camp before getting into some sort of elk activity. Thank God for "Wilderness Hunters"! ;)
My 17 year old nephew drew the bow tag this year with one point and we backpacked in 6 1/2 miles with my sherpa brother-in-law and set-up a spike camp. We hunted the last week of the season and there was very little bugling until the last hour of the day. My nephew has never killed an elk so we weren't being too picky and I called in a satellite 4x4 the 2nd night for him and he made a good shot to seal the deal. We only saw a few guided hunters on horses on the trails going to and from camp but no other hunters. It was the first time we have hunted there and based on what everyone else is saying on this post it sounds like we were very fortunate to get a bull. Based on our experience, in my opinion it is a very good opportunity hunt for one point if you are up for a high elevation strenuous backpack hunt or have access to horses. The country is beautiful with lots of water and we didn't have a lot of trouble finding elk...
Horniac
We saw this group of sheep two nights in a row where my nephew killed his elk...
