Colorado ELK Units 75/77 opinions please
Elk
I already put this up on Stickbow but really should have posted it here.
I got rejected for Unit 76 of course but could get a permit for 75 and 77 and need advice. It is $600+ and my friend from Colorado who has been hunting and a local there for years told me not to bother because 75/77 has too many hunters and too few elk
Would you guys give me your personal opinion on this.
Steve
Hunting elk anywhere is better than staying home.JOMO
x2 Elkman. I guarantee you that you will have a way better chance to kill an elk in 75/77 than you would from your living room!
all the otc units are crowded 75 and 77 are just as worth a shot as the rest.
He's not a friend if he only told you that. A real friend wouldtell you a good OTC place to hunt.
Guys Frankly I am a bit disappointed in the kind of responses that I just got. I have been hunting for over 25 years and I know how to hunt and all the silly platitudes that get tossed around. I was asking for some actual information from experience, and if you happened to have some specific knowledge of the area: not what I just got. If you actually have something to share, please do.
Steve
I took a guy to my elk hunting spot in 78 years ago .... the following 2 years after, he brought his friend in, and they in turn brought their friends.
People are just very careful about giving out info anymore I think.
last time I hunted that area was like 2002 and I think my thread was " southern Colorado has lost its elk herd"
something like that
I just drove last week Denver to Salida to Durango and back again, spending time around Pagosa Springs and Sand Dunes etc .... saw very very few elk
Not that it means a lot, they should be going high now but still .....
I gave you a good response to your inquiry. maybe you should not hunt then.
In 2015 CPW reports 11% success in 75 and 12% success in 77 for archery season which is on the low side of average for OTC units in CO. I know locals in the Pagosa Springs area that kill every year, but they really know the area. For an out of state guy without any local knowledge I'd guess there is a 90% chance you'd go home without an elk, but if you really want an elk a 10% chance is better than no chance, there are plenty of elk but they are tough to find and get to once the pressure is on.
Guys don't just give up thier spots to random people on the internet dummy
Hunter density for 75 is 2.98. Hunter density for 77 is 6.22. I already don't like that number for 77. That number for 75 is very do able. Overall success for 75 is 21.3% for 77 it's 14.7%.
75 could be interesting but going by the numbers and being an out of state guy I wouldn't look at 77.
OTC units are more crowded, period.
Finding an OTC area that's huntable takes a lot of time and effort. If for some reason I knew of one I sure as hell wouldn't post it on the Internet.
I've hunted 75/751 off and on for 15yrs. It isn't that hard to find places without pressure. If there's a trail to it, there will be others hunting there. I'd go for it without a 2nd thought.
Well, to my own amusement, once I got a little prickly I then got a step up in serious answers. I had no expectation of getting the treasure map to someone's "honey hole", just some mature responses from guys that "have been there".
Thanks to the guys that actually tried to add something to the dialogue.
Dude, you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?
Prickly? If your feet are so sensitive then the Weminuche will eat them up.
This thread mirrors so many other threads its sad. This isn't Archery Talk or Monster Muleys. The original question was legit.
"my friend from Colorado who has been hunting and a local there for years told me not to bother because 75/77 has too many hunters and too few elk Would you guys give me your personal opinion on this."
This is Bowsite; where we try to help people not shame them! He didn't ask for your personal honey hole. If you really love unit 75 or 77 and you don't want anymore guys hunting it then tell him its "crowded and not many elk". If you like to help a guy and you know anything about the unit then tell him "its worth hunting". You don't have to give up your secret spot. I have never hunted Elk but if it makes me petty and selfish like I see some guys then I hope I never hunt Elk. Mike
My response to reading this thread is the replies were of limited value but were sincere. The response of the OP was to chastise participants. Not a proven tactic to win friends and influence people. Then the OP seems to think his response finally got people to rise up to his standard of expected response as only those subsequent participants "added" to the dialogue. Enjoy the hunt. Going solo I presume?
Regardless of the responses, take them all with a grain of salt. This is the Internet.
If your friend thinks it's too crowded and not worth it why would it matter what a bunch of strangers thought anyway. I'd trust him over us unless you know something about him we don't.
Either way, good luck. Elk hunts are worth it
I'll throw you a bone. 75 and 77 are better than average units.
How many good Bulls has your friend killed in otc units? If the answer isn't "a bunch"' , than disregard his input.
There you have it from an elk killing machine when it comes to otc units.
TreeWalker- I had a good laugh at your last sentence. Too funny!
We went through highlands unlimited on a drop camp last year, they are in 77 did not see hundreds of elk but seen good bulls. Should have killed at least one but were rookies. Those guys were class act if you are interested
