Colorado Draw options
Elk
A friend and I have 9 points for elk and I've been looking at different units to put in for. There isn't a lot out there for the points we have but have been looking at Unit 40 bow and also Unit 20 MZ. I'd really like to wait for unit 76 bow but not sure we can catch the point creep. Not sure we could even draw 40 this year but just wanted to get opinions on whether that unit can be hunted DIY or whether anyone knows of a good outfitter for a drop camp. Any other unit suggestions would be appreciated. More than trophy size I just enjoy getting into a lot of elk. I've developed a spreadsheet from all of the stats on CO website (draw odds, success on bulls, etc) and have exhausted that effort. Just not finding much we can draw at this point.
I have hunted unit 40 in the past and might be going again this year. It took 11 points for a NR archery last year. It can be a very frustrating hunt but there are big bulls. When we went (a long time ago) we had two chances at two different bulls that would have gone over 350. We never connected on either. We had two additional chances at smaller bulls and my buddy hit and lost a rag-horn 5x5. It took us a while to figure out the unit and find the elk even after extensive scouting. The elk had moved and it took a while to find them. The unit has changed a fare bit since then but if you work and get lucky you could do well. There is also a very distinctive chance that you will go home frustrated and empty handed.
There is a guy in 40 that will do a trespass fee deal. I talked to him several years ago. He has a cabin that you can stay in and the property backs up to BLM. There is a guy here on the bowsite that has brought it up a few times and has his contact info. I want to say that he is from Louisiana.
Treeline, that guy u talk I believe is Lee. I'm not going to post his last name on here.
Can u still do bowsite searches, if so do a search on Colorado unit 40. Then click on the handle names, when you see a name that from Louisiana and is Lee u got him.
I've researched 40 a fair amount and drove the unit considering holding out for it. There are massive bulls in 40, but it's mostly private. THere's a small piece of National Forest, but from what I've heard from outfitters, the CO, the biologist, and one guy who hunted it, the elk are driven off of that day one, even before day one, due to campers. There's some BLM land, but it's small parcels. You can get lucky and shoot a monster. But you can also spend your entire hunt on public land that has no elk while they sit 1/2 mile away on private.
This unit is generally regarded as a private land/guided hunt. If you could pay tresspass, that'd be a huge plus. Otherwise, prepare to spend a boat load of time scouting the unit on foot with a GPS to learn where you can access the various small parcels of public. If I were to do this hunt, I'd scout it the year prior during elk season to try and find elk on public so that I even knew which places had a chance. There's a fair amount of public in 40 that does not hold elk.
Mature bulls are 9-12 years old. They know where to go each hunting season in order to survive, or else they die.
Idyllwild is on the money for unit 40.
It is not a unit to go for if you do not have access to good private land.
What Idyllwild and Treeline said is true, the private land hunting is superior. That being said if you are still considering unit 40 drop me a PM and I'll share what little I learned when I hunted there in 2015 and you will have a bit more information to make your decision.
