Contributors to this thread:
I currently have 15 points for Colorado Elk, looking to do a hunt in 2019 so I will accrue another point to make that 16. Where would you go? Obviously, I'll never get to the top end units that are currently in the 20's pp. Thanks for your help!
You have to give us more info than that. Are you bow only? Or would you be fine with a rifle hunt? Are you DIY only? Guided only? Consider either/or? What's your budget if so? What's your elk hunting experience?
In the past 15 yrs you haven’t thought about a ‘plan’?
Why start now?
As far as I can see you have only one real choice. U76 if your planning a diy. U40 if ur thinking outfitter.
You might be able to draw a 76 muzzy tag? That unit has point creep bad. When I drew it took 5 or 6 points in 2007.
Yup... Muzzy or archery in 76. Either would be a great hunt. Guided or DIY, 76 has options for both
Forest I think 62 is otc. I believe you were thinking about 61?
He's like 25 years off of 61.
He is probably 10 years away from the 76 muzzy tag with point creep fyi
I have been to Colorado Elk hunting 4 times in my life all with a rifle with the last one being 8 years ago. Hunted twice in unit 33 and twice in Unit 851 on private land. I currently am 43 years old and am married with a family of 4 kids and live in Iowa. I've been applying all these years hoping to one day get into a good unit before I die and shoot an elk like a lot of the pics I've been seeing on all your guys' posts. I've done some research on the CDW page on unit 76. As a nonresident for this unit last year it took a minimum of 13 points for Archery....Muzzleloader it took 18 points minimum (and only 1 of 17 people with 18 points got a tag)... 1st season rifle it took 14 points as a minimum and only 15 out of 35 peeps got a tag with 14. As far as a guide. I don't have a problem hiring one as my scouting is pretty much limited living so far away. With my age I'm pretty much going to be out of the PP game once I cash in and don't want to ruin it so is why I'm asking for some advice.
Thank You in advance...
Either archery or second first rifle 76, with a guide
I would suggest unit 85 1st season rifle.
Then it depends on how bad you want to do an archery hunt and how much you're willing to spend. Given your background, ML and rifle are options. If you really want an elk, guided is your best option and 40 is your best option for a bigger bull in 2019, but will cost you more than going guided in 76.
You're still young though. You have plenty of time. Especially if you're considering this a one-and-done hunt as far as the point game goes. Have you considered the fact that you could have an amazing hunt in 2019 and even tag a great bull, but then have the next 30-40 years to think about it? My own experience with elk hunting and being just a few years younger than you are and having a family as well, have shown me that I (and by extension you for the sake of my point) will not be ready to throw in the towel in a couple years (as far as elk hunting goes) even if you have a great hunt and tag a great bull.
Mull this all over. How important is it to do this hunt with archery tackle (which will decrease your odds of killing a bull), how important is it that you do this hunt DIY (for the sake of doing it DIY and for the sake of cost).
If it's more important to you kill a big bull once in your life, no matter the season or weapon, then you might be looking at the archery and ML seasons just because they fit your points. I think you have a high likelihood of being disappointed in your time investment if that's the case.
In that case, you might consider looking around to the many states in the SW that offer high success rate bull hunts on private land for reasonable rates without the potential huge disappointment of saving up for almost 2 decades only to not fill your tag.
Filling an archery tag on a good bull on public land is no slam-dunk outside the top 15 elk units in the country and even then, you have to know what you're doing or have a guide who does. And your 15 CO elk points are not going to get you a tag in the top 15 elk units in the country... with maybe the exception of CO 40 guided, although, that's open to debate.
My wife and I burned 20 points on unit 61 this year. Passed a few elk including a 300 6x6 Saw 3 in the 320-350 range but we both came home empty handed. Didn’t see many elk overall
