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Hello all I've been fortunate enough to get one of the unit 61 tags this year and when I did my research I found alot of previous posts about this unit on here. Was wondering if anyone has information they would be willing to share about what they think the best areas to hunt the unit are. My preferred style of hunting is spot and stalk with calling as needed. I'm only 28 so I really don't have any physical limits when it comes to hiking distance. This is my once in a lifetime hunt considering point creep so I'm willing to pack in as far as necessary. Thanks for the info in advance
I hunted it a few years ago. I shared where I hunted with another Bowsiter with a tag already but a certain spot isn't really that important. There are elk throughout the unit and most of it is pretty quick to access.
There are some spots to get back in but I'm not sure thats necessary. There are a lot of roads and trails and the elk seem to be much more comfortable with that than they are in a typical unit. The Divide Rd can be busy so we ended up hunting lower. Use drops after Labor Day and the bugling picked up a lot. I would learn all the access you can before season, pick an A, B, C, and D spot and try to get all the time off you can scrape up. Once they start talking you probably won't get past your "B" spot. Its the kind of unit I think a guy could show up with no prior knowledge or scouting and have a great hunt but more info is always a good thing. Plenty of bears.
Alright that helps thanks. I was debating going for one of the otc archery bear tags so that helps my decision. I'll have about two weeks to hunt including opening week and then probably the last week of the season so hopefully it's enough. I planned to scout next week so I was more looking for thoughts on areas where to start not people's secrets or anything.
I hunted it last year,call me.
I hunted it in 2013. Hunted the first 4-5 days, then the last nine days. During early season they bugled, but mostly it was younger bulls in herds.
Divide road is a zoo; everyone likes camping off of it since it higher and cooler. Ran into otc hunters on the unit 61 side near Divide road also...wasn't too happy about that. Also there are atv/motorcycle trails off of Divide road. These are used somewhat heavily but close after Labor Day. When I scouted in August, my friend, Rich and I counted close to 200 elk in a two hour hike. When I hunted that same area two weeks later, the elk were mostly gone...due to other hunters being in there. When I returned for the last nine days, the elk were not in there again, so I moved to a lower area, where I heard a bunch of bulls bugling non-stop.
There are a lot of elk in there, and a lot of cattle. Seemed like I was continually running into cattle or elk.
Turkey hunted down there this May and had a bear walk up to my tent in the middle of the night. Could hear him breathing within a foot or two of my head.
I suggest you hunt more toward the end of the season. The day I killed my bull, I went from herd to herd (never called), just would hear them bugling and would zero in on them; spooked the first 3-4 herds I sneaked in on, and followed the last herd I spooked till they bedded down.
Fun hunt!
A lot of good info above. In my experience there are elk just about everywhere. I would pick a few spots and get to know them, don't try to learn the whole unit. If you really want to get away from others going down into Tabeguache Creek Wilderness area would probably do it, but the pack out would be very tough and uphill all the way. In general if you get about a mile from any road you probably won't have to deal with too many people, especially after Labor Day. Good luck.
Glad to hear that you drwe your tag. My dad and I have also drawn our archery tags As well. Good luck to you.
Good luck, grew up in unit 61, have hunted it more times than i can count helping friends and family. No need to pack in... big unit with a lot of easily accessible areas. Camper or sheep herder tent make it a nice hunt. Any specific questions feel free to shoot me a pm.
