Sorry y'all got skunked, but glad you had a good time. And, you got to see some beautiful country!!!
Sorry y'all got skunked, but glad you had a good time. And, you got to see some beautiful country!!!
We ran into multiple hunters every day. I would bet that Colorado had record OTC sales because the guys said they usually ran into one or two hunters the whole week.
Toothpick, I believe some of those SW CO units went to draw only so the surrounding OTC ones would naturally get hammered. 2 days in the Weminuche? Needed about a week more! Outfitters hit it hard with pack strings. Heck, it generally took us at least a half day of hiking to get to a place for camp then another couple hours to where we hunted. Rough country but beautiful - miss CO dearly.
@OKRuss we primarily hunted N of Weminuche E of Williams Creek Reservoir near Middle Fork of Piedre River (636) & Sugarloaf Mtn. We drove to Weminuche Wilderness area to hunt a couple of times. We hunted Saturday 10/31- Friday 11/5. Camp was @ 8400’ and we hunted ~ 9400’ - 10100 most of the time.
@ Weminuche we started ~ 10200 & hunted around 11000, the youngest of us went to 12000. Much easier climbing there despite thinner air.
@ Weminuche we started ~ 10200 & hunted around 11000, the youngest of us went to 12000. Much easier climbing there despite thinner air.
Toothpick, we had a cabin on Hwy160 at the base of Jackson Mtn. We'd drive back to Turkey Creek and up into Weminuche from the South. 12,000 is brutal for us flatlanders!
Go read up on Cameron Hanes and do as he does.
Colorado Public Elk hunting has serious issues. The CDofW realizes this and is at a crossroads over the almighty otc dollar or boosting the species. Talk to the locals that are attending the town halls all over elk country and most would agree that public elk hunting is at a modern day low. You can also read some of the CDW reports online that discusses the declining numbers and increasing hunters. As units get moved from otc to draw only this provides even more pressure on the other units that are already starving for elk numbers. In a nutshell, Colorado is an easy and beautiful place to take a bow or gun for a walk. Walk up to the walmart counter, pay your trespassing fee (elk tag) and this land is your land. You will also have the added benefit of running into many hunters along the trail and sharing your tag soup recipes over a cup of jo. I know many a serious hunter that vows to never go back on a public land hunt again but they generally do to an increasing amount of frustration .
Elk can be lucked into and it is still a great camping destination but a public Colorado Elk hunt expectation needs to be really tempered.
Elk can be lucked into and it is still a great camping destination but a public Colorado Elk hunt expectation needs to be really tempered.
And it's not just in Colorado either. Wyoming has also been overrun by out-of-staters hoping to get that record setting set. I'm not sure whether to cheer because so many have embraced the shooting sports or to cry because so many have embraced this shooting sport.
