Any Advice on Elk Hunting Montana/Colorado

That brings up a very good point for hunts like these, practice shooting in real world conditions. Very good odds your shot comes with a pack on. Gloves on. Bino harness on. Bugle slung around your neck. Out of breath from hiking. Work up a sweat throw on your gear and shoot in those conditions.

 

when it gets nicer out I was planning on doing this. Going to the 3d course and pretty much speed shooting the corse with everything on to kinda keep the heart rate up. They typically have some pretty steep up and down hill shots

 

I don't think it's possible to like a thread more than this one.

 

Quiver:
My bow has the two piece Mathews that will accommodate 5 arrows, I have Axis currently.
Thinking soon of making the switch to Injexions but may need to install a tight spot for this...still working it out.
The new Injexions are worth a look and better in wind.

 

Matt did you get a topo map print for unit 45?

We were kind of thinking of grabbing one, but weren't too sure exactly where we will be hunting.

 

Colorado GMU 45 Map | MyTopo

perhaps...

 

Scott, our group has a couple different versions - but typically only pull them out more for orientation and marking roads when we first get there with new guys. I do not find them very useful for topo as a map of the full unit are not small enough scale to see "the good stuff." Online topos or Garmin software are best for those purposes...in order to zoom in more. It is worth having one in your vehicle for quick reference at camp as to where everyone is going, to mark which roads to use, and pointing out some general landmarks (lakes, streams, peaks, etc). The best is probably one my Dad picked up at Bass Pro in Denver that was a map specifically of our unit. I'd guess we used it more the first time to have something for us all to look at, once you've been there everyone begins to know "where you mean" when you reference a particular place.

...all I know is that there are plenty of places in our unit where the topo lines are almost touching

 

Thanks to Comcast my Internet is currently down. Supposed to have it back up at 9:23pm (how can they possibly estimate it like that?) meanwhile you've gotta wait 6 hours for your technician to show up.

Went and did a 3d shoot today. Here's my work.
I also stopped at REI and picked up some goodies





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FYI. Sportsmans warehouse is having an online sale right now with $50 off of orders over $250. Not a bad way to score some of your higher dollar gear. Just use promo code: SWLOVE

 

Awsome thank you

 

Welcome to Badlands Hunting

Hunting NICE Frame Packs | Mystery Ranch Backpacks

Easton FMJ Injexion Arrows - 2014 ATA Show - YouTube

Sorry Men..... Couldn't Help Myself......Might Help.

 

Holy crap some of those packs are expensive!
The more I look into to this the more I think this whole elk hunt thing is going to be out of my price range. With that said I do have a few questions. After looking at both of those sites it looks like the mystery ranch comes in two parts, the frame and the pack? Around $650 for the 6500 for the pack and frame, right? The badlands is both for around $400 for the summit with 4700 ci of storage. I have no clue what I need i'm just throwing out some numbers.

 

I can't say. Just ask Backcountry but I use the Badlands Clutch for everything.

 

It all depends on what type of hunting you're doing. If you're in the back country sleeping in a tent, or going back to your vehicle to sleep, or sleeping in something else like a lodge. Once you make that decision, you can start figuring out what type/size pack you need.

To take it a step further, you could do away with a large pack altogether, if you want to hire a "packer". (Usually a local outfitter) to get your elk out.

Say for example, you're going back country and sleeping in a tent, the plan is to haul your stuff in, set up base camp, unload the majority of your gear at camp, then use your pack as a typical day pack.

If a successful hunt, and you're not hiring a packer, you need a heavy duty quality pack to haul out the meat. If you don't have one you're in serious trouble.

You could more than likely use a 4-5000 cubic inch pack as long as it has a sturdy frame to haul out meat.

In my research, you can really get lightweight packs, and ultralight gear to go in it. Most people say try to keep your pack 40lbs or less for a week.

You'll add 100-150lbs on it if successful, and you'll do that bare minimum twice (your hunting partner too)

In short, the cost of the pack has a direct correlation to the amount if weight it can hold.





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You definitely dont have to spend that much on a pack. Like my previous post a cheap frame for meat an any day pack and you can hunt just find. It's taken me several years to switch out an get quailty gear. The first 3 trips I just used my whitetail hunting items.

Dont worry about spending a bunch on your first trip. If you get hooked on it an go every year from now on then you can start upgrading.

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I'll agree with the above.

I bought a $180 pack and spent around $120 on boots (50% off with sales and codes). We are not packing in for several days though.

That's all I NEEDED. I chose to spend more on merino wool base layers, kuiu gear, and anything else. All of this is stuff I'll get use out of deer hunting as well.

 

Well, my internet is back up so I figured I'd share with you guys some of the info I've put together in the last day or two.

Here are the average harvest figures for the last 10 years. I calculated the last 10 years (2003-2012), averaged everything into an average year.

Bulls harvested-171
Cows Harvested- 141
Calves Harvested-15
Hunters (Archery and the other guys)- 1477
Success Percentage- 19.9%

It's slightly higher than the average, this GMU is OTC.

 

Well, my internet is back up so I figured I'd share with you guys some of the info I've put together in the last day or two.

Here are the average harvest figures for the last 10 years. I calculated the last 10 years (2003-2012), averaged everything into an average year.

Bulls harvested-171
Cows Harvested- 141
Calves Harvested-15
Hunters (Archery and the other guys)- 1477
Success Percentage- 19.9%

It's slightly higher than the average, this GMU is OTC.

 

That % does appear above average for an OTC unit...which is good news. One thing I learned though about the CO harvest stats...is that they are only estimates (you do not check in your kills)...just something else to consider. For example, I shot/tagged a bull last year - the state has no record of that! They only select random tag holders to phone them for survey - then apply that ratio for the total number of tags sold. I checked with CO about reporting my kill, and they said only if you are selected in the survey will they take my data - and they looked up my CID - I was not one selected for last year.
Overall, I would guess the numbers still help paint a decent picture - but again, they have no idea that our group hunted only one unit or that we have harvested elk the last two years...they just know they sold 4 more OTC permits each year and allocate our "hunter" numbers based on their survey.

Bottom line, the work you are doing cannot hurt and absolutely helps you make a decision...now you can even take it a step further and phone local game wardens or forest service and see if they can help confirm anything for you.

Those harvest stats show our unit in 2012 took 20 total elk with bow for 3% success rate - YIKES! I have a hard time believing that. But to me - that will keep a lot of guys away

 

Shot 2 arrows in the garage Sunday night...that always feels good. We're finally moving out of the negative temps this week...hope to start firing a couple most days - does me wonders to keep that mental aspect of shooting locked in and not have to "find" it again come summer...