Any Advice on Elk Hunting Montana/Colorado

Wow! What a tremendous thread. I have often considered going elk hunting but have been intimidated by the idea of a DIYer, and cannot afford a guide. I can see me doing this! I don't doodly about Elk hunting, but have some experience in the fitness and hiking part.
In my mind, a top consideration has not been addressed, that being the altitude. You can be super fit at Michigan elevation and have an absolutely miserable trip because your lungs are not up to the task. You can purchase training mask designed to simulate high altitudes by limiting the oxygen intake. The idea is they have valves that restrict the airflow forcing your lungs to work harder. These can get a little pricey. One thing I have used in the past was to use an inexpensive painting mask. Wear it every single time you work out. As the filter begins to clog with dust from the air, it will make it more and more difficult to breath through, forcing your lungs to adjust. It is a miserable workout, but after just a couple weeks you will notice the difference. The cost of the work out is more than offset by the dramatic difference you will never know exists because the altitude effect will be significantly lessened.
Sounds like you have lotsa hiking experience, so I will assume you will always have at least a day pack with you with emergency rations. In the emergency rations, I would suggest making individualized sealed baggies with a petroleum jelly cotton swab stuck to a 3" stick. These make great waterproof firestarters.
Another thing to consider is taking about 2 cups of cornstarch divided into sealed baggies. I find cornstarch to be valuable for three reasons: First, a little bit on bare feet before socking up in the morning significantly reduces the potential for blisters. It will also absorb odors, a self evident advantage when hunting. Finally, when used properly, cornstarch is extremely flammable and can help in an emergency when using a bow fire starter.
Speaking of bow fire starters. I used to carry a field tip I had drilled a 1/8" hole into. Would screw this into an arrow and tie the other end in a loop knot to make the bow. Again, something to practice doing.
Last little thing, Take a half cup of dry, biodegradable laundry soap. Clothes can get dirty, filthy, smoked up, nasty, all except socks. When I went on multiday hikes I would wash one pair of socks and dry them for the next day. Your feet are the only thing going to carry you out. Just some thoughts.
I sure hope this thread continues and you can give a good report on the journey.

 

I can't wait to head back to Kentucky to swap the strings on my bow this weekend and bring back my recurve and compound to shoot daily down here in Bama. Hopefully I'll get it all dialed in by March 15, the opener for alabama turkey.

 

So for some reason I cant see any of todays post when i click on the thread ??

 

coheley - same problem for me...I had to click on "go advanced" below and scroll down to read missed posts...not sure what happended...other posts seem to be working correctly...

 

I sure hope this thread isn't 3 balls up...

 

What part of KY are you from? Just curious. Forgive me if I asked before.

I got my CO big game guide in the mail today! I'm sure it told in the guide somewhere and I missed it, I haven't had a chance to read it real good, but how do you put in for a point with no intention of hunting that year? I'm planning a 2015 trip and i'm thinking that I might be able to get in on some of the draw spots with two points,one this year and one next year.

 

Alright good to see this is working again finally.
So do you think walking through 3ft of snow would equal to walking a MT Was a rough 5 miles pulling down a couple stands off of public land I hunted this late season.
You guys are killing me talking about shooting your bows.I have been without a bow for a week now and I have been going crazy. Heading to the shop tomorrow to pick up the new girl

 

I don't understand Texan. . At any given moment, I can only be two balls up.

Me and Nick have been communicating back and forth off the forum deciding on specific equipment, studying topo maps. (Thanks again to BackCountry).

I've shed over 15lbs already. (P90x) And as Nick said, he's running around in the snow with backpacks on.

I've been going to my archery club 2-3 times a week practicing.

I called CO a week or so ago and received my CID# (Colorado I.D) which is needed to hunt CO.

And I'm anxiously awaiting my Colorado Big Game Book. I'm jealous of GRNHD that he already got his.

 

I dont know if i told you but I went ahead and got my CO I.D.
That p90x seems to be working pretty good might have to look into that and give it a shot, hard to find to much time to go to the gym when working full time and taking classes.

 

Yeah, my schedule is so unpredictable that I can't go to gym. I'd simply never do it. But if I can pop in the DVD whenever I want, I do it.

You don't need any weights, you can use the resistance bands, and they're cheap $10. Rather than hundreds for weights. You can also find most of the videos online without purchasing them. Let me know if you need them, and I'll send the links.

 

Yeah go ahead and send them to my email. I'll have to take a look at them

 

I'm from Bowling Green, KY.

As for applying for the point it is super easy, when entering the hunt code for which hunt you want to apply for there is a code in the beginning of each section of the regs that is specific for points only for that species. Enter that points only code and you wont be entered into any drawings. Do know that CO regs have changed and you need a license of some sort each year or you will be charged a fee for each preference point (making a point cost $40 instead of the $13 before). To avoid this you can buy a CO fishing license for $56 to save money if applying for multiple species...

 

East of me about 2 hours. I'm a river rat near Barkley lake in Lyon Co.

Thanks for the tip about the fishing license! Any idea how many points it takes to get a mule deer tag?

 

Sorry, 3 balls up is a Sailing term referencing a flag with 3 black balls on it. It means the ship/boat is unmaneuverable, ex., grounded. I was referring to this thread not pulling new comments. Had me worried as it is an amazing conglomeration of great tips. Seriously though, consider exercising with an air restricting device. You can loose all the weight, get super toned, crazy good cardio, but if your lungs aren't up to the task, it will make for a miserable experience. At least it was for me. I was big time into biking during my Navy days, biking a century trip every weekend (yeah, I was young and stupid), plus the in-betweens. When I went over the Sierras and mountains in AZ, I thought I was gonna die.

 

Oh, originally from Pa, living in Tx till my last is out of high school. Can't take the heat, love the snow and cold.

 

Tons of mulie archery hunts available for zero points (like half the state haha). 2-3 points puts you able to draw 95+% of archery hunts. I wasted time drawing 5 points over the last five years not realizing how few i needed so I am using them on a hunt that requires all 5 this fall to feel justified. LOL

 

How do you find out which GMU require how many points to get drawn?
I got to spend some time in my CO guide last night, lots of info in that thing!

 

The Colorado game and fish website has a statistics page that breaks down draw odds, points needed to draw, and hunter success rates for each game unit. It's a lot to wade through but you can narrow it down by asking around for suggestions from others then research those specific units from there...

 

Doing research on the best ways to pack out an elk and ran across this. Looks interesting. Fairly simple concept, but it makes sense.

Looks like it's an American Made company, based in Idaho. Anybody use these or know of them?

Products - Pack Out Bags

 

That is one way to do it but I am sticking to my plan if it all comes together .... someday.