Colorado Elk Hunt

[hmbleservant]

your right....hate the humidity, but LOVE the winters.

what kind of binos do i need? all i have are cheapies

Did you lodge or camp out? public land hunt? what altitude?

[WildRose]

Originally Posted by hmbleservant

your right....hate the humidity, but LOVE the winters.

what kind of binos do i need? all i have are cheapies

Did you lodge or camp out? public land hunt? what altitude?

Packed in for ten days with horses and mules.

Then on the way out Dad shot him from the truck HA! Somewhere around 7500 ft.

[WildRose]

When it comes to glass always go for the best you can afford be it scopes, cameras, or binos.

[4bycamper]

Originally Posted by hmbleservant

I'm planning my first elk hunt ever! I'm at least one year out from the hunt. I started planning it 5 mins ago. I'm calling on the infinite advise of the longrangehunting community to help me with this hunt.


OK, so you know what I know now. I need a lot of advise at this point. Equipment and locations especially. Has anyone been on a Colorado elk hunt on public land? Where should I plan on starting geographically speaking?

My budget is approx. $3,000. I know that is a lot of money, but my goal is to spend most of it on equipment that can be used on future hunts to cut costs.

Thanks in advance everyone! All advise welcome!

PS: I live in Texas and don't probably don't even have a start on the clothing/apparel I will need.

We have hunted elk in public lands in Colorado for the last 20 years.
Elk are so tough that I've personally seen a large cow elk walk off and hide after a spine shot with a 300 mag at 200 yds. None of us could even guess how she did that, given the amount of spine damage. She was still breathing when we found her.

The best kill shot on elk is through the heart and lungs. Because it's terminal.
So lets say you get a perfect lung-heart-lung shot with your 25-06. Better have some comfortable boots and a large canteen. It gets pretty thirsty tracking a wounded elk uphill.
And I think you might be at it for a while.

[Long Time Long Ranger]

You are asking for a disaster hunting elk with a 25-06 and bergers. Good chance you will lose a few before you finally get one. I would suggest keeping your 25-06 for a great little deer rifle and spending $400-$500 on a good elk rifle. That is the first thing you need to do.

Next, it is easy to find elk in Colorado on public land. Do a little research and you will have no problem there. But you do need an elk rifle.

[Buffalobob]

I take two Coleman 5 day 100 qt extreme coolers. That will easily hold a boned out elk, several antelope and ice.

I would also agree that a 25-06 is on the light side for an amateur elk hunter

[hmbleservant]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. What type of camp settup do yall suggest using for a Colorado public land hunt?

I've heard that I should go with a canvas tent and that I should bring a heater that doesn't emit carbon monoxide for inside tent. Anyone have any brands or something that I should consider in particular?

Will I be able to get my 4x4 full sized pickup truck and trailor off the road a good bit, say 2-3 miles to setup camp? or is that not practical for some reason due to...i don't know terrain, laws, etc.?