Advice welcome, Newb going Elk hunting for the first time

[ElCidAviator]

First post on this forum so I'll do a little intro and will take any feedback/suggestions y'all have.

Hunting in my family skipped a generation. My Papa was a hunter, but my dad never had an interest and unfortunately I never got to hunt with my grandfather. I've now been hunting for a few years with limited success (mostly due to lack of mentor/ opportunity). My wife has also picked up hunting and we both enjoy archery and rifle hunting.

For our 10 year anniversary we are meeting friends in Colorado to go on our first Elk hunt. I'll be taking my Papa's 30-06 and I just bought the wife a 6.5 PRC. We will both limit our shots to under 400 yards. I envisioning a lot of hiking, some off trail driving in the side-by-side and a lot of time behind a spotting scope.

I joined the forum to learn more about hunting, ballistics and also more about reloading, particularly precision rounds (only been reloading for 8 years and mostly at high quantities for USPSA pistol).

With the intro out of the way, if y'all have any suggestions for our hunt I'm all ears. I feel like the prep is endless, but I'm excited none the less.

Cheers!
-DJ

 

[Texanjohn]

WELCOME, and good luck on your hunt!you will love it here, lots of good people, and always willing to help each other, you and your wife will fit rite in, Enjoy your hunt!

 

[257Tony]

Be mentally stronger than the other hunters out there. Be willing to go wherever the Elk are. Elk hunting public land with an OTC tag is one of the most challenging hunts there is, be prepared to push beyond your self imagined limits, mentally and physically. Pressured Elk will get away from roads, look in steep nasty places with lots of cover.

Good luck!

 

[Beer Baron]

Try to get to your hunting altitude 3-5 days prior to your hunt if possible. Altitude sickness doesn't effect everyone the same but it could ruin your hunt if you overdo it before acclimating to the altitude. Do some research on it before coming out here so you will be prepared. I have seen it send people home earlier than they planned. I agree with 257Tony, it's impossible to be tougher than the elk but you can be tougher than most of the hunters in the field. You have to be relentless if you want to shoot an elk, the success rates are 20% or less for an OTC tag in most units. Most people aren't willing to work hard enough to shoot a public land elk.
Enjoy yourself and good luck!

 

[-WARDOG-]

Welcome to the forum.
If you can scout prior to season in the area you and the wife want to hunt, do so. One of the reasons is to learn the country and where the elk are or will be. So if you learn where there is good elk habitat, park that side by side and walk in. Elk are very sketchy over the sounds accompanied with humans. Nothing scares them off quicker than a giant twin turboed diesel with open pipes or a side by side. You will also be unpopular with other hunters in the area if you are driving off trail through prime elk habitat at sunrise when other hunters walked in at 0300 that morning 5 miles in the dark so they didn't spook the elk.
Hunting camp is no place to zero your rifle. Get that business done before you get there.
Have a plan and the equipment to evacuate that elk, or hang it overnight if you can't get it out before nightfall. Elk are shot pretty far from roads. An elk is a BIG animal, even the cows, so if you have never quartered an animal watch as many tutorial videos as you can. You will need six quarter bags and two pillow cases. The amount of trim meat on an elk is substantial (rib, neck, non-steak meat). Some of it comes off in small strips and you need a sack to pack it out in.
Bring 100ft of paracord. It will help support the legs, and body for quartering. Then you can use it to hang the meat if you can't evacuate it before nightfall.
Finally for this post, if you have to bone-out the meat for hauling, the modern knives with the disposable blades are your friend. Elk have thick hides and roll around in the dirt everyday. They can dull even the finest steel knife in no time.
Good luck to you and your wife with your hunt.

 

[ElCidAviator]

Thanks for all the great advice!

257Tony - the wife and are are trying to get in shape for the event. We are starting to walk on the treadmill at an incline with our packs on and weights inside. We both stay in good shape (workout everyday types), but I am concerned about pushing through the elements if Mother Nature rears her ugly head.

Bear Baron - I never even thought about altitude sickness. We hiked Mt Fuji and we saw first hand how it affects people. We had friends that had to take oxygen, I just got tired at the top and had to take a nap (not ideal if hunting). We plan to go out a few days prior to set up camp and start scouting, maybe we'll go out even earlier if we can.

Wardog - so much great advice in this post, thank you! I'll be buying some more game bags and a new skinning knife just from your post.

As far as the side-by-side is concerned, our plan is to park the trucks/trailers at the trail head and then take the side-by-sides deep in and set up camp. Then hike/scout around the camp. I don't see us using the side-by-sides daily unless we take an elk and we can haul it out with one, or we've deemed there are now elk in a hike-able radius and need to move camp. Is this frowned upon? Is there a better way to go about it? I certainly don't want to be the newb that is screwing it up for others.

As far as rifles, I'm super anal about equipment. My rifles are sighted in and chrono'd, with a spare rifle just in case. Now it's just a matter of getting as much practice as possible, while still practicing for archery.

I really appreciate the coments. I've been reading through a bunch of threads and I'm learning so much.

 

[GDKinCO]

check out Randy Newberg youtube videos - not sure if his current channel is Fresh Tracks or On Your Own Adventures. Lots of good tips there.

One very helpful tip that I've been using for years is the gutless method of field dressing. Videos online to explain. But - don't forget the tenderloins inside the cavity - retrieved last.

Most areas I hunt in CO are not off-road vehicle accessible. Not saying all, but in the areas I hunt, ATV, Side by side, etc are no more advantage than a jeep or 4x4 pickup. You're going to be hiking or horse packing.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[JAYgs8163]

Welcome to the best Forum out there for LRH. Did you draw a bull or cow tag. What time of the year will you be hunting as rut is much different than general season?
Scouting, if you're unable to scout then spend time to study the area with Maps and maybe even a hunting app like OnX. Maybe arrive to your destination 2-3 days early and try and pattern some herds. My last mid season rifle hunt was a cow tag. We got into the area we wanted to hunt about a hour before sunup. Sat down and listened. Before we knew it we could here the cows talking and we're able to somewhat determine how we should proceed. We did this the first 2 mornings and filled all 3 tags.

 

[257WTBY]

Welcome and good luck on your hunt.

Ive hunted Co quite a few times. Been pretty successful but those hunts were in my younger days. SxS to your base camp is awesome you can take things like extra pair of broke in boots and swap them daily giving the others time to dry out. Take care of your feet that will ruin a hunt quick if you dont. Pack a 6'x8' tarp in your pack to lay your meat out on. I used to pack quarters now I bring out only meat maybe head a cape but not likely anymore. Pack fire starter in your pack along with first aid kit. Are you in a griz area? If so set up camp to prevent bear interaction. If in a griz area bear spray or pistol capable of deterring/stopping bear issue. I also always pack a nice small camera anymore I want pictures of area as well as any success I have. Lastly, wear layered clothing seen it 70deg and a few hours later 30deg and pouring snow. Have fun stay safe and enjoy.

 

[azarcher10x]

Be sure the area you're taking the sxs in to is an area designated for such, and you have the proper permits....

 

[asd9055]

If you were born after January 1 1949, make sure you have your Colorado approved hunters education

 

[Old Rooster]

jgs8163 touched on my point.
You can order a map online of the area you will hunt and well worth your time.
I was from the south and hunted Colorado almost every year until I moved to prime elk country here in Montana and from experience a map will save you from places an elk would not ever go like a valley with no outlet!I waisted 3 whole days on that.
I have way too much money in custom knives but leave them home and take 2 Mora knives and if I lose one no big deal at 20.00 each.
Bring a spray scent cover and try not to get way overheated and sweat as an elk can smell better than a bloodhound.
Have a good hunt and enjoy it.
Old Rooster

 

[Korhil78]

The biggest thing I can recommend is come prepared and I am not only talking about bringing stuff to kill an elk but bringing stuff to keep you alive. Bring extra clothing in case you get wet, bring rain gear, something to start a fire (cotton balls and a magnesium striker system). I hunt elk in New Mexico and mostly archery so the weather is mild then. I have taken my son on cow elk hunts in November when it was nice and then all of a sudden a cold front and tons of snow came in. I dont know where exactly you will be but it will be higher elevation and the weather can change fast so come prepared for that.

Kinda cool to see new hunters getting into it. It will be exciting for you.

 

[badthirtyone]

Welcome from Colorado. Tons of good advice above. Come prepared.