Colorado newbie... GMU 22/42

[TxOutdoorguy]

I live in Texas and I’m planning my first elk hunt which will probably be solo in 3rd season. I’m looking at units 22 or 42. Has anyone hunted those? What was your experience like?

Also, are overnight backpacking camps allowed on BLM land? We don’t have any of it in Texas and it’s not allowed during hunting season in the natl forests.

Thanks for any info!

 

[Phaseolus]

You can camp almost anywhere on BLM land and FS land too. If it were me I’d pick 42 for elk especially if you can get up the road to the Battlement Reservoirs. You don’t want to take a newer vehicle up that road. 22 is better later for elk.

 

[Ben Sellers]

Camping is allowed on bpm and most forest service roadsides. Backcountry camps are allowed so long as there isn’t a special restriction. Those can be found on the regional fs or blm website. You should look at those websites, especially if you plan to have a fire or use a off-road vehicle. There are special licenses for those.

 

[TxOutdoorguy]

You can camp almost anywhere on BLM land and FS land too. If it were me I’d pick 42 for elk especially if you can get up the road to the Battlement Reservoirs. You don’t want to take a newer vehicle up that road. 22 is better later for elk.

Just to be clear... I don’t want to take a newer vehicle up what road? 42? Is it good for glassing? Im looking at satellite images now

 

[Phaseolus]

Just to be clear... I don’t want to take a newer vehicle up what road? 42? Is it good for glassing? Im looking at satellite images now

You do not want to take a nice vehicle up the road to the Battlement Reservoirs in unit 42. It even sucks big time on an ATV. There is pretty good elk hunting up there.

 

[TxOutdoorguy]

Hmmm... I’ve got a truck but I certainly don’t want to damage it. I’ve been scouring maps and OnX all week... trying to find a place that allows me to park and walk in 2-4 miles. 42 sounds like that may not be a good idea.

 

[jcsoldier1978]

Did you go to 42? .. me and a friend taking our first colorado trip in the 2nd rifle season this year. We are looking at 42 as well. Our plan is to park truck and take atv 5x8 trailer and camp a few miles in. At this point I'm not even sure if that possible. Onx is great but hard to know the ground truth.. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NEWHunter]

Did you go to 42? .. me and a friend taking our first colorado trip in the 2nd rifle season this year. We are looking at 42 as well. Our plan is to park truck and take atv 5x8 trailer and camp a few miles in. At this point I'm not even sure if that possible. Onx is great but hard to know the ground truth.. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Might want to send the OP a message. He hasn’t been here in a while . . .

Good luck on the hunt. Maybe you could pick up where the OP left off and let us know how the hunt goes.

 

[WyoDoug]

I used to hunt 22 when I first started hunting as a teen. Much of that area is now fenced in for cattle grazing. Least it was last time I was through there. I saw more elk in area 11 which is north of 22. Area 22 I saw a quite a few cow elk but not that many bulls. They have to be in there though. I haven't hunted Colorado in a while but what I can tell you for sure is hunting pressure in 22 is really heavy. If I were hunting that area I would go for area 11 myself before I hunt 22. I do not know anything about 42. I do know I drove through Glenwood Springs hundreds of times over the years and often saw elk off the highways. Just from what I know about 22 having hunted that area about 20 some years straight before I moved to Cheyenne, I would take a shot on 42. I personally think the habitat is better in 42 for elk. Area 22 is where I shot my very first elk at 16 when my dad chewed me out for buying an elk license. It was a 6x6 so I would say the bulls are in there but not easy to find.

 

[Matty B]

Did you go to 42? .. me and a friend taking our first colorado trip in the 2nd rifle season this year. We are looking at 42 as well. Our plan is to park truck and take atv 5x8 trailer and camp a few miles in. At this point I'm not even sure if that possible. Onx is great but hard to know the ground truth.. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Eastern side of 42 is accessible. The Battlement Mesa Reservoirs road is impassable with a full size vehicle other than rock crawlers. UTVs and ATVs with make it but boulders and rock ledges make for a miserable ride. Hunters camp at the top as well as to the west closer to the reservoirs and quite a few people joy ride as well as drive the road to the reservoirs