Colorado Unit 54

I’ve been in that unit twice, and I must warn you! Get yourself some excellent snake boots! That unit has gotta be the rattlesnake capital of the world! I thought the first time it was just weird but after the second trip I’m convinced! I’d never think of camping in that unit again it’s infested with freaking rattlers! Good luck, get your elk shot, and get the hell outta there!
 
I’ve been in that unit twice, and I must warn you! Get yourself some excellent snake boots! That unit has gotta be the rattlesnake capital of the world! I thought the first time it was just weird but after the second trip I’m convinced! I’d never think of camping in that unit again it’s infested with freaking rattlers! Good luck, get your elk shot, and get the hell outta there!

You talking about the right 54? Most of that unit is above 8000ft and well out of snake habitat. Rattler habitat in orange.
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I’ve been in that unit twice, and I must warn you! Get yourself some excellent snake boots! That unit has gotta be the rattlesnake capital of the world! I thought the first time it was just weird but after the second trip I’m convinced! I’d never think of camping in that unit again it’s infested with freaking rattlers! Good luck, get your elk shot, and get the hell outta there!
Man I better just no go.
 
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Trust me I was once a world champion rattle snake tamer, I know a rattlesnake when I see one!!!! Good Luck my man!
 
While I’ve never hunted it, I’ve hunted a neighboring unit and this is a hunt I’ve been wanting to try there in 54. I like the northern end bettter but that’s just me. PM me if u like and I’ll share my thoughts.
 
I hunted it once. Never saw a snake and the weather was nice. The unit gets a fair amount of pressure and there's a pretty decent outfitter presence that can affect your locations (learn those spots where the outfitters stay). Get in shape. That's one heckuva beautiful unit, but between the elevation and the terrain, you'll want to be in good shape. Have fun!
 
I hunted it once. Never saw a snake and the weather was nice. The unit gets a fair amount of pressure and there's a pretty decent outfitter presence that can affect your locations (learn those spots where the outfitters stay). Get in shape. That's one heckuva beautiful unit, but between the elevation and the terrain, you'll want to be in good shape. Have fun!

^^ Yes, I agree with this ^^
 
There's plenty of elk in there. One of the biggest bulls I've seen in CO was in that unit during first rifle. You can get the locations of outfitter camps either from the outfitter or the USFS (I believe). As others have said it is steep and rough country so be in shape. Optics will be your friend. One thing that seems to work especially in Wilderness settings is to find the middle ground between outfitter camps and road hunters. Road hunters generally don't go more than a mile or so in and the outfitters tend to work areas that are deep. Oftentimes the middle ground is the most undisturbed and will hold game. Oh yea, it is usually pretty cold in the Gunnison area...
 
All, hoping to start up another Colorado gmu 54 thread For 2020 - rather than start new I thought I would revive one. I think I have read most of the previous threads on 54 And have so far spent a decent amount of time e scouting. Most threads from the last 4 years aren’t overly positive on the unit - hoping that’s to my advantage.

I drew a first rifle bull elk tag and will be going with a buddy that drew a cow tag. We are both adult onset hunters and haven’t succeeded in harvesting an elk yet - but each year we get more motivated and learn more - definitely didn’t deserve to get one the first few years we tried! We have hunted different areas each year which doesn’t help and I have never been to 54. (Last year we hunted 64 first rifle and 371 later season and a few others in prior years) In any case we are rather motivated and willing (Prefer in fact) to go places that are gnarly and steep. But I am worried there’s so much advice out there to go where other people won’t that everyone is gonna do that! Plus 54 is big and I will probably only manage to finagle 3 full hunt days and a day before season scout from the wife and kids. Any first hand intel thats from the last few years would be GREATLY appreciated! Please shoot me a pm if you would be willing to offer any specifics.

How many points did you have?
 
How did your hunt go? I hunted a few years ago for OTC and got into some elk, but really wasnt sure how i could physically pack them out of the basin that i was in.

some of the toughest country i've ever been in.
 
That sounds awesome, getting into good bulls on public land is special in its own right!
 
Came home empty handed, but it was a very enjoyable, and grueling hunt! We saw plenty of elk and a few excellent bulls. I'd camped out about 1000 yards out from a big fellow the night before opener - he kept me up with his bugling. But I started my stalk in AFTER glassing light to check if there were any cows between that I might blow out, and on my way in another guy, that I didn't know was in the area, shot that one.

We got on another nice bull later in the hunt but just weren't quite able to connect. He was in some super gnarly stuff (gnarly even for that area) had cliffs at his back and the approach was hard to manage. By the last stalk I was so wiped out that I had no business shooting an elk at that point. There's a lot of people in that unit, so even though it's big and steep, we still saw plenty of other people in places I wouldn't have expected to see anyone.
My experience in that unit is that finding the elk isn't necessarily the issue, it's getting in a position to make a shot. On multiple occasions I ended up with either a 500 yard cross canyon shot or was forced to sneak in really close, which ,in that country could take hours. Certainly doesn't make it easy. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
 
My experience in that unit is that finding the elk isn't necessarily the issue, it's getting in a position to make a shot. On multiple occasions I ended up with either a 500 yard cross canyon shot or was forced to sneak in really close, which ,in that country could take hours. Certainly doesn't make it easy. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Yeah, there is some rough country there. When I hunted it, I found that there were places that I had planned on checking out, that I just ruled out completely, in person, between the terrain and the elevation. Some very rough country in 54, but the scenery is just amazing!
 
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