Tips For narrowing OTC CO Units

[JFish]

Hello all, I’m planning a DIY archery OTC hunt in Colorado for 2020. I’ve narrowed down to several GMUs, 34,521,78,80 and 81. This will be a backpack style hunt, and I would like to hunt areas with less atv access, and more of the backcountry experience. I know they are all OTC, so they will all be crowded, but will I be able to escape some of the crowds if I focus on areas with less motor vehicle access? Should I lean towards the units that have wilderness areas? This will be a first time elk hunt for myself and the others in my group so the hunt will be a success no matter what. Seeing or hearing a bull would be a plus. Any advice or pointers to narrow down my gmu selection would be appreciated.

Also any advice on where to purchase quality Topo maps?

 

[elkduds]

Welcome to the forum. Before spending $ on topos, take full advantage of the free ones. Suggest you start here:

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Atlas

ndismaps.nrel.colostate.edu

The MVUM panel of these maps show all trails open to motorized (truck, atv, motorcycle) use on national forests. Wilderness areas have none of that, however they are magnets to backpack and horseback hunters, through hikers, backpackers, anglers, llama trekkers... There are places on the maps that are over a mile from any motorized access, not in wilderness. Those are the most likely places to avoid hunting pressure, especially if terrain is difficult and foot trails are few. Good luck.

 

[Ben Sellers]

Go Hunt has all kinds of filters that will help you narrow it down. It’s a lot of $ but worth it to me an a good many others. They also have state breakdowns (articles) that help you find a spot.

 

[Slm864]

You start walkin your way, I’ll start walkin mine. We will meet in the middle at the tall Georgia(Colorado) pine. Seems everyone heads into the wilderness areas to avoid the roads and they all end up congregating miles in and the feedback that gets reported is that it was overly crowded. ATV’s and roads pose problems of there own but I wouldn’t overlook units just for that reason. As far as topo maps, I get all of mine off caltopo and you can download and print for free. I agree with others as well on the map suggestions that were mentioned.

 

[JFish]

Appreciate the replies. I created a spreadsheet after using gohunt and other CO website data and came up with those couple of units. Sounds like the wilderness idea isn’t so original and should be avoided. After reading more threads I’m thinking I should just settle on a unit and start scouring different maps.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Appreciate the replies. I created a spreadsheet after using gohunt and other CO website data and came up with those couple of units. Sounds like the wilderness idea isn’t so original and should be avoided. After reading more threads I’m thinking I should just settle on a unit and start scouring different maps.

I think that's wise, I think arguably the best honey holes in the state are in wilderness areas, but that a huge percentage of any wilderness area is pretty poor hunting. The problem being that typically there are few trail heads, so people are congregated at the same access point (hunters and non-hunters alike) and the really good spots are prohibitively far in to hunt especially for elk. There are a number that you can't even access with horses, so unless you have 5 buddies who are willing to help you pack your bull over a mountain...

I say this... but at the same time I killed a bull last year in a wilderness area and this year I'm hunting deer and elk in wilderness areas so...

 

[Focus]

I think that's wise, I think arguably the best honey holes in the state are in wilderness areas, but that a huge percentage of any wilderness area is pretty poor hunting. The problem being that typically there are few trail heads, so people are congregated at the same access point (hunters and non-hunters alike) and the really good spots are prohibitively far in to hunt especially for elk. There are a number that you can't even access with horses, so unless you have 5 buddies who are willing to help you pack your bull over a mountain...

I say this... but at the same time I killed a bull last year in a wilderness area and this year I'm hunting deer and elk in wilderness areas so...

But but but....you’ll get lost and die if you hunt in a wilderness area. Oh wait, I forgot, this is CO not WY. If you get lost you can follow clouds of marijuana smoke back to civilization.

Sorry, couldn’t resist mixing in a few other ongoing HT threads into this one.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

But but but....you’ll get lost and die if you hunt in a wilderness area. Oh wait, I forgot, this is CO not WY. If you get lost you can follow clouds of marijuana smoke back to civilization.

Sorry, couldn’t resist mixing in a few other ongoing HT threads into this one.

In some areas that quip about the herb may not be terribly far from the truth...I’m sure a few sheep hunters in the Maroon Bells, caught more than a few whiffs... and glassed up more than they bargained for..

 

[KipCarson]

My last hunt in a CO wilderness area I had a stalk on a nice bull blown by a pair of hikers trotting through the basin wearing all neon talking loudly, it was aggravating to say the least. I was however quite jealous of their lung capacity at that altitude. On a different hunt we were nowhere near a wilderness, only hunting about a half mile from the forest service road and had some guys stop where we were parked on the roadside to gripe about the lack of elk and how they were pulling out to head to another part of the unit. We grumbled and agreed that would be a good idea to try... unbeknownst to them we were parked there to go help my uncle pack out a dandy 6x6 from just over the ridge 1/3 mile in. Moral of the story is just plan on hunting where people aren’t likely to be, that may be wilderness , maybe not. I do overall see more nonhunters roaming wilderness areas than I’ve ever seen in general national forest, that designation seems to make them targets. Spend some time on Google from a hikers perspective and if you can find all sorts of information about an area on hiking trail sites and pictures posted you are much more likely to run into people in September while you are elk hunting. The less information you can find about a particular forest service trail or trail head the more likely you will be to have more elbow room imo.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

The less information you can find about a particular forest service trail or trail head the more likely you will be to have more elbow room imo.

The phrasing "this trail is not maintained" is what you want to look for in a wilderness area.