Unit 49 Co elk

[mixedbag]

I'll be drawing a unit 49 tag this year with almost certainty.I have points for archery,2nd,3rd or 4th rifle.Just wondering which season you guys would put in for.I'm not familiar with the terrain in the unit.I'm getting older,pushing 50,so I am concerned how deep I'd have to go for archery.The success is almost half in archery compared to 2nd or 3rd rifle.I do love to bowhunt,but I also love elk meat so I'd like best odds at success.If you've ever hunted the unit could you give me some insight on how deep I'd have to be to get into decent elk hunting in the unit based on the season.Also if I could run into bad forest roads or deep snow during different seasons.Thanks for any help.I need to decide tonight

 

[JohnCushman]

PM sent

 

[mixedbag]

Thanks for the pms.I got a few responses.Anybody ever rifle hunt the unit??

 

[pwrwgn57]

I've hunted both 1st and 2nd season rifle in 49. 2nd season was busy, as they hand out a lot of deer tags for that area, plus it's a popular place to camp/ride ATV's. I saw elk opening day of 2nd season, after that, nothing.

 

[mixedbag]

Thank you
I put in for me and my 17 yr old son for the archery hunt.I want him to use up his points while his tag is cheap.Hopefully after this and last year's wyoming hunt he'll have the same addiction and then I have a lifelong hunting partner

 

[npaden]

Good luck. I was going to apply for that tag this year with 6 points but I drew my Wyoming tag that would be a conflict with the 2nd season. Let us know how it ends up going for you guys.

 

[Baileyjk]

Hey, curious to how your hunt went. I was thinking about putting in for it this year

 

[Steelhead]

I believe "the bag" got "the boot"...

 

[Mudranger1]

What the hell does that even mean lol

 

[Baileyjk]

Oh no kidding? He need some anger management?

 

[JohnCushman]

Doing research is half of the accomplishment. The CPW hunt planner website has some great information. Study migration patterns and topo maps to look for areas that look interesting. OnX is a good tool to study where elk might be headed to private land so you can cut them off. There's a lot you can do without depending on someone else's experience since there are so many variables from year to year. Plus, a lot of the unit burned last year. By the way, he was into elk many times but never got a shot off.

 

[Baileyjk]

Thanks for the info. And I can assure you that I have done my fair share of research with the tools you mentioned and many more.

 

[sbhooper]

I have not been there in a number of years, but was able to draw that hunt twice and killed two bulls. It is a good unit and when I hunted it, there was very little pressure-I think 100 permits, or so. We hunted about 14 miles south of Fairplay and then back west toward the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness. I killed one bull fairly low and the other up near the edge of the wilderness. We also hunted the steep stuff on the north side of Buena Vista, the first time. That was a bust, because it was real dry and the sign was all old. During archery, I was told that area held lots of elk.

How many points does it take to draw that unit? Both times that I drew it, it took four.

 

[Gellar]

Wasn't there a pretty large fire in 49 last year?

 

[Thomas11]

Wasn't there a pretty large fire in 49 last year?

It was

 

[Big Slick]

I’m hoping to be there 1st rifle this year with my son.

 

[Jayden12]

If you draw the archery tag get hold of me.I can put you where you have easy access to elk,and not alot of other hunters.Its a fun hunt with alot of elk but it's no trophy unit by any stretch of the imagination.You should plan to shoot any 270" bull
First rifle or muzzleloader there would be very easy to fill a tag.Unless your looking for something over 300.Id imagine the area I hunted would also be good in 2nd or 3rd rifle.If your a bowhunters, it's a really fun bowhunt and you'll be in bulls everyday

 

[Bov_WI]

Hoping to draw a muzzleloader bull tag in this unit (49) with 12 points this year. Have hunted in 55 several times, 54 once and 33 once and have actually managed to kill a few so I have some experience with elk. I have read/been told in the past there are more elk on the Fairplay (east) side of this unit, is that still the consensus? I have been scouring the whole unit on CO's hunt atlas, my topo.com and google earth for good looking areas to try. Some of the southern high country/wilderness look as good as the east side of the unit to me, which makes it tough to decide where to start our hunt. It looks like there is above average snow pack out there this year, is there any anticipated winter elk mortality or is the winter range pretty good? I saw there was a large fire kind of in the SE part of the unit last summer -Weston Pass Fire- were there any others last year? Weston pass was the only fire I found a map for.
We plan to hunt from vehicle/wall tent camp and have ATVs to increase our mobility or if roads are bad.
Thanks