Howdy! I'm researching booking an Elk hunt In Colorado with my son in 2024 and looking for some assistance with picking a guide. I'm trying to find someone with experience with a guide that can give me a recommendation. I'd be willing to do a DIY on private land if anyone has experience with that but would need a lot of advice if I were to go with no guide. Is Colorado the best state for newbies, is there another state with OTC tags I should consider? Any advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated.
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Elk Hunt Guide
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Last: 2 yr ago by BradMtn346
Congrats on stepping into the world of elk hunting!
I applaud your efforts to go with a guid your first time (maybe first couple). The learning curve can be steep and expensive, and if your goal is to provide your son with a memory, a guide will give you a great shot.
Private land DIY (like where you pay and access fee and that's it) is not really a common option. We do have a poster on here who used to have some private land tags available, so he might chime in. But, you need someone to teach you more than you need access.
Your options will really depend on your budget. A guide who has you on public lands with an OTC tag will be cheaper than a private land tag. Both will be cheaper than a high fence operation. Any of those can be a truly fun hunt, depending on what your objectives are.
A drop camp style hunt is a true experience. Ride in on horseback to a preset camp, canvas tents and stoves, campfires, LOTS of stars and rugged scenery. The guide can drop you off (drop camp), or guide you the whole time. I recommend having the guide. You can find these from a couple grand up to $4-5K. With fully guided option, they will generally handle the cooking and stuff too. But you might need a party of 3-4 to make it work. You will work your butt off, and will probably see some elk. You might get a shot at one too. But coming home with all tags filled is definitely the exception, not the norm. Know that going into it, especially in Colorado.
I have a recommendation in southern Colorado or in New Mexico if a backcountry camp is what you want. The New Mexico hunt might be slightly easier, but with a bit higher odds. The CO hunt is epically beautiful and extremely rugged. I am only speaking of the 2 I can recommend, not making general statements about the states.
Another option would be a guide on public lands, but essentially doing day hunts. I have done this with my Dad in Colorado and New Mexico. Success rates are not much different, but its a lot less work. Generally staying in a hotel, camp house, or low camp each night - and driving to different places to spot and stalk. It is a fun way to hunt. It can be a little less physically taxing, but not really easy at all.
Lastly, would be a private land hunt. This will almost universally be your highest success rate, and probably best accommodations. You can find places with full 5* amenities, or places where you stay in a little camp house. But, you aren't fighting the crowds, and the elk can be a little easier to pattern. This gives you the best chance to fill a tag or both, but will usually come at a higher cost. You will still learn a ton about elk hunting with this setup.
I can rec you a guide for CO or NM in any of these categories. I can also point you towards a high fence place in CO (Smaller HF ranch, guaranteed success, but they also have low fence options that are fair chase hunting but have nice facilities) or one in ID (huge bulls, huge ranch, hard hunting, HUGE price tag).
I hope this gets you started thinking.
Don't hesitate to ask 100 questions. Now is the time to learn!
I applaud your efforts to go with a guid your first time (maybe first couple). The learning curve can be steep and expensive, and if your goal is to provide your son with a memory, a guide will give you a great shot.
Private land DIY (like where you pay and access fee and that's it) is not really a common option. We do have a poster on here who used to have some private land tags available, so he might chime in. But, you need someone to teach you more than you need access.
Your options will really depend on your budget. A guide who has you on public lands with an OTC tag will be cheaper than a private land tag. Both will be cheaper than a high fence operation. Any of those can be a truly fun hunt, depending on what your objectives are.
A drop camp style hunt is a true experience. Ride in on horseback to a preset camp, canvas tents and stoves, campfires, LOTS of stars and rugged scenery. The guide can drop you off (drop camp), or guide you the whole time. I recommend having the guide. You can find these from a couple grand up to $4-5K. With fully guided option, they will generally handle the cooking and stuff too. But you might need a party of 3-4 to make it work. You will work your butt off, and will probably see some elk. You might get a shot at one too. But coming home with all tags filled is definitely the exception, not the norm. Know that going into it, especially in Colorado.
I have a recommendation in southern Colorado or in New Mexico if a backcountry camp is what you want. The New Mexico hunt might be slightly easier, but with a bit higher odds. The CO hunt is epically beautiful and extremely rugged. I am only speaking of the 2 I can recommend, not making general statements about the states.
Another option would be a guide on public lands, but essentially doing day hunts. I have done this with my Dad in Colorado and New Mexico. Success rates are not much different, but its a lot less work. Generally staying in a hotel, camp house, or low camp each night - and driving to different places to spot and stalk. It is a fun way to hunt. It can be a little less physically taxing, but not really easy at all.
Lastly, would be a private land hunt. This will almost universally be your highest success rate, and probably best accommodations. You can find places with full 5* amenities, or places where you stay in a little camp house. But, you aren't fighting the crowds, and the elk can be a little easier to pattern. This gives you the best chance to fill a tag or both, but will usually come at a higher cost. You will still learn a ton about elk hunting with this setup.
I can rec you a guide for CO or NM in any of these categories. I can also point you towards a high fence place in CO (Smaller HF ranch, guaranteed success, but they also have low fence options that are fair chase hunting but have nice facilities) or one in ID (huge bulls, huge ranch, hard hunting, HUGE price tag).
I hope this gets you started thinking.
Don't hesitate to ask 100 questions. Now is the time to learn!
How old is your son?
FWIW I am way over due on writing what needs to be a long OP on my daughters Elk Hunting experiences starting at age 11 and how relevant they are to helping her solve real world problems.
FWIW I am way over due on writing what needs to be a long OP on my daughters Elk Hunting experiences starting at age 11 and how relevant they are to helping her solve real world problems.
Your budget will be a big factor in my response. I would advise against a drop camp and DIY on your first hunt, unless you are just really adventurous. I would say you could hire me, but I dont think I will be in CO in the fall of 2024.
My son will be 20 when we go on the hunt next year. He's currently a freshman at A&M. He's been hunting white tail since he was 10 and has always wanted to go on a big game hunt. I turn 50 next year and since I'm not getting any younger I figured this would be a great 50th birthday gift and a great memory with my son. I was hoping to spend around $5-6K per person on the hunt. I was originally planning on going as cheap as possible, meaning OTC tag, public land, no guide, but was told to be ready to put in 5-10 years to learn how it's done before I could expect to get a shot on a bull. So I shifted my mindset to a guided hunt. I don't have a lot of $ to spend over multiple years so would like to find the balance of money for the best odds to fill our tags asap. I may be looking for a unicorn but that's where I'm at. Would love the full experience of camping, hiking, calling, stalking, etc, but if hotels, private land, driving around, and a little stalking gives us the best odds then I'm game. I don't see us waiting years to draw a tag so I'm pretty set on OTC. I think New Mexico is draw only so I think that rules out NM. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'd be willing to go to Oregon, Wyoming, etc. if I get better odds or a better $ deal, but was planning on driving to save on airfare. I live southwest of Houston so Colorado sound like the easiest drive. I'm operating on very little knowledge and there's a ton of websites for guides and info across multiple states and it has become a little overwhelming. I thought maybe I could find a good Ag on here that could give some advice and/or recommendations so I'm very appreciative of y'all taking the time to point me in the right direction. I would also be willing to go with mule deer if that's a better hunt for my situation, but seems like Elk is the top of the big game hunts. Would love to hire an Ag as I feel like I could trust I'm in good hands. Thanks and Gig 'em!
For NW CO, these are the only two camps I would go with.
http://www.jbarhoutfitters.com/elk-hunts.html
This will be a horseback ride in, camp, camp cook and wall tents. They are a great outfit with good guides.
https://villaranchcolorado.com/outfitting/
The Krugers are dear friends of mine and run a good shop, I almost went to guide for them until life got turned upside down for a while. This will have a bunkhouse and great guides and camp cook. You will have access to a ton of private land. This is where I would spend my money, but you have about 2 more months until Mary is booked for 2024.
http://www.jbarhoutfitters.com/elk-hunts.html
This will be a horseback ride in, camp, camp cook and wall tents. They are a great outfit with good guides.
https://villaranchcolorado.com/outfitting/
The Krugers are dear friends of mine and run a good shop, I almost went to guide for them until life got turned upside down for a while. This will have a bunkhouse and great guides and camp cook. You will have access to a ton of private land. This is where I would spend my money, but you have about 2 more months until Mary is booked for 2024.
Following this as interested in getting my girls into some western bucket list type hunts as well
I'm not nearly as experienced as many of the guys on here, but this is my two cents.
You should consider going on a diy OTC elk hunt this year in Colorado expecting nothing but learning and having an experience together. You might be able to get on with someone from texags who can teach you some stuff if you don't mind just observing and hauling meat.
You can also apply for some late season archery tags that you can draw in a couple of years or less (this is what I did). You'll learn a ton and probably see more (as opposed to OTC), but it's just really difficult to close the gap in the late season with a bow from my experience.
In the mean time you can apply to Wyoming for 3-4 years before drawing a general tag at which point you can find a 2x1 guide very close to or within your price range for a fairly high probability of success for the both of you. Apply to New Mexico at the same time you are applying to Wyoming just in case.This is the shortest term plan I can think of without spending $10k +
You should consider going on a diy OTC elk hunt this year in Colorado expecting nothing but learning and having an experience together. You might be able to get on with someone from texags who can teach you some stuff if you don't mind just observing and hauling meat.
You can also apply for some late season archery tags that you can draw in a couple of years or less (this is what I did). You'll learn a ton and probably see more (as opposed to OTC), but it's just really difficult to close the gap in the late season with a bow from my experience.
In the mean time you can apply to Wyoming for 3-4 years before drawing a general tag at which point you can find a 2x1 guide very close to or within your price range for a fairly high probability of success for the both of you. Apply to New Mexico at the same time you are applying to Wyoming just in case.This is the shortest term plan I can think of without spending $10k +
Thanks for the info. I have a couple of questions. When you say go on a DIY OTC hunt "this year", do you mean 2024? I was under the impression I'd missed all 2023 hunting opportunities. Also, what do you mean when you say "but it's just really difficult to close the gap in the late season with a bow from my experience."angryocotillo said:
I'm not nearly as experienced as many of the guys on here, but this is my two cents.
You should consider going on a diy OTC elk hunt this year in Colorado expecting nothing but learning and having an experience together. You might be able to get on with someone from texags who can teach you some stuff if you don't mind just observing and hauling meat.
You can also apply for some late season archery tags that you can draw in a couple of years or less (this is what I did). You'll learn a ton and probably see more (as opposed to OTC), but it's just really difficult to close the gap in the late season with a bow from my experience.
In the mean time you can apply to Wyoming for 3-4 years before drawing a general tag at which point you can find a 2x1 guide very close to or within your price range for a fairly high probability of success for the both of you. Apply to New Mexico at the same time you are applying to Wyoming just in case.This is the shortest term plan I can think of without spending $10k +
Is it safe to say that OTC hunts will mean it's harder to find Elk and that's why it's easier to get those tags, and draw tags are harder to get but means a greater likelihood of finding Elk?
The main advantage of bow hunting elk in CO is that the early season coincides (typically) with rut and you can get very close to elk. Your odds of shooting one are much higher when you can get a bull to come in close to you. A late season archery hunt would essentially be a rifle hunt with a bow... just wondering around looking for elk and then having to get within 60 yards or less for a shot. Extremely low probability, in my opinion.Quote:Quote:
Also, what do you mean when you say "but it's just really difficult to close the gap in the late season with a bow from my experience."
Is it safe to say that OTC hunts will mean it's harder to find Elk and that's why it's easier to get those tags, and draw tags are harder to get but means a greater likelihood of finding Elk?
Hoyt or Cupofjoe can elaborate more on the OTC comment but I believe it has to do it with the population of the elk in specific units and the amount of people wanting to hunt that area. I have hunted in a unit the last couple of years that is OTC archery and has 1 season rifle that is OTC. It is probably 80-90% private land but the elk population is very high and the quality of bulls is high too.
There are also units where only a handful of tags are given each year and the bulls in that unit can be absolute monsters.
I should have said "go on an otc hunt next year", because yes, as far as I'm aware most or all OTC seasons are done for at this point.
I drew 2 tags for late season bow in the first 3 years I applied. I had no idea what I was doing the first time, but I got within 100 yards of a lot of elk and it was a really fun experience, despite not coming home with anything. The last 50-60 yards was really difficult for me to get into without spooking them. Most people that archery hunt with high success do so in the early season when the elk are in rut and much stupider than late season.
Yes, it is very safe to say that. OTC gun tags for DIY in Colorado I want to say have a less than 10% success rate. You can get tags with 3-4 years of points with 30 - 40 % hunter success rates. Add a guide and a little experience on top of that and I think you'll be cooking.
I drew 2 tags for late season bow in the first 3 years I applied. I had no idea what I was doing the first time, but I got within 100 yards of a lot of elk and it was a really fun experience, despite not coming home with anything. The last 50-60 yards was really difficult for me to get into without spooking them. Most people that archery hunt with high success do so in the early season when the elk are in rut and much stupider than late season.
Yes, it is very safe to say that. OTC gun tags for DIY in Colorado I want to say have a less than 10% success rate. You can get tags with 3-4 years of points with 30 - 40 % hunter success rates. Add a guide and a little experience on top of that and I think you'll be cooking.
Couple ways to approach your endeavour. You said you do not have a lot of funds over many years to invest, so here are a few options.
-DIY in an OTC unit. The animals are there, but like all elk hunting, you have to go where to the people arent. That is going to involve a lot of escouting and prep from afar. However, I think the best investment would be a trip in August or so to scout areas. Fly in Wed. night and scout Thur-Sat and fly home Sunday. This will pay dividends on road access, campsites, a feel for the terrain and getting plan A to Z in order when things go south. You can poor boy this but I imagine you are in the 5-6k range when it is al said and done. Im sure others can post thier costs, but with tags, fuel, lodging, gear, food....it adds up .
-DIY drop camp. Similar to above and can be in OTC units, but sometimes these are in better hunting ground areas. Sometimes are on private land, most the time on public. You could still be spending 6-7K on this trip when it is all said and done.
-Hire a guide. Most expensive, but you have options here. You could pay for your son to hunt and you be a bystander to be with him. Take in information and then DIY hunt after once you learn from this experience. I love this idea cause it is the best of both worlds. Someone gets to hunt and then you learn to see what it is really like. I used to do this all the time with folks. With one hunter, you are probably 8k or so into it.
My email is in my profile if you want to email me and talk any details. I love helping people get into western hunting. You have options, but the last one might mean putting a deposit down pretty soon.
You mentioned mule deer.....now you are speaking my language. Options are similar, but more limited in a few ways. Id rather shoot a big mule deer any day than an elk. But that is just me. Again, happy to discuss ideas for this. I have put some TA posters on some decent mule deer on public ground the last few years.
-DIY in an OTC unit. The animals are there, but like all elk hunting, you have to go where to the people arent. That is going to involve a lot of escouting and prep from afar. However, I think the best investment would be a trip in August or so to scout areas. Fly in Wed. night and scout Thur-Sat and fly home Sunday. This will pay dividends on road access, campsites, a feel for the terrain and getting plan A to Z in order when things go south. You can poor boy this but I imagine you are in the 5-6k range when it is al said and done. Im sure others can post thier costs, but with tags, fuel, lodging, gear, food....it adds up .
-DIY drop camp. Similar to above and can be in OTC units, but sometimes these are in better hunting ground areas. Sometimes are on private land, most the time on public. You could still be spending 6-7K on this trip when it is all said and done.
-Hire a guide. Most expensive, but you have options here. You could pay for your son to hunt and you be a bystander to be with him. Take in information and then DIY hunt after once you learn from this experience. I love this idea cause it is the best of both worlds. Someone gets to hunt and then you learn to see what it is really like. I used to do this all the time with folks. With one hunter, you are probably 8k or so into it.
My email is in my profile if you want to email me and talk any details. I love helping people get into western hunting. You have options, but the last one might mean putting a deposit down pretty soon.
You mentioned mule deer.....now you are speaking my language. Options are similar, but more limited in a few ways. Id rather shoot a big mule deer any day than an elk. But that is just me. Again, happy to discuss ideas for this. I have put some TA posters on some decent mule deer on public ground the last few years.
OP- Hoyt is the person you need to talk to. The above advice is gospel.
Here is another outfitter to add to your list.
https://www.westelkoutfitters.com
The outfits that Hoyt mentioned look very reasonable. I rent a house on our ranch to West Elk Outfitters, so I see a lot of what goes on.
They are hunting public land in an OTC unit. The success of their hunters seems to really be based on how well prepared the hunter is for the hunt. Physical fitness, shooting ability and knowing what you can and can't do are huge factors. Many of their hunters have opportunities that they fail to capitalize on.
https://www.westelkoutfitters.com
The outfits that Hoyt mentioned look very reasonable. I rent a house on our ranch to West Elk Outfitters, so I see a lot of what goes on.
They are hunting public land in an OTC unit. The success of their hunters seems to really be based on how well prepared the hunter is for the hunt. Physical fitness, shooting ability and knowing what you can and can't do are huge factors. Many of their hunters have opportunities that they fail to capitalize on.
Hoytag brought up a good point you could save a lot of money as going as non hunting guest but enjoy being right there. The truth is rarely does a whole camp on free range hunting tag out and especially when its 2:1 hunters on a guide.
Here is where the real joy is and I am 1:6 in success while my daughter is 1.5:2….lost a tough one.
Here is where the real joy is and I am 1:6 in success while my daughter is 1.5:2….lost a tough one.
JFABNRGR said:
Hoytag brought up a good point you could save a lot of money as going as non hunting guest but enjoy being right there. The truth is rarely does a whole camp on free range hunting tag out and especially when its 2:1 hunters on a guide.
Here is where the real joy is and I am 1:6 in success while my daughter is 1.5:2….lost a tough one.
If you hunt long enough, you will loose one. All that matters is that you do your best to make sure it doesn't happen. Before, during and after the shot. But we are humans and make mistakes. If we learn from them, then they are not wasted.
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