Colorado - brace yourself!

Can any of you seasoned elk hunters offer wisdom, advice, or tales of caution? - Don't worry, no Fords will be taken to altitude, so torching one SHOULDN'T be a concern (you know who you are).

Texas deer camps have spoiled and softened me. This will be our first foray into elk hunting, first hunt on a new-to-us ranch (3,000-ish acres), and completely DIY - assuming we get OTC tags on Monday for 2nd or 3rd rifle season.

The ranch varies from the top side of a mesa with a good roll and peaks/spikes that top out at +/-9600 feet down to 8,000 feet with some pretty good canyons on the sides of the mesa. I know bears are an issue in this unit, so I am trying to recall how to bear proof camp from when I did Philmont as a teenager back in the 1900s.

We have a cabin, but no electric or water. What would your gear list look like? Rain gear and cold weather gear are a must-take. Orange is required.

What about after a successful hunt? Gut one just like a whitetail and find the tallest tree to hang it in until we head to town? Just plan on quartering and pulling tenderloins and backstraps?

Elk are highly migratory so there they may or may not be at that altitude during 2nd rifle or 3rd rifle depending on how much snow the area has gotten. It’s well past the rut so look for food sources and water that will concentrate animals.

Bears should not be an issue during 2nd rifle and will not be an issue during 3rd, I keep all my stuff in yeti ice chests and never have any problems.

Been on multiple elk hunts over the years - both rifle and bow. It is a blast.

Number one get in shape. At that altitude going up and down and through canyons can be testing. Wear layers while hunting especially if you are walking/stalking much. You will heat up walking and cool down when sitting.

Smell is the elk's number one defense - it is about as good as it gets. Rut will be over so as stated above hunt water, crossings, etc. Have a good pair of binoculars and a spotting scope comes in handy. Gut one just like a whitetail but much much larger animals obviously. We always quarter and take backstraps and tenderloins.

You will enjoy hunting them - only thing you will miss is the bugling since the rut will be done most likely.

Be in shape, and then more shape.

Gut like any deer, but then quartering will require help as the size difference is large compared to deer. If you can get the meat back to cabin with ice thats ideal, but if not, hang it to cool and make trips back and forth to pick up as much as you can. It is good meat and you don’t want to waste any. Must at least skin and hang and get off the bone, it will rot if you dont.

Gearwise, how close can you park to cabin? I would totally plan to use that cabin as at least a weather resistant storage depot. I would probably try to sleep in there and use a space heater or something if possible to keep warm
And dry out.

Should be a lot of fun!

Yeah; I have always dreamed of hearing the elk bugle in the Fall. In retrospect, we should've put in for the draw to build points, but the uncertainty of the purchase of this place was looming. The ranch will be up for LPPs next year and with us in there too, maybe we have a decent chance to hear them next year.

If you aren't accustomed to hiking at high altitude, start doing cardio now. The weather can be in the 60s one day and single digit lows the next, so good layering and really good waterproof boots are a must. Need high end optics and the ability to shoot from 400 yards.

After a kill, if it's cold enough, it's ok to leave the meat in the field overnight. We've field dressed and left the body overnight many times if we didn't have the ability to get it out that night. It's a lot of work to field dress and pack it the quarters out, so get a vehicle as close as you can. No need to get it off the bone either (I've never heard of meat rotting if left on the bone, at least not in my experience). In fact, we don't do any caping until we get it hanging. And once it's caped, let it hang in a shaded area if you've got the time.

Biggest thing is just get active NOW. Bike, what ever just move.

Buy a bear tag for $100 and you won’t have a bear issue.

Breaking down an elk isn’t hard, just takes some time. tons of videos showing gutless method. Qtr and hang in the shade. At that altitude and year time you could probably hang for a few days

Clothing is easy. No cotton, try to find synthetics with limited amounts of elastic(<8% or none is better)

Other then that just layer.

Simple base layer(I like 120-180 weight wool)
Mid layer- I like fleece, specifically grid fleece(breathes better imo)
Puffy jacket- synthetic or down
Hardshell- rain jacket with pitzips (rain jackets double at wind blocking)


It’s easy. Don’t over think it, private means better road system easier pack out and lessor gear standard required

You'll need good . well broken in boots. Something taller than hikers .
For your group have at least 2 or 3 pack frames, you may well have to carry quarters off the mountain.

Chance of a good snow even in 2 nd so be ready just in case.
Gaiters are a good thing to have for snow and wet conditions.
A comfortable day pack if you don't have a bigger frame pack for the field.

Elk hide can be tough, take a few sharp knives and know how to sharpen them at camp or in the field, a Lansky folding diamond stone works well, DMT makes them too .

Pad for your cot, decent sleeping bag if the cabin doesn't have a wood stove.

If it's cool enough you can field dress and leave a bull overnight, prop open the body cavity, or quarter it and hang or lay on bushes off the ground. You can also hang it in camp in the shade and be fine if it's cool enough. The meat needs to cool slowly along the bone, air helps. Don't throw quarters in a cooler just off the animal.
Game bags to keep the flies off in camp.

Have some rope in your day pack, it really helps if you have to gut by yourself. Legs can be tied to the rack or a bush etc.

They are just big deer so don't over think it but be prepared for extreme conditions outside more than anything. Having a cabin should be much more comfortable than a tent, hoping it is weather tight for you.

Impossible to train for altitude. Cardio, running, or biking will help. Getting to the altitude a week before the hunt would be the best.

And drink lots of fluid before! And keep it going during.

I wear a 12" boot with a stiff sole. All leather. Maybe overkill to some, but it's my preference.

Also, good socks are just as important. I wear 54% or 79% Darn Tough Merino Wool only. Some people wear liners as well. I don't but I keep a pair with me. Also, get some Leukotape (some opt for Mole Skin) just in case of hot spots. Don't forget gaiters like Wytex mentioned.

I would say height is what you prefer. I personally hate tall boots for hiking. I wear Lowa Camino GTX and I feel they are perfect for me in terms of durability, comfort, and keeping my feet warm and dry.

Ive had straight blizzard conditions during 2nd rifle and that was before they moved the season back a week. Be prepared to encounter some cold temps.

If you do get snow, remember snow is wet so good gaiters, water proof boots and a jacket are vital. I’m not suggesting go out and spend $2k on technical gear but for regular gear a can of kiwi camp dry spray is invaluable.

I’ve hunted elk in $600 Kennetrek boots and hunted them in $100 Rocky boots. Just make sure if you run a cheaper pair to use the camp dry and make sure they are broken in. IMO don’t go crazy buying gear unless this is gonna be an every year event. You most likely already own 98% of what you need to successfully hunt elk….the fancy stuff is just for comfort.

You’ll want a rangefinder if you don’t have one already.


OTC elk success typically runs 25% in most units so manage your expectations, hopefully those elk will be pushed into the private land and will be stacked up on the ranch, but as I mentioned earlier they migrate so no guarantees there will be elk there. I’ve hunted areas where they were completely devoid of elk….we were either a week too late or two early. Fortunately Colorado has the largest elk herd in the US.

Don’t over think it and don’t be intimidated. It’s not as daunting a task as most make it seem

Good ones look like this!
Choot Elizabeth!

I've posted this pic before but if you put your hands on one you'll be back next year.
Good luck,

Everything about boots is subjective. Height, stiffness, waterproof vs leather lined, insulated vs non, narrow last vs wide. I run different boots for different hunts

Wow, tremendous response from the Elk guys. Im no Elk guy but I know enough to know you are getting tremendous advice.
Question.... you said "we". Elaborate on that and it may help the feedback. How many, a kid, experienced etc. Also, did you say about where?
Good luck.

I used to keep detailed spreadsheets, but no longer do because I'm just going to hunt regardless of what the stats say. The success rate is WAY less than 25% for bulls on OTC units. For bulls, cows, and calves across all units in CO in 2021, it was 13% for 2nd season. I'd have to do the math, but OTC bulls would likely be well under 10% (tell me your unit and I'll look it up). That being said, don't get down, but keep your expectations realistic.

Yelp be optimistic been along time since I’ve been skunked or didn’t have an opportunity to screw up on Archery OTC.

Unit OP’s has was 25% success 2nd season 15 % 3rd season. CO is self report so take those numbers with a grain of salt

I should have considered the OP’s unit as all units are not created equal.

The unit I hunted was 25% success and that held true for our group. We were about 25% success for the 6 years we hunted there.

My point in posting stats was to manage his expectations of killing a bull or even seeing any elk.

The "we" is my lifelong, best friend of almost 30 years; he moved to my street when we were going into 2nd grade and our families have done life together side-by-side ever since.



THIS is the hope, but just seeing animals on the hoof and new experiences will be reward enough for the first time!

Huge thanks to all the comments and PMs and overwhelmingly generous offers received so far. I will do my best to keep this thread going through the entire saga. Its way past time to hit the gym and get active again; "riding a desk" for the last 15 years has made me a lot softer than I thought possible.

I agree boot height is subjective but he needs boots taller than his ankles for mountain hunting, low hikers can be an invitation for turned ankles in rough terrain.

You will also need an orange hat and coat or vest, you have to wear both in Colorado and no camo orange.

Extra pair of boots is also good advice.

Have reasonable expectations about elk you might see, maybe big bulls possibly only raghorns.

Its late July, hunt isnt' until late October.


You have plenty of time to get in much better shape than you are today.

Yelp, I had surgery set back so I just started back up hard couple weeks back.

You don’t have to be in great or good shape to hunt Mtn but it sure helps.

The number one thing I did to get in shape for an elk hunt in Colorado was to go to the high school
and walk up and down the stairs at the football stadium. I only did this for 20 minutes a day. The first
day I was able to to up seven times in 20 minutes. 8 weeks later I could go up 16 times. Oh, and
wear the boots you plan to do all this hiking in while to do it. FYI, it is harder on your legs coming
down than going up. After going on the hunt with 6 others, I was the oldest but could walk the
mountains the best. I strongly recommend doing this for 20 minutes a day. Actually, I did not do
it on weekends, so only 5 days a week.

Nowadays it's hard to find a high school football field that isn't locked up. Sad it's come to this.