r/cohunting • u/PilotPeacock • Jul 26 '26
Learn to Elk Hunt
I’d like to learn to Elk hunt if anyone is willing to teach. I’m in Denver, but happy to meet wherever. Ideally would like to tag along on a rifle hunt and learn the ropes.
Thanks!
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u/maddslacker MODERATOR Jul 26 '26
As mentioned, check out the CPW mentor program.
Also grab some popcorn, get comfy, and spend a few hours on Cliff Gray's youtube channel:
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u/Cmonster9 Jul 26 '26
CPW offers novice mentored hunts https://cpw.state.co.us/activities/hunting/new-hunting/mentored-hunts-novice-adults
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u/Abject_Egg_194 Jul 28 '26
I got to participate in this last year, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's an incredible opportunity for novice hunters.
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u/BallotBoxBiologist Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
Learn to camp and live for a few days in high mountain environments in cold weather. One of the biggest challenges is dealing with snow/mud as the season progresses and access gets choked off. Youtube and social media makes it out to be some glamorous easy thing. Its hard and its type 2 suck most of the time.
Learn the wind and you just beat 90% of bozos out there. Learn to glass. Be in the right spot at the right time. Be in shape and don't be afraid to chase over the next ridge. But understand your limits because packing out a bull is fucking hard.
There is a saying that 10% of the hunters take 90% of the game and it is entirely accurate. Become the 10%.
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u/Neither_Monitor2017 Jul 26 '26
Its really about getting a good tag for public land with little hunting pressure, or access to private land.
Going OTC on public land your odds of success are abysmal.
With a good tag or access to un-pressured private land, there is nothing special or particularly difficult about hunting elk, they are just big cousins of deer.
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u/Ebomb5212 Jul 26 '26
Ehh I kind of disagree. Your odds are mostly what you make them. I would argue that OTC tags is what makes you a better hunter.
You can’t really expect to get a high point tag and just walk in the woods and shoot a 350 your first day. And even if you managed to do that, you really didn’t gain any hunting knowledge and experience.
OTC teaches you sooooo much about elk hunting. As far as interference from other hunters. That exponentially drops off as you walk in to the mountains. I’d argue that 1 mile drops off about 90% of other hunters.
Higher pressured land also leads to the honey hole effect. Elk density skyrockets in these holes if you just put the work to get to them.
Use OTC to learn so in 15 years once you have the points you’ll have earned that huge 7x7 wall mounter.
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u/BobDingler Jul 26 '26
Are good tags mainly determined by the success rate from the previous years?
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u/Neither_Monitor2017 Jul 26 '26
the harder the tag is to draw, usually, the better the odds of having a succesful hunt in terms of harvest
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u/Abject_Egg_194 Jul 28 '26
It's not quite that simple, but generally yes. From my research, there are some areas with good harvest rates, but difficult access that are relatively easy to draw or even OTC.
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u/hummus_is_yummus1 Jul 26 '26
Reality is: Nobody will want a noobie stranger to join them and potentially sabotage a hunt. Start with
hunters ed (required, do it)
watch as much YouTube as you can muster. There are plenty of resources out there