76 Early Rifle Elk

Spikeslayer44

Spikeslayer44

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Well the stars aligned and I pulled a hybrid tag for 76 Early rifle. Anyone else get lucky or going to be hunting up there? I have decent knowledge on the unit but would be down to trade.
 
I drew the 1st rifle season tag. Would love to hear how your hunt goes. I'll be out there scouting the last week of Sept, would be happy to share what I learn during scouting.
 
270Whatelse said:
Wow congrats, that is my dream tag. I personally would take that tag over the NW corner units, not for trophy potential but just the overall quality of the hunt.
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Man, I’m not sure where the NW corner is lacking on over all “quality” of the hunt. 76 has the scenery but 76 isn’t even in the same class as 2,10, or 201 when it comes to overall experience of hunting 300 plus inch bulls in the rut.
 
^^^ I agree. A close friend of mine hunted both in his lifetime. He said that nothing compared to the NW corner that he had ever seen in 50 years of elk hunting. He killed a small bull in 76 on his 17th day of hunting with his bow.
 
There’s still some big bulls in 76, it is weather dependent during the rifle seasons with snow pushing them down depending on accumulation in the high country. Archery/Muzzleloader hunt high high country above timberline sometimes. Hit the Utes early and if snow accumulates during rifle season hunts hit Texas creek east of Road Canyon Reservoir- Trail head starts behind forest service cabins. Ivy creek too. Sammy Frazier the outfitter that guided in there for years and now retired has a wealth of knowledge in that unit and is a really good dude.
 
The_Coloradoboy said:
76 was an absolute blast 10 to 15 years ago. The last two hunts as of recently I’ve helped in there have been rather disappointing as far as quality of bulls around
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Agreed, it’s a fun hunt. To see a lot of elk in badass country. Not sure it’s worth the points it takes at this point though.
 
1989Cohunter said:
Agreed, it’s a fun hunt. To see a lot of elk in badass country. Not sure it’s worth the points it takes at this point though.
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Not even close to worth the points… but that’s the story with majority of units in Colorado. As someone who’s been on hunts in every “trophy” unit in Colorado the NW corner (2,10, 201) is truly magical and will rival anything in the country as far as top quality elk hunting. After that your in for 15 plus years of waiting to shoot a 275 to 300 inch bull with an outside of chance of something better as far as someone who has limited to knowledge of a of unit.
 
I’ve gained a little bit of experience in 76 the last three years. It’s a great hunt as long as you know the chances of a bull that’s north of 300” is going to be tough to impossible. been in most of the better Colorado units and with the exception of seeing elk in NW corner. And that seems to be the case for most units. I will say 76 is an awesome place to be though and big bulls do get killed there but they are not behind ever rock. I’d spend more time learning the roads and which side of the unit you wanna focus on.
 
It's a fun hunt for what it is. If your a 350 or bust kind of guy its not the unit for you. But if you like seeing lots of elk and some killer scenery then it will be a blast.
 
Was up near trout lake yesterday with a friend scouting for moose. Lots and lots of rain. Mountains are very wet. Kinda chilly starting to feel like fall up there.
 
1989Cohunter said:
I’ve gained a little bit of experience in 76 the last three years. It’s a great hunt as long as you know the chances of a bull that’s north of 300” is going to be tough to impossible. been in most of the better Colorado units and with the exception of seeing elk in NW corner. And that seems to be the case for most units. I will say 76 is an awesome place to be though and big bulls do get killed there but they are not behind ever rock. I’d spend more time learning the roads and which side of the unit you wanna focus on.
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I drew an archery elk tag with 19 pts in 76. I have no plans to hold out for a giant. I would sure be interested in talking to you about the roads. We will be bringing some pack llamas so I really do not want to get myself in a bad situation with a small stock trailer.
If you are inclined to discuss this, please drop me an email [email protected], I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks
 
Mallardsx2 said:
^^^ I agree. A close friend of mine hunted both in his lifetime. He said that nothing compared to the NW corner that he had ever seen in 50 years of elk hunting. He killed a small bull in 76 on his 17th day of hunting with his bow.
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Have hunted and tagged out in 76, 2 and 61 and participated in a couple 10 hunts. I would gladly take ANY of them again.

blumca said:
I drew an archery elk tag with 19 pts in 76. I have no plans to hold out for a giant. I would sure be interested in talking to you about the roads. We will be bringing some pack llamas so I really do not want to get myself in a bad situation with a small stock trailer.
If you are inclined to discuss this, please drop me an email [email protected], I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks
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I hope you post photos and story from your hunt! Llamas are the ticket in 76 as far as I am concerned. Where are you renting yours from if renting? To make the most of llama powered opportunity, to heck with the roads, pick a spot 5 or more mile deep from a good road and you will be in elk heaven and perhaps have them to yourself. We sure did and took our sweet sweet time over 20+ hunting days passing every bull south of 330" till the right one was in bow range. We also had great hunting in spots not as far back with llamas--the whole unit is covered in elk. We put two llamas in the back of a pick up so did not have to worry about 'small stock trailer' issues, but there are plenty of good roads you can take off from and not get a trailer in a bind. I did wish we had three llamas when the heavy work 9 miles away from trailhead started.

Maybe you are a llama expert and this is not needed, but we found the llamas WOULD NOT PACK after dark. Caught us by surprise in a bad spot for an impromptu camp on a steep rocky slope in the rain. YMMV.

IMG_2300.JPG
 
Great photo and congrats on a great bull! We are hauling 3 Llamas(copper, cash, and buck) from Wisconsin. After a 10 mile plus elk pack out a few years ago, my son got the llamas. Essentially just for backcountry elk hunts. Llamas are very low maintenence. Thank you for the advice and encouragement. I will report back after Archery season
 
Anxiously awaiting your grip-n-grin and tailgate, I mean llama back pics!

Good luck and kill a big 'un!
 
Congrats- Nice bull ! Just curious what did he score ? From the looks of that first pic he should measure up real good.
 
Congrats on a nice bull! Although it looks like you are doing the packing and not the llamas! 🤔

BTW, you mentioned a "hybrid" tag. Is that either sex? Or something else?

And thanks for the follow-up post with pics.
 
Joe2Kool said:
Congrats on a nice bull! Although it looks like you are doing the packing and not the llamas! 🤔

BTW, you mentioned a "hybrid" tag. Is that either sex? Or something else?

And thanks for the follow-up post with pics.
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It means he got a random tag in the CO resident hybrid draw.

Google "colorado resident hybrid draw"
 

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