Unit 40 or 61 1st rifle?

elkocd said:
If anyone is wondering why I'm putting 40 on blast it's because I just got ass Fu#%ed by CPW this year after 15 years of putting in. I was finally in a place to draw a 40 archery elk tag. I've spent the last 4 years as NR scouting the unit getting ready for when I would draw. Now with the changes I will never draw, or at least not in a time frame I will accept. Now I will burn my 15 points on a 6 point unit to hunt with my son.

If anyone actually draws 40 and can show me they drew I will send you GPS coords to where there lots of bulls on public in many places. I won't be exclusive so you may or may not have company.

I actually don't really have issue with CO helping their residents. When I am a WY res. in a year I will be leading the charge to limit NR tags to 90/10 and if there are some CO residents with lots of points sorry bruh, life's a *****. Move where you want to hunt!
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We got a tough guy here.......
 
The only change I see is updated data. Which with any other service provider would be kept current. Sounds like I will have a reason to watch my back in Wyoming. When I go, that is. I've watched Wyoming residents push for 90/10. Definitely would love to hunt there someday again. I feel almost powerless here in Colorado. I've attended meetings, sent emails, filled out surveys, and I felt it went nowhere. The fact that there was a rule for harder to draw tags in place, but the rule was not even a rule, captured my frustration. I personally am glad that they are at least showing integrity in following the rule for what it was meant to do. I don't save points. If they would have been following the boundaries set years ago, it would have potentially been a lot more points at this time than 15. Maybe. Who knows.
 
I’m not going to not say I’m excited to see what kind of bulls i dig out of 40 next year with clients and a few extra resources and help on my side… honestly have no issues calling 40 for a what it is. Two ways to be successful in 40. Either your check book pays for it or your body does. I’ve hunted all over the state now days and there are canyons there that will legitimately kill men trying to get in/out and I’ve been humbled severely by them. When you pull the trigger in these places you pay for it. The toughest pack out of my life was in 2020 on the ol mans bull.
 
yotebuster17 said:
I am in a position to draw both and have looked into both options a bit. I can’t say that I’ve seen a legit 350 bull posted on any of the unit 40 outfitters websites in the past several years. Seems to be the bread and butter bulls they are killing are 300-320 bulls. That’s a lot of cash and points for a bull like that if you ask me. I think if you work hard in 61 you can kill a similar sized bull.
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You obviously have not looked at Biggerstaff's pictures then. They take some great bulls out of 40 every year. Usually a couple in that 350" class.
 
Plumber333 said:
You obviously have not looked at Biggerstaff's pictures then. They take some great bulls out of 40 every year. Usually a couple in that 350" class.
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This same thing was gone over earlier in this thread. I do follow their pics and may have missed it but I see a whole bunch of 300-330 bulls killed by them. Great pic angles on them and like I said I could have missed some but I just haven’t seen anything that would make me feel like I would have a realistic chance at a 350 bull in there if I burned my points and hired them.
 
elkocd said:
If anyone is wondering why I'm putting 40 on blast it's because I just got ass Fu#%ed by CPW this year after 15 years of putting in. I was finally in a place to draw a 40 archery elk tag. I've spent the last 4 years as NR scouting the unit getting ready for when I would draw. Now with the changes I will never draw, or at least not in a time frame I will accept. Now I will burn my 15 points on a 6 point unit to hunt with my son.

If anyone actually draws 40 and can show me they drew I will send you GPS coords to where there lots of bulls on public in many places. I won't be exclusive so you may or may not have company.

I actually don't really have issue with CO helping their residents. When I am a WY res. in a year I will be leading the charge to limit NR tags to 90/10 and if there are some CO residents with lots of points sorry bruh, life's a *****. Move where you want to hunt!
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Where do you live now?

CO changing a few hunt codes from 65/35 to 80/20 is unreasonable to you?
 
There is some great info in this thread. I appreciate all of you for that. I do want to say I'm happy to put some money into a great hunt. I am looking at this as my one shot for a multitude of reasons, but mainly because I am veteran that gets disability because I have degenerative discs in my lower back that hinder me a bit. I can still get after it, though I pay for it for weeks after, and I plan to do just that whether its an outfitter or DIY. I also don't want to wait for a 2/201 hunt because I don't think it'll be as good in the amount of years it'll take me to get that tag. I want to chase a great bull in his home turf for as long as it takes to get it done while I still can. An outfitter makes it a bit easier on me by not having to pack in my gear and set up camp. I'm loving the way both units sound in that either may offer tough hunts in rough country that end with a good bull on the ground. I'm getting pretty excited about the possibilities to be honest.
 
elkhunterUT said:
I’ll take your word for it, and I have no doubt Unit 40 has some good bulls, but if someone held a gun to your head and said you had to take a top tier AZ unit or CO Unit 40 tag, you’re telling me you would take the CO tag?

I have heard some crazy stuff in my life, but that might be up there on the list.
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Honestly going to a top tier unit in AZ and competing against a whole army of guides and their client for a big bull just doesn’t much excite me at this point in my life
 
The_Coloradoboy said:
Honestly going to a top tier unit in AZ and competing against a whole army of guides and their client for a big bull just doesn’t much excite me at this point in my life
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Totally get that - the overall experience is a major part of any hunt and means more to me personally than the size of an animal any way, so I see where you are coming from there for sure. Combat hunting with a bunch of guides and spotters is definitely not a great experience.
 
yotebuster17 said:
I’m also pretty positive that unit 40 was already in the 80/20 split so this really should have no bearing on it. I think this fella just wants to get angry about something.
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Your right I looked and it is already in the 80/20 split so he doesn't even have a valid gripe
 
Sounds like if you go self-guided in 40 next year you may be competing with Coloboy and his compadres! It would REALLY be a drag to hike into some of 40's hell holes and find company!
 
jims said:
Sounds like if you go self-guided in 40 next year you may be competing with Coloboy and his compadres! It would REALLY be a drag to hike into some of 40's hell holes and find company!
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You definitely won’t see an army of “spotters”with flat brims and YouTube channels rolling around with us….
Age is starting to catch up with me so my plan this year is to “roll” my ankle really good every time one decides to die in a hell hole and smash the SOS on my spot beacon on get a helicopter ride back to town.
 
yotebuster17 said:
I’m also pretty positive that unit 40 was already in the 80/20 split so this really should have no bearing on it. I think this fella just wants to get angry about something.
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Just an FYI that's not correct....Unit 40 archery elk, which is the license ElkOCD said he was trying to draw, is a 65/35 split. In fact muzzleloader, and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rifle elk seasons are also all 65/35.
 
sticksender said:
Just an FYI that's not correct....Unit 40 archery elk, which is the license ElkOCD said he was trying to draw, is a 65/35 split. In fact muzzleloader, and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rifle elk seasons are also all 65/35.
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Interesting. I stand corrected. I probably can’t draw anymore now either I guess. I will say I am very appreciative of the fact that CO is nice enough to NR to still give 20% out.
 
There are no guarantees of even seeing a big bull in either unit, but they are definitely there. I believe that a little bit of the same genetics exist in both units, hell they're literally right across the street from each other. But in theory the bulls would live a little longer in 40 due to all of the private and less hunting pressure. JMO.
I'm looking forward to being back in 61 this fall with my daughter.
 
yotebuster17 said:
Interesting. I stand corrected. I probably can’t draw anymore now either I guess. I will say I am very appreciative of the fact that CO is nice enough to NR to still give 20% out.
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I was fortunate to use my elk points on 40 archery back in 2020 (resulting bull = 344 gross, 335 net, official P&Y). Glad I didn't wait because I barely had enough points then. Now I'll focus on hunting a 2-pp unit about every 3rd year.
 
I have enough points to draw a NR archery tag in unit 40. The things that have me turned off are 1) the cost for a guided hunt there is just way too high and 2) following picts of bulls killed in 40 for years and most are 300-330 bulls. I'd rather go DIY and shoot a 300 inch bull on my own.
 
IMO 4th season is best. Park on highway and rock climb up into some canyons and glass. Very little hunting pressure but alot of the bulls maybe be busted up. (This is if you are physically capable, those cliffs and rock walls are no joke)
 
elkocd said:
Don't disagree. As said, all good and I'll do my best to make sure and level the playing field ;)

With that said, I hope no CO residents expect that the cat will not let be let out of the bag that 40 holds the best bulls in CO. I've spent many weeks in that unit over years as well as someone who has and does hunt every western state. I've been in the best units in AZ, UT, NV .... CO 40 holds bulls to rival them all and there are plenty of bulls all over public despite the **** you may read on the internet.

As I said above, I'd never shoot a bull under 340" in that unit and that is based on time on the ground.
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So by level the playing field you mean you are going to advocate that WY give 35% of its tags to NR like CO does in the majority of its units? Or do you mean that you will ask that NR can by general tags OTC like they can in CO?
 
270Whatelse said:
IMO 4th season is best. Park on highway and rock climb up into some canyons and glass. Very little hunting pressure but alot of the bulls maybe be busted up. (This is if you are physically capable, those cliffs and rock walls are no joke)
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I disagree.. majority of the big bulls are in Utah by the time 4th starts. You’re basically just hunting the very back half of the migration at that point from experience. Literally watched one of the biggest bullI seen last year and 8 of his buddies walk right into Utah last year on the first day of 3rd season and never come back
 
The_Coloradoboy said:
Jt is going to tell you the exact thing I will. 40, if it’s about killing the biggest bull possible.Don’t get me wrong the same goal is to kill the biggest bull possible in 61 but statistically speaking of what’s hit the dirt the last couple years your odds are better of a 330 plus in 40 considerably in my opinion. The only issue you’re going to run into in 40 is it’s brutal country we are in during that late hunt and we are going to look over a ton of broken bulls
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The_Coloradoboy said:
I disagree.. majority of the big bulls are in Utah by the time 4th starts. You’re basically just hunting the very back half of the migration at that point from experience. Literally watched one of the biggest bullI seen last year and 8 of his buddies walk right into Utah last year on the first day of 3rd season and never come back
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Ya it's definitely possible!
 
270Whatelse said:
Ya it's definitely possible!
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Watched it happen a couple times this year in third. A lot of those bulls winter in Utah. Put some pressure on them in Colorado and they’ll keep moving until they feel safe again. Same goes for those bulls in 61. You’d need a Maasai tracker to run them down when they head for the low country
 
The_Coloradoboy said:
You definitely won’t see an army of “spotters”with flat brims and YouTube channels rolling around with us….
Age is starting to catch up with me so my plan this year is to “roll” my ankle really good every time one decides to die in a hell hole and smash the SOS on my spot beacon on get a helicopter ride back to town.
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I think you are going to have to change your name to "The Colorado old man" You are starting to sound like me. :ROFLMAO:
 
I was told they're cutting the tags in 61 this year is there any truth to that? why?

I don't think the NR quota will change since it's always been a hard draw, but maybe that's what it is.
 
Leaning toward 61 early rifle now, which means I got a few more years to wait to get that tag if theres no point creep.
 
I'm feeling it physically as well, brain says I'm still 18 but my body aches after my 64 years.It's Vitamin I for me. I'm going to push as hard as my body allows but I now consider....can I get that critter out quick enough so it isn't ruined meat ? I need my son to carve out vacation time to pack meat out for me. I'm so blessed to have had so many wonderful years and memories chasing these critters .
 
spiritofahunter said:
Unit 40 with 28 points. I’m booked with AllOut. Hope I draw, but this year who knows? At 73 I plan on wrapping my hands around my bull even if I have to crawl out of that hole on all fours. Only a few days and I’ll know something. A great, civil discussion by all you guys I must say.
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I think you will be fine. Having someone that knows the in's and out's of the unit is huge. It is a big unit. I scouted it in Sept last year in the heat wave. Good Luck!
 
Ynothunt41 said:
I think you will be fine. Having someone that knows the in's and out's of the unit is huge. It is a big unit. I scouted it in Sept last year in the heat wave. Good Luck!
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Spirit, the guys at AllOut will take care of you. My buddy and I did crawl out of the canyon he shot his 61 bull in on all fours! Getting back to the top from my 61 bull was only slightly less strenuous. Good luck!
 
spiritofahunter said:
Unit 40 with 28 points. I’m booked with AllOut. Hope I draw, but this year who knows? At 73 I plan on wrapping my hands around my bull even if I have to crawl out of that hole on all fours. Only a few days and I’ll know something. A great, civil discussion by all you guys I must say.
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What season?
 
That is semi correct from all the research I've done and seen. Sadly because of the mass amount of private and the limited number of hunters the outfitters that hunt on said private, the elk don't see a stupid amount of pressure. But some of the elk will push onto public.
 
tmbr_hntr said:
JFYI, if you could not hit a 320+" bull in 40 with a wrist rocket you have no idea how to hunt elk. It's not about big bulls being available there, it's just about dudes putting in the effort to get where they are and navigating the private. I've spent enough time in the unit on public to know I'd never punch my tag on less than a 340" bull there. Of course most guys will shoot the first 320" bull they see and be happy, but there are enough toads in there to take your time.

Funny story... I took my son on a 2nd season dear hunt in there when he was 16. We are both mostly elk addicts, so we got all fixated watching and listening to multiple big bulls scream and fighting one morning on public. We watched one bull we nicknamed 60X60(you figure it out), but he was all broken up. Later in the AM after looking over many GREAT bulls we heard a rifle shot and then worked back that way. There was biggerstaff with his client. He shot that broken bull. Not sure he or the client loved it when we told him how long we had watched that bull, but all the really good bulls were the ones we watched a little farther up :)
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Unit 40 is a fun hunt, good quality. 61 is a fun hunt with some good quality. My dad‘s bull from 61 is bigger than my unit 40 bull and the biggest bull I’ve seen between the two areas was on 61. That being said, most bulls are around 310-320 coming off those areas with a few better.

I have also been on several top tier Utah units helping buddies out on their hunts…they are definitely a step above for top end than 40 or 61 In Colorado. I was helping an Utah San Juan muzzy hunt a few years back. In two days I counted over 30 separate 330-360 bulls. Never have I seen the amount of bulls and the quality since...
 
tmbr_hntr said:
If anyone is wondering why I'm putting 40 on blast it's because I just got ass Fu#%ed by CPW this year after 15 years of putting in. I was finally in a place to draw a 40 archery elk tag. I've spent the last 4 years as NR scouting the unit getting ready for when I would draw. Now with the changes I will never draw, or at least not in a time frame I will accept. Now I will burn my 15 points on a 6 point unit to hunt with my son.

If anyone actually draws 40 and can show me they drew I will send you GPS coords to where there lots of bulls on public in many places. I won't be exclusive so you may or may not have company.

I actually don't really have issue with CO helping their residents. When I am a WY res. in a year I will be leading the charge to limit NR tags to 90/10 and if there are some CO residents with lots of points sorry bruh, life's a *****. Move where you want to hunt!
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Hi. Lester Y. here I have a unit 40 archery tag 2023. Would love to visit with you. Call me 620 200 0453 and I will text you a picture of my tag. or email [email protected] Thank you
 

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