Planning for ‘25 CO elk hunt-many questions (Page 2 of 2)
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Originally Posted By rat1624: Would a Vortex Crossfire II 4-12x40 AO be a good scope to buy for my .270 on this hunt? I currently have a 3-9x40 Nikon Prostaff and am a little worried it won't be a good enough scope. Either is fine. I would keep the Nikon and spend the $ on ammo to practice from field shooting positions. My elk rifles have 2x, 1x5 and 1x10 optics. They are big animals and you really don’t want to shoot beyond what you can reliably hit a 12” plate. Most of us, that is 3 or 400 yards. Some less. I keep my glass on minimum magnification most of the time. I’ve laid down a lot of elk with a 3x9. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
| I bought a Vortex Diamondback 4-12x40 and put her on yesterday. I bought Nosler Trophy Grade ammo and plan to shoot weekly at all different positions. I won't shoot 700 yds but i want to be proficient at 3-400. |
"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."- Babe Ruth
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Originally Posted By rat1624: I bought a Vortex Diamondback 4-12x40 and put her on yesterday. I bought Nosler Trophy Grade ammo and plan to shoot weekly at all different positions. I won't shoot 700 yds but i want to be proficient at 3-400. Excellent plan. Nothing wrong with using cheaper ammo to train with, you just gotta re zero with the good stuff. If you write down the adjustments it goes quicker. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
| I was planning to leave for CO tomorrow for my scouting trip but my transmission went out a few days ago. Better then than in the middle of the mountains I guess. Not sure now when i'll go. Possibly next weekend. |
"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."- Babe Ruth
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Had a good time in CO scouting. Saw some huge bulls(7x7) that were a few miles away from public land so I doubt i'll have a chance at them. Saw some pictures from last year of a big bull archery kill that a bartender showed me. The bad news is that most of the national forest access is blocked off by private land. The roads i saw on OnX were private and gated. I camped on the SWA area on the edge of the Arapahoe NF which was nice. For 1st rifle season, the gates to the SWA will be closed so we'll have to park at the main gate and pack in to the NF which is about 3 miles. There are some other spots we can access from the road in a different area but i don't see it being as good of an area or have a spot to camp. Attached File Attached File Attached File |
"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."- Babe Ruth
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Bro you just learned firsthand about all the un huntable population of animals. Colorado never talks about that. My guess is 25% (at least) of our animals fall into that category. Front range holds many. Private ranches a bunch, and a guided hunt on one is $$$. Still, we do have a lot. Three of these studs are hanging around my place. I could easily arrow one in my backyard lol. Attached File The access issue is a tough one. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
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Originally Posted By rat1624: Is there a website that shows a fire map? Edit: I found one. No where near where I'll be but i will keep watching. Watch duty app is what you want but for some reason I can no longer get pictures to post https://imgur.com/a/0ltxfBA |
Originally Posted By nickforney
This subforum has filled up with a bunch of worthless fudds and I feel less and less that this is any kind of community I want to be a part of.
This subforum has filled up with a bunch of worthless fudds and I feel less and less that this is any kind of community I want to be a part of.
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Originally Posted By Iowaredneck: Watch duty app is what you want but for some reason I can no longer get pictures to post https://imgur.com/a/0ltxfBA I found a website before i went out. There was a burn ban so i wasn't able to have a campfire. |
"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."- Babe Ruth
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5 nights on the mountain and lots of encounters, but never a bow shot. Rain, lightning, snow and bluebird days. Have fun and be ready for any weather. One afternoon was so muddy it was like skiing downhill and crawling uphill. If it was easy women and children would do it.  September 27, 2025 Attached File Attached File Let the sleeping bag air out every few nights. We sweat in our sleep and they get damp. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
| Leaving 1 week from today. Finishing up packing and getting my kuiu 5200 loaded up for our trek in. Finalizing and packaging my daily food and going over my list to make sure i have everything. Weather is looking good. I'm ready! |
"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."- Babe Ruth
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Originally Posted By Iowaredneck: Well how'd your trip go? @rat1624 Sorry i've been meaning to post but have been busy. It was rough but fun. The hike in was a little over 3 miles, up 1300', and it took us 5 hours with 65lbs on our backs. That was the hardest thing i've ever done by far...Camp was good, we didn't see any elk but still had a good time. I learned some things to do different next time, like pick a unit with better access and not as steep and with a higher elk population. Our hike was to get to the national forest where we could camp. We parked in a SWA which i thought we weren't allowed to camp in unless in a designated area. Turns out, when we got back to our truck, there were a few other camps set up right at the parking lot. They didn't have any luck either though and at least we were away from everyone. Plenty of water where we were, seemed like a good area for elk as we saw a lot of sign but we might have run them out getting to our camp site, who knows. We camped at 9300', parking lot was at 8000'. I think the elk were higher up but I don't know for sure. |
"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."- Babe Ruth
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Originally Posted By rat1624: We hunted what was my 22nd elk trip it was nasty weather hotter at our elk camp then at my house I've never went through so much chap stick in my life. It was hard to sleep at night cause the air was too dry to breathe (think snotting out blood dry) Hunting was good though I caught a 5x5 feeding the first day and my buddy killed a bigger 5x5 on the 3rd day |
Originally Posted By nickforney
This subforum has filled up with a bunch of worthless fudds and I feel less and less that this is any kind of community I want to be a part of.
This subforum has filled up with a bunch of worthless fudds and I feel less and less that this is any kind of community I want to be a part of.
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Originally Posted By Iowaredneck: We hunted what was my 22nd elk trip it was nasty weather hotter at our elk camp then at my house I've never went through so much chap stick in my life. It was hard to sleep at night cause the air was too dry to breathe (think snotting out blood dry) Hunting was good though I caught a 5x5 feeding the first day and my buddy killed a bigger 5x5 on the 3rd day Liked. Still not much weather, but some friends filled all their cow tags 3rd season in 61. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
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Originally Posted By DVCER: Liked. Still not much weather, but some friends filled all their cow tags 3rd season in 61. I've never had to run the AC while driving around from elk camp to town or where ever before it was ridiculous. One of the lakes we stopped to fish parked the truck on the boat ramp and it was a pretty good hike to even get to the water |
Originally Posted By nickforney
This subforum has filled up with a bunch of worthless fudds and I feel less and less that this is any kind of community I want to be a part of.
This subforum has filled up with a bunch of worthless fudds and I feel less and less that this is any kind of community I want to be a part of.