During the late summer/early fall I spend several days in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado scouting rifle season elk hunting locales. I’m not looking for elk, specifically, but for where elk might be during late October and early November, come second rifle season.

As my friend Stuart Osthoff (who started guiding elk hunters in Colorado’s Comanche Wilderness 25 years ago) says, “Elk aren’t predictable day to day, or year to year. You usually have to cover ground with your eyes and feet.”[1] Because they’re both highly mobile and migratory any elk encountered anywhere may not be there a day or even hour later.

“Elk have no set patterns. They move a great deal, even when they are not hunted,” Jim Zumbo wrote in Hunt Elk. “Be satisfied when you find areas that show recent elk activity and concentrate your efforts there. And when elk season opens and animals are disturbed, you need to start from square one. They’re unpredictable and can go anywhere, perhaps miles away to a completely new area where hunting pressure is absent or minimized.”[2]

“Rocky Mountain elk’s safe room is shadowy pine timber 10,000 feet above the sea. On public land, he stays alive by using terrain and all his senses to his advantage,” Jeff Johnston said in Petersen’s Hunting. “He has legs like locomotive drive shafts and can cover 15 miles of mountain on an evening stroll … to kill a bull elk on public land … you’ve got to plan, prepare, practice, and then get lucky. Mainly, you’ve got to go.”[3]

Scouting Trip #1: OTC Units

To prepare for the 2024 elk hunting season I made two scouting trips into the San Juan Mountains. On August 28^th I was joined by Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) Habitat Watch Volunteer (HWV) Rick Hooley.[4] Our hike that day traversed a hillside dotted with raspberry patches and fresh bear sign that was not far from the site of my 2022 bull kill (see BHA blog post: “Colorado Over The Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting”).[5]

Because this elk hunting locale was subsequently discovered and absconded by other hunters (see BHA blog post: “Elk Hunting: A State of Mind (& Body)”), who intentionally forced me out of the area during the 2023 hunting season, we continued on into unknown (for us) terrain.[6] That evening we met up with Colorado BHA founder David “Elkheart” Petersen, a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot, at Porkey’s Smokehouse in Bayfield.[7]

During the 2013 elk hunting season, after shooting a burly 6x6 bull (sporting a 300-plus Boone & Crockett score), David labeled it my “6x6 karma” bull.[8] Given the inherent difficulties of putting meat in the freezer while hunting OTC units, I’ll take all the positive vibes (karma or otherwise) that come my way. And Colorado OTC unit elk hunting may be among the most difficult hunts in the nation due to no limits on tags sold to both resident and non-resident hunters.[9]

As I wrote in a 2023 BHA blog post (“Colorado Over-The-Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting: Hope Is Not A Strategy”), “During my sixteen (now 18) years of over-the-counter (OTC) unit elk hunting in southwest Colorado’s San Juan Mountains a few telltale observations come to mind: 1.) Be prepared to see more hunters than elk; 2.) Be prepared to see no elk; 3.) Be physically and mentally prepared to hike higher and farther than most other hunters and still see no elk. Such are the long odds in Colorado’s generally over-hunted OTC units.”[10]

“On public lands … [in] over-the-counter units … [there’s] more hunting pressure,” American Hunter Field Editor Mark Kayser adds. “For instance, a general unit that I hunt on occasion in Wyoming boasts a September archery success of 17 percent or less, while a permitted unit nearby boasts nearly double the success at 34 percent.”[11]

During eighteen years of Colorado OTC unit elk hunting I’ve put six bulls in the freezer for a kill rate of approximately 33%, which compares to a rate of 16% for all manners of take during the 2023 Colorado elk hunting season.[12] In other words, if you hunted in Colorado for six seasons in a row and killed one bull you would be on par with the average.

Hence, hunting OTC units is an emotional balancing act. Too much hope is unrealistic and too little saps your will to hunt hard every day despite the low odds. Regardless, the season generally starts with high hopes and slips slowly toward hopelessness as the days tick by and you haven’t even seen an elk.

Be Flexible & Mobile

Similar to the 2023 season, during 2022 I had to adapt after finding my intended hunting locale occupied. Hence, most of Day 1 and Day 2 were devoted to scouting beyond where other hunters were comfortable going in search of elk.[13] Several inches of snow facilitated tracking both elk and fellow hunters.

“Elk avoid humans in areas with consistent hunting pressure. No secret there,” Mark Kayser explains. “When you combine that with studies that show most hunters rarely venture more than 1.5 miles from trails, you see where to begin searching for possible areas to investigate for elk.”[14] On the second day I determined that elk were crossing a saddle between basins about 1.75 miles from camp, where there was no sign of other hunters.

“Many herds migrate, a customary practice to move out of deep snow. But modern herds also move to avoid hunting pressure,” Mark Kayser adds. “Of course, you need to be in good shape to keep up with elk that will undoubtedly put rugged country between you and them. Units that include vast acres of remote backcountry require special planning for you to find elk via your legs.”[15]

On Day 3 I hunted the saddle and encountered a bull. In the aforementioned blog post (“Colorado Over The Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting”) I wrote, “Approaching a downed bull is always (for me) an emotional, if not overwhelming, experience. The sheer size/bulk and wild beauty of an adult elk makes it abundantly clear that you have taken the life of an amazing animal and the hardest part of your hunt is about to begin.”[16]

Scouting Trip #2: The Bear Facts

By early October leaves have transitioned to their fall colors and trails are transformed into “yellow brick roads.” There’s no better time to hike, hunt, or otherwise experience our great public lands estate. Hence, during the first week of October I returned to the San Juans for more scouting.

“Scout every inch of your hunting unit. Most of this occurs virtually on your hunting app, but if you have the opportunity to visit or live near a unit, take advantage of boots on the ground,” Mark Kayser advises. “More time than I care to admit, my virtual scouting landed me in trouble with slopes steeper than I expected, more scree than the satellite image suggested and roads on a map that no longer existed due to washouts or new closures.”[17]

While returning to camp on October 3^rd, in the vicinity of the raspberry patches Rick Hooley and I reconnoitered during August, there was a ruckus (i.e., movement and flashes of brown fur) off the trail about 300 feet away. A mule deer or elk maybe? Nope, a black bear sow with cubs. The cubs apparently saw me first and were (all 3 of them) frantically climbing nearby trees.

In the meantime mom had not yet determined where the potential threat was located. I froze in place and watched her scan the area. She eventually spotted me and “whoofed,” while also making a short bluff charge (only a couple of feet), then stood up on her hind legs for a better look. That was my cue to move slowly down the trail. She did not follow.

It was apparent that both parties wanted nothing to do with the other and acted appropriately. I’ve had numerous close encounters with mostly black bears over the years, including one that flattened my elk hunting spike camp (see Colorado Outdoors blog post: “Elk Hunting: The ‘Bear’ Facts”).[18] My only close encounter with a grizz is summarized in this BHA blog post: “Whitetails, Wolves, Moose & Grizz.”[19]

“Black bears can occasionally charge but will always stop short. We should hold our ground and make ourselves look as large as possible … Never turn your back on a black bear and limit eye contact as well … If the bear makes contact, fighting with all your might is the only option left,” Jim Spindler wrote in the Fall 2016 Boundary Waters Journal (published quarterly by Stu Osthoff). “Since 1900, there have been an estimated 70 deaths from black bear encounters with humans. This equates to roughly 1 bear per million involved in such attacks.”[20]

6x6 Karma

On Friday, October 25, I was back in the San Juans for second rifle season. It didn’t take long to determine that lots of elk were in the area and in full rut mode (i.e., fighting, rubbing, bugling, and glunking). For an hour or two each morning multiple bulls bugled from the surrounding basins. My timing, it seems, was perfectly synchronized with elk migrating down from the high country and sightings were numerous.

Monday (October 28) morning I encountered several cows with a 6x6 bull at about 75 yards approximately two miles from camp. During the next three days (Oct. 29-30) I spent some 14 hours and covered 16 miles (between 9,750 ft – 10,470 ft) shuttling the quarters and head (total weight = 226 lbs; meat and bone = 186 lbs) back to camp. High temperatures were in the 50-60s while I was hunting, but a storm blew through Monday night and thankfully brought the temps down.

“Congratulations, you’re turning into an elk killing machine,” Stu Osthoff replied after hearing about my hunt. “I am happy for you because of all the time and effort you put into BHA—you deserve some fruits from those labors.” “You almost make me believe in karma,” David Petersen added. “Congratulations! Wish I could help (so I could earn a small hunk of elk flesh), but my packing days are done.”

David is 78 now and I killed my first elk while hunting with him in 2011 (see Colorado Outdoors blog post: “Hunting With A Man Made of Elk”). “I look back and can’t believe all the extremely physical things I did as a hunter. It now seems impossible,” David added. “Enjoy while you can!” His lifetime of selfless work on behalf of “our wild public lands, waters, and wildlife” has definitely earned David much more than a small hunk of elk flesh from this bull.[21]

Orchestrated Luck, Habitat, And Bad Ideas

While scouting with Rick Hooley (back on August 28^th) I found a horseshoe in the trail. Rick recommended holding on to it for luck. I still have it. When it comes to southwest Colorado OTC unit elk hunting, karma, horseshoes, and boots on the ground scouting (i.e., orchestrated luck) can give hunters an edge.

“Public land elk hunting challenges even the best hunters,” Mark Kayser emphasizes. “Most I know achieve success by knowing when to change tactics and knowing when to move on to a new location. They also know when to take a break to recharge batteries or when to begrudgingly hang it up.”[22]

However, no amount of hunting skill or luck will make up for subpar or declining public lands habitat. As David Petersen emphasizes, “The three-part formula for assuring a rich elk hunting future in North America could hardly be simpler, or more in need of our acknowledgment and help right now. Those three essential elements are: habitat, habitat, and habitat.”[23]

Unfortunately, 40 percent of Colorado’s most important elk habitat is impacted by recreational trail use, as detailed in a 2022 Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) report: “Outdoor Recreation and Elk: A Colorado Case Study.”[24] The importance of roadless areas to Colorado’s fish, wildlife, hunting and angling is documented in this Trout Unlimited report (authored by David Petersen and Keith Curley): “Where The Wild Lands Are: Colorado.”

And Colorado BHA offers a $1,000 reward for reports or information leading to a conviction of those responsible for building illegal trails on public lands.[25] For additional information about the damage being caused by the proliferation of legal and illegal mechanized trails on public lands see the “Trails” section below and this BHA blog post: “Trails vs. Elk: ‘They’re Just Dying Off.’”[26]

For more about the ongoing efforts by some legislators in Congress (and others) to privatize our public lands estate see the “Bad Ideas” section included below and in this 2023 BHA blog post: “A Hunter-Angler (Hell-Raisin’ & Habitat Savin’) Guide To Winning: Colorado BHA Examples (Browns Canyon & Camp Hale).”[27] Also see: Randy Newberg and TRCP. “Scrubbing out public land transfer myths.” TRCP: 6/11/16.

David Lien is a former Air Force officer, author, and co-chairman of the Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. During 2019 he was the recipient of BHA’s Mike Beagle-Chairman’s Award “for outstanding effort on behalf of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.”[28]

Additional/Related Information

-“Elk Hunting: A State of Mind (& Body).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/21/23.

-“Colorado Over-The-Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting: Hope Is Not A Strategy.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 8/29/23.

-“The Ghost Bulls of Colorado.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 1/18/23.

-“Colorado Over-The-Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting: Problems & Possibilities.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 12/14/22.

-“Colorado Over The Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/14/22.

-“Colorado BHA Tag Allocation Observations & Information.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/20/22.

-“Whitetails, Wolves, Moose & Grizz.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/14/22.

-“Elk Hunting: The ‘Bear’ Facts.” Colorado Outdoors: 11/17/14.

-“Five Tips For Beginning Elk Hunters.” Colorado Outdoors: 9/19/14.

-“6x6 Karma.” Colorado Outdoors: 9/12/14.

-“Wapiti Ambush (Part II: ‘Bonking’ Bulls).” Colorado Outdoors: 8/12/14.

-“Wapiti Ambush (Part One: Mountaineering With A Gun).” Colorado Outdoors: 7/28/14.

-“Hunting With A Man Made of Elk.” Colorado Outdoors: 1/23/14.

Trails

-Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “Colorado’s 2021 Guide for Planning Trails with Wildlife in Mind.” Appendix A includes standard protocols for how and where the trails are developed (i.e., Avoid, Minimize, Mitigate).

-Sylvia Kantor. “Seeking Ground Less Traveled: Elk Responses to Recreation.” Science Findings #219 (U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station): September 2019. https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sciencef/scifi219.pdf

-David A. Lien. “Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Increase Reward For Illegal Trail Construction (Help Stop Trail Building ‘Free-For-All’).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/10/23.

-Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP). “Outdoor Recreation and Elk: A Colorado Case Study. Where do elk habitat and recreational trails overlap in Colorado, and why does it matter?” TRCP Case Study: 2022.

-Liz Rose. “40% of Most Important Colorado Elk Habitat Is Affected by Trail Use.” Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership: 9/27/22.

-David A. Lien. “More trails a slippery slope to less hunting.” Grand Junction (Colo.) Daily Sentinel: 12/9/21.

-David A. Lien. “Trails vs. Elk: ‘They’re Just Dying Off.’” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 12/3/21.

-Brien Webster. “Colorado BHA Report: Impacts of Off-Road Recreation on Public Lands Habitat.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 5/21/18.

[image #8: Tawney-TR]

Patron Saints & Wilderness Warriors

-“The Patron Saints of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/12/24.

-“Stalking Wildness: BHA’s Wilderness Warriors.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 2/13/24.

-“The Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading For Conservationists.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/3/20.

-Ben Long’s Hunter & Angler Field Guide to Raising Hell.

-David “Elkheart” Petersen (founder of the first BHA state chapter, here in Colorado, and a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) books. Also see his “On the Wild Edge” documentary at: https://youtu.be/-IE58L4bqEA

-“Our job today and tomorrow is the same as it’s always been—to be good, to be wise, to stand up for what’s right, to resist what is wrong and evil. Nothing changes that. Nothing exempts us from that. Nothing prevents us from doing that.” -From the Daily Stoic

Bad Ideas

-Thomas Plank. “Elected Officials in 15 States Oppose Public Lands, Condemned by Grassroots Network of Hunters and Anglers.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/4/24.

-Joel Webster. “TRCP Opposes the Blanket Sale or Transfer of Federal Land to States.” TRCP: 10/31/24.

-David A. Lien. “Project 2025 puts public lands in peril.” Colorado Newsline: 8/2/24.

-Kaden McArthur. “What Project 2025 Means for Public Lands and Waters.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/15/24.

-A September 2024 Newsweek story (“Project 2025’s Unpopularity Continues to Grow”) references a NBC News poll that shows “57 percent of voters view Project 2025 as unfavorable, with only 4 percent seeing it as favorable.”[29]

-Kaden McArthur. “House Committee Considers Legislation to Undermine the Antiquities Act.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/22/24.

-Conservation Lands Foundation (CLF). “New attacks on public lands emerge in Congress.” CLF: 11/17/23.

-Kaden McArthur. “New HOUSES Act Still a Threat to Our Public Lands.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 10/30/23.

-Katie McKalip. “House Appropriations Makes Drastic, Reckless Funding Cuts to Public Lands Management.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/20/23.

-David A. Lien “Selling off our public lands is a bad idea that won’t die.” VailDaily: 1/29/23.

-Randy Newberg and TRCP. “Scrubbing out public land transfer myths.” TRCP: 6/11/16.

Upcoming BHA/AFI Events

-Upcoming BHA Armed Forces Initiative (AFI) Events.

https://www.backcountryhunters.org/events_afi

-Upcoming CO BHA Events: https://www.backcountryhunters.org/co_upcoming_events

[1] Patrick Durkin. “The Air Up There: PUP Physically Unable To Perform.” Outdoor News: 1/5/24, p. 25.

[2] Jim Zumbo.  Hunt Elk.  Clinton, NJ: New Win Publishing, Inc., 1985, p.17

[3] Jeff Johnston. “How to Prepare for DIY Elk Success.” Petersen’s Hunting: September 2014, p. 50.

[4] David A. Lien. “Mountain Merriam’s Therapy (& Botched Shots).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 5/18/20.

[5] David A. Lien. “Colorado Over The Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/14/22.

[6] David A. Lien. “Elk Hunting: A State of Mind (& Body).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/21/23.

[7] David A. Lien. “The Patron Saints of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/12/24.

[8] David A. Lien. “6x6 Karma.” Colorado Outdoors: 9/12/14.

[9] David A. Lien. “Colorado BHA Tag Allocation Observations & Information.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/20/22.

[10] David A. Lien. “Colorado Over-The-Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting: Hope Is Not A Strategy.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 8/29/23.

[11] Mark Kayser, Field Editor. “Five Elk Rules to Learn and Live.” American Hunter: September 2024, p. 28.

[12] https://cpw.widen.net/s/bkxcl778b8/2023-statewide-elk-hunting-harvest-estimates

[13] David A. Lien. “Colorado Over The Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/14/22.

[14] Mark Kayser. “The Right Elk Stuff.” American Hunter: September 2014, p. 58.

[15] Mark Kayser, Field Editor. “Five Elk Rules to Learn and Live.” American Hunter: September 2024, p. 29.

[16] David A. Lien. “Colorado Over The Counter (OTC) Unit Elk Hunting.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/14/22.

[17] Mark Kayser, Field Editor. “Five Elk Rules to Learn and Live.” American Hunter: September 2024, p. 29.

[18] David A. Lien. “Elk Hunting: The ‘Bear’ Facts.” Colorado Outdoors: 11/17/14.

[19] David A. Lien. “Whitetails, Wolves, Moose & Grizz.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/14/22.

[20] Jim Spindler. “Canoe Country Black Bears.” The Boundary Waters Journal: Fall 2016, p. 28.

[21] David A. Lien. “Hunting With A Man Made of Elk.” Colorado Outdoors: 1/23/14.

[22] Mark Kayser, Field Editor. “Five Elk Rules to Learn and Live.” American Hunter: September 2024, p. 29.

[23] David Petersen. “The Future of Elk Hunting.” Traditional Bowhunter magazine: December/January 2013, p. 69.

[24] Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP). “Outdoor Recreation and Elk: A Colorado Case Study. Where do elk habitat and recreational trails overlap in Colorado, and why does it matter?” TRCP Case Study: 2022; Liz Rose. “40% of Most Important Colorado Elk Habitat Is Affected by Trail Use.” Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership: 9/27/22.

[25] David A. Lien. “Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Increase Reward For Illegal Trail Construction (Help Stop Trail Building ‘Free-For-All’).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/10/23.

[26] David A. Lien.  “Trails vs. Elk: ‘They’re Just Dying Off.’” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 12/3/21.

[27] David A. Lien. “A Hunter-Angler (Hell-Raisin’ & Habitat Savin’) Guide To Winning: Colorado BHA Examples (Browns Canyon & Camp Hale).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 10/23/23.

[28] https://www.backcountryhunters.org/co_bha_award_winners

[29] Natalie Venegas. “Project 2025's Unpopularity Continues to Grow: New Poll.” Newsweek: 9/22/24.