AZ Coues hunters headed to Colorados GMU 74

[TyThur111386]

Well its that time of the year again for all of us to brag about what tags we have been graced with and cry about the ones we missed. Im proud to say this year is shaping up to be another great year for me. I have a second season rifle deer tag in Colorados gmu 74 in late October which also will be accompanied by an OTC rifle elk tag as well. Then the hunting gods have graced me with a white mountain cow tag that runs the first three weeks in November. To say its going to be a busy couple months will be an understatement for me considering my wife and friend that wants to learn to hunt will probably pull a deer tag in early November. Helping my better half and beginner hunters is always a blast but very taxing and time consuming. Especially when every day on their hunt will be a day away from my tag. But those types of hunts are far more memorable. I guess that leaves only late November and December for me to hopefully pull my coues tag too.....

Well now that im finished bragging and complaining about how epic this year is shaping up to be, let me get to the point. My brother and i have drawn our first Colorado tag and was curious if anyone in the Coueswhitetail family has ever spent any time in unit 74. And would maybe be willing to give us some pointers. Also even if you don't know the unit but have some good to know things about Colorado in general. Suck as requirements to wear orange or leaving proof of sex attached you know things not necessarily required in AZ. I appreciate any help and sorry if i have filled some of your hearts with lust and envy. 😂

Happy hunting and good luck to all on the upcoming deer draw. 

[452b264]

I would do a lot of scouting since this is your first trip. I dont hunt near there but parts of the state are not easy to hunt and those OTC elk tags can be hard to fill if you dont know your area. From desk work to boots on the ground there is no such thing as to much scouting time. Good luck! 

[Ed67]

74 is beautiful high country and the lower property is primarily private. I have never hunted there but have in 71/711 to the west.  If you want to familiarize yourself with the area I believe there are atv/Jeep rentals I’m Dolores and I know there are Jeep rentals in telluride. Being a fishing pole and hit some of the creeks and ponds while looking around. 

[Outdoor Writer]

I was a licensed guide for that unit in the mid-1970s. Our main base camp was in the Hermosa Creek area, about a 3-hr. horseback ride from the main road thru the old Purgatory ski area (Durango Mt. Resort). Back then, the hunting for both elk and deer was pretty good. We usually had about a 90% shot opportunity and about a 50-60% success rate on both elk and deer. BUT...it's a popular area for the locals out of Durango and can get crowded unless you get away from the roads.  You can also access the lower part of this area from Hermosa on the county road. There's a small campground there at the beginning of the Hermosa Creek Trail, which heads north thru a roadless area for more than 20 miles. 

Junction Creek is another decent but also popular area with the locals. It's probably a better area for deer, but quite a few elk live there as well. If you're camping, there's a nice campground about 6 miles out of Durango.

Best advice: Get away from the roads and find the roughest terrain possible.

P.S.: Part of that unit burned a few year ago, but I have no idea what part was affected. 

 

 

[TyThur111386]

Is Colorado similar to az where you can camp anywhere or do you have to camp in designated camp grounds. 

[PRDATR]

8 minutes ago, TyThur111386 said:

Is Colorado similar to az where you can camp anywhere or do you have to camp in designated camp grounds. 

I hunted the area behind Purgatory about 20 years ago and we camped at the end of a road to the south and went in each day on horseback and never saw another soul.

[Outdoor Writer]

1 hour ago, TyThur111386 said:

Is Colorado similar to az where you can camp anywhere or do you have to camp in designated camp grounds. 

Yes, if there are no signs indicating a "no Camping" area, you can camp anywhere -- within reason, of course. The only limitation that might crop up is building an open fire when it's not safe to do so. 

[TyThur111386]

the fire issue is a non issue for us we probably will be getting back late eating then going to bed so we can hit it the next day. very rarely do we have fires and definitely not if unsafe or restrictions are in place. would you guys have any idea of the percent of incline most of these mountains are. they look pretty steep from what i can tell 

[Outdoor Writer]

Well, it's definitely rugged country, but there are plenty of more gentle ridges, valleys and meadows to go around. 

Depending on your finances, one thing you might look into is having a packer haul you and your gear in a few miles by horse. Just be sure you pick a place where you can walk to potable water. It sure would get you away from the crowds and make packing out an elk or two easier. 

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

I spent a little time in that area the last few years and you will have a blast. I was scouting for otc and only ran into hikers and bikers but it would be easy to get away from them. Hands down the best way would be to backpack a few days at a time and not do a base camp everyday type deal, being mobile and not having to restart each day is a huge advantage. Awsome area and congrats, also be ready for full trailheads and outfitters but there is still a lot of area to be alone. 

[Outdoor Writer]

Unless the rules have changed, outfitters hunting on NF land in Colorado are limited in number per unit and also where they may set up their base camps. We ran two base camps -- one  there north of Hermosa and the other farther east  and north of Vallecito Lake in the Weminuche Wilderness Area. 

[TyThur111386]

1 hour ago, MULEPACKHUNTER said:

I spent a little time in that area the last few years and you will have a blast. I was scouting for otc and only ran into hikers and bikers but it would be easy to get away from them. Hands down the best way would be to backpack a few days at a time and not do a base camp everyday type deal, being mobile and not having to restart each day is a huge advantage. Awsome area and congrats, also be ready for full trailheads and outfitters but there is still a lot of area to be alone. 

Yeah we are completely set up for backpacking in for a few days. I just don't know what to expect for weather. If it is not to crazy we will probably pack in for a couple nights then back to camp for one then back out. We packed in to Utah last year but ran into water issues or lack their of. One of these days I'm going to pull the trigger on either mules/horses or llamas/alpacas. Probably mules/horses since that is what i was raised around and actually know how to handle them. 

[TyThur111386]

6 hours ago, Outdoor Writer said:

Well, it's definitely rugged country, but there are plenty of more gentle ridges, valleys and meadows to go around. 

Depending on your finances, one thing you might look into is having a packer haul you and your gear in a few miles by horse. Just be sure you pick a place where you can walk to potable water. It sure would get you away from the crowds and make packing out an elk or two easier. 

Would you have any idea what something like this would cost. Budget is slim but i am curious especially for the future. 

[Outdoor Writer]

You should have asked me 35+ years ago, and I would have even recommended a couple outfits that do that sort of thing.

A lot of outfitters will offer a drop camp deal where they take you to an already set-up camp with tent, firewood, etc., but you bring all your own hunting gear and food. But that's not what you want because they put you where THEY want you to be not where you want to be. That allows them to keep some separation between folks. For the most part, it's really not too bad because there aren't many areas that do not have decent hunting, and generally they will come in and check on you every couple days in case you need an elk hauled out. 

Now, 35+ years ago, for just hauling DIY guys, we used to charge a flat $300 and $75 per horse used. The wrangler and his horse were included in the flat fee. In your case with just two people and two backpacks, you would pay for three horses going in and out if your don't kill anything. Hauling out game would require an additional $75 per critter, which is usually two per elk. But trust me when I say that $150 is well spent in comparison to trying to pack an elk out on your own.  Of course, I expect the rates I'm using have gone up over the last four decades. 

Now, in another message you mentioned the weather. Let me  tell you a short story that took place in Oct. of either 1977 or 1978. 

We had been in the Hermosa Creek camp since the hunting seasons had started. The weather was gorgeous for the most part. And then it happened. An early winter snow storm arrived, and man did it snow. By the time it quit, it was up to the horses' bellies, making it impossible to hunt. And with only two days left in the season, we needed to get the clients out safely. It's bad enough that many of them have "horse problems" on dry ground, so having them ride out in 2 1/2-3 ft. of snow was out of the question. So we had our wrangler ride out (remember the year!) to contact the sheriff so he could send in a helicopter. 

So yes -- the weather can get quite nasty  and very quickly. That's why the ski area is right there!

 

[PRDATR]

58 minutes ago, TyThur111386 said:

Yeah we are completely set up for backpacking in for a few days. I just don't know what to expect for weather. If it is not to crazy we will probably pack in for a couple nights then back to camp for one then back out. We packed in to Utah last year but ran into water issues or lack their of. One of these days I'm going to pull the trigger on either mules/horses or llamas/alpacas. Probably mules/horses since that is what i was raised around and actually know how to handle them. 

We had six inches of snow on the last day, late October. We were camped at 10,000'.