re: DIY elk hunt CO unit 35

Unit 35 is close enough to the Denver metro so it likely gets hit pretty hard.

I haven't hunted that unit but I am in Colorado every fall.

Get a diaphragm cow call and learn to use it. Most bugles you will hear are going to be other hunters so unless you are certain I wouldn't spend a lot of time chasing bugles.

If you are hunting together one hunter set up behind the other by about 50 yards and cow call with the shooter between the caller and the elk. Both need to be hidden and EXTREMELY careful of the wind - both the thermals and prevailing.

In the offset set-up the bull, if he is going to hang up, will do so close to the shooter. That is where the caller needs to use some finesse and try to get the bull to close without circling around.

Be in the best shape you can, then get in better shape. Drink more water than you can hold starting a week or two before you go - the more hydrated you are the higher your blood volume, the more blood volume you have the more red blood cells, the more red blood cells the more oxygen you can carry.

Get as far from any road as you can, most hunters are going to be within 2 miles of a road/trail that allows atvs. If you are 5 miles in the crowd will be thinner. Keep in mind, if you kill something 10 miles in your going to carry it 10 miles out in about 4 loads.

Keep a first aid kit with you that you can treat severe cuts with. Last year I found three broad head intact arrows in the thick brush about thigh high - any one of them could have stabbed me.

I would recommend also having an emergency locator if you're not very familiar and capable with backwoods survival.