Elk hunting with a bear tag in Colorado

[RaisingArrows]

I'm headed out to Colorado like thousands of other non-residents for archery elk. I'll be there early September. I came out in 2012 from Tennessee for second season rifle. My cousin and I drove 16 hours. We both tagged out in 4 hours on our first day in Unit 371. I realize that is not normal. I really do not expect the same experience and I hope it's not. We spent a lot of time in the truck and very little in the woods.

My question here is not as much about elk, but about bears. I plan to add on a bear tag for that "just in case" scenario. My buddy and I have been looking north, near the Wyo border. I'd like to hear from some folks who elk hunt Colorado regularly and could maybe point me in the right direction. I'm not picky and I can't eat antlers. I'll have an either sex elk tag, but where would by a good unit to see bears and elk? Last time I bumped into a cow and calf moose like 5 minutes from the parking lot, which was really cool. Not relevant, but still cool. Thanks in advance!

[Elkhunttoo]

Welcome to the forum. Stick around and enjoy the chatter from a very sorta knowledgeable kinda crew .

As for your area I know nothing about that (Idaho resident here). But as for the bear, maybe the best place to find one of those is by watching your elk carcass after you fill the elk tag.

[phall]

Ive hunted colorado many years and many places. I too live in tennessee. Saw bears on one occasion and bear sign every trip In every unit i have been. Im a run and gun calling moving backpack tent and bivy hunter. My point elk hunting this way is not always ideal for bear hunting. If you are focusing on elk most any bear hunting should be and would be purely opportunistic. As all ready mentioned like on your elk carcass, but thats not a guarantee either.

[Billy Goat]

1. welcome to the forum. good folks here.
2. I cant really answer your questions, but I'll offer words of encouragement.
3. I hunt Co as well, but in SW quadrant. I actually got a bear while muley hunting last year. My rifle unit doesnt have many bears (mine was the only one harvested last year).
4. my bow unit has far more bears, but elk #'s are declining so we're likely to change units next archery trip (2023) to CO.
5. bear meat (at least..... my bear) tastes better than I'd have expected. not as good as elk, but not bad, either. he was a ~250# male. not yet sure on age.

[saddlesore]

You might try going into the Zirkle Wilderness from the east side,west of Walden, but that is rough country. Get up to Timberline. You are wise to not go back to 371. All those units,36,361,37, and 371 have suffered a major elk herd decline since 2012.
When I am elk hunting, I hunt elk. When I go bear hunting, I hunt bear, I don't mix the two. If you do stick an elk early, you will be busy getting all the meat out before it spoils.There is no time to mess around with a bear. If you were to stick a bear before that, you screw up your whole elk hunt

I know hunters that say they see bear every time they go out,but in45+ years of elk hunting in Colorado, I have seen less than 6 bears. Colorado CPW makes it easy for you to buy a bear tag now.It' s their way of suckering you to give them more money. First they inflate their elk count so they can sell more tags and then get you to believe there are bears running around all the elk.

[Swede]

Welcome to the forum RaisingArrows. My experience is mostly from hunting Oregon and have never hunted Colorado, but I would echo Saddlesore and Elkhunttoo. After you kill your elk you can watch the gut pile for a few days and see what comes around. Where I hunt bears feed regularly on the guts. I am not sure if it is legal, of if it is considered baiting. I have hunted well over 50 years and seen many bears, but have never shot at one. I did urinate on one from my tree stand.
Join in the conversations here. The jerks that hang out here are actually very decent, and knowledgeable about hunting. They try to harangue me once in awhile, but I remind them that they are a bunch of jerks. Anyway we are kinda like familys.

[js80138]

Raising Arrows welcome to WapitiTalk. Saddlesore shares these gems of wisdom every so often on the forum and I would heed his warning on avoiding the units he mentioned. I wish I had his luck regarding not seeing bears while hunting. Last year I had an encounter with a bear just after daybreak and another encounter an hour before sunset with a different bear. I have video of the second bear because I didn't think my buddy's would have believed me if I told them I had two encounters in one day but it did explain why I did not see elk or deer all day long. Google Blacktail Creek Campground. My encounters happened just north of the campground across Hwy 134.

[wawhitey]

Ever consider doing a dedicated bear hunt? Washington opens august 1st, $222 for a non resident, and we outlawed baiting and hounds 24 years ago, so we are crawling with bears. Gives you something fun to do before elk or deer seasons, 2 bear bag limit, high percentage color phase in eastern washington. Any bear is legal and no mandatory check / hide sealing requirement. Just supposed to mail a tooth in, and theyll send you a free postage paid tooth envelope.

[Pop-r]

More bears south & west than anywhere. Areas of the Uncompahgre are absolutely loaded and have been for many years.

[RaisingArrows]

Guys, I can’t thank you enough for all the advice. Elk is the primary target. If I do decide to add on the bear tag, it will be on an opportunistic basis. I’d rather give my $100 to a state game agency than say, a golf course, as a lot of my buddies do here in Tennessee. Great advice though on sacrificing elk hunt time if we do happen to tag a bear. I’d rather get lucky with an elk early and work towards a bear in a bonus round.

Phall, what part of Tennessee?