By Holger Jensen

If the weather cooperates, and that's always a big if in the Rocky Mountains, this fall should produce the best elk hunting Colorado has ever enjoyed for the simple reason that it has more elk than any other state or Canadian province.

Drought, wildfires, predation by mountain lions, increased hunting pressure and habitat loss due to urban sprawl along the eastern foothills - known as the Front Range - nothing seems to put a dent in a burgeoning elk population that remains the largest in North America.

Although hunters killed a record 61,174 elk in 2002, Colorado still had more than 300,000 elk as it entered the 2003 season, about a third more than biologists believe the range can support. The Division of Wildlife hoped - nay, prayed - for a harvest of 65,000 elk last year, but its prayers went unanswered. Hot, dry weather plagued archers, muzzleloaders and the first three rifle seasons that began Oct. 12. By the time snow got the elk moving from their high-country haunts to more accessible elevations, only 15 percent of the state's licensed hunters were left to enjoy the fourth-season bounty.

Final harvest figures for 2003 leave the state with 274,000 elk, which with the addition of this year's spring calves, means a pre-hunt population of 325,000 or more. A century ago, Colorado had fewer than 2,000 elk, making it the most wildly successful elk recovery of the 20th century - so successful, in fact, it could lead to serious habitat degradation if elk numbers aren't reduced.

Division biologists say the optimum elk population should be about 200,000 with a bull-to-cow ratio of 18 to 22 bulls per 100 cows. But Colorado, said Ellenberger, has been substantially over this ratio for several years now, and a succession of mild winters has produced a cow and calf survival rate of 95 percent, so high that, in the words of one area wildlife manager, "the only thing these cows can die of is lead poisoning." Unfortunately, there hasn't been enough of that - hence the DOW literally begging hunters to kill cow elk.

Photo by George Barnett

Colorado now sells unlimited either-sex archery licenses in addition to over-the-counter bull tags for rifle hunters. More cow licenses than ever before have been issued in the annual drawing for limited licenses, and there are usually approximately 40,000 leftovers that go on sale starting Aug. 10. Additional cow licenses are available to both residents and non-residents in 85 of the state's 178 big-game units. Also, unlimited either-sex tags for plains elk are available in 17 game units in eastern Colorado, and a set number of over-the-counter cow tags are sold in seven northwestern units.

The price of antlerless elk licenses for non-residents has been reduced from $450 to $250 in order to encourage more non-residents to hunt cows. And most of the draw-only first rifle season bull tags in northwestern Colorado have been converted to either-sex tags, meaning that those hunters who don't find a bull can shoot a cow. A final bonus for hunters: The additional elk tags are not season-specific. This means you can draw a bull tag and buy an additional cow tag for another unit in another season. Or you can draw a cow tag, buy an over-the-counter bull tag and get yet another leftover cow license - three elk in one year, if you can eat that much elk.

With more than 50,000 elk spread across 12 game management units, the White River herd is by far the largest in the state. It spans units 11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 25, 26, 33, 34, 131, 211 and 231 - a vast chunk of northwestern Colorado bounded on the west by Highway 13 between Craig and Meeker, on the north by Highway 40 from Craig to Steamboat Springs, on the east by Highway 131 from Steamboat Springs to Wolcott, and on the south by the Colorado River. But while there are plenty of elk in these units, don't expect big bulls. Ellenberger says about 80 percent of the bulls taken in the White River area are 2 1/2-year-old raghorns, 10 percent are 3 1/2-year-olds and only the last 10 percent are older, fully mature bulls with nice thick 5- or 6-point spreads.

The Bears Ears herd north and east of Craig has about 25,000 elk in units 3, 301, 4, 441, 2, 14 and 214. The southeast part of the San Luis Valley, stretching past Trinidad into New Mexico, also has about 25,000 elk in units 83, 85, 851 and 140. And the Gunnison River Basin, which stretches west from Crested Butte to Delta and south to Lake City, contains about 12,000 elk.

Colorado's top units for trophy elk are 201, 2 and 10, all the in the northwest corner, hard by the Utah border. Elk numbers there are relatively small, said Ellenberger, but the bulls grow huge racks and access is relatively easy. The trouble is that hunter demand is high while few licenses are issued in these units. It takes 15 to 16 preference points - one for every year of waiting - to draw a bull tag there. The second tier of trophy units, requiring six to eight points, includes 40 west of Grand Junction, 61 in the Uncompahgre Plateau and 76 around Creede. The only drawback to Unit 40 is that it's mostly private land, and the ranchers there charge exorbitant access fees. Units 66 and 67 just north of 76 and south of Blue Mesa Reservoir have no access problems, since they're mostly national forest, while producing equally big bulls.

Ellenberger also recommends some "sleepers." Unit 39, encompassing the slopes of Mt. Evans not far from Denver, offers "excellent opportunities for harvesting big bulls, but it's very hard hunting. If you get an elk down there you'll pay hell getting it out," he says. Units 48 and 481 around Leadville also produce trophy bulls, but again, it's steep terrain and hard hunting. Unit 851 on the New Mexico border west of Raton Pass also has some excellent bulls, but access is again a problem since it's nearly all private land.

PRESERVING MEAT QUALITY The real work begins when the animal drops. Most hunters know this to be true, and if the weather is hot and dry, as it was clear into Colorado's third 2003 rifle season, it takes hard work to keep meat from spoiling. That calls for field dressing the animal and cooling the meat as quickly as possible. Even after it has been gutted, an elk's neck and shoulders retain heat that must be dissipated immediately, as spoiling typically starts in the neck and radiates backwards. Time is critical even in cool weather. Bacteria grow at any temperature over 38 degrees F., and maggots can hatch within eight hours if the carcass is exposed to flies and other winged insects. Steve Hein of Steve's Game Processing in Arvada says the most common mistake hunters make is not skinning an animal soon enough. "Without air circulation, an animal can sour quickly even in cold weather," he says. "In hot weather you've only got a couple of hours to get that hide off so the meat can cool and get a protective crust." Hein also says to remove all fat, which begins going rancid almost immediately. Use good, sturdy game bags -- not cheap cheesecloth -- that are insect-proof and can breathe. Get the bags off the ground and hang them in the shade off tree branches or, if a cool creek is running nearby, place them on poles above the water. But don't get them wet. "Water," says Hein, "is the other great enemy besides lack of air circulation. Wet meat will not glaze and sours very quickly." Even with the best of care, meat hanging in camp will not last more than two days during typical Colorado weather from late August through early October. Even after nighttime temperatures drop into the 20s, hanging meat lasts only three to five days. Hunters who get their game early and wait for friends to fill their tags should find a freezer locker in a nearby town, or debone their meat and chill it in ice chests. -- Holger Jensen

Allan Nielsen, co-owner of Rocky Mountain Bow Strings in Meeker, says the early part of the archery season is a good time to hunt around water. "By the middle of the season, the weather usually cools and action picks up with the bulls bugling - that's when we see more hunters taking to the woods," he said.

Muzzleloading season comes next, Sept. 11-19, followed by four rifle seasons: 1st elk rifle (elk only, no deer) Oct. 9-13; 2nd elk (combined with deer) Oct. 16-24; 3rd elk (combined) Oct. 30 - Nov. 5; 4th elk (combined) Nov. 6-10. There are, in addition, early and late seasons for landowner tags that begin Sept. 1 and continue in some areas to the end of January.

Leftover licenses are posted online in the last week of July at http://wildlife.state.co.us/leftoverlicenses/. They are sold on a first-come/first-served basis beginning Aug. 13. Mail-in applications are available to residents and non-residents alike but are only accepted after Aug. 1. After that, they are held in the order they arrive and treated the same as walk-in applicants. Hunters with questions may telephone the leftover hotline at 303-291-7519.

A majority of hunters, especially non-residents, also like the second season because it is the longest, allowing them to spend nine days afield, and it is the first season for which over-the-counter bull tags are sold.

The problem with these early seasons is that weather doesn't always cooperate. Sometimes it's too hot and dry, causing the elk to hide out at higher elevations or on densely forested north slopes. Sometimes it's too snowy for hunters to go high while the elk are still up there. That's why many locals prefer the third and fourth seasons, when hunting pressure drops off and the elk have migrated to lower elevations where they're easier to get at.

Pick your season, pick your terrain and select several fallback locations to hunt varying elevations depending on the weather.

Some game management units are better than others. Some have more elk but also more elk hunters, so it's sometimes wiser to choose an under-subscribed unit with less hunting pressure. And don't forget the wilderness areas. Anyone prepared to hike in five miles or more will find a dramatic decrease in hunters. I've spent days in the Flattops Wilderness Area without seeing another hunter. The only disadvantage, of course, is a long and heavy haul packing out an elk on your back.

CAPE & HEAD CARE Dave Mast, a popular Denver taxidermist, says much of what applies to meat preservation also applies to hide and trophy care. Some facts are givens: * Bacterial growth starts at 38 degrees. * Air circulation is critical. * Keep the hide cool and dry. * Remember that hair can start slipping after only 1 1/2 days of 60-degree weather. Salting a cape removes bacteria-growing moisture, but Mast advises against salting unless it's absolutely necessary, and then only if it's done well. For example, it's no use salting a cape with the head attached, as it will invariably spoil. If you can't get a cape to the taxidermist right away, freeze it with the head attached. "I prefer my capes fresh over frozen and frozen over salted," says Mast. -- Holger Jensen

The DOW Web site at http://wildlife.state.co.us/huntrecap/index.asp lists hunter success rates for each game unit, harvest statistics for prior hunting seasons and those units that are traditionally under-subscribed. Spend some time online researching new elk hunting areas and fallback locations you never considered before. You may find new territory even better than your old haunts. And don't ignore private land. While many under-subscribed units are mostly ranchland, landowners are more liable to grant hunter access than in prior years. Soaring elk numbers have increased crop damage and competition for domestic stock grazing on winter range. Elk in many units have reached unmanageable proportions, and ranchers are as eager as state biologists to get rid of them.

Online research shows that many units did better than that. Hunters in the 12 units harboring the White River herd enjoyed a 31 percent success rate and, taken separately, two of those units, 211 and 13, had phenomenal success rates of 51 percent and 54 percent, respectively. Likewise, the seven units that harbor the Bear's Ears herd averaged a 39 percent success rate, and in one of them, Unit 441, hunters enjoyed a 50 percent success rate. South of Grand Junction in western Colorado, Units 61 and 62 boasted a 36 percent success rate, and Units 66 and 67, south of Gunnison, enjoyed 40 percent.

Once you've picked your areas, go to DOW's Web site at http://wildlife.state.co.us/hunt/gmumaps.asp for unit-specific contour maps that provide overlays of national forest and BLM boundaries, access roads, drainages, elevations and even locations where elk are most likely to be concentrated.

Don't forsake good elk country you know for a unit you don't know. And if you are going to be hunting new territory this year, do some scouting and familiarize yourself with the terrain. It will pay off when hunting season arrives - if the weather cooperates.