Second rifle elk in Colorado, 2026: an OTC unit planning guide
The 2026 dates, what's over the counter this year, how the post-rut season differs from first rifle, and a plan from now to opening morning.
Guides
Planning a Colorado elk hunt.
How to e-scout a unit you've never seen, what each season asks of you, and how to read the ground. Sourced and dated.
What a Colorado elk hunt plan should contain (and what a map can't give you)
Seven things to audit in any elk plan, whether you built it, bought it or a friend handed it to you, and the part no map supplies.
Reading slope, aspect and sun in Colorado elk country
What each terrain layer measures, the bands worth paying attention to, how to read them together on a topo, and their limits for e-scouting.
How to e-scout a Colorado elk unit you've never hunted
Eight passes over the map, in order, and how they turn into hunt areas, a camp and a few ways to hunt each area before you drive out.
Colorado GMU 65 elk: terrain, access and seasons
From the Cimarron drainages to the peaks above Ouray: what the public data says about the unit, each number dated.