# DIY Colorado elk unit 501



## one more (Sep 13, 2008)

Anybody hunt in or around this unit that would be willing to share info? I have 3 preference points and will be going out for either 1st season Rifle or possibly muzzleloader this fall. Main focus right now is 501 but also looking at 500, 57, & 58. I'm not new to Colorado elk hunting just haven't been in these units. PM's welcome. Thanks.


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## HTC (Oct 6, 2005)

The family that I hunt with out there have had success on top of Kenosha Pass but that was sometime ago.


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## one more (Sep 13, 2008)

Thanks for the reply. The more I research I am leaning more towards units 57/58 which go together.


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## Lamarsh (Aug 19, 2014)

I have never hunted elk in 501 but I have hunted and fished plenty near Deckers, and I will just caution that at least in the east part of that unit, near Deckers, you are in much lower mountains and it stays warmer (like sometimes tee shirt weather in the winter warm) as compared to closer to the passes that get up to 8k+, such as the west part of that unit which I believe gets closer to the 9,500 level. Elk are everywhere, not to say they are not in the lower elevations, as they are, just something to keep in mind when you plan a trip in that unit. 

Near Deckers it's like 6,300 feet, so you're looking at a lot of brush country and ponderosa forests, etc. 

There is also a HUGE forest burn in that area, I forget the exact location so I cannot be sure it's square in that unit, but I've driven through it when going in and around Deckers. It's massive. It was supposedly started by a CDOW worker some years ago. Anyways, it's essentially a barren wasteland in the burn zone, FYI. 

One more thing to take into account in that area, if you're doing a lot of scouting by truck, or just relocating a lot by truck, is that gas stations can be sparse in that area. I learned that once the hard way, and after that always took a few cans of gas with me in the bed of my truck. 

Best of luck. There are elk pretty much everywhere in CO. Where there is less pressure than other areas, is what you want to focus on when picking a unit.


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