Colorado DIY Private Land Elk, Mule Deer Hunt

This is the best opportunity of success for a DIY hunt in Colorado. DIY on private land hunts begin as low as $550 and go up to $ 950.

Good DIY property is difficult to find, usually it means over crowed public land or the poorest private land hunting on the ranch.

Well this outfitter is different. This outfitter not only provides you with the whole ranch in prime Colorado big game area but does it on 5 different ranches in the area.

Not only does he put you in elk, deer and antelope property but also when you do shoot the elk, he will help you get it out which depending where you shoot it can be over whelming in the timber and rugged elk country.

His hunts are very successful one of the highest of any DIY private land I have ever seen which has a lot to do with the quality of the land you are hunting, and the limited number of hunter he allows on a ranch. This is the downfall; it books up extremely due to the high quality of hunting habitat. In addition his repeat clientele continue to book 60% of his hunts every year leaving only a few available each year. If comes down to who will get the hunting slot the date the deposit was received will be the winning hunter.

Over 20 years of providing this service for hunter all over the world he has built a proven plan on how to make the hunters on his property successful. These are working Colorado cattle ranches so road access is good and ATV’s are allowed in some areas.

One note in a DIY hunt on a private ranch the success depends a lot on the knowledge and historical skill of the hunter. For example a guide always pre-stalks the hunting area, and has 50 days per year he is pursuing elk, instead of a week per year for the normal area.

Colorado has been blessed with 300,000 head of elk. The second highest are Montana and Wyoming with about 100,000 elk. This is why you hunt Colorado with a higher number of elk to and be successful.

The best way is to reserve a spot with a donation then put in for a license. This way when you draw you will have a prime place to hunt. Some of the hunts require drawing point’s late deer and antelope, but an application for a elk license will always be drawn,

The deadline for the Colorado Draw is the first week in April, and it is best to apply for a license. If you are to late many times there is a left over license after the draw.

Last season was excellent, go to the Stats page and compare the two previous years, this was the best year overall in the past 6 or 7 years.  We killed 6 bulls over 300" with the biggest coming in at 346 4/8", next largest at 331".  For Colorado this was amazing. Our stats were up 22% point for the rifle seasons and 37% points for the archery seasons. 

Our ranches for 2011 will be the Coyote, Indian Creek, Buffalo Pass, and Trownsell. All of our hunts are 7 days long except for the 1st and 4th rifle which are 5 day seasons. All elk/deer hunts on the Coyte, Indian Creek, and Trownsell Ranches will be $950 for the archery hunts and for the first three rifle seasons.  4th rifle seasons on theses ranches will be $850. Buffalo Pass will be $850 per hunter, archery or rifle.  We will offer group discounts for 6 or more hunters depending on the ranch and season. Special restrictions will apply for discounted groups.

We will offer 4 Early Deer hunts on the Indian Creek/Trownsell (GMU 17) and on the Coyte (GMU 16) the last week in September first week in Oct., dates to still be set. These licenses are by drawing and the hunt fee is $850 per hunter.

There will be 4 rifle seasons for elk as before, but the 1st and 4th seasons will be by drawing or on left over licenses. The 2nd and 3rd seasons will be combined elk and deer seasons with bull elk being unlimited, deer by drawing. During the combined seasons bull elk licenses will be unlimited in the areas we hunt. All deer licenses for all methods of take are by drawing. Deer seasons are concurrent with the elk seasons, except for the Early Deer season which is the 1st week in October. The 2012 season dates are posted on our ranch pages. The application deadline for all limited licenses, elk (1st and 4th season bull or either sex, cow elk and PLO cows), deer, antelope, and moose is April 5, 2012. In our areas there are always left over licenses available for the 1st and 4th rifle seasons as well as left over cow elk licenses. These left over licenses go on sale on August 9 in person or by phone and online the next day. We can purchase these licenses for you or they can be bought online. Feel free to contact us about this option for hunting this year. License fees for NON-RESIDENTS are as follows in 2012.  Bull elk and either sex elk licenses are $551.  Cow elk are $351. Antelope and deer are $331.  Bear are $351.  Archery bear licenses and bear licenses for the 4 regular rifle seasons are over the counter with a cap. These bear licenses go on sale on July 12 and are first come first serve. These licenses are available by phone, on-line, and in person.  Left over licenses will go on sale on August 9, 2012 in person and online on August 10, 2012.  NOTE: Muzzle loading license are no longer Statewide Licenses, they are all now unit specific. For our operation that means Unit 181 or Unit 17. The CDOW Big Game Brochures are usually available by March 1st, if you need one call 303-297-1192 and request one.

Pricing

All elk/deer hunts on the Coyte, Indian Creek, and Trownsell Ranches will be $950 for the archery hunts and for the first three rifle seasons.  4th rifle seasons on theses ranches will be $850. Buffalo Pass will be $850 per hunter, archery or rifle.  In 2012 we will offer group discounts for 6 or more hunters depending on the ranch and season. Special restrictions will apply for discounted groups.

We will offer 4 Early Deer hunts on the Indian Creek/Trownsell (Unit 17) and on the Coyte (Unit 16) the last week in September first week in Oct., dates to still be set. These licenses are by drawing and the hunt fee is $850 per hunter.

Moose if you have a license are free to hunt but have a $1000 trophy fee if the tag gets filled.

Antelope is $350(It takes 10 points to draw a buck antelope. You can buy one of our vouchers when we have them for $100-$200 depending on weapon plus the $350 and hunt that buck on our land or anywhere in the GMU017.

PLO Cow elk is $ 550

All hunters must be NRA members. You will need proof with a current NRA Card or for $25.00 you can get a 1 year membership by going to the web page and paying the $25.00. You will also receive the American Rifleman magazine for 1 year automatically

General Rules.

Our ranches are all located near Walden, Colorado. This is the North Park area of Colorado, about 165 miles northwest of Denver and 40 miles east of Steamboat Springs. All of the ranches are primarily elk ranches but we do take some very nice deer every year. All of the ranches have a camping area with some type of sanitary facility. Drinking water is not available on 4 of the ranches and must be brought in by the hunter; clean up water is generally available on the ranch. All of the ranches require a 4wd vehicle to get around the ranch with. ATC's and ATV's are allowed but are under the same restrictions as motor vehicles. NO HORSES are allowed on any of the ranches. All of the ranches are working cattle ranches so they do have cattle out during the seasons. The ranches are staffed by our personnel to handle any problems and to provide 1st responder assistance in case of an emergency. These staff people are nearly all hunters who have hunted the ranches for years and most of them are law enforcement officers, either active or retired. They will help you with any questions or concerns you might have while on the ranch. These staffers are not guides and will not provide any services beyond those listed above. Staffers may or may not be hunting during their time on the ranch. 

Additional services such as groceries, gas, motels, car rentals, meat processing, and airline transportation can be obtained in Steamboat Springs. Except for car rentals, airlines, and medical attention these same services can be obtained in Walden, which is about 25 miles from the ranches.

Out of state OHV's that are used on public lands must be registered in Colorado.  If you only plan to use your ATV on our ranches only then they do not have to be registered.  Hunters on the Buffalo Pass during the archery seasons may want to register their ATV if they are camped on the forest. ATV permits can be obtained from most license agents or online. This is another example of the way the State gouges out of state hunters.

Muzzle loading licenses are now UNIT SPECIFIC; there are no more statewide licenses so you must put in for GMU181 for the India Creek which is the best muzzleloader season ranch.

The state wide average for elk harvest is down around 10% so you can see why we say that we have prime elk, deer and antelope hunting habitat.. The average state wide harvest is about 25% during the Rifle seasons combined. Archery is 13% and muzzleloader is 20%, so you can see why we are proud of our continual high harvest success rates broken down below.

The elk are usually easy to draw with 0 points but the story is not the same for deer and antelope. For these a land owner voucher can get you through the point draw system.

It is best though that you reserve a slot before putting in so that you have a license and a slot that match.

Buck Deer tags usually don’t take any points to draw in GMU016 but in GMU017 with the exception the 2nd season doesn’t require point buy the early and the 3rd season do.  I recommend the early season seems to be the most productive.

When you book we will give you the hunt codes for Elk, Deer and Antelope for that ranch. Since you are on private land it is possible to get an extra cow elk or doe deer tag, we will assist on that if you wish to exercise that option.

Antelope is a different story. A doe tag is 16 doesn’t require a point but a buck required 10 points. There are no antelope in GMU 017.

If you want a deer, elk or antelope and don’t draw because of the lack of points there are a limited number of vouchers available for an additional $ 100 each. The ones you will certainly need them for are detailed above.

If you have paid to hunt elk and want to shoot a deer it is an additional $850 and it must be a 4x4 or larger. This keeps us in quality deer taking these mature trophies,

There is no fee for bear hunting if you have a license it is just a $250 Trophy fee if you shoot one. Antelope season is at a different time of the year. An antelope hunt is $ 350.

You will be given a Map of the property boundary fences. It is also the proof that you have permission to be on the ranch.

INDIAN CREEK

1st archery No hunters

2nd archery 40%ARCHERY AVERAGE 32.5%

4th archery 25%

Blackpowder Elk 60%

Blackpowder Deer 0%

Moose No Hunters

September Bear No hunters

PLO Cow 100%

Early Deer No hunters

1st rifle 100%

2nd rifle 12%RIFLE AVERAGE 54.65%

3rd rifle 66.6%

4th rifle 40%

COYTE

1st archery 31%

2nd archery 75%ARCHERY AVERAGE 39%

3rd archery 50%

4th archery 0%

PLO Cow 42%

Early rifle deer 100%

1st rifle 59%

2nd rifle 65%RIFLE AVERAGE 52.83%

3rd rifle 54%

4th rifle 33.3%

Antelope rifle 100%

BUFFALO PASS

1st archery No Hunters 

2nd archery No Hunters 

3rd archery 100%ARCHERY AVERAGE 75%

4th archery 50% 

1st rifle 0%

2nd rifle 29%RIFLE AVERAGE 26.3%

3rd rifle 50% 

TROWNSELL RANCH

No Hunters 

COMPILED STATS2010200920082007

ARCHERY Elk All seasons all ranches48.84%11.67%21.15%29.72%

BLACKPOWDER Elk I.C. only60%33.3%60%

PLO Cow Elk Coyte and Indian Creek71%58.5%0%79.8%

RIFLE Elk All seasons all ranches44.60%22.96%22.24%37.10%

Ranch 1

This ranch is located approximately 20 miles from Walden, CO or 9.7 miles west of Hebron on Jackson Co. Rd. 24. The ranch has 2400 acres more or less and borders the national forest on the west. The ranch is approximately 50% timbered. The rest of the ranch is meadow and creek bottom. The south end of the ranch is primarily a crossing and night feeding area for the elk. The north half of the ranch is nearly all timber with small ponds and irrigation canals. This offers the elk a good bedding area with ample cover. Some sagebrush also provides forage for the deer. This is a working cattle ranch expect to see cattle and horses when you are hunting. 

The elevation of the ranch is about 8500 feet. The ranch is easily accessed by the county road which runs along the south side of the ranch; the ranch itself requires a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Hunting on this ranch will require some walking as driving is very restricted. For hunting on the north end of the ranch we recommend that you bring an ATV. A camping area for use only during the rifle seasons is located near the ranch house. The camping area has a porta-potty and while we recommend that you bring your own water, water will be available on the ranch. No fishing is allowed on this ranch. 

Only 6 hunters per rifle season. During the archery seasons we will only hunt the north end of the ranch, there will be no more than 4 hunters per archery week, and we will primarily hunt from tree stands or ground blinds. While this ranch is very good for deer, the licenses are by drawing. $850 per hunter during the archery and regular rifle seasons. Big Game Unit 16. 

Number of Hunts still available

Archery

August 27-September 2, hunts available:4 

September 3-September 9, hunts available:SOLD OUT 

September 10-September 16, hunts available:SOLD OUT 

September 17-September 23, hunts available:4

Rifle

October 15-October 19, hunts available:2 

October 22-October 28, hunts available:4 

November 5-November 11, hunts available:6 

November 16-November 20, hunts available:

This ranch is located 21 miles southwest of Walden, this 4200 acres lays at about the 7500 foot elevation. It is a mixture of aspens, pine, sagebrush, willows and hay meadows. The ranch has three large water drainage's which accounts for most of the elk. There are deer, bear, moose and mountain lions on this ranch also. The camping area on this ranch is in a large hay meadow and is easily reached by motor homes. This is a working cattle ranch expect to see cattle and horses when hunting. 

The ranch is almost completely surrounded by private ground and 4400 acres of State Trust Lands. This trust land is open to the public for hunting. The public helps to push game onto us from the trust ground. Archery and rifle hunts are available on the ranch. 15 hunters allowed during each of the regular rifle seasons, 12 archers per week during the archery season, and 4 hunters during the Early Deer season. We will have four weeks of archery hunting on this ranch in 2011. Following the archery season on this ranch, we will offer 7 days of Private Land Only hunting, PLO licenses are for cow elk only and are by drawing. We will offer NO Black Powder hunting on this ranch.

There are always left over either sex elk licenses available for the 1st rifle season on this ranch. These licenses go on sale August 9th; we can purchase them for you.  

We usually have some landowner licenses for deer and antelope on this ranch.  This is a guaranteed license. The cost of the voucher is $100 plus the cost of the license.

Late September is kind of a nice time to rifle hunt if you want a cow. This and Indian Creek are the only ranches we offer for 'Private Land Only' hunts. PLO hunts are $550 per hunter. All archery and regular season rifle hunts are $950 per hunter. Only those hunters hunting on this ranch will be allowed to camp here. This ranch is included in our antelope package. This ranch is in Big Game Unit 16.

RANCH#2

Number of Hunts still available

Archery

August 27-September 2, hunts available:SOLD OUT 

September 3-September 9, hunts available:SOLD OUT 

September 10-September 16, hunts available:2 

September 17-September 23, hunts available:9 

Private land only

September 24 - September 1, hunts available:11 

Rifle--Antelope 

October 1 - October 7, hunts available:10 

Early Rifle--Deer

September 26 - October 2, hunts available:4 

Rifle

October 15-October 19, hunts available:SOLD OUT 

October 22-October 28, hunts available:SOLD OUT 

November 5 - November 11, hunts available:8 

November 16 - November 20, hunts available:13 

Ranch 3

28 miles southwest of Walden off of Hwy. 14. 7 miles from the Coyte Ranch. 2300 acres which straddle the Continental Divide. Elevation is near the 9000 foot level. This ranch has some dark very nasty timber, steep slopes, aspen parks, and open bowls. This is one of our best ranches year after year; it produces even better if the private ground that surrounds us on two sides is being hunted. 

This ranch borders the national forest on two sides and early on we get a lot of elk coming off the forest. These early herds will sometimes contain 300 or more elk. This ranch is in Big Game Units 17 and 181. 15 hunters are allowed on the ranch during each of the regular rifle seasons, 6 during each week of the archery season, and 4 during the Early Deer season. All hunts are $950 per hunter, except the Private Land Only which is $550 per hunter. This is a working cattle ranch expect to see cattle when hunting. 

Number of Hunts still available

Archery

August 27-September 2, hunts available:4

September 3-September 9, hunts available:6

September 10-September 16, hunts available:0

September 17-September 23, hunts available:6 

Muzzleloading Elk/Deer

September 10-September 1615

Private Land Only

September 24-September 30, hunts available:6 

Early Rifle--Deer

September 26 - October 2, hunts available:4 

Rifle

October 15-October 19, hunts available:7 

October 22-October 28, hunts available:SOLD-OUT 

November 5-November 11, hunts available:12 

November 16-November 20, hunts available:SOLD OUT 

Ranch #4

24.6 miles southwest of Walden off Hwy. 14. 5000 acres of which about 3500 are huntable. Located between the Indian Creek and Coyte ranches. Elevation of about 8000 feet and the ranch is very open. This is a long range ranch with most shots being 250 yds. plus This ranch borders the National Forest on the south side. This is a working cattle ranch expect to see cattle and horses when hunting. 

This ranch was for many years one of our all season ranches. Now it is again. This is the toughest ranch we have in terms of killing an elk. The upside to this is that in all of our years of operation both the largest elk and deer killed have come from this ranch. The elk usually cross this ranch only once during the 1st rifle season. When hunting this ranch, it pays to hunt the forest also. Access to the forest land behind the ranch is very limited. 

In order to keep movement on this ranch to a minimum there will be no camping allowed on the ranch, hunters will be able to camp at the Indian Creek ranch and drive to the Trownsell. Trownsell hunters will also be able to hunt part of the GMU017 portion of the Indian Creek. This is a ranch that you can make good use of an ATV on. 

We will offer this ranch to 2 archery hunters during each of the archery weeks and to no more than 6 hunters during each of the 4 rifle seasons. Cost will be $950 per hunter. This ranch is in Big Game Unit 17. 

Number of Hunts still available

Archery

August 27-September 2, hunts available:2 

September 3-September 9, hunts available:2 

September 10-September 16, hunts available:0 

September 17-September 23, hunts available:2 

Rifle

October 15-October 19, hunts available:6 

October 22-October 28, hunts available:6

November 5- November 11, hunts available:6 

November 16-November 20, hunts available:6 

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Limited License/Preference Points page

Although the deadline is over, there is still a chance to obtain licenses. There are deer and elk licenses left over. See the Leftover List. You may also buy over the counter licenses. 

The Regulations Brochure can be viewed online and printed.

Nonresidents apply at the same time and on the same application forms as resident hunters. They may purchase an over-the-counter license just the same as resident hunters. 

 Maps of Colorado: Includes local, state and federal government, Colorado counties, political and administrative districts, commercial map sites and GIS related links. 

 U.S. Forest Service: Information and maps 

 USGS: Topographic Maps 

 Colorado Bureau of Land Management: Information and maps

More Links 

 Click» for more big game hunting links and Colorado hunting information

Hunt ID: CO-ElkMDeerAntelope-All-Walden-BEO-Del

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