Colorado

Guided Elk Hunting in Colorado

(505)-801-7500

Colorado has long been known as the elk hunting capital of the west. With the largest herds, as well as highest harvest rates, it remains the number one destination for western dream hunts. What we offer is the very finest the southwestern part of the state has to offer. From fully guided hunts in some of the most beautiful country God created, to do-it-yourself pre-scouted spike camps where all you need is a GPS, your trusty rifle, a bed roll and your food for the week. We are pleased to be outfitting in the beautiful San Juan National Forest under special permit. Within our permitted area we are the only outfitter allowed to offer guided camps as well as drop camps insuring our s access to the finest areas within our permitted area. We have been outfitting in the southwest since 1997 and are happy to share the wonders this area has to offer. At Compass West Outfitters we welcome you to elk hunt or mule deer hunt southwestern Colorado with us and look forward to making your dreams reality!

Draw deadline April most years, but there are also over the counter licenses for the 2nd and 3rd rifle hunts as well as all bow hunts. We are also outfitters in New Mexico many clients use Colorado over the counter hunts as a back up plan if they are unable to draw premium tags in New Mexico.

Where we hunt in Colorado

We elk hunt in the southwestern corner of Colorado near the New Mexico border, the towns of Durango, Colorado and Mancos, Colorado are the closest towns that you are likely to know. My Colorado guided elk hunts are in game unit 73 and take place in the San Juan National Forest where I am under a special permit to be the only outfitter in the area. Our area covers everything from 11,000 foot elevations were we chase screaming bulls at tree line to low elevations where migration hunts take place at about 7,000 feet. This huge permit area allows us the ability to adjust our schedule for your hunt at anytime allowing us to hunt high in the late seasons if there is little snow and also allows us the ability to hunt low in migration areas if there is a heavy early snow. We offer both fully guided Colorado drive in camps with a few more comforts allowing us to meet your individual needs. We also offer un-guided camps or Colorado spike camps where you can drive into your camp and use 4x4 or ATVs to access your hunting areas. We are your complete southwestern outfitter!

We offer the very best for all sportsman and woman from high quality bow rut hunts to primitive muzzleloader hunts in the peak of the rut. Add in first season rifle hunts where the rutting elk are still easy to fool and willing to come to proper calls, and the ability to hunt mule deer or bear at the same time on later season hunts, and you will see why we are a hunt you want to experience year after year. We also offer late season migration hunts were the elk can literally fill a valley as they work their way to the wintering grounds. Our northern permit area is in the middle of the summer and rutting range and our southern areas are smack dab in the middle of the migration route out of the high country we offer the very best opportunity for every season. Colorado also offers a rare opportunity in the western US to purchase over the counter bull elk tags with out the worry of a draw. This allows hunters who choose to bow hunt or hunt the 2nd or 3rd rifle season to simply plan their trip and head out. Limited draw hunts offer the chance for quality hunts in the peak of the rut with muzzleloaders or 1st rifle hunts when the elk are still rutting with a simple application for these limited hunts. Colorado also allows you to gain preference points for each year that you are not successful in the draw. For the most part the areas that we guide in Colorado require only 1-2 preference point. For people that really plan ahead you can also buy preference points in Colorado then the next year apply for your hunt and be able to just about plan for your trip. If you apply for a hunt and are unsuccessful in the draw you will have first shot at all openings we have for over the counter hunts, we also keep you an opening if you tell us in advance that you would like to still hunt if not successful in the draw.

What season to choose in Colorado

Our lower elevation camps are almost always the best choice for your late season Colorado elk hunts like 2nd, 3rd and 4th rifle seasons but on late snow years we will likely make the choice between either low elevation or higher elevation camps based on your desires and locations of elk at the time of your hunt. Our oak brush and aspen camps located in the lower elevations are at most times the best choice for people looking to combo hunt bear-elk or later season elk-mule deer hunts. These lower camps have a good resident population of elk and deer allowing even early seasons to be hunted successfully from these camps. Bears do flock to the areas near our lower camps to take advantage of the acorns that grow here. Mule deer numbers are also much higher at these camps in the later weeks as the rut for deer is about to begin and the big boys will be heading down from the high country in search of does. Generally speaking the lower elevation camps are not as steep they tend to be more rolling, but dont let that fool you there are still plenty of steep canyons to hide that trophy just waiting for you to dare to enter!

High country camps

Best choice for bow and muzzleloader hunts as well as 1st rifle season, they are also good for early elk-mule deer combo hunts as well. We love to hunt high and do very well on early season hunts in this area. These camps are located at about 10,000 feet above sea level so be ready and be in good shape. Our high camps are located near the prime rutting areas that our elk inhabit; often you'll go to bed with the sound of screaming elk just outside camp. We will access areas above tree line each morning and hunt our way down. With large open areas and bugling elk, the hunt method of choice is spot and stalk on these hunts. To locate bulls, guides will use both bugles and cow calls, guides will also take advantage of the open areas to glass for bulls in the surrounding hills. It is not uncommon to glass up a bull in the morning and then get as close as you can to try and call him in. We also have some monster mule deer in the 30 inch range that run the tree line. This is a spot and stalk hunt and is offered as a combo hunt if you draw a mule deer tag. Camps are located on the edges of black timber just below tree line to protect us in the event of heavy wind or possible snow as early as September. They are simply the best choice for muzzleloader and bow hunters as well as 1st rifle hunters, there is also a very high chance that we will still have a high camps set for the 2nd rifle season if it is a late snow year even our 3rd hunts will take place here. Since we are in the southwestern part of the state we have an added advantage in the fact that we normally do not see the first heavy snows until late October we typically get light snows that aid us hunters from time to time starting in late September.

Drive-in camps

We have a great opportunity to locate camps right in the middle of the migration routes as well as in the wintering areas, and the home range to resident herds of elk that are here year round. Early season bow, muzzleloader and rifle hunts can all be great even at the low elevation camps. These camps are accessed by 4x4 trucks and hunting is done on foot with the aid of trucks to access hunting areas These camps are a great choice for people looking for a less adventures hunt in lower elevations with far more comforts. They are great hunts and in prime locations they are simply located in areas where with trucks we can cover large amounts of ground allowing us to move with the elk as they migrate out of the high country or to stay with the local herds. Many hunts from this camp involve being dropped off early in the day high above camp and hunting down hill all day in the direction of camp or to a location where youâ€™ll be picked up or the truck will be waiting. An excellent choice for hunters looking to stay in lower elevations with easier access and exceptional hunting, this hunt is a prime choice for muzzleloader elk/mule deer or elk/bear combos as the deer and bear numbers are very high in our area.

What is in our camps and how do the days roll?

You will be sleeping in custom canvas wall tents with propane heaters and cots with sleeping mats. There will be from 2 people in each tent depending on the number of people in camps that week and the number of people in your party as well as the size of tents and location of camps. Drive in camps will have smaller numbers of people in each tent because of the almost unlimited amount of gear we can just drive in, pack in hunts will all have 4-6 people in a bunk tent. There is a dining tent that will also have wood stove as well as tables and chairs to relax and enjoy dinner or a game of cards at night. We will also have an area in guided camps to take a shower with hand pumped water tanks, just be sure to ask the cook at breakfast to have water ready for you that night when you return. Colorado hunting camps will all have an outhouse for guests that will be located near camp. Guides will have a tent as well that will house all the guides and the cook.

Breakfast will be a hearty continental plus hot breakfast burritos to take on the trail with you each day. At breakfast you will fix yourself a sandwich to pack as well as grab chips, cookies, jerky, candy bars, fruit, and anything else to snack on for the day. You will also want to pack water for the day at this time. You will likely spend full days in the field, although we can customize all trips to your needs and desires. Afternoons will be spent stalking likely areas as well as glassing surrounding hillsides and valleys. Late afternoon you will be back to sitting on feeding areas on late hunts and calling on rut hunts. Once the daylight fades you'll be on your way back to camp where you will be able to check your gun and unpack from the days adventure. Once in camp you can clean up a little in the kitchen tent and relax as the camp cook gets dinner ready. Dinners are family style and hearty meals, remember that I am also a trained Chef so meals are often a highlight to peoples week!

Once you have taken your elk

You never know when you're going to take your animal; it might be on the first day, or even on the way to camp or in the last minute of the final day! Once you have an animal down the guide will cape your animal, as well as quarter it for packing back to camp. We encourage you to help as much or little as you like with this. Guides can do the entire job for you or simply assist you if you would like to take care of all of this on your own as a part of your experience. Once we have gotten your animal to camp, guides will hang your meat and prep your head for mounting if you choose or get the skull ready for a European mount. In early seasons we will likely be able to keep your meat in camp for 1-5 days depending on the weather. we will transport you and your meat to Mancos, CO here you can have your meat placed in a cooler and butchered. You will be responsible for both meat packaging (elk about $300, mule deer about $150) and motels.

Unit 73 Colorado Elk Hunting

All hunts are based on 2x1 (2 hunters 1 guide) single rates are available.

Unit 73 early bow

(over the counter tags) (7 days guided)

$4000

Unit 73 Rut bow

(over the counter tags) (7 days guided)

$4000

Unit 73 Muzzleloader season

(draw) (7 days guided)

$5250 1x1 only

Unit 73 first rifle season

(draw)

$5250 1x1 only

Unit 73 second season rifle

(over the counter tags)

$4000

Unit 73 third season rifle

(over the counter tags)

$4,000

Unit 73 fourth season rifle

(draw, drive in camp only)

$4,000

Unit 73 Elk-Mule Deer combos

$4950

Unit 73 Elk - Bear combos

$4950

                                                                                                                   Unit 73 mule deer hunts

$4000

                                                                                                      1x1 rates in unit 73 are add on: $1000.00

                                                                           IN COLORADO YOU MUST HAVE A HUNTERS SAFETY CARD IN ORDER TO HUNT

There will be no refunds if you arrive with no hunters safety card!

  Reservation and cancellation policies

50% deposit is due at the time of booking; final payment is due no later the 30 days before your hunt date. There are no refunds for canceled hunts for any reason in Colorado camps. All money will be refunded if you are not successful in the draw of the season of your choice and you choose not to hunt an over the counter season.

Colorado hunts include

All meals, fully guided hunting days, tent lodging, and field work of elk including caping, quartering and packing out to meat packers.

Colorado trips do NOT include

Hunting license fees, sleeping bags, game bages rifles or ammunition, meat packaging, gratuities for guides and cooks, alcohol.

Colorado hunts range in elevation from 8,000-11,000 feet depending on weather and seasons. We urge all hunters to be up front with us about physical conditions. We also urge all hunters to get in shape for there hunts. Elevation sickness will end your trip early and there are no returns for people having to depart camps early due to illness. Please talk with outfitter about recommended workouts to prepare you for your visit to Colorado.

                                                                                                                   Spike or drop camps in Colorado

Camps are located in pre-scouted locations that offer an excellent chance for the do it yourself hunters to harvest an elk, mule deer or bear. We will offer drive in camps in the lower elevations for people wishing to use both ATVs as well as trucks to access hunting areas. Our off mountain manager will check on you at arranged times on arranged days that will be scheduled when you are dropped off. In low elevation camps where we can drive in we will try and check with you every other day. Cell phones will work in some camps and on top of most of the hills. You will only really need to bring your food for the week, rifle, sleeping bag and all your hunting gear. We will have a sleeping tent with propane heaters as well as a cook-dinning tent where there will be lanterns as well as cook stoves and tables and chairs. You will also have an outhouse tent. In the kitchen tent you will find two tables one for sitting and one for kitchen prep, two burner stove, wash pans, water, all the pots, pans, plates, silverware, and cups that you are going to need for your stay. In the sleeping tent there will be cots for everyone in camp as well as sleeping mats. We will help you out with prime locations as well as a few GPS locations to check out you will then be on your own for the week to enjoy the wonders of Colorado. If we have guides that are available we will offer you the chance to hire a camp guide who can help guide you into the right spots as well as head to the woods with 2 guys a day to help out. Presently I am working on getting a few cooks lined up for people that might want to hire a cook for camp the week they are hunting.

Unit 73 Drop-Spike camps

Colorado drop camps - Minimum of 4 people

Drop camps: You are dropped in a pre scouted location where you will then hunt on foot for the rest of the week from a pre set up camp.

Spike camps: You are taken to a deluxe drive in camp location where you can use ATV, 4x4 trucks and foot to access prime hunting areas.

Unit 73 drive in drop camps
                                                                                                                              1-2 people $3000
                                                                                                                               3-4 people $1500 per person

5+ people $1000 per person

Cooking services can be arranged for all camps: $200 per day 5 day minimum

Pack out service for downed elk

This service is available for spike camps hunters for a fee, there will also be a caping fee and quartering fee. (ask about current pricing)

                                                                                IN COLORADO YOU MUST HAVE A HUNTERS SAFETY CARD IN ORDER TO HUNT!

There will be no refunds if you arrive with no hunters safety card!

Reservation and cancellation policies: Full payment is due at the time of booking for all drop-spike camps in Colorado. There are no refunds for canceled hunts for any reason in Colorado drop-spike camps. If you hunting a draw season, deposit is due once you draw.

What is in our drop/spike camps: Tents that sleeps YOUR GROUP (1), dinning tent (1), outhouse tent (1), cooler (1), cooking stove (1), propane, pots-pans, plates, bowls silverware, cups, cots- sleeping mat, table and chairs in dinning tent, wood stove for dinning tent (no wood), drinking, cooking and cleaning water.

Colorado spike camp trips do NOT include: Food, sleeping bags, rifles or ammunition, meat packaging, caping or packing out of game there is no ice in camps, please also bring toilet paper for your stay! More services can be arranged in drop-spike camps, please talk with us about your special needs.

Colorado hunts range in elevation from 8,000-11,000 feet depending on weather and seasons. We urge all hunters to be up front with us about physical conditions. We also urge all hunters to get in shape for there hunts. Elevation sickness will end your trip early and there are no returns for people having to depart camps early due to illness. Please talk with outfitter about recommended workouts to prepare you for your visit to Colorado.

Drop-spike camps with be checked on every two days when camps are drive in locations. Camp manager will make arrangements with you at the time of drop off for both days and times for check up. In most areas Verizon phones work well.

                                                                                                      Mule Deer Hunting in Colorado

A wonderful benefit to hunting mule deer in Colorado is that if you draw a mule deer tag you can also buy an over-the-counter bull elk or bear tag. (You also gain preference points in Colorado for each year that you do not draw and you can buy points allowing you to be able to plan hunting in our area every other year). This combo Colorado guided deer hunt allows our hunters to enjoy the possibility of harvesting both a monster buck and a bull elk in the same week on the same hunt! The Colorado Department of Wildlife has been managing our areas for the last several years to increase both the number of deer as well as the age class. They have been doing a great job and the number of trophy bucks as well as the buck to doe ratio is increasing every year. Many of the bucks in southwest Colorado are over 24 inches with good mass and the possibility of a 30 inches is just over every ridge and in every canyon! Our Colorado mule deer guided hunters enjoy very high harvest rates on mule deer, past seasons have allowed us to enjoy from over 75% to 95%.

As we have developed a reputation in both New Mexico and Colorado for producing fine mule deer hunts, we have grown in popularity, so much so that we are also now offering a "Muley Crazy Camp" when we have enough hunters draw. This camp is set up for Colorado mule deer hunters only and all the guys in camp are on the same mission, a true Colorado trophy mule deer. This allows us to have our best mule deer glass and stalk guides in camp for the true mule deer hunters. We are looking forward to our area getting better and better as the state limits hunters and seasons. And with such a massive area to hunt we can cover all the very best areas with small spike camps set up just for our Colorado mule deer guided hunters. Please call or email me, we have limited tags but there is always a possibility of leftover tags in our area. Contact me to get in on our first come, first serve left over Colorado Mule deer license list, might be a good shot at left over tags this year!!

What is in our camps and how the days roll?

You will be sleeping in custom canvas wall tents with wood stoves and cots with sleeping mats. There will be 2-6 people in each tent depending on the number of people in camps that week and the number of people in your party as well as the size of tents and location of camps. Drive in camps will have smaller numbers of people in each tent because of the almost unlimited amount of gear we can just drive in. Pack in hunts will all have 4-6 people in a bunk tent. There is a dining tent that will also have a wood stove as well as tables and chairs to relax and enjoy dinner or a game of cards at night. There is a hand and face washing tub in the kitchen tent as well as a good place to shave and do a little cowboy shower. We will also have an area in guided camps to take a shower with hand pumped water tanks, just be sure to ask the cook at breakfast to have water ready for you that night when you return. Camps will all have an outhouse for guests that will be located near camp. We ask that guests stay only on the trails in camp; we are under special permit to both camp and hunt in the areas of Colorado we guide, the damage that we can inflict on the fragile mountain environment will take longer than our lifetime to repair, please respect this and stay only on existing trails when in camp. Please also take the time to point out any trash you see in camp or in the field to your guide so that we can be sure to leave an area better than when we arrived. The guides and the cook will have a separate tent. All guided camps will have a satellite phone to be used in the event of an emergency only, there are evacuation plans in the kitchen tent as well as GPS locations nearby in the event that someone must be airlifted out.

Breakfast will be a hearty continental, plus you get hot breakfast burritos to take on the trail with you each day. At breakfast you will fix yourself a sandwich to pack in your saddlebag as well as grab chips, cookies, jerky, candy bars, fruit, and anything else to snack on for the day. You will also want to pack water for the day at this time. You will head out before first light in order to arrive to the guides desired area to set up for the morning hunt. You will likely spend full days in the field, although we can customize all trips to your needs and desires. Afternoons will be spent stalking likely areas as well as glassing surrounding hillsides and valleys. Late afternoon you will be back to sitting on feeding areas on late hunts and calling on rut hunts. Once the daylight fades you will be on your way back to camp where you will be able to check your gun and unpack from the days adventure. Once in camp you can clean up a little in the kitchen tent and relax as the camp cook gets dinner ready. Dinners are family style and hearty meals, remember that I am also a trained Chef so meals are often a highlight to peoples week! After dinner, the guides and cook will clean up and then youâ€™re on your own. There is a lantern in the dinning tent where you can relax and read a book or play a game of cards. You are welcome to bring any liquor to camp that you would like, just remember that it must fit in the two small duffle bags that can weigh no more then 30# each (more information on this is in your packing lists and camps rules information package).

Unit 73 Colorado Mule Deer hunting

                                                                                                                7 day tree line bow hunts: $5250 1x1

                                                                                                                7 day muzzloader or rifle hunts: $5250 1x1
                                                                                                                5 day combo (elk, bear) hunts: $4950 1x1

                                                                                                     Reservation and cancellation policies
50% deposit is due at the time of booking; final payment is due no later the 30 days before your hunt date.

                                                                      IN COLORADO YOU MUST HAVE A HUNTERS SAFETY CARD IN ORDER TO HUNT!!!

There will be no refunds if you arrive with no hunters safety card!

Colorado Hunts Include: guided and un-guided hunts offer different services, please see your hunt contract for specific information for each Colorado hunt.

Colorado hunts range in elevation from 8,000-11,000 feet depending on weather and seasons. We urge all hunters to be up front with us about physical conditions. We also urge all hunters to get in shape for there hunts. Elevation sickness will end your trip early and there are no returns for people having to depart camps early due to illness. Please talk with outfitter about recommended workouts to prepare you for your visit to Colorado.