To legally hunt elk with a rifle in Colorado, you must use a rifle with expanding bullets with a minimum caliber of .24 cal. or 6mm, a minimum weight of 85 grains that delivers at least 1,000 ft. lbs. of energy at 100 yards.
Elk are incredibly tough. Shot placement is extremely important and even the best shooters don't place their shots exactly where they want every single time. For these reasons we recommend a .30 caliber rifle, a more powerful cartridge provides more room for error than a smaller, less powerful cartridge. It's also about putting in the time with your rifle before hunting season.
Absolutely! If you have one, bring it. If not, do your research and get one that is best suited for you. It takes time but it's well worth it. Once you shoot with a suppressor, you won't want to shoot any other way. Sometimes having the ability to get off a follow up shot before the animal knows what just happened is critical, and can be the difference between a clean, ethical kill and a wounded, lost animal.
Your license, conservation certificate or hunter safety card. Your weapon/ammunition, personal items, hunting gear and good footwear, fluorescent orange hat and vest, and sleeping bag. Layering is best as temperatures will range from 20°-70°
Sangre De Cristo Outfitters, Inc. will provide the following services during the scheduled hunt: all personnel including (guides, and cooks), all meals, all transportation to and from hunting lodge and hunting areas, lodging and field care of your game. Transportation is not included to and from airports.
The short answer is yes. Following guidelines set forth by Colorado Parks and wildlife a hunter may donate in part or in whole the edible portions of the wildlife taken under the hunters license. It will be the responsibility of the hunter to incur the cost of processing, and if needed SDCO can help facilitate a local organization or a person in need that would greatly appreciate your donation.
This is a hard question for us to answer, but one that we often get. There are several factors to consider when thinking about gratuity. The level of service received, the success of the hunt, (which could mean something different to different people), whether or not your guides efforts meet or exceed your expectations. Some industry articles have recommended 10%-20% of the cost of your hunt, But we feel there is no "right" amount or percentage. A tip is just a tangible way to share your pleasure with the people that helped bring it to you.
Call us! We can look at draw statistics, and other variables to help you come up with a strategy, depending on your hunting goals, in order to apply your points in a way that will benefit you the most.
We field dress your animal, transport it to our facility, skin, cape, and hang it in our cooler. We do offer the convenience of on-site processing with our in house butchers, or the facilities for you to prepare your game animal for transport to your preferred processor. Either way, plan on bringing enough coolers to accommodate your meat.
Yes. Making and sharing memories is what it's all about. The non-hunter fee is $150 per day for meals and lodging. Access to accompany you to the field is possible, but will be coordinated with your guide.