This is where the adventure begins!
DHB Inc/Black Elk Outfitters Ltd. (Colo.Lic.#1313) offers self-guided trespass fee hunts on private, Colorado Ranches. We also offer fully outfiffed and guided Texas Hog Hunts on ranches near Amarillo, Texas.
This site was last updated on 1-31-12 at 2030 hrs.
2012 marks our 27th year of serving hunters from all over the world. We hope we can be of service to you. With Colorado having the largest elk herd in the United States it's not hard to understand why many of our hunters return year after year. It also explains why we book up so early in the year.
Recap for the 2011 Seasons
The 2011 season was strange to say the least. During the archery seasons both Indian Creek and the Buffalo Pass were an bust. The Coyte was up in the 1st and last week of archery and down in the two middle weeks. Buffalo Pass was a no show the three weeks we hunted it. The rifle average for Indian Creek was up 1%, down 8% points on the Coyte and 6points on the Buffalo Pass. PLO numbers were down on both the IC and Coyte. Antelope were 100% as always and the high point was the September bear season with a 100% success rate on Indian Creek. Compared to 2010 we were down in all catagories except bear and antelope. Go to the Stats page and you can see how we did in each season on each of the ranches. We killed no 300" bulls in 2011. The elk were constantly moving in 2011 and not spending much time on any of the ranches. The rut was late because of the very warm weather and that didn't help the hunters. In addition there was forage everyplace as well as water, so the elk had no reason to bunch up or concentrate in one area. The DPAW (Division of Parks and Wildlife) said our areas of North Park were no different than the others, the elk are supposed to be up but no one was seeing any in large numbers. Whether or not the DPAW wants to admit it or not we do have a predator problem in North Park. Coyotes are thick (I killed 7 during the seasons and I wasn't actively looking for them), bears are more plentiful than ever and the mountain lions are ever increasing. Our deer numbers appeared to be down but this is a problem all over northwestern Colorado. Our moose numbers just keep going up, more and more hunters are seeing them every year. The Indian Creek and Buffalo Pass have the largest numbers of moose. The strange part of this year was the lack of cow elk during the PLO season, this may have been due to the late rut, but we just weren't seeing them. But the last two days of the 4th season on IC we say probably 500 elk. Where they came from was the forest to the south of the ranch, where they had been is anybodies guess. DPAW will have the stats for each of our units online probably by April and we will update this site at that time as to those stats. For 2012 we know that some addition mowing in occur on IC and we want to try putting in some food plots to attract more deer.
The CDOW will post the statewide 2011 stats sometime in April or May. These will be on their website and will show stats for the state and the individual GMU's. Keep in mind that our higher success rates are because we hunt private land and we have a limited number of hunters.
Reservations for 2012
RESERVATIONS FOR 2012: As in the past, hunters who hunted with us in 2011 have until Jan. 15, 2012 to rebook for 2012. We will start taking reservations from new hunters on Jan. 15, 2012 with the following exception; for those seasons on the various ranches which did not book up we will take reservations for those ranches starting December 1, 2011. Hunts booked by phone have priority over those booked via email.
For 2012 the season structure will be the same as 2011. 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 last week in September. 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 3, 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 7th 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 were as follows in 2011. (Final license fees, for 2012, are usually set by the Wildlife Commission at their January meeting.) Bull elk and either sex elk licenses were $551. Cow elk were $351. Antelope and deer were $331. Bear were $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 7, 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.
RANCHES
Our ranches for 2012 will be the Coyte, Indian Creek/Trownsell, and Buffalo Pass. All of our hunts are 7 days long except for the 1st and 4th rifle which are 5 day seasons. Please note that Black Elk Outfitters Ltd. offers neither guided nor outfitted hunts.
Hunt Fees
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.
Other Things to Know
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, 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 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.
