[jsm9437]

I went elk hunting a few years ago and was fortunate enough to bag a bull. This was a guided hunt on private land i had the privilege of tagging along on.

Now I want to go back and hunt public land. Thinking about next year (got a small group that would be willing to give it a try).
My goal would be to shoot a cow elk. Not really interested in a trophy. more interested in the hunting, and the highest percentage of bagging game, and the meat.

I know quite abit of folks from around here head up, and hunt on public lands in the colorado area.

Im looking for those people to share their experience. Am I wasting my time hunting public land? If so, what do you suggest?
Im not afraid to get out and walk and walk and walk. I have managed to bag deer on WMA's by basically outwalking the crowds and finding deer. So I feel this can correlate to elk hunting as well.

Are there specific blm's or national forests that i should key in on? I have looked at routt national forest (only reason is because it's around Craig- where i bagged my previous elk).

Tags- are there areas that you can get Over the counter tags? or am i better off going with the lottery tags?
Camping - do you just camp in the national forest or blm? If so, any pointers on do's and dont's?


This can get wordy real quick. hopefully someone can share their experience with me to shed some light on my game plan.

Thanks