Preoccupied with work, studying, or just social life in general? With the onset of extreme technologization and an even greater shift in priorities, everybody seems to end up in this loop by hook or crook, and an imbalance between city life and nature.
Needless to say, this ensures a sense of loneliness where we wander off far away from our real selves. There’s a holistic appeal in going back to landscapes, reconnecting with the outside world, and enjoying the wildlife, every so often, if not always.
This is precisely why hunting destinations are appraised as the creme of the crop. If you also want to try your hand at a hunting guide in Colorado, here are some of your best options.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks for Colorado Hunting Guides
Comparison of the Best Colorado Hunting Guides
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Why Colorado is Such a Great Place to Hunt
Colorado presents one of the best big-game hunting in all of North America for anyone and everyone. Moreover, there are absolutely no requisites to landing a trophy hunt. Whether you’re a hunter with years of experience or a newbie seeking a new adventure, you’ll find one of the best public and private lands in the state.
Extensive Hunting Area
Colorado is the place for you if wide and open spaces are what you’re looking for during your escapade. With over 23 million acres of public land, the state proffers an excellent array of hunting accesses to the nation.
An Enormous Number of Elk Herds
Colorado offers the world’s largest elk herd, like no other. Hunters can further choose between seasons and methods of taking. These range from late-August and September hunts to four different rifle-elk seasons in October and go till early November. The methods of taking further include rifle-elk hunting, as mentioned, in addition to archery and muzzleloader hunts.
Variety of Big-Game Species
Colorado offers something for everyone. Likewise, if you’re a big game hunter, you’ll find one of the largest varieties of hunting animals here. These include the magnificent elk, mountain lion, the very famous antelope, black bear, mule deer, or the moose.
The Unforgettable Experience
All in all, in this state, you will have the adventure of a lifetime, filled with excitement, new experiences, and scenic beauty. We can think of no better place for you to reconnect with nature and have the perfect escape from the daily grind.
Review of the Best Colorado Hunting Guides
Here is a brief overview of the top hunting destinations we think you’ll enjoy, enriched with majestic wildlife, perks, and services like no other. With the overall amazing experience, you’re bound to keep coming back for more.
Most Popular:
Justin - Colorado Archery Antelope
What the Hunt Includes
Justin Colorado Archery hunt offers interested hunters the chance to hunt a variety of species since it specializes in Elk/Bear/Antelope/Mule Deer and Turkeys. With this hunt, however, you get the chance to hunt antelopes.
The regular trip includes muzzle loading, bowhunting, rifle hunting, and stalking. It also includes field trophy preparation and trophy measurements. Taking the handicapped into consideration, they offer harvesting procedures for disability or mobility-impaired hunters and the relatively new and young hunters.
Accommodation is not provided, but they offer nearby lodging at discounted rates. The landscape includes fields, forests, and agricultural lands where transportation is provided by the company.
Why it Stands Out to Us
We have listed this as the best overall as it provides you a hunt on a budget without compromising the whole experience.
The package stands out to us due to the sincere interest they take in providing their customers with the best possible experience. In fact, previous hunters have claimed that the experience is worth double the price. The hunting experience is disability-friendly and offers a variety of methods for taking.
Furthermore, they offer a customized package where you can call and choose a semi-guided or a non-guided tour, fit to your liking. They work hard to put you in the right location to harvest an animal, track it once it’s wounded, the process once located, and finally transport it to the local meat processor.
The staff is friendly and being army veterans, the owners are very patriotic. They know the habits and habitats well and employ their calling and tracking skills accordingly.
Best Value:
Lee - 5 Day Bull Elk Trespass Fee Hunt
What the Hunt Includes
Lee 5 Day Bull Hunt offers a range of hunting opportunities since it offers something in every season. Bull elk hunts are available during archery and second & third rifle seasons, and all other seasons offer a draw only hunting process.
The land they offer is spread across 7000 acres and includes access to the surrounding public grounds as well. The regular trip is self-guided (but guides can be arranged on a per-day basis) and includes stalking, muzzleloading and bow-hunting
Meanwhile, the trespass hunt gives customers the opportunity to access the surrounding public lands as well. The territory is not fenced, and the language spoken by the staff is English. Accommodation is not provided.
Why it Stands Out to Us
We like this hunting package as it provides you the opportunity to experience some form of harvesting in every hunting season. The family is extremely nice, makes you feel at home, and makes sure they do all they can to make your hunt a success.
The most important feature is the very appropriate price for a five-day hunting trip. There are good terrain and lots of animals to harvest. All in all, the family stays attentive to each customer group's needs, and the guides display extreme cooperation. You get a chance to hunt in forests, fields, and agricultural lands.
3. Lee - 8-10 Day Bull Elk Trespass Fee Hunt
What the Hunt Includes
This 8-day Bull Elk hunt mainly constitutes stalking, bow hunting, and muzzleloader. OTC tags are available for Bull elk hunts in archery, and 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons, while in the other seasons, it is draw-only. Hunting is available in every season.
They also offer a trespass hunt to hunt across 7000 acres of private land as well as the public land in the surrounding. The trip is self-guided, but guides can be arranged on a per-day basis for the private grounds.
The surroundings also include a national forest. The price, however, does not include transport on the territory or to/from the airport, field trophy preparation, and meals throughout the day or snacks and beverages.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The owners work very hard to make the hunt a success for their clients while also providing experience. They are very hardworking and knowledgeable and try to move at the pace of each individual hunter they’re currently handling. What stands out to us is that they are reliable and offer a very good value for the money.
Best Colorado Elk Hunting Guide:
Colorado Guided Archery Elk Hunt
What the Hunt Includes
The Colorado Guided Archery Elk Hunt harvests on a public land permit. The five-day package includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and beverages, accommodation, and transport on the territory. Focused in the Grand Mesa National Forest under a special permit (from USFS), the hunt is basically a tent camp hunt and offers bow hunting, stalking, calling, field trophy preparation, and trophy measurement.
The hunt can include a deer hunt for an additional $200. The staff speaks English, creating ease of communication, and the land offered for hunting is non-fenced. They offer rescue travel insurance to be purchased separately.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The hunt offers a variety of hunting options, comfortable accommodation, and delicious food to go along with it. They know the exact spots ideal for hunting and try their best to make their customers have the best-guided hunting experience.
What stands out to us the most is that they offer DIY drop camp hunts in addition to fully outfitted elk and deer hunts. Providing competent guides and a safe hunting experience remains their top priority, which is commendable.
5. Justin - Guided Cow Elk Hunts Group Discount!
What the Hunt Includes
Cow elks are challenging to hunt, making this a fun hunt. This four-day trip is carried out in Colorado on a territory size of 1500 acres. You get a chance to hunt across fields, forests, and agricultural lands through rifle hunting, bow hunting, stalking, calling, and muzzleloader.
The trip is semi-guided, but you can choose to call and decide according to your own liking. The hunt is disability-friendly, and bears can be added for an additional $950. Group discounts are offered for groups of three to six people, and their years of experience put you on the right track to landing the perfect trophy hunt.
The price includes transport on the territory, guiding by PH, and trophy preparation and measurements. Hunting licenses and permits and insurance will have to be purchased separately.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The hunt is great because it offers high quality while providing the best price. Group discounts are also available, so if you’re a group of three to six individuals, you’ll really get an amazing experience and quality hunting out of your money.
The staff is friendly and hardworking towards guiding you in a successful hunt. They make all efforts to retrieve the wounded animal, however, if there’s no snow, there’ll probably be a few or no elks, and some clients are not given the opportunity to fill their tags, which is a bummer.
6. Lee - 5 Day Cow Elk Hunt
What the Hunt Includes
The Lee 5-day Cow Elk hunt gives hunters the opportunity to harvest cow elks through draw-only tags except for archery for which OTC tags are available. The guided trip includes rifle hunting, stalking, and bow hunting carried on land spread across 7000 acres, giving you plenty of margins to score a successful hunt.
The price includes accommodation, transport across the territory, guiding, trophy preparations, and three-day meals with snacks and beverages. Transport to/from the airport will not be provided in the price, and hunting licenses will also have to be purchased separately. Overall, the hunt will ensure a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This hunt remains prominent due to a good terrain loaded with lots of animals, which is why you’re bound to get an action-packed adventure all day long. You don’t have to worry about not finding elks.
The owners show wonderful hospitality and are mindful of the needs of their clients so they can provide them with the best possible experience and a successful hunt. The staff is accommodating and speaks English, and the accommodation includes a hunting cabin with a bathroom, en-suite shower, and electricity.
Best Colorado Mule Deer Hunting:
Brad or Darci - Mule Deer Archery Hunt
What the Hunt Includes
Brad or Darci Archery Hunt offers the best Colorado Mule Deer hunting there is. The five-day guided tour includes stalking and bowhunting. The hunt is conducted along 10,000 acres of land, which includes hills, plains, and mountains. The package also includes a trophy hunt.
Clients are accommodated at local motels closest to the area where the hunt is being conducted for convenience. The package includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, beverages, and transport from the airport.
The motel offers Wi-Fi, TV, Internet, Bathroom, Fridge, and Electricity. Lastly, the company offers rescue travel insurance as their additional service, not included in the price.
Why it Stands Out to Us
It stands out to us because it is licensed and family-owned and offers vast experience, especially in the Southern Colorado area. The guides they offer are immensely knowledgeable since they’re experienced big-game hunters, helping you score the perfect hunt.
The hunting package offers a wide variety of perks, including three-time meals, transport, excellent accommodation with facilities, and seasoned professional guides, which are the most prominent features to us. The guides are super friendly, and there are plenty of animals to choose from. Overall, it’s a great experience for someone interested in a more comfortable and lavish hunt.
Best Colorado Mountain Lion Hunting:
Mountain Lion Hunt
What the Hunt Includes
The Mountain Lion Hunt includes a fully guided five-day regular trip across 10,000 acres of hunting land and includes rifle hunting, stalking, walking up dogs, and bowhunting. It only offers mountain lions and bobcats for harvesting.
The company allows non-hunter/guests to stay for an additional $200 per day. Hunts are run Monday to Friday, and licenses for mountain lions can be purchased on the spot when clients arrive. The structure includes hills and mountains of equal ratio, and the landscape constitutes fields and forests.
Accommodation is not provided, but nearby inns are recommended by them. Rescue Travel insurance is offered as an additional service to be purchased separately.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The most prominent feature would obviously be the specialization in the hunting of mountain lions and excelling at it. They only offer a single species to harvest, but they do it really well.
The owners are passionate, professional, and love what they do, which is always a sight to see and makes you feel at home. They try to include their clients in the smallest of tasks. The dogs, each having a discrete list of skill sets, really make the trip enjoyable for clients.
Best Colorado Big Game Hunting:
Dry Ground Mountain Lion Hunt
What the Hunt Includes
Mountain lion hunting can be quite exciting, and this hunt only allows that. It offers a guided trip, including baiting, rifle hunting, stalking, and walking up dogs across 10,000 hectares of land, encompassing fields and forests. They provide five-day accommodation, transport on territory and from the airport, guiding by PH, field trophy preparation and measurement, three-day meals, and beverages.
Gun rental is provided (not included in the price). This hunt is primarily conducted off horses and mules. A hunting license can be bought over the counter. The package does not include permits and insurance, so those would have to be purchased separately. An education course is obligatory for this hunt.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The hunt is excellent for anyone interested in harvesting cougars. The owners are extremely knowledgeable and professional about the areas and the species they offer for harvesting and know all about their habits and habitats. This is why they claim 70% success in harvesting legal cats and 45% on harvesting mature toms.
Moreover, motel accommodation offers an en-suite shower and electricity, which is always a plus. They also offer rescue travel insurance. The most prominent feature for us would have to be walking professionally trained dogs, so we don’t think you can experience this type of spectacular hound work anywhere else.
Best Small Game Hunting in Colorado:
Brad or Darci - Turkey Hunt
What the Hunt Includes
Brad or Darci Turkey hunt includes a three-day guided hunt on several private ranches consisting of 10,000 Acres offering bow hunting and shotgun hunting. The price includes transport on the territory, guiding by PH, and field trophy preparation and measurement.
They can also arrange transport from the airport if needed. Licenses are available upon arrival and can be purchased on the spot. The hunt price does not include lodging, meals, and gun & ammunition rental, which needs to be purchased separately. Rescue Travel Insurance is provided upon purchase.
Why it Stands Out to Us
We had to include this hunt to our list as it offers the best small-game hunting in Colorado. The owners have 17 years of experience as they are hunters themselves specializing in the Southern Colorado region. Their guides are very professional and well informed.
The hunt stands out because of the extreme professionalism of the owners as well as the guides while you harvest turkeys across plains, hills, and mountains. The guides work side by side with the clients during their hunt to make it an enjoyable and rewarding hunt.
Final Thoughts Before Hunting in Colorado
Colorado is one of the best states to satiate your big-game and small-game hunting needs; it’s a hunting paradise! With its beautiful landscapes and vast wide-open spaces loaded with numerous majestic species for you to hunt, you’re bound to find a hunting guide that ticks all the boxes for your particular needs.
Each guide offers a unique hunting experience along with exceptional services, so you have no worries during your adventure except for the actual hunting. An array of guides to choose from gives you the opportunity to hunt what you like, depending on what you fancy harvesting in every season.
The state carries more elks than any other and is one of the few places offering OTC licenses for some seasons and units, making it the perfect place for DIY hunts and last-minute bookings. All in all, almost all clients go back fully satisfied and claim the only drawback was that they had to come back home; sounds pretty promising!
People Also Ask
Colorado has a diverse landscape, so it’s natural for hunters to be skeptical and raise a few questions. Below, you’ll find questions we’re frequently asked about hunting in Colorado. Read through them to answer your queries so you can hunt like a pro!
What to Hunt in Colorado?
Huntable game in Colorado includes bull elk and cow elk, antelope, white-tailed deer and mule deer, mountain lion, turkey, moose, bighorn sheep, black bears, and mountain goats. In all, you have a wide variety of species to choose from.
Can You Hunt Wilderness Areas in Colorado?
Colorado has around 3.5 million acres of land distributed across 41 different wilderness areas containing wilderness that is open for hunting. You can enjoy elk hunting in the state’s wilderness during the mild weather of September in the earliest weapon seasons.
How Many Acres Do You Need to Hunt in Colorado?
From our research, you need at least 4,000 acres of land for a successful hunt in Colorado. The desired acres of land will primarily depend on whether you’re interested in a big game or small game hunting, but the figure is a start.
Featuring an abundance of public and private hunting opportunities, the state offers a vast range of fields, forests, and agricultural lands to hunt in. The guides we reviewed above constitute about 7000-10,000 acres of land each.
How Do I Read my Colorado Hunting Code?
For big game licenses, Colorado uses a specific eight-digit hunting code. If you’re confused as to how it’s read, allow us to guide you.
The code basically has five sections specifying what, when, and where the license is applicable.
- The first letter of the code specifies the species, i.e., A for antelope, B for bear, D for deer, E for elk, M for moose, etc.
- The second letter specifies the gender of the animal you’re interested in hunting, i.e., M for male, F for female, and E for either sex.
- The third part includes three numbers specifying the unit for your hunt. The lowest unit number will display the code if you have a hunt code for more than one unit.
- The fourth part is a letter and a number together. This shows you the hunt dates. X1 is the first season, X2 is the second season, and so on. P indicates private land only hunts followed by the season date, i.e., P1 is for the first season in private land, P2 is for the second season in private land, and so on. E1 indicates the early season, and L1 indicates the late season. K2 and K3 indicate hunts for youth only. The Ws are for wildlife, and S is for split units.
- Finally, the fifth letter shows you the method of taking specified in the license, i.e., R for rifle, M for muzzleloader, and A for archery, etc.
What Animals Can You Hunt Year-Round in Colorado?
Colorado offers an array of species to hunt. While some may only be available during certain seasons, there are four animals you can hunt year-round in the state. These include rattlesnakes, ground squirrels, coyotes, and Eurasian collared doves.
