I have hunted Elk in Colorado for 29 years straight as I lived there for 21 of those years. I agree with others that unless you draw a trophy tags most of the bulls taken ar decent but not usually trophy class when hunting public land. We drew our trophy hunt after waiting and collecting preference points for 18 years and we hired a guide for that hunt because we were not familiar with the area we drew. My two sons and I each got a trohy Elk and the hunt was amazing because it takes place during the rutt.

Anyway, If you go to Colorado as an out of state hunter and plan on taking a ATV you will also need to get a permit to use it and that costs $25. They have over the counter Bull tags and you can put in for the draw on cow tags. Elk hunting is much different then Deer hunting in that you are always moving and have major elevation changes. The worst the weather meaning snow the better the hunting so you should have chains for you truck or SUV.

If you actually hunt hard and keep moving you will Elk and probably take oneunless it's all cows you see and no bulls. Colorado does have point restrictions on bulls so you will need to know the regulations on whats legal. The over the counter bull tags are usuable in nearly every Elk zone so you have plenty of area in the state to hunt. We hunt in area 55 which is near Gunnison, CO and this year we took 3 Cow Elk out of 4 tags.

You rifle is fine for hunting Elk as it's all about shot placement as they are hardy animals and tracking a wounded Elk is tough workand they can go a long way if not hit in the vitals. As they say the fun stops the minute you pull the trigger because with some you may have to quater them and pack them out and thats real work.

Anyway good luck in your quest for an Elk because once you get one you will want to hunt them a lot more.