DARK TIMBER OUTFITTERS
Colorado Elk Hunting on the Uncompahgre Plateau — Fair Chase, Public Land
We focus on delivering a memorable, high-quality elk hunt for every one of our hunters.
Guided Colorado Elk Hunts on the Uncompahgre Plateau - Units 61 and 62
Dark Timber Outfitters operates on 100% public land in Colorado’s Game Management Units 61 and 62 on the Uncompahgre (pronounced “Un-come-pah-gray”) Plateau. We run fully guided, semi-guided, and unguided spike camp elk hunts for archery, muzzleloader, 1st, 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons.
Every hunt is five full days. Our guides know this terrain having hunted it, guided it and spent time in the off-season, learning the drainages, season by season. We cap the number of hunters per season so the elk hold, our guides stay sharp, and your hunt gets our full attention.
Why Should You Hunt With Dark Timber Outfitters?
Success rate can be a useful gauge for how well an outfitter does. But success rates can vary widely and can be easily manipulated or inflated to help sell hunts. While success rate is an important statistic to ask about, it doesn’t always indicate the quality of a hunt. Success rate can be heavily influenced by hunter skill, hunter fitness and weather. It doesn’t always tell you what the guide actually did.
Opportunity rate does.
It measures how many times the guide put a hunter in position on a legal animal within ethical range, through knowledge of the landscape, how elk use it and putting that knowledge into action. That’s the number that reflects what you’re paying for.
At Dark Timber Outfitters, conservatively speaking, our opportunity rate across all seasons hovers around 50–60%. With full five-day participation, it runs higher. We publish that number because it’s honest — and because it tells you more about the quality of your hunt than a success rate will.
Who Dark Timber Outfitters Is Built For
We work with hunters at every experience level — first-timers who’ve never held an elk tag and seasoned hunters who’ve hunted elk for thirty years. The common thread is not how many hunts you’ve done. It’s the passion we all have for being in beautiful country with amazing wildlife. It’s the fun we have chasing elk and the laughter and stories shared over delicious dinners back at camp. It’s the bond that all the preparation, eagerness to learn, and willingness to hunt creates and allows all of us to enjoy the journey elk hunting offers.
Before every hunt, we send a preparation letter that says plainly: this will be one of the hardest physical and mental challenges you’ll face. Prepare for it. If you’re not willing to do that, we’ll send your deposit back. The hunters who read that letter and think “finally, an outfitter who’s honest” are exactly the hunters who belong here.
Every hunter who books with Dark Timber Outfitters receives a gift membership to Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. We fund conservation because we believe the future of public land hunting and public land access depends on people who step up and speak up to defend it.
What Hunters Say About Dark Timber…
“I’ve hunted for years with Dark Timber Outfitters and attest to the quality of the experience. This is true public land elk hunting. I’ve been successful and unsuccessful and I keep coming back. Adam is a top-notch guide and outfitter, one of the best in the business. He and his crew know the land and the habits of the animals. The lodge is spacious and comfortable. The food is nutritious and plentiful, seriously, quality food and plenty of it. If you want to hunt elk on some of Colorado’s most beautiful public land and know you’re going to be well guided, look no further than Dark Timber Outfitters.”
— Tom B., CA
Come join us on a guided Colorado elk hunt. We believe in what we do, we love what we do and we can’t wait to share that passion with you.
Let’s Plan Your Elk Hunting Adventure
Join us on a hunting trip in Units 61 and 62 in beautiful Western Colorado!