T | 970-487-3011
www.winterhawk.com
Winterhawk is a professional full-time outfitter whose goal since 1982 has been to provide high quality fair chase wilderness big game horseback hunts in the true western tradition. We’re dedicated to providing successful, enjoyable trips and to maintaining high ethical standards and respect for the land and animals we hunt.
Our trips are strictly first class, as we provide seasoned, professional guides, deluxe camps, high quality meals, and personalized attention to each guest. We own our own stock and our horses and mules are the finest in the business.
We hunt over 250 square miles of game-rich country where motorized vehicles of any kind are prohibited. Our area holds thousands of elk, mature bulls and some 30" trophy mule deer bucks. We enjoy excellent success, but we don’t guarantee a kill. Our hunts are strictly fair chase… real hunts in Colorado’s spectacular high country, where there are definitely more challenges than guarantees. If you’re like most hunters, a western hunt is a major event. Choosing the right outfitter is important and we encourage you to ask questions and check multiple references for any outfitter you're considering.
Whether you hunt with bow, black powder or rifle, prefer full-service guided hunts, or would rather do it yourself in a high quality pack-in drop camp, we’d like to be your Colorado outfitter. If you don’t see the exact hunt you’re looking for, give us a call. With advance notice, we may be able to customize a hunt for you or your group. Thanks again for considering Winterhawk. We look forward to talking with you soon.
Larry and Laura Amos
Winterhawk Outfitters
For the big game hunter, nothing is more exciting than hunting elk in full rut. It’s considered by many to be the ultimate hunt… period. The thrill of a close encounter with a big bugling bull is like no other, and at Winterhawk Outfitters, we specialize in making it happen.
At Winterhawk, guided archery and muzzleloader hunting is our specialty. Our guides are serious archery hunters… experienced callers who consistently bring elk in for good close shots. Our guides love this season. They are prepared, enthused, willing, and able to do what it takes to get their hunters on a bull. We have great respect for bowhunters and appreciate the challenge and skill that the sport requires. We are not just another rifle-oriented outfit trying to sell a few bow hunts.
Archery and muzzleloader hunters tend to have the woods to themselves during this special time of year. The foliage is beautiful, the temperatures are moderate; elk are vocal and responsive to calls. It’s not surprising that bow and black powder hunting has become more popular and successful.
During this early season, when the elk are in rut, they tell us where they are, and we go to them. Instead of limiting our bow and muzzleloader hunters to specific camps, we take them to the elk. We may be hunting from Indian Cliffs Base Camp, one of our pack-in camps, or a remote spike camp location. We may also switch camps during the week. In recent years, this stay mobile and "go where the elk are" approach has dramatically improved shot opportunities to nearly 100% on good mature bulls.
Hunters should arrive in good physical shape, ready to ride, walk, and hunt hard. Conditioning is important and the better shape the hunter is in, the better our chances of getting him where he needs to be to be successful. As is usually the case with limited range weapons, success in taking the animal is highly dependant on the hunter's physical ability to get where he needs to be to make the shot. Come and join us for a great bow or muzzleloader wilderness hunting experience.
ndian Cliffs Base Camp is the hub of our operation. It sits at 9,200 feet on the edge of the Flat Tops Wilderness at the end of a rough five-mile road and is the only camp that can be reached by 4-wheel drive vehicle.
These have been our most popular hunts, as they are less physically demanding than pack-in hunts, but they have been every bit as successful. The country is typically parks and meadows, surrounded by stands of aspens and pine thickets.
We ride out of base camp approximately an hour before sunrise and still hunt or hunt on stand. Depending on weather and game movement during mid-day, we may do some riding to spot elk and deer out feeding, still hunt the stands of aspen and spruce, or make drives through the timber.
These are fully guided two-on-one full service hunts with everything provided except hunting licenses and personal gear. For hunters, the camp has four heavy-duty wall tents with canvas floors, rain flies, and wood burning stoves. They accommodate two to six hunters each and are furnished with cots, foam pads, rack for drying wet clothes, lanterns and firewood. The base camp has a 
separate cookhouse, guides tent, riding saddle tent, pack saddle tent, outhouse and a shower house with hot and cold running water.
Don’t expect to lose weight on your hunt. A typical Winterhawk breakfast is French toast, eggs cooked to order, thick sliced bacon, potatoes, orange juice and coffee. Our hunters pack hearty lunches to pack in daypacks or saddlebags, so lunch doesn’t interrupt the hunt. Evening meals may include baked ham, roast turkey, roast beef, stuffed Cornish hens or prime rib.
First Rifle Season: For many years our first rifle season was the most popular season, and very successful. Because it was so successful, it drew more hunters to the field than the 2nd or 3rd rifle seasons. In an attempt to even out the number of hunters in the field each season, the Colorado Division of Wildlife put the 1st rifle season licenses on a drawing. Now, our first rifle season is not as crowded, and our hunters are still enjoying a very successful hunt. The best news is that although the tags are on a drawing, the success rate in getting the license is very high. According to the Colorado DOW, in our units the success rate in 2007 for hunters with no preference points was 92%. Although the licenses are on a drawing, your chances of successfully drawing a license is very high, over 90%. So please do not let the drawing scare you away from the first rifle season. The applications for first rifle season licenses have an application deadline of April 1st. Feel free to give us a call for more information.
Winterhawk’s pack-in camps are typically a three-hour ride from base camp. They are set at around 10,000 feet, allowing us to hunt down to 9,500 or up to 11,500, depending on game movement. The country consists of stands of aspen and spruce, small parks, meadows, and heavy dark spruce pockets with blow downs that somewhat restrict game to traveling on trails. Hunts can be guided two-on-one or one-on-one.
The area is excellent bull country, but every year we take some nice timberline bucks while hunting elk. A flat shooting rifle is a must here, as game is often spotted crossing or feeding in the big parks and meadows.
This is not an easy hunt, and to enjoy it to its fullest, hunters should be in good physical condition. We have an experienced, hard-working crew and you can count on them to give 100% effort. If you’re a serious hunter, and want to experience a traditional wilderness pack-in elk and deer hunt, this is the hunt for you.
Our pack-in camps include the hunter’s tent, separate cook tent, guides tent, and a latrine tent. Meals are complete, balanced and plentiful. You’ll work hard on this hunt, but you’ll have comfortable accommodations.
We have just learned that the Colorado Division of Wildlife has just announced a new High Country Trophy Deer Season in the Flat Tops Wilderness. This is a mule deer season that we have been waiting for. It will give us the opportunity to deer hunt in the period after the archery seasons, and before the October rifle seasons. This will be a deer only season. Hunt will take place in units 25 and 26, where Winterhawk has nearly all of the permitted area. Units 25 and 26 are in Garfield and Eagle counties, the two counties that have more record book mule deer bucks than any other two counties in the state. This will be a great opportunity to take a trophy mule deer. The bucks will be rubbed off and hard horned, not in velvet. We will be hunting for bucks 26" and larger with a minimum score of 170. This will be a pack-in camp hunt, likely from spike camps at or near timberline (10,000' to 11,500' elevation.)
There never has been a better time to hunt for trophy class mountain lions. Colorado has an abundance of lions and they prey heavily on mule deer. Biologists estimate that an adult cat kills one deer a week. While none of Winterhawk’s hunts are guaranteed, our success rates for quality Toms has been excellent, in most years running nearly 100%.
Our lion hunts are conducted from our ranch near Collbran, Colorado. Occasionally we use a travel trailer as hunt headquarters as it allows us the mobility necessary to quickly move to different country when weather conditions change.
We have excellent hounds and never tire of listening to them strike a trail and work a fresh track. Our hunts are strictly fair chase. Snow machines are our primary transportation and we use mules when conditions dictate… but when the dogs push the lion into rough country, the hunter should be prepared for some tough hiking.
Success rates are highest when hunters can be “on call” to take advantage of weather conditions, but if this isn’t possible, hunts may be scheduled for specific dates.
Our lion hunts are full service and are guided one-on-one. We can accommodate two hunters on a trip and will do so upon request. Whether you hunt your Tom with bow, muzzleloader, handgun or rifle, mountain lion hunting is exciting and the memories will last a lifetime.
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If you looking for a true high country hunt in land that will take your breath away, request information below and we will do everything in our power to ensure you have a great hunt. If you don't see the hunt you are looking for, give us a call and we will work with you to create the hunt of your dreams.
Contact:
Larry L. Amos
Larry@winterhawk.com
19561 Kimball Creek Road
Colibran, CO
USA
81654
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