Frequently Asked Questions

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Where are you located?


The ranch is located in western Colorado, with the main headquarters located about 25 miles southeast of Grand Junction off of Highway 50 in the Escalante Canyon. The ranch deeded ground runs up the canyon and includes private ground on the Uncompahgre Plateau within the national forest.


How big is the ranch?


The Escalante Ranch consists of over 5,000 deeded acres of private ground which is spread out across BLM and Forest Service grazing permits which cover about 100,000 acres.


Where are you hunting cabins located?


All four of our hunting cabins are located at the upper end of the ranch on private ground parcels which sit inside the national forest on the Uncompahgre Plateau. The main ranch headquarters is also available and is located at the lower end of the ranch, right on the Gunnison River. 


What GMU (game management unit) are you located in?


The ranch is located in GMU 62


Where can I hunt?


You will have access to all private ground owned by the ranch and can also hunt BLM & Uncompahgre National Forest ground adjacent to the ranch in Game Management Unit 62.


Can I buy a hunting license from you?


Although we do receive a limited number of landowner vouchers for deer licenses each year, we strongly encourage all hunters to try to draw a license through Colorado Parks and Wildlife – you can apply online or get more information at http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/hunt.aspx.  There are a number of reasons to put in for the draw versus counting on getting one of our vouchers:

· Landowner vouchers only give you the right to purchase a license – you still have to pay the standard license fee to the DOW.

· We charge a fee for landowner vouchers in addition to our standard price for a hunt.

· We do not receive enough vouchers for all our hunters – so they are available on a first come, first serve basis.

· The number of vouchers we receive changes every year, so we will not know how many we will receive until mid July each year.

· Almost all seasons in our unit have very good odds of drawing with little or no preference points required and bull elk tags are available over the counter in our unit.


What is your success rate on the ranch?


There really isn’t an exact answer for this question, because a lot of it really depends on the hunter. We get some groups which aren’t what we consider serious hunters - they mainly just want to get away from it all and if they happen to get an easy shot they will take it, but they’re not working hard to find opportunities for a shot. On the other end we get very skilled hunters who are at a point where they are only interested in “trophy” animals and will let many opportunities go by waiting for the perfect one. That being said, we will say that if you consider yourself a good hunter, you’ll definitely have some opportunities – whether you take advantage of them or not is up to you.


Which USGS Quad maps cover your ranch?


The following quad maps cover the ranch:

· Dominguez

· Good Point

· Escalante Forks

· Kelso Point

· Snipe Mountain

· Keith Creek

· Uncompahgre Butte

· Casto Reservoir


Can you help me pack out an animal?


Packing out animals is not part of our hunting services – try to make sure you are able to get you animal packed out without a problem. 


Is there a place to keep animals during the season?


We have a walk in cooler for storing animals available to all hunters at our ranch headquarters.


Do you offer guided hunts?


Hunts on the ranch are non-guided, however after you have settled in at one of our cabins, our cowboys will check in and give you advice on where to hunt based on what they have seen in the area.