La Garita Outfitters, LLC

Available Hunts

Chico Basin Ranch

The Chico Basin Ranch is the definition of the old west prairie. This 87,000-acre ranch is a family run working cattle ranch located on the eastern plains of Colorado. It’s diverse ecosystem of high plains, deep arroyos, massive creek bottoms and alfalfa fields make it a prime habitat for a healthy population of mule deer, whitetails and antelope. We are extremely passionate about our mule deer on the Ranch and focus on older age class “trophy” hunts. This hunt is not about harvesting any buck but more geared towards long days behind the glass searching for those mature bucks. Our rifle hunts typically take place around the first week of November which is generally the beginning of the rut but dates may be adjusted to avoid a full moon. Our archery hunts fall in the last two weeks of November when the rut is at its peak. This archery hunt is an extremely active hunt, 3-4 stalks per day are very common with a high shot opportunity, shots being under 50 yards. The mature bucks we target on these hunts start in the low 170’s and extend into 190’s or better

The Chico has a plethora of antelope giving the hunter plenty of options and opportunities on finding the right buck. We offer archery, muzzleloader and rifle antelope hunts on this Ranch. The late August archery hunt is more focused on water holes and strategic ground blind placement however if the monsoons hit, we will utilize more spot-n-stalks with decoys. The muzzy hunt still utilizes water holes with the addition of spot and stalk with decoys as the rut begins.  The rifle hunt is a spot-n-stalk style of hunting using pickups/UTVs to travel the ranch and then rely on good glass to separate the smaller bucks from the shooters. Bucks harvested are typical for Colorado in the low to mid 70” range with some bigger bucks in the upper 70’s but we have taken a few in the low 80’s.

All of our hunts include cabin-style lodging with two home-cooked meals and a packed lunch per day. We pair you up with an experienced guide that will not only guide you but will also take care of your harvest in a clean, professional manner.

Zapata Ranch

Elk from this herd call the Zapata home due to its vast grasslands, abundant water sources and cover provided by the rolling sand dunes. Land owner tags are available to all and do not require any additional cost or preference points. The beauty of this hunt is the type of land owner voucher which allows rifle bull hunts to begin September 1st and run through the end of November. This provides unprecedented opportunities to hunt Colorado elk in the rut with a rifle. Cow hunts are based off of the same voucher system, but are “List C” tags allowing for multiple elk tags within the same year (for more information on this type of tag, refer to the Colorado big game online brochure at www.cpw.state.co.us ). Rifle cow hunts are available from mid-August through mid-November. Although these hunts are rifle-based, opportunities are available to hunt elk with bows, black powder, etc. Hunting the Zapata provides extremely good odds of not only taking a bull, but one that scores well into the 300s. This hunt provides on-ranch lodging and features flat land as opposed to the rugged terrain typically associated with Colorado elk hunts.

​All of our hunts include cabin-style lodging with two home-cooked meals and a packed lunch per day. We pair you up with an experienced guide that will not only guide you but will also take care of your harvest in a clean, professional manner.

Lasater Ranch

The Lasater Ranch boasts a deep and unique history in cattle ranching that started in old Mexico, moved north into Texas and then finally planted roots along the Big Sandy Creek south west of Limon, CO. The Ranch is 8700 acres of beautiful, rolling grasslands that’s cut by the cottonwood tree filled creek bottom of the Big Sandy. With thanks to the Lasater’s, their holistic style of cattle management leads to extremely impressive grass growth and forage on this ranch.

This part of Colorado is known for producing some real giants in the mule deer game and the Lasater is holding true to those standards. We offer two different rifle hunts, “early rifle” is typically the first week of November and “late” rifle is always December 1-5. The early rifle hunt is a pre-rut hunt that consists of systematically covering the creek bottom and surrounding grasslands glassing for mature bucks that have not yet started to rut but typically can be found not too far from the does. This hunt requires patience because we will see a lot of 2-4-year-old bucks that have great genes but need a few more years to reach the full potential. The late rifle hunt typically falls around the peak of the rut or just after and we focus more on the doe groups in hope that they are still hot and pulling in the big bucks from the prairie.

As with our Chico Basin hunt, the archery deer hunt on the Lasater is filled with excitement. This hunt is conducted in the last two weeks of November during the heat of the rut. A typical day could consist of 3-4 stalks while seeing deer almost all day long. During the “cruising” phase of the rut, the cottonwood trees do offer great concealment for ground blind sits. On this hunt we do a combo of ground blinds and big glassing leading into spot-n-stalks. All of our deer hunts on this ranch are on a strict management program which means young deer will not be killed unless they show poor genes.

The Lasater’s antelope population boasts not only quantity but excellent quality as well. Our hunts are rifle only and a patient hunter can easily expect an opportunity on a mid-70’s buck on the 3-day hunt. The rolling grasslands with a combination of rocky bluffs makes these speed goat stalks pure fun. Typically, we take 2-4 hunters on this hunt and while 2 points are needed to draw for a non-resident, we do have the opportunity to purchase landowner vouchers if needed and available.

All of our hunts include cabin-style lodging with two home-cooked meals and a packed lunch per day. We pair you up with an experienced guide that will not only guide you but will also take care of your harvest in a clean, professional manner.

Wilder Ranch Bison Hunts

Please visit www.BisonworX.com for more info.