Colorado to much hunting pressure for my comfort .

[porkchop76]

So I hunted unit 24,12,33 this year for the second rifle season . To me it was a free for all . Similar to walking around in a pumpkin patch . 50 degree highs 20-25 degree lows. PEOPLE EVERYWHERE ! ! I probably covered 50 miles in 8 days . Last year the same places I saw maybe a dozen guys . This year hundreds . I mean a dangerous amount of idiots with guns . Caught a guy looking at me through his scope 1 morning after a 1.5 mile walk in. He was about 800 yards from me . I cussed him loud enough he heard me , and it echoed . Probably not the smartest move , but oh well . (I mean come on! Buy some binoculars !) I enjoy colorado , but I'm wondering which units would provide some solitude . Not looking for GPS coordinate , or which rock I should sit on . LOL I'm all for a hard hunt no problem . But mostly wanna get away from the crowds. I was after elk this year , but will be deer, elk combination in 2019. Any pointers ? Thanks

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[juan trueno]

Hahaha. What do you think the crowds will be Like next year in the places suggested to you on this thread- if anyone gives you any

 

[sndmn11]

So I hunted unit 24,12,33 this year for the second rifle season . To me it was a free for all . Similar to walking around in a pumpkin patch . 50 degree highs 20-25 degree lows. PEOPLE EVERYWHERE ! ! I probably covered 50 miles in 8 days . Last year the same places I saw maybe a dozen guys . This year hundreds . I mean a dangerous amount of idiots with guns . Caught a guy looking at me through his scope 1 morning after a 1.5 mile walk in. He was about 800 yards from me . I cussed him loud enough he heard me , and it echoed . Probably not the smartest move , but oh well . (I mean come on! Buy some binoculars !) I enjoy colorado , but I'm wondering which units would provide some solitude . Not looking for GPS coordinate , or which rock I should sit on . LOL I'm all for a hard hunt no problem . But mostly wanna get away from the crowds. I was after elk this year , but will be deer, elk combination in 2019. Any pointers ? Thanks

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I didn't see any other hunters afield this year in third or fourth rifle season, and having not hunted a regular rifle season since the 90s, I was expecting to. Some of those days were in the units you listed. The few folks I talked to that were driving around were super nice and I didn't talk to anyone who didn't exchange information. I wonder if hunting the first OTC season on the largest elk herd in the world had anything to do with your experience? You can PM me for some GPS coordinates if you change your mind about not looking for any.

 

[JWP58]

Pretty sure it's like that everywhere. Despite what we hear from advocates, I just cant believe hunter numbers are down. I continuously see more and more people....and not by a road.

When I see more and more people, g&f set new application records every year, I dont buy the "less hunters" story.

 

[Pghhunter]

I hunted one of the units for 2nd rifle this year with an outfitter. Horseback and drop camp 6 miles in and didn’t see a soul in 10 days.

 

[FLAK]

As I've gotten older, solitude has become a very Important part
of the hunt.

 

[SWOHTR]

Maybe you should take a break from it for a few years. Let the hunting fad pass.


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[wannakillabigbull]

I just got done hunting here in Colorado. I hunted third rifle for deer and fourth season for elk, both in the unit with the most hunters for those species in the entire state for those respective seasons. And wouldn't you guess it I ran into an eff-ton of hunters. I had also never been to this unit before, but I hunted as hard as I could and took a mature buck and a mature bull. I'm not a great hunter. You can either sit there and complain about the pressure or you can grit your teeth and get to work.

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

I'm wondering which units would provide some solitude.

Aren't we all . . . If some of us know that, do you really think we are going to post it on the internet?

 

[ChrisAU]

I saw 17,000 people in Unit 54, if anyone wants to go there next year, don't!

 

[cnelk]

....but I hunted as hard as I could and took a mature buck and a mature bull. I'm not a great hunter. You can either sit there and complain about the pressure or you can grit your teeth and get to work.

^^^^ This is what good hunters do

 

[9Line]

So I hunted unit 24,12,33 this year for the second rifle season . To me it was a free for all . Similar to walking around in a pumpkin patch . 50 degree highs 20-25 degree lows. PEOPLE EVERYWHERE ! ! I probably covered 50 miles in 8 days . Last year the same places I saw maybe a dozen guys . This year hundreds . I mean a dangerous amount of idiots with guns . Caught a guy looking at me through his scope 1 morning after a 1.5 mile walk in. He was about 800 yards from me . I cussed him loud enough he heard me , and it echoed . Probably not the smartest move , but oh well . (I mean come on! Buy some binoculars !) I enjoy colorado , but I'm wondering which units would provide some solitude . Not looking for GPS coordinate , or which rock I should sit on . LOL I'm all for a hard hunt no problem . But mostly wanna get away from the crowds. I was after elk this year , but will be deer, elk combination in 2019. Any pointers ? Thanks

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While I believe this post may have good intent regarding a request for information, I feel it may have been perceived wrong due to the fact it is your very first post here. Anywhere you go by foot in Colorado will typically see hunting pressure during rifle season, you do have a few options. 1: get a bow. 2: research the units on Colorado's site to determine the number of hunters a field in a specific unit, versus the number of animals harvested, this will give you a general idea of the pressure. 3: Pick a different state. Ultimately, finding areas where there isnt a ton of pressure is difficult, but it can be done. Feel free to hit me up via a PM and I would be glad to help, but Colorado's site has a ton of info if you put in the time and dissect it.

 

[sndmn11]

I genuinely think that knowing your unit is the number 1 factor in success. I talk to lots of folks year round about their hunting seasons and the people who bounce around from unit to unit seldom have success while the people who have been in their unit for years and sometimes decades clean house. Two posters in this very thread are perfect examples of that and I think accounted for 7 animals this year. Something like that doesn't happen in the notorious units because the tags are hard to get, but for those who commit themselves to learning where they are hunting and those animals it is surely possible in the inglorious units.
So the question of "What unit?" probably doesn't matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of things because if the hunter doesn't change, the results will likely be the same. I have hunted the units listed in the original post many times and come across one other hunter in the field, it wasn't the units fault. This sentiment seems to be echoed by others in this thread as well that changing units might not resolve the complaint. The most malleable aspect of our hunts is our self, so those who look to change that first seem to run across success quicker and more consistently.

 

[Jd259]

I hunt one of the units you listed and have only came across 1 drop camp and met a guy with some llama’s in there in the past several years oh and one other horse group...

 

[jm1607]

My friend lives in a good OTC unit and couldn't even find a cow to shoot during 3rd season. Think it's time to kick OTC and make them draw..

 

[HookUp]

Sounds like most modern firearm hunts. If the ground is flat you are probably in a gang bang spot. If you are anywhere close to a road it is probably camp city. Change to primitive weapons or work harder.

 

[black dawg]

Pretty sure it's like that everywhere. Despite what we hear from advocates, I just cant believe hunter numbers are down. I continuously see more and more people....and not by a road.

When I see more and more people, g&f set new application records every year, I dont buy the "less hunters" story.

,

See the same thing in MT. Used to be the woods were pretty empty until rifle season. Now spring bear, archery, and rifle seasons, people everywhere.

 

[Jimss]

It's impossible for the CPW to manage elk herds and hunter numbers with unlimited over the counter elk tags. Colo went to all draw tags for deer many years ago and the quality of bucks has skyrocketed. Just because Colo went to all draw deer tags doesn't mean that tags are difficult to draw. You can actually draw incredible deer tags every year. The same could be true if the CPW went to all draw units for elk. It would be great if the CPW would be able to manage elk and hunter numbers....maybe it's just a dream of mine but I keep hoping. Although it may be possible to find seclusion in OTC elk units I refrain from hunting Colo unless I draw limited elk tags. It's just a pain in the rear dealing with all the yahoos hunting for mediocre bulls. There's a lot of other trips I would rather do in the fall than hunting OTC Colo elk!

I would recommend providing comments to the CPW when they are taking suggestions for the next 5 year period. Please provide constructive comments to the CPW. If they hear the same thing from enough hunters (both res and nonres) they may be willing to change things for the better!

 

[TexasCub]

This was my first year hunting Colorado as a Resident, and honestly I was absolutely blown away by the number of hunters and the experience as a result. Those of you saying that primitive weapons makes things better I say BS, I hiked in 4.5 miles during muzzleloader to set up my spike camp and there were so many archery hunters in there it was ridiculous.i literally met 13 different hunters in one day, and 2/3 of them were not from Colorado. They were from Texas,Oklahoma, Indiana and other places. There were meadows that I intended on hunting above 10,000 and there were literally tent camps in them when I got up there. I had to quit bugling because it brought hunters to me. 2nd rifle for deer and my son had an elk tag was absolutely insane. It looked like a small city from above looking down into the valleys an hr before first light as hunters prepared to go out and hunt. Even hunting high ridges and basins we ran into other hunters at every turn. To be real honest it’s a pretty big let down to move here and be so excited to hunt and then experience what I did. I’m sure some people are successful but what I saw was that the majority aren’t and man it’s a lotta work to execute these hunts and only leave diappointed. Most hunting I have done invoivles the hunter being more cunning than the animal he hunts, here the human pressure factor here is completely unavoidable and saps so much of the excitement out of the hunt. It’s a big state with lots of wilderness but it’s absolutely astonishing how many people are out there doing the same thing at the same time. Reminds me of combat fishing for salmon in Alaska but at least in that the odds are good, here not so much. I’m sure some will respond with “I never saw a single hunter where we were at” man I sure wish I knew where that is! I can’t see how continuing to give res and non-res unlimited OTC archery and rifle tags and think that this working. I think it should be draw for everything and they have to reduce the number of non-res hunters, it’s just too much. Although we all know that the state only cares about one thing and that’s $$$, they don’t care how many non - res hunters leave here empty handed every season as long as they get their $661 for that tag that gives them hope of success!

 

[huntstrong2850]

I hunted on a draw tag for second season rifle that didn’t have a lot of tag holders in it, yet I still seen large groups of hunters each and every day. The sheer amount of people that people bring along on a hunt who don’t even have a tag themselves is mind blowing. This was my first time in Colorado as well and I couldn’t believe the amount of hunters In a draw unit. 60% or so just there with the guy with the tag.
Colorado seems to be by far be the worst from my experience. I hunted in August in Utah for deer and went 6-7 days never seen another human. I hunted Arizona on easy to draw coues tags and once again in 5-6 days I never had issues of other hunters.. it’s literally like hunting the wasatch its combat hunting lol... I don’t for the life of me get why it’s that way and mainly only in Colorado. By reading the comments here I’m glad my experience wasn’t any different, I did manage to harvest a bull elk, but it took 5 days almost to even locate the herd from the pressure being put on them. When I did find them I will say I was totally alone, not another hunter in 2 days did I see.
It’s not just OTC units that are over crowded but if the draw unit I hunted was any indication of how OTC units are then no way I’ll ever go OTC IN COLORADO LOL...


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