1st time DIY Elk Hunt, Colorado 3rd Rifle Question

OP
Tabsgm

Tabsgm

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Ha, trust me I know the difference, but growing up on a beef farm, we did have a person shoot a Herford one year. So common sense in hunting is not necessarily common.
 
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Hey guys, I do appreciate the feedback, I get the newbie point, hard to give advice to anyone joining the club. with no credibility I am getting the point, walk though, cover ground, then do it 10X more when I think I have covered enough, until I find them. I am looking forward to getting out, and putting some dirt under my feet and seeing the country.

Last question then I will leave you all be. How touchy are elk to firearm discharge? White tails basically get herded across public and private land by shots going off. In some of the areas I have hunted you can actually plan on the animals movement by where others are shooting. I would assume Elk are similar, but such a large expanse of land, and cover it may be foolish to assume anything.. Do they tend to move or hunker down tighter when shots are going off?
They do both but I would say it’s more in response to hunter presence rather than shooting. Unit 14 alone is over 210,000 acres and last year during 3rd season only 30 elk were harvested. (Only 13 of those were bulls - assuming you’re on the OTC 4 point bull or better only hunt.). So there is not near as much shooting as there is in eastern deer areas.
 
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OP
Tabsgm

Tabsgm

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Yes sir, that is accurate, all the areas we have virtually scouted and will be scouting early next week, are in the OTC min 4 point category. So I get it, there will not be a lot of traffic and shooting. Here is a thought, is there any restriction about being in the woods/mountains the day before the season? We intend to backpack in and set up camp on the 5th or 6th? I know in MI for instance, I don't believe you can be in in the woods the day prior to the season opener.
 

cnelk

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2nd Rifle Season ends Sunday Nov 1. Those guys will probably be pulling out Monday.

Then the 3rd Season Orange Army will start arriving Wed Nov 4, doing exactly what you are doing.

There are no restrictions about going early.
 
OP
Tabsgm

Tabsgm

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Well I am sure there is an abundance I have no clue about when it comes to this, but we will be putting in the time, the effort and we will give it hell. I will post the results of the trip after we return. Thanks to all who added and provided input.
 
OP
Tabsgm

Tabsgm

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Hey all

3 days in OTC season the orange army is a force to deal with. BLM is frustrating seems to be controlled by outfitters. Any advice? Saw one bull 2 miles away 2 days before the season. Not a huge fan of driving the rds and rd hunting.
 
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Wyoming
I don’t care where you’re hunting, this time of year it’s just get up high and glass. Pressure will push them around so they could be almost anywhere. Plus moving from summer back to winter locations, again they could be anywhere.

I’m not familiar with Colorado seasons, have you hunted or is it still upcoming?
 
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Sep 23, 2020
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Hope it's going well for ya, got a 4th season cow tag in unit 18 which pretty much all burned up. Gonna be another interesting year walking around the woods with a gun "elk hunting". Ha ha ha
 

realunlucky

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Hope it's going well for ya, got a 4th season cow tag in unit 18 which pretty much all burned up. Gonna be another interesting year walking around the woods with a gun "elk hunting". Ha ha ha
Where you going to walk with the national forest closed?

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 
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Where you going to walk with the national forest closed?

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I figured I was good since they didn't offer me a refund like they did with me 2nd season deer tag. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, will be calling CPW and NF tomorrow.
 

realunlucky

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I figured I was good since they didn't offer me a refund like they did with me 2nd season deer tag. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, will be calling CPW and NF tomorrow.
I talked to someone today who said it was still closed. I personally haven't checked but hopefully it'll be a non issue for you.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 
OP
Tabsgm

Tabsgm

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Well all

First Elk hunt was a bust. We saw one bull 2 days before the opener at 9600 feet, and covered a ton of ground from elevation of 10K to 6400 and never saw another through the season.

I spoke to a number of other hunters saying this year was not normal, and they had similar results as my own. Trip was still awesome, explored a lot of gorgeous country and hiked my As& off. Is there any truth to what i heard numerous times, the elk were not moving this year as they have in years past, between Craig and Meeker? One guy even went as far as to say that in years past it was possible to see a couple hundred elk a day on the private fields at elevation.

Thanks again for all who offered advice.
 

11boo

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Grand Jct, CO
Well you got out had fun and saw one more elk than a lot of guys. It is a challenge for sure. I killed my first elk, on my first hunt up near there what seems a lifetime ago. Pure luck on my part for sure, but I have not missed a season since then.
 

Packer9037

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Carlton, MN
Tabsgm - thanks for sharing the feedback. I’d love to touch base with you....I’ll be a first timer next year out in CO (sounds like a similar area) and would love to get some feedback from ya. If you’re up for it, would you PM me or I can shoot ya an email?
 
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Knoxville, TN
Elk were not moving in the area between Craig and Meeker. Talked to the head ranger and he said the elk were not moving and didn't know why. Our guide said the 1st and 2nd season elk were around, but disappeared during 3rd. The ones we saw were in the nastiest, most remote, steep areas. The snow and winds may have had something to do with it. We saw a group in the same secluded area for 3 days, never moved more than a few yards. There were about 20 or 30 cows, 2 spikes and 2 legal bulls, both 4 points. I shot the bigger of the 2 and the other one wasn't shot. Hunter missed it 6 times! Mine was shot at 505 yards, closest we could get from an area across the valley.

Mule deer were a different story, they were everywhere!!!!! Moving and rutting just about everywhere we hunted. Shot a big 5x5.

A friend hunted around Kremmling in the fire area and they saw very little. 8 people and they shot 4 mule deer does. Weather was also different, they were a bit warmer and way less snow. In the camp and area around us we had about 18 inches and temps 15 to 25 F and very windy.

All the hunters we saw that shot something had mule deer. We did not see anyone with an elk.
 
OP
Tabsgm

Tabsgm

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Oct 29, 2020
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Well that report makes me feel a little better. Many of the hunters we spoke to told us that it was not a normal year. We will likely try our hand at antelope and mule deer next year to up our odds. Learned a lot, saw a lot of gorgeous country. Biggest lesson learned, I will be working out the entire year to make sure I can capitalize on my hunting time next year.
 

Poser

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Dec 27, 2013
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Durango CO
Because I have seen and heard this statement every year from countless hunters over the course of my entire hunting career, east and West:

“This year is not normal”

Someone body want to fill me in on what a “normal” hunting season looks like? What qualities does it posses that makes it “normal” and how often or frequently does a “normal” hunting season occur?
 
OP
Tabsgm

Tabsgm

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Oct 29, 2020
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I would add one other question, i heard from a number of hunters this year while we were looking for Elk, that stated they had cow tags. Is the typical sucess for Cows pretty good, or is it about the same as the percentages for bulls?
 

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