Colorado OTC ELK

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Nov 27, 2013
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Just to let you know, I was in an unmarked, undisclosed OTC unit this weekend and saw 3 nursury groups that totalled more than 200 elk. There was a velvet covered bull bugling and running around like the bugs were on him, but he was chasing everyone around. Funny to watch actually.

Why the post? I'm getting old, and there are plenty of elk in CO, don't let the naysayers put you off. Hunt hard, enjoy. There was a bull that made all of these calves!

Only sad thing was the mountains on my Coors Light weren't exacly blue........ All alone, nobody in sight...... Didn't matter.
 

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11boo

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Grand Jct, CO
Good stuff. Slide that beer in a stream and the mountains will get blue!

Some of these posts are quite different, they almost seem desperate for any intel.
There are elk all over my OTC units, and really in most of them.

My opinion, elk season will be good this year. It’ll be great just going, any harvest is just a bonus. Get out, have fun and don’t do this.

7B575F2D-1872-43F6-B424-96A7DA9C4F5B.jpeg
 

Gapmaster

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MERICA!!
How’s the weather? I know it varies greatly from range to range and some times just opposite sides of the mountain. Just wondering on overall precipitation. Things looking good??
 

dingleberns

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Same here in my OTC unit. Not as many elk but they are active. Three bulls, very large six point that is still growing, couple cows, two babies, and a large black bear :oops:. Find a spot that is hard to get to which many people won't do and you'll be in elk. Then you just have to harvest it.
 
OP
C
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Very hot and dry. It was 103 in Denver and 85 at the truck. Elk out early am and just prior to dark. No rain at all hence fire bans all over.
 

11boo

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How’s the weather? I know it varies greatly from range to range and some times just opposite sides of the mountain. Just wondering on overall precipitation. Things looking good??
Hotter than the gates of hell in GJ. Much cooler above 10k’. Pretty darn dry.
sounds like any summer if you throw out the Covid and Burn/loot/murder.
 

NMframed

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Great post and beautiful pictures!


This is my first year CO OTC archery but have hunted elk in NM for quite a few years. All the posts about how bad it is make me laugh. I’ve never been one to get discouraged by what others say and I’m always up for a challenge. I guess I’m the competition the naysayers are worried about. Oh well.

Me, the wife, and son are headed out early Wednesday morning (2-1/2 hour drive from home to trailhead) for a 4 day 3 night backpacking trip to scout a new area I’m planning on hunting early September. I hope to see some elk, but my son only has one thing on his mind, fly fishing for high country trout. Trailhead is at 10K and we’ll be going up to around 11.5 on about a 20 mile loop. I wont have room for any silver bullets but I’m sure a flask of crown will find its way into my pack.

I’ll make sure to post pics and an update on how things looked when I get back.
 
OP
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Great post and beautiful pictures!


This is my first year CO OTC archery but have hunted elk in NM for quite a few years. All the posts about how bad it is make me laugh. I’ve never been one to get discouraged by what others say and I’m always up for a challenge. I guess I’m the competition the naysayers are worried about. Oh well.

Me, the wife, and son are headed out early Wednesday morning (2-1/2 hour drive from home to trailhead) for a 4 day 3 night backpacking trip to scout a new area I’m planning on hunting early September. I hope to see some elk, but my son only has one thing on his mind, fly fishing for high country trout. Trailhead is at 10K and we’ll be going up to around 11.5 on about a 20 mile loop. I wont have room for any silver bullets but I’m sure a flask of crown will find its way into my pack.

I’ll make sure to post pics and an update on how things looked when I get back.


Have fun, just remember the Cutthroats are spawning so it can be feast or famine on the high country lakes as all the fish will be stacked up together or on beds. Just go to the inlets and outlets and you will see them. Any of the small cricks with beaver dams will hold BrookTrout have fun.

These fish were taken end of July and the spawn was still going on.
 

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Phaseolus

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Hotter than the gates of hell in GJ. Much cooler above 10k’. Pretty darn dry.
sounds like any summer if you throw out the Covid and Burn/loot/murder.
My Wife and I just came back from 5 nights of camping in the Owens Creek area. We saw plenty of elk and a surprising number of deer. That’s one way to beat the hot days of East Orchard Mesa.
 

11boo

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How were the mosquitoes up there? Not too bad in Cottonwood drainage, some years they are unbearable on the Mesa.
 

Ucsdryder

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Jan 24, 2015
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Just to let you know, I was in an unmarked, undisclosed OTC unit this weekend and saw 3 nursury groups that totalled more than 200 elk. There was a velvet covered bull bugling and running around like the bugs were on him, but he was chasing everyone around. Funny to watch actually.

Why the post? I'm getting old, and there are plenty of elk in CO, don't let the naysayers put you off. Hunt hard, enjoy. There was a bull that made all of these calves!

Only sad thing was the mountains on my Coors Light weren't exacly blue........ All alone, nobody in sight...... Didn't matter.


Covey, this is earth shattering. Are you saying there are actually elk in Colorado and they didn’t all migrate to Idaho like people said! Dang! I’m impressed you were able to find elk in early July when they’re all hanging out in huge herds above treeline!
 
OP
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Covey, this is earth shattering. Are you saying there are actually elk in Colorado and they didn’t all migrate to Idaho like people said! Dang! I’m impressed you were able to find elk in early July when they’re all hanging out in huge herds above treeline!


Those same elk will be there when the season opens so what's your point? I've arrowed 1-2 elk for many years now in Colorado based on my summer trips. Are you saying that it's useless info? Are you saying all those rubs on the trees to get to that high basin is garbage info as well? Or are you one of those Northern Colorado guys that simply can't stand the fact others hunt Colorado and would rather start BS topics on every forum out there vs. actually hunting related topics?

Yes, I've seen your posts, they are nothing of value and are a waste of server space.
 

Ucsdryder

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Definitely not useless information. More like obvious information. Colorado has the biggest elk herd in the country. Of course there are elk here and in July, Stevie Wonder could find them. That doesn’t translate into September for most people. If you don’t believe me look at the success rates for OTC units. I don’t remember the last time I saw a post anywhere that said there are no elk in Colorado. Most posts talk about the huge hunting pressure in otc that pushes the elk into hiding or more often onto private.

Not sure what you have against guys in northern Colorado. Maybe somebody can give you a hug or share a beer with you so you aren’t drinking warm beers alone.
 
OP
C
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Messages
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Definitely not useless information. More like obvious information. Colorado has the biggest elk herd in the country. Of course there are elk here and in July, Stevie Wonder could find them. That doesn’t translate into September for most people. If you don’t believe me look at the success rates for OTC units. I don’t remember the last time I saw a post anywhere that said there are no elk in Colorado. Most posts talk about the huge hunting pressure in otc that pushes the elk into hiding or more often onto private.

Not sure what you have against guys in northern Colorado. Maybe somebody can give you a hug or share a beer with you so you aren’t drinking warm beers alone.

It did translate into opening day elk as the seasons always started in August i.e. summer elk. I think it was last year we had 5 elk down (arrowed in OTC) the first weekend so what I see now does matter. Also, this will be the first year it starts in September which means those Stevie Wonder elk will be bugling right off, or not long after opening day.

I've never looked at a success rate for any OTC unit. Why? You have no clue what type of hunters are in there or how they hunt. It's a meaningless stat for elk. When you see the levels of elk I saw this past weekend, it means one thing. There are elk in the unit, and you can kill them.

As for the "alone" comments, I don't let other peoples schedules dictate when I hit the hills. Actually in two days I put on 13 miles 4K plus elevation. Many don't have it in them and the dark doesn't scare me. You?

Enjoy, I'll update this thread Sunday or Monday with Elk from a different unit I'm sure.
 

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