Colorado rifle dates

[louisianahunter]

I'm sure there's a thread somewhere discussing it but I haven't seen one so I thought I'd start one. With the CO applications coming up and the date changes last year how much did people see the date change effect the hunt? Going back it seems 2nd rifle is always the worst time to hunt basically but with dates as much as 10 days later it seems to me it'd be a whole different experience. For people who were banking on that last year and got a 2nd rifle tag did that hold up? Was 3rd even better by a noticeable amount? I realize year to year a lot changes with snow/pressure etc and so there's too many variables to go off one season but just curious if these dates could make 2 the new 3 and 3 the new 4. Not sure what that makes 4 but anyways interested to hear peoples thoughts.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I think the late dates helped for sure. I took my son on a 2nd season hunt and he killed his buck opening day. There was no rut evidence yet obviously but we did see a lot of bucks considering we were only in the unit a short time.

I hunted 3rd season and the bucks were rutting but not active all day due (IMO) to the warmer temps. The hunt was still awesome and I was able to watch two to three mature bucks per day on average until about the 4th day when I killed my buck.

This year could be better in a lot of units since I believe we'll see a better overall age class.

 

[willfrye027]

Great weather in 2nd season could make for excellent hunting…better than warm weather in 3rd. Warm weather in either will be tough. Either way the closer you get to the rut, the more likely you will see a bigger buck making a mistake checking does during daylight. Personally I’d choose 3rd season if I had the points; you’ve got the potential for weather and more does going into estrus. Could get the perfect conditions, 2nd seems like more of a gamble, but drawing a “better” unit in 2nd season that you could not draw for 3rd, and hoping for good weather is not a bad plan either.

 

[OneShot]

We had high expectations for 2nd last year due to the later dates. In reality, the year before was a lot better hunt during 2nd because we actually had cold temps and a good amount of snow. The warmer weather last season and lack of snow hurt the hunt, at least in the unit we were in. Hopefully we will be getting some good weather this year as I’ll be drawing a 3rd season tag.

 

[Azone]

Burned points on a 4th season tag. It seemed as if the rut was cooling off in my area more and more each day during the season. My partner killed a nice one on turkey day and I ate my tag waiting out a big one that would not venture off private. No snow down low and we spotted groups of elk up at the 10.5K to 11K range as well.
When we broke down camp we were in T-shirts. I was expecting a frozen hell for this hunt but ended up kicking dust up most of the trip. Banking on a no point 3rd rifle tag this year or will be going back with a OTC bull tag.

 

[sndmn11]

2020 was significantly better.

 

[ColoradoV]

Not going kill what does not exist….

More deer got killed imo last year than I have ever seen. More big bucks, more small bucks, more mid size bucks.

Locals or guided hunters once again got the best bucks I know of as w the long layover from Sept 28 - opening of 2 nd season.. Or well the guys who actually put in the time made sure the big boys were not there for 3 rd season..

Interesting dynamics out there for sure. With the degradation of the early seasons by cba choosing to move the dates so far back for archery the best hunt may be heavy pre scouting then the first 24-48 hours of second… Or that is when the biggest bucks I know of were taken (other than the eastern plains) in 2021..

 

[Marble]

I've always preferred 2nd season, and I like it in years when it's unusually warm and no large storms have come in. Deer and elk are still up high (11,000+ ) in summer patterns and are very predictable. When the big storms come in it pushes the majority of the deer out of the area I'm in.

I may stop deer hunting second season there and just get a September early mule deer tag when I can draw it.

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