Real elk hunting!

[Wapiti1]

Just came back from muzzy season in New Mexico 6C. This was our first western hunt and to be honest we were pretty appalled. It was a circus of locals just bombing down closed or non motorized trails in 4x4s, ATVs, and SxS all day looking to jump shoot a bull. Only a single sitting in 5 days was undisturbed by vehicle traffic. The rest of the time it was dudes literally driving in front of our sets, or driving into where we were chasing bugling bulls right at shooting light.

One group shot a bull and decided to mow down a 100 yard path in thick National Forest timber with chainsaws so they could fit their 3/4 ton dodge through to pick it up.

The only other people we actually saw putting in sweat work was guides and their clients.

That sounds like a tough hunt. I hunted 10 a few years ago and it was similar. Lots of ATV traffic and a lot of trespassing by those ATVs (10 has a lot of private to navigate). But no one walked farther than 1/4 mile. Pretty annoying, but didn't really affect my hunt.

Did you kill?

Jeremy

 

[trophyhill]

Think of the poor bastards in UT (soon to be me) who can’t even get a general deer tag every year.

I’m a poor bastard in NM who can’t seem to draw a deer tag anymore either. I haven’t drawn a deer tag for 3 years now which forces me out of state if I want to hunt. Maybe I’ll go visit family in Ohio in a few weeks and catch the rut just outside Coshocton over feeders.

 

[trophyhill]

Just came back from muzzy season in New Mexico 6C. This was our first western hunt and to be honest we were pretty appalled. It was a circus of locals just bombing down closed or non motorized trails in 4x4s, ATVs, and SxS all day looking to jump shoot a bull. Only a single sitting in 5 days was undisturbed by vehicle traffic. The rest of the time it was dudes literally driving in front of our sets, or driving into where we were chasing bugling bulls right at shooting light.

One group shot a bull and decided to mow down a 100 yard path in thick National Forest timber with chainsaws so they could fit their 3/4 ton dodge through to pick it up.

The only other people we actually saw putting in sweat work was guides and their clients.

I had a different experience last year on a landowner cow rifle hunt. I never saw another hunter in 6c other than if I drove from 1 area to another. Had multiple opportunities. If I ever do that again I will take my bow instead. Stalking in tight in the thick timber with a high power scope cost me an elk in the freezer and I have no doubt with my bow the outcome would have been different.

 

[Chipz]

That sounds like a tough hunt. I hunted 10 a few years ago and it was similar. Lots of ATV traffic and a lot of trespassing by those ATVs (10 has a lot of private to navigate). But no one walked farther than 1/4 mile. Pretty annoying, but didn't really affect my hunt.

Did you kill?

Jeremy

No, we did not tag out. We saw and heard plenty of elk but nothing we could get a shot on.

I would apply again for the same unit for archery, as I assume it wouldnt be such a shitshow.

 

[Gerbdog]

I’m a poor bastard in NM who can’t seem to draw a deer tag anymore either. I haven’t drawn a deer tag for 3 years now which forces me out of state if I want to hunt. Maybe I’ll go visit family in Ohio in a few weeks and catch the rut just outside Coshocton over feeders.

That aint bad... took my brother 10 years as a resident down there to draw an elk tag in a decent unit... i'm not talking just applying for a Valle here either. I think he just burned up all his luck early in his hunting career, drew several once in a lifetimes when he was 18-20 yrs old.

 

[S-3 ranch]

Is public land that bad ? With otc hunters?
I usually just hunt private or ranching for wildlife in Colorado

 

[Gerbdog]

Is public land that bad ? With otc hunters?
I usually just hunt private or ranching for wildlife in Colorado

Eh... depends what your looking for... which i think is what this thread is mostly about. IF you want unpressured elk and not seeing another human soul? MAYBE you'll find that secret spot, but not many secrets left in CO.

If you'd like to mess up your encounters on your own without the possibility of another hunter messing up your encounter for you? OTC always has the chance of that. So does anywhere i suppose but... there are certainly quite a few hunters in OTC units.

The elk are there, but they end up pretty pressured, which makes them a bit call shy (usually... there's always that bull... but he tends to die)

What i get from this thread, and i understand it, is it would be more fun to hunt unpressured elk. Cant disagree with that.

i guess my mental state towards elk hunting has changed since hunting CO OTC the last 5 years..... i used to believe i could end up with several encounters with actual shot possibilities in a season... i pretty much train and count on having 1 single opportunity to pull the bow string. Thats probably more on my hunting skills then anything. A few roksliders go out and call in bulls every day of the season, even in OTC. I dont. For me there is usually just that right mix of weather, cool weather, and a morning where the mountain side is fired up, thats my one opportunity in a season on OTC. The rest of the time its usually a lazy bed bugle and shut up, if anything.

 

[Wrench]

Just because you kill an elk opening day or any day of the season, doesn't mean that you had good elk hunting. I'm talking specifically about archery season......as is the OP I believe. I've killed 6x6's in seasons that I would consider horrible elk hunting seasons. And I've eaten my tag in some seasons where I had an absolute blast with outstanding elk hunting all season long. But it's been a few years since one of those.

100% I passed a few good opportunities that my friends think I'm crazy for. I had the entire month of September off and I used my time to enjoy elk in their house doing their things. I won't be picky in my upcoming gun seasons....but I wouldn't change a thing about this archery season.

 

[stanginthe11s]

I do not disagree with any of what is being said, only the one statement. And I would love to see a thread where we discuss the CO problems and try to come up with an educated way to fix it. I think hearing from both res and non res would be helpful.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I do not disagree with any of what is being said, only the one statement. And I would love to see a thread where we discuss the CO problems and try to come up with an educated way to fix it. I think hearing from both res and non res would be helpful.

It has been hashed out here and in real life last year, the CPW “commission” which controls the ability to change tag quotas, season dates, ect. Will make a decision. I went ahead and looked up our commission. They are political appointees by Gov polis… not a whole lot of them hunt or have been off trail in their life it appears. So I’m not sure what the outcome will be. CPW has become addicted to money… I fail to believe that they care about management at the commissions level. Also outfitters yell pretty loudly anytime it looks like tag quotas could change they seem to have quite a bit more pull than the other hunters in the state

 

[5MilesBack]

100% I passed a few good opportunities that my friends think I'm crazy for. I had the entire month of September off and I used my time to enjoy elk in their house doing their things. I won't be picky in my upcoming gun seasons....but I wouldn't change a thing about this archery season.

I intentionally extend my season every September by passing on bulls. With 29 days to hunt, it's kind of hard to "not" kill an elk, regardless how crowded it is. It's just a matter of when I feel like ending the season. Sometimes it gets pretty frustrating when you call in hunters every time out (even when going deep), so I either hope for solitude the next week, or end the season with whatever shows up at that point. Ironically, it's normally a 6 point that shows up.

 

[5MilesBack]

I do not disagree with any of what is being said, only the one statement. And I would love to see a thread where we discuss the CO problems and try to come up with an educated way to fix it. I think hearing from both res and non res would be helpful.

The only way to fix it, is to severely limit tag numbers across the state. IMO it's insane to issue 2000 archery tags for a 2-unit cluster, or even 500 tags in a single unit, when 200+ is already too many. Add in ML bull and cow, and deer hunters and a single unit gets overcrowded very quickly. And that's the DRAW tags. Unlimited OTC is absolutely insane at this point.

 

[stanginthe11s]

I will say that I do not have enough years in colorado to get a good comparison of before and after so I take your word for it. now, don't get upset when I say this but I have yet to see a tag limit work out the way we want it to. not saying it shouldn't be done, more that it doesn't have to be. First, your overcrowding is far less than some other states overcrowding, but no one wants it to get worse. just pointing that out so you understand why some may say you're complaining.
heres my observation over a few years of hunting colorado. to be blunt and quick, too many stupid people. i.e.. this year, truck pulls into a camping spot and parks toward the back. guy gets out gets his stuff ready then I come over and start talking to him, nice guy but he basically tells me the same as what many of you are saying. I say, yup alot of people here this year. at some point he left in the middle of the night. What's wrong there? oh, forgot to mention I was already camped there, so you complained about overcrowding while parking in another guys camp??? and if you read my other post then you know that was the second time that happened this year. and in case it matters #1 was a non res but #2 was a res. so its equal.
The point I'm trying to make is even if you only sold 10 tags a year, somehow all 10 will find each other and ruin the hunt. kinda like the empty parking lot but someone always has to park next to you. 100% all CPW cares about is money, that's consistent with every other state. but what happens when you cut their income by limiting tags? quick rundown, (state) where's our money? (CPW) we dropped tag sales because hunters wanted it. (state) oh, guess they don't want to hunt anymore. (feds) where's my money? (state) we lost income from hunters. now state and feds say ok lets sell or lease this land to make money, there goes that.
I personally have been in that scenario and have lost woods that I grew up in and hunted and fished, and not just in 1 state. you may not realize it, but I do not want that to happen to you which is why I say how can we fix the problem before it gets worse. nobody cares about hunting except the hunters so don't expect the state to do the right thing.

 

[stanginthe11s]

also, why does my post always look nothing like the way I typed it? lol

 

[DanimalW]

I wholeheartedly agree with the OP. I’d rather eat tag soup on a couple fun blown opportunities with few people encounters than fill a tag in a unit where human encounters outnumber elk 10:1. But would you prefer that if it meant hunting every other year? Or every 3 years? I mean, you guys in CO probably have as many new first year resident hunters each year as there are NR hunters. Your state’s blowing up.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Stanginethe11s, I agree with you some, but the cpw doesn’t fund the fed, the money they get from tags goes to themselves/ the state, the federal NF and BLM land management falls under the feds and they aren’t looking for money from Co’s tag sales. I can’t imagine federal lands were sold off lack of use with out serious legislation happening, no one wants to get rid of the public lands… except for that one mega turd from Utah mike lee.

DanimalW good question, the states pop has doubled since I was born here, almost all the small farms and ranches around where I grew up are neighborhoods, dirt roads are paved and it is nuts with the amount of people 365 day a year not just hunting season, sadly it might be every other or every 3rd in a handful of years at this rate. Our deer tags are that way, unless you want to hunt some low quality over pressured units ( you can do that every year with deer). I guess we are fixing to find out first hand

 

[stanginthe11s]

hnthrdr, I understand how you might think that way but you're looking at it to directly. yes cpw has nothing to do with feds but all states pay the feds either directly or indirectly and if a state looses money through tourism or tags it must make up that money else where. colorado has already lost hunting access to blm lands, not saying it was related to hunting but if a state is losing money you cant expect it to fight for the thing that's losing the money. and all that doesn't even take into account the economic loss you will have locally due to the lack of hunters, again funneling back to the state through taxes.

as far as fed land and legislation lol the west has the most minerals, gas and oil so don't think they won't use that land if the opportunity arises, and don't put that much faith in governments.​

some quick #'s. just in routt forest you should be able to sustain 500 hunters at any given time without negative impact. that allows each hunter just around 4 sq miles of land to hunt. so if you sell 2000 tags for archery and the avg. hunter takes a week hunt then you should be ok. of course if they all show up on the same week then I don't know lol.​

all of that is obviously theoretical as there are other variables not taken into account but that is just one area in the state.​

 

[5MilesBack]

Overcrowding has always been the problem for everything......from traffic, to shopping, to restaurants, to golf courses, to fishing, to hunting, etc, etc. That's not a new phenomenon, it's just that the scales have changed. Where there's solitude, there's peace and gratification. Where there's crowds, there's frustration and idiocy all the way around. That's just what crowds do to people. It's no wonder that every major city's population is killing or under attack......or moving.

As for "fixing" that..........well, good luck. I've spent my entire life just trying to avoid it in every aspect. Moving never fixes the problem, but it sure can help alleviate it........for the short term anyway. Hunting and fishing has always been an escape as well, but when there's crowds there too......what good is that escape? And ya......of course it's complaining....LOL.

 

[Coveyleader]

I used to be pretty active in these things, but as of late, I just don't pay attention as it really comes down to what the WC/DIV wants.

I'm convinced nobody knows what is going to happen. The rumors will get heavy, especially as we approach the next five year structure. To be up front, I could care less if they limit rifles or not. Sure it will make a better experience in a lot of ways, but I only bow hunt so it's not something I concern myself with. Truth be told, archery seasons have been flooded with rifles and it wouldn't surprise me if the archery seasons are shortened and limited, while rifle seasons are expanded. As I mentioned above, elk to me are way down on the enjoyment level most likely due to the number of people in the woods. I'm just glad I can do it still, put alot of meat in the freezer, but my enjoyment starts way before, and way after September.

And so it begins! Looks like the potential Less tags for R more for NR……

NR will always have a place in CO, and money will always be the motivating factor

https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Commission/2022/November/Notice-Nov-2022.pdf

 

[Gerbdog]

And so it begins! Looks like the potential Less tags for R more for NR……

NR will always have a place in CO, and money will always be the motivating factor

https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Commission/2022/November/Notice-Nov-2022.pdf

what does it mean "to include a rolling 3 year average.. " ?