Clolorado OTC second thoughts

[Sawtooth Hunter]

I've avoided going to Colorado archery hunting elk for 15yrs. I am out of Wyoming points and did'nt draw a general tag and I have hunted Idaho for a few years but after a couple bad years with wolves and very little elk sign I quit going there so I thought I would give Colorado otc a try but now I'm having second thoughts. From what I read it seems like it's impossible to kill a elk in a otc area. From what all I read is crowded, crowded, and crowded.Is it really as bad as I read? I might have to think about going back to give Idaho instead. Thought I would post this for conversation sake. I do have scouting trip to colorado planned for the last week in July going to checkout area's 15, 17,171, and down in 521,421,53 and if I have time area 74 so we will see what happens

 

[Deleted member 28227]

More crowded than WY. You will see more elk than you would in MT...

I might skip 15,17,171

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I have never hunted Colorado, this will be my first year... But I try to take what people say with a grain of salt... A lot of people will try to deter you from coming to their unit to keep one more person from hunting there...


That being said, in this day and age you will always see hunters in the field on public ground unless you are able to secure private property, so don't let that deter you.

If I were you I'd give it a try, but plan on getting further off the road system then the competition, that should help reduce the number of hunters you see.

 

[klampson]

I've gone 3 for 6 on OTC bull hunts in Colorado on public land, so 50% success, and I'm an out of state hunter. Sure, I saw lots of people each time, but also lots of elk.

 

[88man]

Lotta elk in colorado. If you have a good game plan and hunt hard and keep a positive attitude you should have a great hunt. With just a little luck and good shooting you should kill

 

[LCH]

Watch that leftover list like a hawk between now and then, something good may pop up. If it comes down to OTC or staying home, go OTC no doubt.

 

[Robinhood21]

From what I read it seems like it's impossible to kill a elk in a otc area. From what all I read is crowded, crowded, and crowded.Is it really as bad as I read?

And this is exactly why I've put off hunting Colorado for so long. It didn't matter what unit I researched, as soon as I though I had found the one I would read constant information like "Waaay over crowded", "Good luck finding Elk", "Good luck getting away from people", "I'd look at a different unit if I were you", etc.... I finally realized I wasted a lot of years experience thinking and not doing. I'm sure if I would have started going went way back when I originally wanted to I'd have some invaluable experience and hell, maybe a bull to my name.

Just gotta do your best with research, be confident and go.

 

[Pelican]

The crowding issue is very dependent on where you choose to hunt. Gentle terrain = more people. Rarely do I encounter people actually hunting.

 

[deer_shooter]

There will be lots of trucks, atv's and side by sides all over the place but get a half mile from a road and the number of hunters you will see will plummet.

 

[Ajax2744]

Colorado has a lot of hunters especially in otc units. But in the units I hunt most people road hunt or don't stray 1/2 mile from the main road. Just going back in 1 or 2 miles I typically don't run into guys. Not everyone's experience though. Backcountry hunts are only getting more popular in the archery crowd it seems

 

[MT.PERCHMAN]

I would go further in to stay away from the crowd. Lots of road hunters now . Just do your planning and have a extra spot or two on your list. Elk hunting is easy ..Elk killing is a whole new story .

Best of luck in your quest .

MT.PERCHMAN

 

[T Bone]

Killing elk in CO on an OTC tag is certainly doable. It's likely you will see hunters. Last year my daughter and son and I hiked up to an area where no offroaders could drive.....we hiked up a very popular trail. We saw hunters. We dropped off the trail about 600 yards overlooking a side canyon that you can't see from the main trail.

We ate lunch.

We took a nap.

I woke up from the nap and there was a bull feeding in the shade on the opposite side of the canyon.

We snuck in, and my daughter got her first bull, a small 5x6.

Take the main trail in...then get off of it. Drop into the nasty hole. Take naps. Explore the side canyon. Stop short of where everyone else is going. Try the low, dry country. Take naps in saddles. Sit in the saddle. Explore the blind spots. Eat lunch in a saddle. Glass the thick stuff. Rub a stick on a tree. Take another nap.

Just chill out and enjoy it.

 

[thusby]

I have a first cousin that killed a bull in an otc unit of Colorado near the Wyoming border. First hour of the first day of his first ever elk hunt. No bs

 

[Backcountry Hunter 2]

Get out of the truck and off the main trails and you'll be just fine.

 

[Sawtooth Hunter]

Get out of the truck and off the main trails and you'll be just fine.

Thats the plan I'm going with just dive into a drainage of the road somewhere I am planning on staying out but I am going solo so I am limited how far I can go in the strange chance I shoot one. I Have packed out by myself before it is definitely a experience.

 

[Backcountry Hunter 2]

Thats the plan I'm going with just dive into a drainage of the road somewhere I am planning on staying out but I am going solo so I am limited how far I can go in the strange chance I shoot one. I Have packed out by myself before it is definitely a experience.

You mean fun

 

[Sawtooth Hunter]

Thanks everyone for the positive reinforcement. The problem with all the information available now days is I tend to way over think things. Back when I first started hunting out west you called and had them send you a book, you maybe called a biologist, and picked a unit and you went hunting. Boy that makes me feel old.

 

[denverteacher]

I have a first cousin that killed a bull in an otc unit of Colorado near the Wyoming border. First hour of the first day of his first ever elk hunt. No bs

Literally had my cousin in-law do the same thing... wonder if he is the same guy

 

[Colorado]

They are there and you can get away from people if you want. I tagged along with a couple of others last year during their archery hunt, but I didn't have a tag. I was just in it for the experience and was waiting to go rifle hunting later in the season. I did a bit of summer scouting in the units they wanted to hunt since I live here and they were coming in from out of state. Long story short, we got to an area about 4-5 miles from the road in steep, nasty country; as I was setting up my tent off trail a ways, they were getting water down below and a very healthy 5x5 came strolling through camp, 25 yards away. I had a bow on either side of me but no tag of my own. If one of the other guys had been with me, that's a dead elk on the first hunt in a Colorado OTC unit. And while that bull was several miles from the road, we also came across elk less than a mile from the road. They are in there, but you will need to spend a bit of time looking for them. I would recommend car camping and getting up early to hike in to look for sign. That gives you more flexibility to re-locate if you do have other hunters move in or you aren't seeing any fresh sign or elk.

 

[Cerebral Stalker]

I've gone 3 for 6 on OTC bull hunts in Colorado on public land, so 50% success, and I'm an out of state hunter. Sure, I saw lots of people each time, but also lots of elk.

That's what my research has shown. I mean you can't expect to get an OTC tag and have the place all to yourself. But it's OTC for a reason--there's plenty of elk. I won't hesitate to hunt OTC in Colorado after I get some more experience on cows and burn through my points. Just got into the western hunting thing 3 years ago.