Colorado 1st Rifle Elk Theory

[Sabot]

I've hunted 2nd and 3rd OTC the last 3 years. A couple of encounters and one bull to show for it. The issue that I have with those seasons is that they run simultaneously with deer, and the woods are just too crowded for my tastes. Ergo, my strategy has shifted and I just bought my first elk point and a subscription to GoHunt. From what I can see, there are a good many units that can be drawn pretty easily with a point or two.

Case in point. I was hunting 2nd rifle last fall and worked my way to a meadow that looked good on the map. Got in there and spotted an aspen grove that set up right with the wind. Dropped my pack at the edge of the grove and as I sat down there were 2 shiny fresh 338 Lapua cases (this was opening day so obviously they were from 1st rifle) in the exact spot that I planned to hunt from...some dude had at least shot at a bull a week earlier.

My theory rests on:

1) Fewer hunters
2) Maaaaybe catching the tail end of the rut

Thoughts? I kinda think I'm done with Colorado OTC.

 

[Rooster52]

My favorite time to hunt Colorado is muzzleloader season,and if I do not draw for muzzleloader I go for a 1st season rifle somewhere. Never again will I hunt on a second season or OTC tag.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

1st season worked for me last year,,got a small 5x5 out of it.

 

[jrabq]

The woods will certainly be less crowded (by CO standards), but no telling if you will be more successful; 1 in 3 OTC is pretty good success IMO.

 

[HighDesertSage]

I've hunted 1st Rifle a few times, and honestly it's only slightly less crowed than second, and about the same as 3rd. I stopped hunting it because is wasn't worth burning or not accumulating any points. Alot if not all the 1st rifle tags can be pretty easily drawn, and some, like the Flattops areas, have hundreds of leftovers. Any rifle season on public land in CO is going to be crowded. It's just a fact of hunting here. What you have to do is accept it and learn how to use other hunters to your advantage. Alot of times when I am strategizing prior to a hunt I take into account what I think the elk are gonna do when they start getting shot at. BTW 1 in 3 for an OTC hunt in CO is pretty good for bull. I will have my 4th bull tag this fall and I still have not punched a bull tag. I would keep doing what you are doing. You know the area and it produces elk during the season you hunt.