Hello Colorado in 2019!

[ignorethefringes]

Well, Dad and I were planning to go archery hunt elk and mule deer in the Diamond Creek area of Idaho in 2019. Unfortunately all of those archery tags sold out in 8 hours apparently and we have to come up with something new. Diamond Creek was the only area of Idaho that we're familiar with so we're stuck learning a new area if we want to hunt out west in 2019.

Considering the above, I think we're going to give Colorado our best shot in 2019. Our main focus is elk, OTC, but if we can somehow end up with a deer tag as well that would be great. We have no preference points. We're also planning to stick with archery hoping that we can hunt the elk rut since I've never done it. Plus I like the either sex option since I'm more concerned about bring meat rather than antlers home. It's easier to sell the total cost to the wife when I bring meat home, lol. And if either of us are successful it would be the first elk for either of us.

I've been digging through the regs and looking through the harvest statistics for 2017 and prior years in order to try and narrow down which units might make the most sense. I'm hoping that you guys here can help me with a few questions.

1. I'm definitely going to purchase OnX and GoHunt at some point in early 2019 to research more, but are there any units that are just too difficult to access? I was thinking about unit 13 specifically when I noticed that it highlighted that public access is limited and possibly difficult. The harvest statistics seem to be decent despite the possible access issues.

2. It seems like the units with better elk harvest statistics have poor deer harvest statistics and vice versa. Is this generally true and should we just focus on OTC elk and ignore trying to get a deer tag?

3. From what I can tell, some early rifle deer tags coincide with archery elk tags. Am I reading that right and, if so, is this an option worth pursuing? We'll be driving so we'll have plenty of room to bring both the bows and the rifles.

Do you have any general tips or thoughts that I should consider as we start planning the trip? Thank you all for your help in advance!

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Well, Dad and I were planning to go archery hunt elk and mule deer in the Diamond Creek area of Idaho in 2019. Unfortunately all of those archery tags sold out in 8 hours apparently and we have to come up with something new. Diamond Creek was the only area of Idaho that we're familiar with so we're stuck learning a new area if we want to hunt out west in 2019.

Considering the above, I think we're going to give Colorado our best shot in 2019. Our main focus is elk, OTC, but if we can somehow end up with a deer tag as well that would be great. We have no preference points. We're also planning to stick with archery hoping that we can hunt the elk rut since I've never done it. Plus I like the either sex option since I'm more concerned about bring meat rather than antlers home. It's easier to sell the total cost to the wife when I bring meat home, lol. And if either of us are successful it would be the first elk for either of us.

I've been digging through the regs and looking through the harvest statistics for 2017 and prior years in order to try and narrow down which units might make the most sense. I'm hoping that you guys here can help me with a few questions.

1. I'm definitely going to purchase OnX and GoHunt at some point in early 2019 to research more, but are there any units that are just too difficult to access? I was thinking about unit 13 specifically when I noticed that it highlighted that public access is limited and possibly difficult. The harvest statistics seem to be decent despite the possible access issues.
I have not found it to be the case, but I don't own a truck and hunt only on foot... so I really could give a rip how much road access a unit has..

2. It seems like the units with better elk harvest statistics have poor deer harvest statistics and vice versa. Is this generally true and should we just focus on OTC elk and ignore trying to get a deer tag?
Elk and deer may focus on different habitats at different times of the year, depends on the unit, but I would focus on one species if I were you but I would get a bear tag they dropped the NR price to $100.

3. From what I can tell, some early rifle deer tags coincide with archery elk tags. Am I reading that right and, if so, is this an option worth pursuing? We'll be driving so we'll have plenty of room to bring both the bows and the rifles.
No, all except two units require a bunch of points and the two that don't are burly hunts if you want to be successful.

Do you have any general tips or thoughts that I should consider as we start planning the trip? Thank you all for your help in advance!

Test your gear before you come out, get in shape, put some time in to thinking about field care of your meat and how you will get it out quickly and keep it cool.

 

[ignorethefringes]

Test your gear before you come out, get in shape, put some time in to thinking about field care of your meat and how you will get it out quickly and keep it cool.

Thank you for your help! I'll clarify regarding the access for future posters that I'm mainly talking about access to the public land in general just so we can camp and then hike in further to hunt.

Sounds like we'll be focusing on elk primarily and stop wasting my time researching the deer options. Thanks again!

 

[Mudranger1]

Think about this too. Harvest statistics are not public land only. Plenty of areas where animals reside on private more than public.

Personally I would just focus on 1 species but you know that's when you will have an easy opportunity at the 1 you dont have. All the information above is pretty accurate IMO. Good luck

 

[wannakillabigbull]

I was thinking about unit 13 specifically when I noticed that it highlighted that public access is limited and possibly difficult. The harvest statistics seem to be decent despite the possible access issues.

Have you looked at a land access map of unit 13? Toprut is super useful for that sort of thing.

https://www.toprut.com/hunt/colorado-elk-unit-13/

 

[ignorethefringes]

Have you looked at a land access map of unit 13? Toprut is super useful for that sort of thing.

https://www.toprut.com/hunt/colorado-elk-unit-13/

I had not looked at that. Thank you for that resource!

 

[LCH]

Unless you're dead set on Colorado, you could also throw some apps for some other states, like the Wyoming general tag, then fall back on your Colorado OTC plan if you don't draw.

Another option is a cow tag and a deer or pronghorn tag. You could combine cow elk and antlered deer and still come in around the price of one bull tag, and odds are you'd be able to harvest a cow more quickly then relocate to your deer area if needed.

As far as the early rifle deer in Colorado, the hunts I'm aware of are high elevation only. I personally wouldn't try to combine that with archery elk.

Also, if you do choose Colorado, some areas can be drawn 1st rifle with zero points, if you don't combine with deer then 1st rifle may be a good option.

If you go archery or 2nd or 3rd rifle, there were quite a few decent deer tags available as leftovers this year. So if you're quick, you may be able to snag one even if you don't draw.

 

[ignorethefringes]

Unless you're dead set on Colorado, you could also throw some apps for some other states, like the Wyoming general tag, then fall back on your Colorado OTC plan if you don't draw.

Another option is a cow tag and a deer or pronghorn tag. You could combine cow elk and antlered deer and still come in around the price of one bull tag, and odds are you'd be able to harvest a cow more quickly then relocate to your deer area if needed.

As far as the early rifle deer in Colorado, the hunts I'm aware of are high elevation only. I personally wouldn't try to combine that with archery elk.

Also, if you do choose Colorado, some areas can be drawn 1st rifle with zero points, if you don't combine with deer then 1st rifle may be a good option.

If you go archery or 2nd or 3rd rifle, there were quite a few decent deer tags available as leftovers this year. So if you're quick, you may be able to snag one even if you don't draw.

We're not dead set on Colorado by any measure. It was just my first thought for guaranteeing that we get to hunt elk this year and the drive is a little shorter from South Florida, haha.

Regarding the cow and deer tag, are you talking about Wyoming or Colorado? That sounds like a great option for sure and I think we'd both be interested in something like that. Would that be archery or rifle?

It seem likes trying to combine with deer is not going to be a good option without sacrificing our chances for elk so I'm comfortable leaving that for another year. What is the best way to figure which units can be drawn for 1st rifle with no points? I've downloaded the draw results and am trying to compare that with OTC tags and harvest statistics. After Christmas sometime I'll be buying GoHunt which I'm sure will help quite a bit so feel free to tell me to wait until I buy that if that's the best option! Also, are any of the rifle options either sex or are all of them bull only?

Thanks again everyone, this forum is such a great resource.

 

[LCH]

We're not dead set on Colorado by any measure. It was just my first thought for guaranteeing that we get to hunt elk this year and the drive is a little shorter from South Florida, haha.

Regarding the cow and deer tag, are you talking about Wyoming or Colorado? That sounds like a great option for sure and I think we'd both be interested in something like that. Would that be archery or rifle?

It seem likes trying to combine with deer is not going to be a good option without sacrificing our chances for elk so I'm comfortable leaving that for another year. What is the best way to figure which units can be drawn for 1st rifle with no points? I've downloaded the draw results and am trying to compare that with OTC tags and harvest statistics. After Christmas sometime I'll be buying GoHunt which I'm sure will help quite a bit so feel free to tell me to wait until I buy that if that's the best option! Also, are any of the rifle options either sex or are all of them bull only?

Thanks again everyone, this forum is such a great resource.

You could do that in either Colorado or Wyoming, archery or rifle, just decide where and what you want to do then research the available opportunities. I've done combos in Wyoming a couple of times, this year we got 3 pronghorn on Day 1 then the cow elk on day 4, all tags filled and zero points used, it was a great hunt. A few years ago I did deer and elk in Wyoming, got a whitetail and my cow in 4 days that time also.

If you have enough time, I don't usually worry about getting tags for the same area, just reasonably close and either drive or relocate after one area's tags are filled.

I typically get my draw odds straight from the state website. I do like Toprut for filtering the antlered draw odds, then typically go to the state management agency site for more detailed information.

 

[TOGIE]

I personally wouldn't do archery in 13. The rather limited public it has you can certainly get to, but it's is not a lot of public. It's also a winter concentration area. So, I'd be willing to bet there won't be many elk in there during archery, and in the likelihood there aren't, well, then there is nowhere else in unit 13 to really go look for them. I would say hop south to 12 but that's a private land only OTC archery tag.

 

[elkduds]

Unit 13 has really limited access to BLM because of cliffs. The high harvest stats come on private land. There is a reason 13 always has cow tags left over. If a guy had wings...

 

[HighDesertSage]

Well, Dad and I were planning to go archery hunt elk and mule deer in the Diamond Creek area of Idaho in 2019. Unfortunately all of those archery tags sold out in 8 hours apparently and we have to come up with something new. Diamond Creek was the only area of Idaho that we're familiar with so we're stuck learning a new area if we want to hunt out west in 2019.

Considering the above, I think we're going to give Colorado our best shot in 2019. Our main focus is elk, OTC, but if we can somehow end up with a deer tag as well that would be great. We have no preference points. We're also planning to stick with archery hoping that we can hunt the elk rut since I've never done it. Plus I like the either sex option since I'm more concerned about bring meat rather than antlers home. It's easier to sell the total cost to the wife when I bring meat home, lol. And if either of us are successful it would be the first elk for either of us.

I've been digging through the regs and looking through the harvest statistics for 2017 and prior years in order to try and narrow down which units might make the most sense. I'm hoping that you guys here can help me with a few questions.

1. I'm definitely going to purchase OnX and GoHunt at some point in early 2019 to research more, but are there any units that are just too difficult to access? I was thinking about unit 13 specifically when I noticed that it highlighted that public access is limited and possibly difficult. The harvest statistics seem to be decent despite the possible access issues.

2. It seems like the units with better elk harvest statistics have poor deer harvest statistics and vice versa. Is this generally true and should we just focus on OTC elk and ignore trying to get a deer tag?

3. From what I can tell, some early rifle deer tags coincide with archery elk tags. Am I reading that right and, if so, is this an option worth pursuing? We'll be driving so we'll have plenty of room to bring both the bows and the rifles.

Do you have any general tips or thoughts that I should consider as we start planning the trip? Thank you all for your help in advance!

Just a few general comments from a guy whose hunted CO the last 6 seasons:
- If your main focus is bringing meat home, I would not hunt OTC archery. It's very crowded and success rates are low. I would focus, rather, on getting a type A rifle cow elk tag for some of the better units. Which can usually be had with 0-1 points, as guys generally do not want to give up the chance for a bull tag, for a cow.
- I would not put any faith in the harvest stats. CPW surveys at random, and the private/public odds can skew the final results.
- I would not hunt 13 for any season, let alone archery elk unless I had access to private. The little BLM that is there can be tough to get around. Also, the bulk of the elk won't be there until mid-nov anyway.
- CO public land mule deer will provide a much better quality experience that public land OTC elk.

Hope that helps.

 

[wannakillabigbull]

CO public land mule deer will provide a much better quality experience that public land OTC elk.

I'll echo the above. If you're even moderately as interested in muleys as you are in elk then a mule deer hunt could be the way to go. OTC elk is super difficult whereas even second choice deer tags can be solid tags to have.

 

[TOGIE]

- I would not hunt 13 for any season, let alone archery elk unless I had access to private. The little BLM that is there can be tough to get around. Also, the bulk of the elk won't be there until mid-nov anyway.
.

I'm taking a stab at that BLM for a late cow tag in 13 this month. Going out for the first time this weekend. We'll see. I've trotted around there before and know what I'm getting into; I have some hopes for the nature of those being some proximal flattops wintering grounds.

Other than a late season tag, I agree, I would never hunt there. Maybe this month will turn me into a full blown "never hunt there" guy.

 

[ignorethefringes]

I'll echo the above. If you're even moderately as interested in muleys as you are in elk then a mule deer hunt could be the way to go. OTC elk is super difficult whereas even second choice deer tags can be solid tags to have.

Although we love to hunt muleys we're really hoping to focus on elk this year. It sounds like we should forego the OTC archery option and look at either sex rifle tags that can be had for 0 points. If we're going rifle for elk I'll probably try and figure out if there are any areas nearby where we could possibly score a second choice deer tag too.

 

[ignorethefringes]

Just a few general comments from a guy whose hunted CO the last 6 seasons:
- If your main focus is bringing meat home, I would not hunt OTC archery. It's very crowded and success rates are low. I would focus, rather, on getting a type A rifle cow elk tag for some of the better units. Which can usually be had with 0-1 points, as guys generally do not want to give up the chance for a bull tag, for a cow.
- I would not put any faith in the harvest stats. CPW surveys at random, and the private/public odds can skew the final results.
- I would not hunt 13 for any season, let alone archery elk unless I had access to private. The little BLM that is there can be tough to get around. Also, the bulk of the elk won't be there until mid-nov anyway.
- CO public land mule deer will provide a much better quality experience that public land OTC elk.

Hope that helps.

Thank you and it certainly does help.

If the harvest stats are not reliable how should I go about trying to narrow down units?

 

[Deleted member 28227]

^ Look for units guys are complaining about on the internet, means less competition the next year.

 

[HighDesertSage]

I have some hopes for the nature of those being some proximal flattops wintering grounds.

They are, you'll definitely see elk, It'll just be a right time/right place deal. I'd find em first before committing to a walk. They shouldn't be moving much. Good luck!

 

[ignorethefringes]

^ Look for units guys are complaining about on the internet, means less competition the next year.

Lol!

Also, I hope everyone understands that I'm not trying to get anyone to lead me to a specific tree or ridge. I'm just hoping to limit wasted time during the research process. I also figure that I can't get an answer to a question I don't ask.

 

[HighDesertSage]

Thank you and it certainly does help.

If the harvest stats are not reliable how should I go about trying to narrow down units?

Like I said, If meat is the priority, I'd try for a type A cow tag in the draw next year. Spend some time in CPW's regs. I think page 33 has the different type of elk tags they offer.