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CO pref points are out. looking for thoughts on 201, 2 and 10. 201 went up to 19 points, 2 is 17. Would love to have a chance at 350 bull and was always thinking about 201 but may be a point or so short. Was a lot of talk last year about 2 being almost as good as 201. heard 10 has some big bulls but lots of private property. plan a DIY. would appreciate any insight on the 3 units. thanks
You will need 18 this year to hunt 2, and only one 18 pointer may make it in. Ssounds like some point savers are going in this year with 19-20+
2 and 201 both have good bulls, but keep in mind that the herd is only 1/4 of what it was in 2005. My partner and I both killed 350+ bulls in 2 the year before last. I know of several great bulls killed in 2 by archers last year too. But the they aren't behind every tree. Its not easy hunting. Hard hunting if you're holding out for an honest 350 gross in either unit.
BTW, two years ago when we applied for 2, only one 17 pointer made it.
Drew Unit 10 with 17 points in 2011. Killed a 330 bull, but had opportunities at much larger bulls. The same year, I believe the biggest bull killed was a 374 muzzy bull. Unit 10, in my opinion, is under appreciated. During my time there (22 days) I saw 6 bulls between 340 and at the tops 360 (miles and miles a apart). The distinct advantage of Unit 10 is the country is wide open and you can glass for miles. At the same time, there are pockets that will always hold bulls. It was truly an amazing hunt.
thanks for info. 2 is pretty big unit, compared to 201, is there elk thru whole unit or is a lot of it lower sage brush country? i haven't been there yet. Just checked Division, thought i had 18 but am only at 17 so may be a year or two yet. was hoping i could try deer there to get to know the area but those are not 8-9 points now and going up every year as well
Bulls in NW corner less than a week ago.
2 has elk distributed throughout. Water is the key. There are some large expanses with little water, other areas with springs all over. Most of the unit is lower sage/pinon-juniper country.
Here's a shot from one of our glassing spots in Unit 2. You could look out there and see nothing, then three or four big bulls would just "appear".
thanks again. will take a shot at the draw and see what happens
I put some videos of bulls in 201 on youtube. I hunted there last year. I killed a 340 bull the first day I hunted. Just search 201 elk. I saw 35 bulls in one day, scouting.
Boddy, did you have cows where you hunted in 201?
Where we hunted in 2, we saw at least 60 different bulls but only 4 cows. We saw them in early July scouting. Never got any cows on our cams in the summer or during our hunt, either. Locals told us the majority of the cows were in the Monument in that area.
Sure was a bachelor bull area though!
Man you are a few years ahead of me on the point scale. I am sitting on 9 and looking into burning them in unit 4 20 or 76. I don't know if any of these are hard enough to draw that info would be readily available but I would appreciate a residents thoughts on the units. The way the points keep creeping up I don't want to invest another 10-15 years to get one of the top hunts. If I did I may be more of a trophy hunter by the time I draw, but as of now I only have one archery bull to my credit. I am not going to kid myself into saying I'll pass up any bull not 300" because I would be thrilled with any 6 pt or nice 5.
Boddy, nice pictures posted for 201. book says 19 for res and with point creep, afraid it could take anothe 5 years to get in there. book says 17 for unit 2 but Jaquomo says likely to be 18 or 19.
Smtn10PT, are you resident? Colorado outdoors mag says on unit 4 0 pts resident, 1 for non-resident. 20 is 4 and 11 and 76 is 5 and 11. Took 2 brothers (from MN)to 76 last year, believe they had 12 points. we had a ball. Called in a couple of really nice 6x6's but didnt get shots. they got nice 6 and nice 5 and were thrilled. There was really good 5x6 taken as well, sure that one went over 300. It was tough for me going back to OTC public land where you get lucky to see elk. Think in 76, if you planned 10 to 14 day hunt then could afford to hold out for 300 bull at least for awhile. not easy to do when you have nice sixer at 30 yards.
Skelly, the book is misleading. If 15 people put in with 17 - and I haven't looked at the stats page to see how many put in with how many points- and one drew, it will show "17" required. With some 20 pointers going in this year, it will likely push it up some.
Skelly, I'm a non res. I went back and looked again, I think that unit 4 hunt I looked at was a MZ hunt. I live in PA and I have hunted MT the past several years with some success. I will probably stick to MT after I burn these points unless the hunt is so good I change my mind!
Quote: "sitting on 9 and looking into burning them.....I don't want to invest another 10-15 years to get one of the top hunts"
Smtn10PT, it'd be closer to a 50 year wait for the NW hunts if you had 9 points after the 2014 draw. NR point crawl for those hunts is 5 years per point or more.
For 76 you're roughly 7 to 10 years away from having a chance to draw as a NR.
While scouting I saw about 40 cows with a two small bulls, but while I was hunting I did not see one cow.
In that case...can I sell my PP's? Looks like a lost cause.
Boddy, interesting. Looks like the CPWs "cow reduction" program is definitely working. Every bite of grass an elk eats is one that Raftopolous or Hortons cattle can eat...
Jaq, don't forget about T Wright Dickinson. That corner is controlled by money and cattle, and both of those things are held by the two you mentioned and the one i mentioned. Its a joke, in unit 1 there have been "studies" done by Dickinson himself saying the elk are hurting and or destroying his cattle's grazing areas and the green river. What you don't know is he conducted the study himself. Unit 1's elk herd is so small, I don't know how he could come to that conclusion. However, if you want to hunt his land you can for $6-8K, if they were such a problem you would think he would open it up for free. What a joke.
Smtn10pt, you could have a good hunt right now with the points you have.
Holding out for 201 is a lost cause, but your points are not worthless.
You could hold out 10 yrs for 76 or just hunt now in a unit you can draw.
Cat from my trail cam in 201
Luke, your photos are killing me.
Draw results cannot get here soon enough.
I applied for a bear tag up here as well.
Yup... What Sticksender said. I hunted 76 last year. Blew 15 points. Got tired of chasing 61. Just a few points away, but never seeming to make headway. Wasn't getting any younger and ended up killing a decent 290 bull in 76. Had a great hunt.
