Contributors to this thread:
I’m in beginning stages of planning a diy elk trip to either wyoming or Colorado I know colorado has a ton of elk but know there’s a ton of hunting pressure. Looking for advice for either state such as otc, draw, what units to look into I don’t want a giant just a good reprentative of a elk
Chasein, you are not alone. I have been researching the same thing. My hunting partner and I are considering Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho. I know this topic has been beat to death on various forums. I am looking for the "been there, done that" advise as well.
If you're looking for a first time tag, I'd put in in a few states like ID (some good elk draw tags), NM, and WY and hope for a tag and if you don't draw, go OTC in CO, ID, or pull a MT leftover if they still have any. You will have to do some research to figure out how and where to do this, but every hour spent researching and reading will net you better success.
The good news about the CO draw is the Wyoming draw will have posted by the time Co app time comes around.
There are a couple units you can draw in CO with zero points. I have hunted one of them.
I have only hunted a couple of otc units in CO however the no point draw unit was a better hunt compared to the otc units I hunted. Not only in quantity of elk seen and opportunities but pressure as well.
New Mexico has no preference points so it’s worth putting in for a tag there as well. You have just as good of a chance at drawing as everyone else. If you don’t draw there you could always go the otc routes like Ike mentioned.
Colorado is "easy" as far as license planning. You can stop at Walmart on your way up to the mountains and buy your tag thats good on hundreds of thousands of public acres of elk habitat.
Yes, there is pressure. But, getting a big chunk to yourself can be done by hunting nasty terrain, hunting over-looked easy access spots, hunting less traditional habitat or sometimes just by getting up an hour earlier than the rest of the guys at the trail head. Plenty of elk are killed places where plenty of guys are after them. Often a mile from a paved road has less pressure than you find after a 5 mile hike into a wilderness area.
Unless you have solid intel, CO otc doesn't compare to WY general. The few general units I've hunted in WY have been comparable to CO limited entry units. Good luck!
Ground hunter said it all!! Need to have a plan for everything after the hunt is successful. If you apply for n.m . Message me.
Go watch the Born and Raised "Land of the Free" series on youtube. The whole premise to that series is that anyone can hunt the public lands out west, you just need to go..."buy tags, not gear".
I'm a new hunter and I have learned a lot about hunting Colorado. I bought my first tag at Walmart and hunted National Forest. I got to see some amazing things and learned a lot on that first trip with my son. Oh, and I am a resident here!
Put in for preference points since they are practically free now, come hunt OTC for a couple years and you'll gain some experience, then put in for the Flat Tops area when you have a point or two and see what happens!
Or put in for the Flattops the first time and you might draw, if not go OTC and draw the Flattops next time.
The East side of the Flattops is OTC, the West side is OTC private property only for archery. The whole thing is OTC rifle 2nd & 3rd seasons. Let me know if I can help out in finding a place to hunt.
Yep, watch YouTube . You can learn it all on YouTube.
