places to hunt elk without lots of press
Elk
My brother and I are possibly planning a hunt in CO next year for elk. Just looking for some help locating a decent area that is recommended and possible information on prior hunting pressure in those areas. Not requesting information on a persons "honey hole" just recommendations on areas. Also information on whether or not them areas are draw only or if tags can be purchased OTC. We are non residents.
Forest Bows. Has some reasonable drop camp prices.
Asking for no pressure in a CO OTC is a tall order.
Their out there but scarce and usually highly guarded.
Most likely the only remaining places left are areas people drive past or walk past on there way to their “extreme” :^) backpack Location
A hole and an area are the same thing. But you’ve narrowed it down to a low pressure state.
not looking necessarily for a low pressure area, just not looking for an area where you step on another hunter every 10 steps you take. We know this is a high demand state to hunt that is why we want to make the trip. Not asking for areas that are OTC, My question is, did CO change most or all areas to draw or are there still OTC places left? We have plans on attempting to draw for a tag. Just looking for insight on what areas might be the best to attempt to draw for and if we don't draw we are curious as to what areas are still doing OTC tags as we have been told that most if not all areas don't have OTC tags. We are just trying to verify some information
5 - 10 miles away from roads...
You may want to start by reading the CO 2020 Big Game regulations booklet. It will teach you a lot. Will also allow you to make more specific questions on a forum rather than simply "what unit?" That type of question normally doesn't generate very much useful information.
^^^ After you read the Regs, read them again.
apparently my question is being taken the wrong way. Just looking for recommendations on management areas to look into. Was asking if the state changed to draw in most areas as that was told to us by a resident of CO. So to the very few that have given me advice and help thank you.
All of your questions will be answered by simply reading the regulations booklet.
Yup, read the Regs and look at the state’s website. All of your questions will be answered. Hope you guys can find a good hunt.
Just go ahead and pick up some unit 2 tags those should fit what your looking for
Or 10. Unit 10 is also what you described.
OP, Colorado recently switched a few OTC elk units to draw, but the majority of units are still OTC. Unfortunately, that's what makes CO so popular. It has become every elk hunters "Plan B" when they don't draw better tags elsewhere.
Guys are reluctant to even mention "areas" on the internet, because they aren't just responding to you. They are responding to potentially thousands of hunters who have your same question. You can certainly see how that could ruin an area in short order.
My advice is to plan a summer scouting trip and try to cover as much of the state as possible. Colorado has a very diverse landscape, and elk can be found in much of it. Obviously, areas near the larger cities will get more pressure than more rural areas. Find an area that suits your definition of elk country, then burn some boot leather getting to know it.
Matt
NO Colorado is not all draw for archery elk. 75% of the elk are in OTC units and the majority of units are OTC. A limited draw for a nonresident may take 2,3,4,5 or more years to draw, especially a high demand unit. CPW web site has lots of stats pertaining to draw odds, bull to cow ratio, % of harvest per manner to take. Check out the web site for this info and see the on- line Big Game Brochure for maps and regulations, dates.
A simpler solution may be a landowner tag on a private ranch although some research will still be required.
Shb that pic is hilarious. I've never hunted on public ground but that picture is exactly how I imagine things would turn out.
Colorado is definitely crowded, everywhere
More people =less success
More people =less success
Colorado is definitely crowded, everywhere
If you go OTC or in a unit you can draw with zero points, you will have company. You also can have a great hunt. In most areas you will be around other hunters but getting away from easy access and/or hunting pockets people ignore because they are too close to access both work. Sometimes even in pressures areas you can be into elk regularly.
I would look at the western slope, otc tag and have 4 areas picked out. Be ready to relocate. Also be ready to spike out for a night or two if you find an area where it makes sense.
Very little elk hunting pressure in units 120, 121, 122, 126. Similar story for other units in that part of state. All are OTC. Also all are C tags so you can get more than one of them.
What Paul said...the CPW even lists wild-ass guesses about how many hunters hunted a particular unit. There are places in every OTC unit where you can get away from hunters. There may not be elk there for a variety of reasons, but the only way you'll find out is to spend a season, stay very mobile, and learn as much as possible.
John please no honey holes.
Every non resident that elk hunts Colorado has been in your shoes....unless hunting with resident family or friends....or possibly other non residents that have hunted CO prior. Most of us started at ground zero and worked our way up from there.
I'm not an OTC guy, so zero to offer there. It's not that I don't think OTC is worth hunting, because there are certainly OTC areas with better hunting than some draw areas. I just prefer a certain draw area and hunt several other states. Easy to build a few points while hunting elsewhere....and draw the CO tag when I'm ready.
If you plan to hunt a draw area, figure out when you plan to hunt and how many points you will have going into the draw. That's going to limit your possibilities right out of the gate. Then start comparing the unit statistics that you can draw to narrow the list. I'm talking population estimates, harvest data, tag allocations by weapon, tag number trends, etc.... All of that information is readily available on the CP&W website. Create a spreadsheet will pertinent information...and I'll guarantee there will be a unit or two that rise to the top. Then it is time to study maps and make a final decision.
That's exactly the method I used to locate my favorite elk area in CO. Once you narrow it down to a specific unit, search for old threads on that unit and PM some of the guys that have been there...done that. You might strike gold, you might not...never hurts to try. You will likely have less luck posting a thread with a particular unit in the title. People that hunt that unit won't want to see it being publicized online and are much less likely to respond versus a PM.
That may sound like a daunting task, but it really isn't that bad. Once you get used to it, research will become an enjoyable part of the hunt.
Best of luck!
Yeah thanks John. Now my unit will be over run with non residents.
I heard 55 isnt crowded at all for elk. One of the last unpressured units in CO.
Yeah, thanks John!! DIdnt you read the "not looking for honey holes"??
Social media is a killer for public hunting or fishing, just takes a post and a swarm will come in, like flies to sugar.
apparently my question is being taken the wrong way. Just looking for recommendations on management areas to look into. Was asking if the state changed to draw in most areas as that was told to us by a resident of CO. So to the very few that have given me advice and help thank you.
They know exactly what you're asking. They're not giving you a hunt unit because it'll get flooded with people that look on the internet for places to hunt rather than do their own research. As per the draw, you would have that answer in 2 minutes by simply calling CPW, or asking google "colorado archery otc goes to draw".
Cguinup31,
You did nothing wrong.
Its just that we've reached the tipping point in this country where there are more hunters than places to hunt.
There are zero areas with "no pressure" unless its a o.i.l. limited quota area.
Long time, life long hunters can no longer draw a tag.
Because of point systems, decent hunts are turning into once or twice a lifetime.
After 15 years of helping anyone that asked, Its become apparent that handing the keys to nameless noobs on the internet is literally cutting your own throat.
Using the search function on different hunting boards shows a lifetime of reading on every hunting unit in the country.
How many snowflake hunters with huge instagram aspirations show up to the mountain "running" the latest in winny, leupy, and puffy technology, only to spend one day learning that you can't cheat the mountain, and retreating to the nearest hotel, and craft brewery.
How many tags that could have went to real hunters are wasted like that?
I think your answer has been posted. You simply must look up the OTC units on the CO website. Because there are too many to list. It's a quick look. I just looked 2 days ago actually, as I was thinking of making a short trip to CO, and wanted to double check the unit I go to, to make sure it didn't change to draw. It literally took me about 3-4 minutes.
As far as "management areas", what you're looking for are commonly referred to as Units. And people simply will NOT put Unit numbers on an open website for either CO or WY. They just won't. If they do put Units, it's because they no longer hunt those areas. But any one else who has found a spot in that unit will curse them. Even the draw units, especially the ones in CO that don't take many points to draw, people will not advertise.
I've got a Unit in CO that myself and a buddy will go to, and we don't tell very many people. Just trusted people that we know won't blab.
You simply must experience CO pressure to understand the reasons why.
The owner of this website sometimes posts the numbers of unique visitors to this site. It's something like 1 million unique visitors a year.
So if I post the unit number in CO that I hunt on this website, then 1 million people have that information. . . . Trust me, there's enough pressure in that unit, that adding just 10 new hunters would really stink.
Don't take the responses above too badly. You must understand that for the regular visitors of this site, a thread very nearly exactly like this one will pop up 6-7 times a year. Almost always from a user name that no one recognizes. So regular users are a little jaded.
There is a TON of good information on this site. So don't give up on it just yet.
I live in Colorado and I'm looking for the same thing, lol!
Oldgoat that’s funny.
It amazes me how many elk threads start with “Possibly planning a first elk hunt to Colorado”
Possibly? Before I started researching units in detail my first priority would be deciding if maybe means yes or no. But even more mind boggling is how many guys read the replies they get about the pressure down there but they just keep the blinders on hung up on a short drive and the letters OTC. Every year they keep coming out of the woodwork all down the same path.
The post above that said “There are zero areas with "no pressure" unless its a o.i.l. limited quota area” couldn’t be further from the truth unless you’re talking strictly Colorado. Even there I know that’s not true.
Are they calling Colorados success rate about 20 percent for a DEAD elk for all hunters in the mix.... if so I am calling BS If they call success for actually seeing a live elk...might be about right...IMHO Wyoming NM and Montana have WAY better elk hunting than Colorado...particularly for people that are willing to work it a bit
I don't know, Ted. A lot of cows get shot, and the private land/outfitted success rate is pretty high. In those years when we kill a bull and a cow, is our personal success rate 200%?
Based on the published success rate for my unit, it is all B.S. It's almost all public land, very dense timber.
One season the archery success rate was listed at 14%. Yet the CPW WCO for the unit told me he didnt check a single elk in any camp during the season, and I never saw or knew of anyone who killed one with a bow that year. He was an old time warden who spent the whole season in the field, lived in the unit, and actually got out of his truck. So FWIW, I am very skeptical.
Yep Lou...look at the past 6 months we live in a blender of lies and half truths...they feed us just the right amount of food pellets to run on the hamster wheel at just the right speed. If they published Colorado OTC public land unguided bow hunt is 1-2 percent ( and 10 percent of the guys are killing most of those) not so many guys are gonna save for years for their big trip west...I run into guys like that and after chatting a bit get a feeling they don't really know what they are doing and stand a very slim chance to actually see anything much less kill one
Research is all part of finding what you're looking for, and yes asking questions on Bowsite is part of doing research. That being said, in my opinion, if you're resistant to looking or can't figure out how to research the state of Colorado website you're going to have a tough time figuring anything out.
Yep.... back to school. For a good perspective ask yourself how your success rate on your first deer hunt right where you live would have been if you researched online for 9 months but had never seen the place and never hunted deer before. Knowing what you know now you’d probably tell yourself to just go hunt and start learning along the way.
Low density elk areas and high density griz areas are often not crowded with bow hunters.
The units with the most elk will be overhunted (so obviously the kill will be hi, but the sport quality quite lo) and the units with the least advertised elk numbers is where the big boys will be and the hunt quality maximum. There is so much more to elk hunting than just laying one down as most of you know. Learning these things sometimes takes many years, but is worth the trip.
