Archery Hunting during muzzle season

[Godfamily&elk]

This is my first post. So, I want to thank everyone in advance for offering your advice.
I have been elk hunting for over a decade. I have always gone the first or second week of the season in Colorado. Same place every year. Next year, we are considering going a week or two later than prior years because the bulls are not as vocal as we would hope in late August and early Sept.

The week our group is wanting to go overlaps with muzzleloader season.
We will have to wear orange (bummer) but my question to folks replying to this forum is what are the expected and unexpected challenges for a bowhunter hunting elk during muzzleloader season?

Thank you very much!

 

[vanish]

You don't have to wear orange.

The volume of people at trailheads on opening day can be intimidating, but I don't find my hunting to be much affected.

I think during the end of the week of muzzy season ( Thursday / Friday ) might be the least amount of people in the woods, as many have either gotten their elk or given up, but the archery hunters are still staying home to avoid the muzzy crowd.

 

[Flatland Crusoe]

Check the unit, but muzzleloader hunter days are fairly insignificant compared to OTC archery hunter days in some of those units over the course of the season. Its not unusually to have 5 times the number of OTC archery hunting days versus muzzleloader hunting days during the August/September season. I realize the days are more concentrated, but I was more surprised by the archery pressure before the muzzleloader hunt started than number of muzzleloader hunters willing to leave the road.

If I was picking archery weeks for CO I would either go the first week for patternable elk or the last week hoping for a lot of rutting.

 

[Godfamily&elk]

Thank you very much vanish. I assumed that we had to wear orange. Appreciate your correction. I will check the regulations again.

We are going to go the Weds before muzzy and hunt thru the following Weds (during muzzy). We have gotten into bugling elk on the Thursday before muzzy season the last couple years. We always leave that Friday morning which means that we only get one shot at those elk. I guess we will see if it was just bad luck or if it was pre-rut timing.

Thanks again to all that replied!