Boulder County, CO - How many buckets of red paint will be thrown at us for wearing orange?

[COEngineer]

A friend has a deer tag in GMU 29 which includes the People's Republic of Boulder. My buddy wants to hunt the USFS land in the foothills (closest to Boulder). How much do we actually need to fear for our well-being if we wear orange while we are driving around, at campground, etc?

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Not at all.

I will say make sure you put on your hunting ambassadors hat and put an extra scoop of patience in your coffee.

Last year I hunted above a super popular hiking trail in Aspen and packed a buck down at 11am on a Saturday morning. Parking lot was at capacity and the trail was packed. I was stopped numerous times by folks. A couple of people, I think the anti's, just steered clear, but a lot of people showed genuine interest in what I was doing.

The non-hunting community seems to have this idea in their heads that hunters are all running roads, drinking bud heavy while crushing marlboros, and shooting at everything that moves.

If you deviate from this paradigm they are surprised and interested.

Be friendly/ polite, wear a mask when appropriate and you won't have a problem.

 

[dallsheep]

You would be surprised how many hunters live in and around Boulder, my family being many of them. You should be fine, just make sure the areas are open to hunting and I suggest avoiding the popular hiking trails that start in Boulder.

 

[LuketheDog]

What @wllm1313 said! We packed a sheep down part of the Mt. Bierstadt trail in August, through a stream of literally 100's of Alex Honhold wannabes. We were camo'ed and carrying game bags and horns, but extra friendly. My unscientific study found that roughly 1% of the hikers thought the horns were really cool and said so, 90% of the rest just stared at us over the top of their COVID masks, and the last 9% appeared to think we were going to come back for their children and puppies when we were done murdering the wildlife-but they didn't make any comments.

 

[Bigjay73]

Agree with all of this. Have the attitude that you're among fellow humans, and not enemies, and you're positive attitude will stave off any potential curmudgeons

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Have the attitude that you're among fellow humans, and not enemies, and you're positive attitude will stave off any potential curmudgeons

Generally just good advice for life.

 

[nrpate05]

Like others have said, don't sweat it. I live in Boulder and most people I chat with are genuinely curious because hunting is something that they a lot aren't accustomed to. You won't see any "welcome hunter" signs at restaurants like you do in rural towns. As long as you're respectful I wouldn't be concerned. I shot a buck in 29 last year, if you need some advice feel free to PM.

 

[rwc101]

I hiked all around the Boulder/Lyons foothills with a shotgun during turkey season. Didn't run into any problems.

 

[Ajax2744]

I hiked all around the Boulder/Lyons foothills with a shotgun during turkey season. Didn't run into any problems.

Probably cause you were carrying a gun lol

 

[MtnRambler]

You will be fine. What Wllm1313 said.

I used to live in the People's Republic. The only time I was nervous when hunting in the area was when I was hauling a buck out of the woods (and hiking down the road to my truck). A car saw me, then screeched to a halt and the driver jumped out. I was prepared to get an earful. Turns out he saw the rack, and wanted to talk hunting/admire the deer. Ultimately, he became a good buddy, and we have been on several out of state hunting trips together.

 

[D_Walt]

Agree with all of this. Have the attitude that you're among fellow humans, and not enemies, and you're positive attitude will stave off any potential curmudgeons

This even works with people who voted for the “other guy”.

 

[trb]

Agree with all, I have hunted the area extensively during turkey season with 0 issues. That being said, be careful of private boundaries because it can get real complicated real quick in 29 between the cliffy terrain and awkwardly shaped mining claims.

 

[Zach]

Just don't hunt Pearl St....

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Just don't hunt Pearl St....

Similar quandary:

Approx. 4 blocks from Harvard yard... seasons still going, do you think I'll get paint thrown on me if I put up a blind in front of the library.... I think that's were they are roosting.

 

[Zach]

Similar quandary:

Approx. 4 blocks from Harvard yard... seasons still going, do you think I'll get paint thrown on me if I put up a blind in front of the library.... I think that's were they are roosting.

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Just put a black fist, weed logo or peace sign on the blind.... you'll be fine.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Just put a black fist, weed logo or peace sign on the blind.... you'll be fine.

good call... on the plus side they are not call shy...

Ms. wllm1313 thought it was pretty funny they were loitering in front of the Cambridge train station and may have accidently called one into the station by letting out a few yelps.

You can take a girl out of Colorado buttttt....

 

[MTLabrador]

Similar quandary:

Approx. 4 blocks from Harvard yard... seasons still going, do you think I'll get paint thrown on me if I put up a blind in front of the library.... I think that's were they are roosting.

View attachment 162829

I’d recommend adding a stove jack to your blind. Hot blinds are the only way to fly.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I’d recommend adding a stove jack to your blind. Hot blinds are the only way to fly.

That's a great call!

I'm also wondering what the best cheese pairing is? I assume @COEngineer has procured some sort of pot cheese for his outing.

 

[CoffeeGoat]

I've got the late season doe tag in Golden gate park and am considering trying out the "shock pouch" method of pack out that meateater just did a video on. https://www.themeateater.com/watch/6209664304001/how-to-shock-pouch-a-deer-with-clay-newcomb

 

[MTLabrador]

I've got the late season doe tag in Golden gate park and am considering trying out the "shock pouch" method of pack out that meateater just did a video on. https://www.themeateater.com/watch/6209664304001/how-to-shock-pouch-a-deer-with-clay-newcomb

That was probably a great method before backpacks with a frame were invented... It just looks painful.