Colorado bear tag

[LongCut]

I am scheduled to go to Colorado for elk this fall. First rifle in unit 21. For the extra $100 and change, I can't see not having a bear tag on me. My buddy went on an elk hunt years ago and barely saw any elk. He passed on getting tags for deer and bear because if the cost. Of course, he wound up with a giant chocolate bear in front of him asking to be shot, but no tag I assume that if I dont get one, I will regret it....

I have never hunted out west, aside from Iowa pheasants, so no real idea what to expect I guess. I'm told there are quite a few bears, and the state is practically begging hunters to shoot some?

A bear will be second to filling the elk tag as far as critters go. I realize that lots of things are weather dependent, but in general, what can be expected from bears that time of year? Like where are you guys seeing them? I assume they will be fattening up, so food sources? What are they eating out that way and where (high/low, etc?).

Just looking for anything I may not know or not be thinking about. Thanks fellas.

 

[buffybr]

You can't shoot a bear if you don't have a tag, but in 50 years of deer and elk hunting (10 years in Colorado and 40 years in Montana), I probably haven't seen more than a half dozen bears while elk hunting.

Twenty years ago I went on a Dall sheep hunt in Canada's Northwest Territories. The area that I hunted was known as a good sheep area and they also had a healthy population of Mountain caribou so of course I had both of those tags. There was also a chance of seeing a wolf or wolverine there, so out of the 4 or 5 hunters in camp, I was the only one who spent the extra $50 for each of those tags.

As it turned out I did have a chance at a wolf and I did get a wolverine.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Little History on our seasons.


So between now and 1992 we have gotten rid of dogs, bait, and a spring season.
How's that effected the population.

Let's look at DAU - 4

Total harvest all methods of take.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

You are going to see the most bears in Sept and it will drop off as the fall progresses

Last 3 years hunting CO.

Archery 2017 - 25+ bears
1st Rifle 2017 (same unit) 0 bears
Muzzy 2018 - 2 bears
2nd season 2018 (different unit) - 1 bear
Sept rifle deer - 2019 - 4 bears
1st rifle 2019(different unit) - 1 bear

The last 3 years I had a bear tag but mismatched for when I saw them.

21 has had 1 bear killed in 19' and 1 in 18' during the concurrent rifle seasons.

The main question I would ask myself, if I see a bear opening morning of a 5 day elk hunt am I going to shoot a bear? If no then I wouldn't waste my money.

 

[Dsnow9]

The only time I have seen them is opening day or when I don’t have a tag. I’m a resident so I get one anyways, but it comes down to what you want to do.

 

[TommyV10]

I'm headed to CO for 2nd season and bought a tag. For the price I figure I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[SFC B]

I hunt 26 and usually go camp up in the area in the summer to check out the vegetation. Every year for the last 5 we have seen at least one bear out grazing in the sunshine. When I went to pick up my OTC tag for 2nd season in 2017 the girl at the CPW practically begged me to buy a bear tag. After having seen a large cinnamon bear that summer I went for it. The result were pretty good After the tooth/harvest data was back I found out a couple of interesting things.....1) the boar was only 3 years old and still only missed the book by about 1/4 in 2) Only 2 of us took bears that year in 26, myself and an archery hunter......amazing to me as bears are plentiful.

 

[LongCut]

With all the time and money tied up in the trip, the extra $100 for the have and not need it tag is where I was leaning..... I feel like if I don't get it I will regret it. I have had some "what if this is my last chance" type moments in the past couple of years and would rather regret spending the money than missing an opportunity.

SFC B-

Thanks for the pictures. That's a good looking bear!