Colorado Elk

[Blackcats06]

After looking at the drawing statistics for Colorado Elk why are season 1 rifle bull tags so easy to get? I know its probably a week after the peak of the rut but there has to be some bugling still going on. Living in AZ a bull elk tag a week after the peak of the rut would take 12 plus points for a resident. Only reasons I can come up with is everyone hunts over the counter while building points for better units. Even if the quality of bulls in a unit aren't great why isn't there some demand to hunt bulls that could still be talking?

 

[Bullshot]

I don't have much experience in 1st rifle in CO and the only experience I have was a bust, but it would seem if they are easy to get = they issue way too many? I therefore wouldn't equate most 1st season rifle hunts in CO with quality hunts (LE) there or elsewhere. Much less about timing and much more about pressure, movement to private land, often extreme OTC archery pressure before, followed by muzzy, and it's weeks after main (more vocal) rut. The later seasons in the same units are typically OTC and those animals know the drill... once muzzy guys in orange show up in Sept, they beat it to somewhere safe. If anything, the first season is probably more akin to eastern deer hunting, you are using the sudden influx of hunters to move game around in either predictable or unpredictable ways, hoping you are one of the well informed or lucky ones. Of course, people with good intel or local know-how probably could score every year in such circumstances, but it's probably just a marginal advantage to most hunters. At least that's my take, and the reason I probably will never use points for a 1st season tag in an otherwise OTC unit again.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I've only hunted first rifle once, in Colorado, but we hunted hard, in a unit that had lots of elk and never heard a bugle. Pressure tends to be high in the areas you can easily draw.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Colorado just issues a lot of tags comparatively, which is why a 250 inch is considered great in a lot of units. Also it’s a short season, only one weekend to hunt.

 

[nrpate05]

Tough to say, a lot of them are pretty good hunts. I've seen bulls on all of my CO 1st rifle hunts and I think I've used one preference point total (as a resident). Some of these were very nice bulls as well. I think some of the issue along with a short season that is post rut is that these critters can be hard to get to as they can be very high in the alpine still. I recall stalking a herd around treeline (11,500ft) a couple years ago. Usually you will hear some bugling, but that is not always the case and using calls is most likely ineffective. Perhaps CPW uses this hunt to let the elk know that hunters are coming for the 2nd and 3rd rifle season so they can keep the OTC harvest low?! You should try one!

 

[Blackcats06]

Arizona elk is always a one week season so that's nothing new to me.

 

[COEngineer]

CO has more elk than any other State or Canadian province. More elk = more tags.

 

[Thomas11]

I think it’s the most overlooked tag they have. Everyone loves the idea of a sept hunt and reflects in the draw odds. But honestly first season rifle has better success rates across the board there.

 

[Mtolliver]

I hunted 1st season this past year in Colorado. Its a five day hunt. I thought the same thing, the bulls will definitely still be talking. I was dead wrong, seen plenty of elk but not one bugle, even with the weather being perfect. However, I talked to some locals who live and hunt that unit and said even in archery season they heard little to no bugling at all. I haven't hunted Arizona yet because i just moved there, but from everything i have watched and read, I don't think bulls in colorado talk as much as bulls from other states, and my personal opinion it is because of all the hunting pressure.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I hunted 1st season this past year in Colorado. Its a five day hunt. I thought the same thing, the bulls will definitely still be talking. I was dead wrong, seen plenty of elk but not one bugle, even with the weather being perfect. However, I talked to some locals who live and hunt that unit and said even in archery season they heard little to no bugling at all. I haven't hunted Arizona yet because i just moved there, but from everything i have watched and read, I don't think bulls in colorado talk as much as bulls from other states, and my personal opinion it is because of all the hunting pressure.

Definitely would agree in the OTC units. Hunting with friends and for myself during the last 2 season was in the field for archery, muzzy, and 1st rifle seasons. Between the 3 of us we killed 5 bulls in 2 years and never once did I hear a bugle during daylight hours, we were always in OTC units.