Colorado Muzzy Season

[JohnCushman]

I'm a muzzleloader hunter too, just not for elk. I muzzy hunt antelope just about every year and muzzy hunt in other states. I just don't see the need for muzzy to overlap archery elk when there's time between archery and 1st season. If people want to muzzy hunt elk that's cool, I'm just sharing my experience in my little honey hole that I had to myself for a number of years. So, I will stop 'ragging' on muzzy hunters and we can all enjoy the holiday. I'm fairly new to the state, so I don't know many areas or where to start looking for a new place, but I will hit google maps and gps and start studying and start from scratch again. We are all hunters, so we should all get along. I apologize for ragging.

 

[Dinkshooter]

A lot of this thread is in la la land

 

[jimss]

Crowded?

Sounds like you are hunting an unlimited OTC elk unit in Colo? If so, it doesn't surprise me you are having problems! I know a lot of guys like purchasing OTC tags and hunting every year but hopefully some day Colo will wake up and limit more elk units so it's possible to have a quality experience. Take a look at the quality of bucks that started cropping up once Colo limited all deer units to a draw. It's always a pain drawing great limited deer tags and having to deal with all the elk hunting pressure (if it's an OTC elk unit!). Those that are fed up with crowded conditions and all that come with it ought to be lobbying for more limited elk units rather than pointing the finger at other archery or muzzy hunters!

One other consideration...if you think about it....more limited elk units (rather than OTC units) would mean a higher turn over of hunters that draw limited tags each year. There would be less point creep if there were more limited tags available. Some units may offer more tags than others but if all units were limited elk hunters would be burning pref pts rather than just building points each year.

 

[Dinkshooter]

Sounds like you are hunting an unlimited OTC elk unit in Colo? If so, it doesn't surprise me you are having problems! I know a lot of guys like purchasing OTC tags and hunting every year but hopefully some day Colo will wake up and limit more elk units so it's possible to have a quality experience. Take a look at the quality of bucks that started cropping up once Colo limited all deer units to a draw. It's always a pain drawing great limited deer tags and having to deal with all the elk hunting pressure (if it's an OTC elk unit!). Those that are fed up with crowded conditions and all that come with it ought to be lobbying for more limited elk units rather than pointing the finger at other archery or muzzy hunters!

One other consideration...if you think about it....more limited elk units (rather than OTC units) would mean a higher turn over of hunters that draw limited tags each year. There would be less point creep if there were more limited tags available. Some units may offer more tags than others but if all units were limited elk hunters would be burning pref pts rather than just building points each year.

No,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no.

I don't live in a redonkulous high cost of living place to hunt elk elk every 5 years. Plenty of elk,plenty of quality opportunities.

 

[Bambistew]

Why would you want to limit opportunity? So you can kill a slightly bigger bull every once in a while?

The muzz hunters ruining the archery season is funny. No one deserves to hunt the rut except stick flippers who party more than they hunt.

 

[Oak]

No,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no.

I don't live in a redonkulous high cost of living place to hunt elk elk every 5 years. Plenty of elk,plenty of quality opportunities.

This.

Why would you want to limit opportunity? So you can kill a slightly bigger bull every once in a while?

The muzz hunters ruining the archery season is funny. No one deserves to hunt the rut except stick flippers who party more than they hunt.

And this.

 

[JohnCushman]

Well hell, I'm a DB... I was just talking about my little honey hole that got overrun (a good chunk of unit 70). I wasted 4 points on a draw hunt a couple of years ago and it was exactly that, a waste. None of us in the group saw a bull (except on the way in to town in a rancher's field) and between 4 of us we saw 2 cows and a couple calves and some deer (the other 3 guys weren't mobility dicked up like me and one guy bivied out overnight a couple times)...but we did see 2 moose. Enjoy your muzzy hunts if that's what gets you off and when you post your success pics and stories on here I will be the first to congratulate you. Like I said, I muzzy hunt other states and muzzy hunt CO for antelope...I enjoy doing it for elk with a stick and string and want my first bull to be with my bow(when I become CSEH I will have earned it the hard way, not just sitting back and pulling a trigger on a rifle :hump So, I will work on finding a new place, that's all... kum bye ah

 

[noharleyyet]

....another Festivus Miracle.....

 

[jimss]

Those that complain about crowded conditions have no reason to complain if they aren't willing to support limited tags. Just because units are limited doesn't mean that there still aren't a gob of tags issued. Similar to Colo deer it would still be fairly easy to draw limited deer tags every year in units that offer a bunch of limited tags. The CPW would be able to manage not only hunter numbers but also the elk population better with limited tags. This was brought before the original CDOW several times in the past but it was shot down because of the financial impact nonres and res hunters have on local economies. I am sure hunter numbers would remain fairly similar to their current levels but there comes a point where hunters may begin to disregard returning to Colo to elk hunt due to the over crowded conditions and poor success rates. This probably doesn't really matter to yahoo groups mentioned above that like to "party" hunt and cause problems!

 

[Muley_Stalker]

Well hell, I'm a DB... I was just talking about my little honey hole that got overrun (a good chunk of unit 70). I wasted 4 points on a draw hunt a couple of years ago and it was exactly that, a waste. None of us in the group saw a bull (except on the way in to town in a rancher's field) and between 4 of us we saw 2 cows and a couple calves and some deer (the other 3 guys weren't mobility dicked up like me and one guy bivied out overnight a couple times)...but we did see 2 moose. Enjoy your muzzy hunts if that's what gets you off and when you post your success pics and stories on here I will be the first to congratulate you. Like I said, I muzzy hunt other states and muzzy hunt CO for antelope...I enjoy doing it for elk with a stick and string and want my first bull to be with my bow(when I become CSEH I will have earned it the hard way, not just sitting back and pulling a trigger on a rifle :hump So, I will work on finding a new place, that's all... kum bye ah

Sitting/waiting for the elk in your camo, and pulling the trigger is what bow hunters do. Except you haven't pulled the trigger yet.

If you're bothered by muzzy hunters. Why don't you hunt the time you get before the muzzy season? Then you don't have to worry about the muzzy hunters driving away YOUR elk.

 

[JohnCushman]

Sitting/waiting for the elk in your camo, and pulling the trigger is what bow hunters do. Except you haven't pulled the trigger yet.

If you're bothered by muzzy hunters. Why don't you hunt the time you get before the muzzy season? Then you don't have to worry about the muzzy hunters driving away YOUR elk.

That's when I do hunt, then I go back out after they leave, but DPW keeps making the muzzy season earlier. I've got a few spots I try to get back in to close to the private land that the elk escape to, but I've got to get in there and cut some shooting lanes since I grew up quick this year with the wet spring and summer they had out there.

Hey, dude..I'm John, good to meet you. I don't want us to keep having tension. I've apologized on here and admitted being a DB and said that my issues are with the area I know and said I will find new areas to hunt. I'm actually pretty cool when I'm not being a dick...

I'm sorry I hi jacked the thread, everyone

 

[Muley_Stalker]

That's when I do hunt, then I go back out after they leave, but DPW keeps making the muzzy season earlier. I've got a few spots I try to get back in to close to the private land that the elk escape to, but I've got to get in there and cut some shooting lanes since I grew up quick this year with the wet spring and summer they had out there.

Hey, dude..I'm John, good to meet you. I don't want us to keep having tension. I've apologized on here and admitted being a DB and said that my issues are with the area I know and said I will find new areas to hunt. I'm actually pretty cool when I'm not being a dick...

Ok, i'm sorry too. I might be a bit sensitive to getting crap from bow hunters. Not you in mind, but from the past.

All is good.

 

[Kevin W]

Cush is a good guy, personally I've only been on one elk hunt this past season (my 14 yr old son had a tag I did not) I have seen how frustrating it is when hunting with the masses on public. I can only imagine that the frustration grows each and every year after with no tags notched. I think the frustrations caught up with John in his post. Some years places get hit with big hunter numbers when the word gets out then cool off after a couple of seasons. Maybe next season the elk come back and the big number of hunters doesn't. Until then best of luck John on your hunt for an archery elk!!!

 

[hank4elk]

Well I USED to hunt with a bow, recurve,back in olden days too.
I gave it up to successfully fill a tag without loosing a animal or any meat.
I just rifle & mz hunt now and just in NM.My choice.
I have feelings too.
I am pretty lucky in the draw, but never a premium tag.8 for 10 yrs recently.

Bow guys get to hunt all of Sept. here and can go back after deer again in Jan.

Almost but not impossible to draw a rut tag other wise,due to no limit on the prime draws.
I think you should only be able draw a Gila or other premium tag every few years if successful.
Any weapon you choose.Any prime NM hunt.
I think I see bowhunters everywhere in NM now,all the time.They can hunt the any weapon hunts.
I think I'm seeing alot of lost shot elk now during a mz hunt or rifle.more than ever.

I don't totally begrudge bowhunters and rut elk hunts.
I get to go and sometimes it's still going on and I get to use modern rifle or modern mz with a scope.
And it's one of the less crowded hunts and I can find a place without people or bow hunters.
Just not a prime tag.

LOL I'm pretty handy with a rock thrown too......

 

[JohnCushman]

Cush is a good guy, personally I've only been on one elk hunt this past season (my 14 yr old son had a tag I did not) I have seen how frustrating it is when hunting with the masses on public. I can only imagine that the frustration grows each and every year after with no tags notched. I think the frustrations caught up with John in his post. Some years places get hit with big hunter numbers when the word gets out then cool off after a couple of seasons. Maybe next season the elk come back and the big number of hunters doesn't. Until then best of luck John on your hunt for an archery elk!!!

Thanks, man. You're right, there is a touch of frustration. More than once I've been on a stalk on an elk to have it shot out from under me from a muzzy hunter 150 yards away after I've been stalking for an hour playing the wind and all that. In the areas I hunted, it's my own fault, due to pride more than anything, that I haven't shot an elk. I knew there were a couple of giants in the area and they were what I was after for my first elk. I could have shot cows and raghorns everyday and been CSEH years ago. So, my honey hole that I had pretty much to myself for years (except during muzzy season) with a local herd on it was found out and word spread like wildfire. Now we can't even get an elk on trail cameras, but I went anyway this year and did my best. I do feel gifted to be able to hunt on an OTC tag, but when you think about it, the odds of success for archery is like 5% or something like that, so making archery tags a draw state wide makes no sense either if we are trying to use hunting to control the population in the denser population areas. I hunted where I hunted all of those years because my buddy lives out there and it was a matter of convenience and I learned the area pretty well pretty quickly. The draw area I hunted was crap and I don't see myself saving points for another draw archery tag again. I know I am spoiled to hunt the rut and I should probably stop complaining, but why not cut archery shorter and do muzzy separately, or do muzzy after archery before 1st season? It seems kind of silly to have 2 seasons going on at the same time with 2 different weapons. But, I am fairly new to the state and I don't know the politics and decision making that went in to the season making decision and timing.

I am done whining and being a dick now...:W:

Once again, I apologize for hijacking the thread and I really do wish the muzzy hunters success....

 

[Muley_Stalker]

John,

First let me tell you how I hunt, and maybe you'll understand better. I'm a traditional hunter. My favorite era is the fur trade/mountain man era. I try to hunt as close to how it was done back in the day. I use an exact replica of a plains rifle, PRB, black powder, primitive sights, and dress as they did. I go a step further by using still hunting as my method to hunt. I use no modern gadgets to aid my hunt like binos, GPS, Google Earth, camo etc. You could drop me into 1830, and i'd fit right in. Well, after I throw away the blaze orange anyway. I'm blind in one eye, and have 20/40 vision in the other. Long shots are out of the question with primitive sights. All my shots need to be under 40yds. Bow range.

As for making a separate season for muzzy and bows. I doubt it will happen, but i'd love to see it. It would be easier to find solitude. The DOW will tell you it's not needed. If a bow hunter doesn't want to hunt with the muzzy hunters they don't have to. We only get 9 days in muzzy season. Archery is 30 days. It shouldn't be hard to avoid muzzy hunters. Trust me. All the elk don't go to private land when pressured. They do go to rough country, but they can still be hunted if you put in the work. You'll also find the success percentage is much higher with bow hunters than muzzy hunters. No doubt due to having more time to get a kill.
Also, keep in mind as a bow hunter you get to hunt the elk first before they've gotten any pressure. Take advantage of it. Do it right, and you should have a full freezer before a muzzy hunter even gets to hunt.

 

[Mudranger1]

Let me fix this thread! here goes

I'm going to hunt with my crossbow and use lighted nocks this year!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[noharleyyet]

Let me fix this thread! here goes

I'm going to hunt with my crossbow and use lighted nocks this year!!!!!!!!!!!!

...during a shoulder season?

 

[JohnCushman]

I've got a CVA percussion cap rifle that I've used for years and I love it. I shot my first mule deer doe out here with it and my first muzzleloader antelope doe with it. I normally hunt with my inlines, though, but I break out the percussion capper every once in a while for a change of pace. I'm not very good past 40 or 50 yards with it, though...lol Good thing I grew up a bow hunter and my fat ass can be stealthy when I need it to stalk

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I could have ended up a bow hunter. Here's a picture of me in 1950, but decided to go with guns instead.