Colorado or Wyoming?

[CTELK83]

Hey all, I am from NY (upstate**) I have hunted elk 5 out of the last 7 years. 1 guided rifle hunt in New Mexico and 4 archery DIY in Idaho. A good friend of mine has gone on 3 of the hunts, but has not hunted himself. Always coming for fun. He would like to do an archery DIY hunt and I was thinking we should try a new area when we go and he has his bow with him. Was wondering what some opinions would be between Colorado or Wyoming? We might not do this for 5+years so maybe we can start applying for some points in a little better area. Again looking for public land. Not fully opposed to drop camp, but I know my friend and he won't want a guide.
Thanks for any opinions. Obvioisly not asking for anyones secret spots, just some opinions.
Thanks

 

[PaJay 1962]

I've hunted CO numerous times DIY - muzzleloader and rifle, haven't done archery - YET. As for CO, I like not having to deal with grizzlies, and you don't need a guide to go into the public land. Archery is a great time (ML coincides with it for a week) as you don't have near the competition you do during rifle season.

WY has grizzlies, and you need a guide to go into the wilderness areas if you are a non-resident. I hunted WY last year, with an outfitter who HAD gotten rave reviews (before I hunted with him), and we hunted during the September rut - 32 miles in from the trailhead in the Thorofare area which is the SE corner of Yellowstone. That place was infested with grizzlies and wolves, and the FEW elk we saw over 6 days of hard hunting were not talking at all. I have to believe the wolves and grizzlies had something to do with it.

A lot can change in 5 years, so pick a state and start putting in for PP, but realize that you can run into point creep and never draw the unit you're looking at today (at least for CO).

Good luck!

 

[CTELK83]

I didn't know that about WY. And ya, places I've gone in Idaho were without grizzlies....probably want to avoid them. Colorado may be best bet. I just figured there might be a unit where with 3 or 4 points you were almost guaranteed to draw and the pressure mau be less than an OTC tag. Nice thing about us is neither of us are looking to set any records and would probably take a cow the first day out! I got a nice 6x6 in Idaho and he's on my wall. So So I can hunt for meat without second guessing myself
Obviously if love to get a nice bull, but if be almost just as happy with a cow haha. Best meat I've had. Makes my whitetails taste like tree bark

 

[JLDemo]

Can't speak for Colorado, but hunted in Wyoming DIY archery for years now and it all depends on where you are hunting, the General areas in Wyo are not a hard draw and can provide some great DIY hunting. I've only ever hunted general and we've taken bulls and also came away with nothing but a good time, coolers empty. (still worth it) Never ran into grizzly bears either, saw them, but never had a run in. Some of the best elk hunting can be had in a general area where grizzlies are located, see Park County, and if you don't want to think about bears, head south to the border of Wyo & Colo. All general areas. As for the non-rez in wilderness areas, just ask, the license is of no fee to the resident and is no hassle if the guy or gal is hunting that particular wilderness area anyhow. I did it for a guy a few years ago and it was a great time, we both took bulls and now If I ever get around to wanting to chase whitetails, I've got a contact in northern Missouri. You've got a lot of time to plan, I'd suggest finding an area where you can get a cow tag or antelope tag fairly easy, hunt it every year or every other year until you draw that type 1 tag. Randy has mentioned multiple times in several podcasts to hunt a unit every year if possible, even if just for cows, figure it out and know the terrain, then when you do draw that tag you want, you'll be prepared. Also see Montana, there's some archery only districts up there that you can hunt often for several species, I'm headed there next year! Good luck with everything.

 

[wytex]

Great elk areas away from the grizzlies in NW Wyoming. You could buy a point and draw a general tag for a decent area and still accumulate points for a limited quota area later.
Colorado has OTC but more people. Wilderness areas in Wyoming are not huge and lots of good ground around them.
Additional cow tags are very affordable in Wyoming also.

 

[LopeHunter]

If are flexible on when can hunt then is possible to apply for 2 or more states in a year. In some cases, a specific state announces the Elk draw results before a different state's elk application is due. Or, you can shotgun applications and may end up with multiple tags. You can turn in a CO tag for a refund or turn in without a refund to keep prior points. AZ tags can be turned in if use Point Guard option. Oregon tags do not need bought though forfeit your points and they have Roosevelt elk.