colorado research 2012

[the nikster]

One of my buddies is pushing for a colorado elk hunt this next year. The 4 of us have hunted elk and deer and antelope together for the last 6 or 7 years.
We would love to hunt rutting elk with rifles, is that an option?
What are the archery success rates for nons?
Are there areas that hosers like us can camp and still access areas that are not run over with atv's?
We are NOT looking for 350 class bulls. We would like to harvest a couple of 5x5 or 6x6 bulls in the 300 range. I do not doubt I could find one with a little luck.
In addition to this resource, can you folks suggest another place to look?
We are not opposed to access fees but we do prefer unguided. and we prefer public.

 

[JohnCushman]

Most of your rutting action you're going to find is in archery season. You don't get quite as over run in archery and would find plenty of places to camp and hunt. The Colorado DOW websight has alot of info and statistics and whatnot as far as success rates and drawing odds and stuff like that.

 

[Bowhuntrben]

Check out the map at the following link. It shows public land and GMU boundaries in Colorado. It can be used in combination with the information on the DOW website. Also, you can find a pdf map on the DOW website showing wilderness areas and GMU boundaries.


http://ndis-flex.nrel.colostate.edu/HuntingAtlas/

 

[warmer]

CO is pretty easy to do what you want, IMO. I went with my 2 sons last year, archery, in a draw area. Our first trip to CO, lots of public land and not alot of hunters. Archery guys seem to have alot of respect for each other and we visited with some very helpful locals. I am ready to go back in 2012.

 

[hardwoods]

nikester,

Without ALOT of pref points - hunting the rut with a rifle is not really an option in Colorado. Sometimes like this fall you can catch a bit of the rut the 1st rifle season. Muzzleloader might be something you want to consider since that season is over the rut or archery like previously mentioned. A Muzzleloader Bull tag is hard to come by in most units without at least 1 pp usually more. Colorado is a great state to hunt elk but takes a couple years of preperation to draw a good bull tag during the rut. Best of luck.