Colorado vs Idaho for OTC elk: the final answer

[AvidIndoorsman]

You thought I was serious when I said we have no elk? Hell, the problem is we have too many elk. Otherwise, everybody and their brother wouldn't be coming here.

 

[chuckchili]

Fake news?

Definitely Obama's fault since he took away all the guns, err stopped us from buying guns, Err maybe got rid of all the Elk? I think Colorado might have a couple Elk left to hunt:

Newest Elk Harvest Data - Comparison of Western States for 2019 Elk Hunt

I ranked the latest elk harvest data from the top seven western elk hunting states to compare the harvest data for the 2019 elk hunting season.

www.backcountrychronicles.com

ELK harvest per state

State	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	AVG
Colorado	43,490	43,606	41,900	44,852	39,306	38,555	41,952
Wyoming	26,365	25,968	25,905	24,749	25,852	24,535	25,562
Montana	20,550	20,154	25,735	30,924	24,532	30,348	25,374
Idaho	16,028	16,231	20,088	23,836	21,326	21,596	19,851
Oregon	17,455	16,596	18,772	18,707	17,446	16,010	17,498
Utah	16,332	16,879	17,133	19,294	18,992	13,740	17,062
Washington	9,162	7,246	6,966	7,829	6,796	5,465	7,244

 

[Roughwater]

I've been told I'm very serious, or was that delirious? My hearing ain't the best anymore

 

[BraidenR]

Just starting off this side project/blog so any and all feedback welcome!

I read your article and think you did a very good Job. I have never hunted either state, so cant say to accuracy, besides your points summed up my past years of research.

Browsed the rest of your blog, Interesting stuff, I will be following along for the series.

 

[Roughwater]

What would you want to see different on the CO vs Idaho comparison? OR you just don't like all the articles

Sorry Baxter, I probably misunderstood what you did or are doing? I don't know what articles you are talking about? I was commenting on what I saw so far on this thread which was one guy saying there's no Elk in Colorado and another commenting on Idaho. Everything I saw was very superficial on this short thread. No comparison of Elk taken in each state, no mention of specific issues per state. Just some very general statements that didn't show me any research being done to prove a point. So I didn't take this thread serious and if you have a blog on the side I wasn't aware. I see you are a new member? If you are really doing a deep dive are you looking for info from us? If there are some articles you are speaking of where is the link? I tried doing a google search of baxterbowman.com and came up dry?

 

[dgc1963]

Thanks Obama

I thought everything was or is trumps fault

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I thought everything was or is trumps fault

 

[2rocky]

total license sales - Total Elk Harvest - # of Texans or Californians /acres of public Land = huntable elk per acre (HEPA) The new statistic of choice for Western Hunters. Just pay pal me $99.95 and I will give you personalized* maps to where the elk are





















*personalization limited to writing your name on a public land map

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Whelp, Colorado's got COVID-19 and I hear they snuck into CPW and were licking all the license paper.

Better not apply this year just to be safe.

 

[BaxterBowman.com]

I read your article and think you did a very good Job. I have never hunted either state, so cant say to accuracy, besides your points summed up my past years of research.

Browsed the rest of your blog, Interesting stuff, I will be following along for the series.

Thanks Braiden, hope you enjoy. Will look forward to your feedback

 

[BaxterBowman.com]

Sorry Baxter, I probably misunderstood what you did or are doing? I don't know what articles you are talking about? I was commenting on what I saw so far on this thread which was one guy saying there's no Elk in Colorado and another commenting on Idaho. Everything I saw was very superficial on this short thread. No comparison of Elk taken in each state, no mention of specific issues per state. Just some very general statements that didn't show me any research being done to prove a point. So I didn't take this thread serious and if you have a blog on the side I wasn't aware. I see you are a new member? If you are really doing a deep dive are you looking for info from us? If there are some articles you are speaking of where is the link? I tried doing a google search of baxterbowman.com and came up dry?

Whoops, that makes sense! Google might not have picked it up yet. Here's the Link for you again, let me know if it works

 

[Roughwater]

Whoops, that makes sense! Google might not have picked it up yet. Here's the Link for you again, let me know if it works

OK, now I see. Very good Baxter Bowman. Nice write up and comparison!

There isn't much talk of hunting Utah's Archery season though. It's actually cheaper to hunt in Utah and tags are unlimited like they presently are in Colorado. I don't like the general archery season dates in Utah though as it ends before the 15th of Sept.

 

[BaxterBowman.com]

OK, now I see. Very good Baxter Bowman. Nice write up and comparison!

There isn't much talk of hunting Utah's Archery season though. It's actually cheaper to hunt in Utah and tags are unlimited like they presently are in Colorado. I don't like the general archery season dates in Utah though as it ends before the 15th of Sept.

Thanks Roughwater! Yeah, I chose to leave out a few OTC options with Utah (relatively low success rates/hard for nonres), arizona (late season/low quality), Oregon (rosies, limited rockies), etc etc since I feel like CO or ID are better options for most folks. Good point though

 

[Duck-Slayer]

Definitely Obama's fault since he took away all the guns, err stopped us from buying guns, Err maybe got rid of all the Elk? I think Colorado might have a couple Elk left to hunt:

Newest Elk Harvest Data - Comparison of Western States for 2019 Elk Hunt

I ranked the latest elk harvest data from the top seven western elk hunting states to compare the harvest data for the 2019 elk hunting season.

www.backcountrychronicles.com

ELK harvest per state

State	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	AVG
Colorado	43,490	43,606	41,900	44,852	39,306	38,555	41,952
Wyoming	26,365	25,968	25,905	24,749	25,852	24,535	25,562
Montana	20,550	20,154	25,735	30,924	24,532	30,348	25,374
Idaho	16,028	16,231	20,088	23,836	21,326	21,596	19,851
Oregon	17,455	16,596	18,772	18,707	17,446	16,010	17,498
Utah	16,332	16,879	17,133	19,294	18,992	13,740	17,062
Washington	9,162	7,246	6,966	7,829	6,796	5,465	7,244

Looks too me there’s twice as many elk in Colorado winters and killing all the cow elk plus them dang wolves and grizzlies kill all the elk in Idaho.....
Matt

 

[OleoOutfitters]

Resurrecting an old thread with another quick comparison of Idaho and Colorado. See attached. Not sure these charts present a clear winner. Lots of opportunity for archery OTC success between 10 and 20% in each state.

PM me know if you want access to the interactive versions of these charts (or other weapons or draw units).

 

[azelkhntr]

So I took a dive. Total Sq. Miles of NFS land in Idaho = 13,408,243.00+-. Total in Colorado excluding the 2 Grasslands = 16,330,000.00.+-. This months edition of the Bugle. Total no: of outfitters listed in Idaho = 5. Total in Colorado = 41. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[Roughwater]

So I took a dive. Total Sq. Miles of NFS land in Idaho = 13,408,243.00+-. Total in Colorado excluding the 2 Grasslands = 16,330,000.00.+-. This months edition of the Bugle. Total no: of outfitters listed in Idaho = 5. Total in Colorado = 41. Draw your own conclusions.

I didn't check to see if the #'s are correct above but I will assume they are. This is just WAG but I'm thinking there could be 2x more Non-Resident Elk hunters in Colorado than in Idaho. If so even with more public land in Colorado their could still be more hunters per square mile. Also Colorado has almost 3x the population of Idaho so probably more local hunters in Colorado as well.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I didn't check to see if the #'s are correct above but I will assume they are. This is just WAG but I'm thinking there could be 2x more Non-Resident Elk hunters in Colorado than in Idaho. If so even with more public land in Colorado their could still be more hunters per square mile. Also Colorado has almost 3x the population of Idaho so probably more local hunters in Colorado as well.

5X actually, CO has more NR elk hunters than every state in the US combined.

 

[44hunter45]

There are too many Colorado members to this outfit. You can of course, have reefer in your camp in Idaho. No, wait, that's Colorado.

 

[Slm864]

That’s it. I’m canceling my plans for Colorado this year and going to ID. There just isn’t enough NR there clogging up the National Forest and driving their atv’s around.
I didn’t realize CO has more non resident elk hunters that ID has resident hunters until I looked at @wllm1313 spreadsheet above. That’s pretty crazy.