Looking for some advice.

[gonzo04]

So here is the scenario: My brother and I are planning to go elk hunting for 3rd season rifle. I am a non-resident and my brother is a resident. We were planning for him to get a OTC bull tag all this time. But he had also got an OTC archery tag in September and did not realized he would not be able to get the OTC rifle bull tag as well even though the person at the store told him yes. So its' my brothers mistake 100%.

Original plan was that he was going to get the tag and I was just going to tag along, (just to save some cash as I have bought NR tags past 3 seasons with no success )

So my question is: Do I just bite the bullet and buy the tag and hunt the unit previously planned unit 14? or is there better odds with cow elk tag. We just want meat.

Current cow elk tag units:
011
211
013
371
181
214
027.


Thanks for the help!

 

[Jerky]

If I were just looking to fill the freezer, I would personally go for the 11/211 antlerless tag.

If your dates are flexible I recently saw there were a few late season cow tags available.

 

[backcountrymuzzy]

I would go ahead and cross 371 off your list. There are definitely elk in there but its mostly high country and its going to snow all week making some of the trailheads potentially impossible to get to. I did see fresh tracks up there retrieving a trailcam last weekend but it was still up at 10,500 ft and knee high snow. Not a ton of glassing opportunities there either. If you do end up there, let me know and I will try to help out.

 

[Phaseolus]

For future planning: All of these cow tags you posted are B list units. That means you can have more than one elk license (as long as one of them is a B tag). If your Brother (or you) wants to hunt an archery bull OTC and a cow elk put in for the cow tag during the draw and buy the OTC archery tag. Hunt elk twice in the same season. To edit: Hunt elk twice during the same fall or season, they don’t have to be during the same season.

 

[Phaseolus]

And, you can do this and gain a preference point each year.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I would go ahead and cross 371 off your list. There are definitely elk in there but its mostly high country and its going to snow all week making some of the trailheads potentially impossible to get to. I did see fresh tracks up there retrieving a trailcam last weekend but it was still up at 10,500 ft and knee high snow. Not a ton of glassing opportunities there either. If you do end up there, let me know and I will try to help out.

I feel like the snow will make that unit easier to hunt not harder... also, most of the trailheads in the unit are accessed via pavement?

Regardless I would hunt whichever unit is farthest west and furthest from I-70.