What does crowded mean when hunting out west

[Davetats51]

Hello all! first time poster.

I’ll be coming out to Colorado to hunt this October, I will have a deer and elk tag. I don’t need any info on units or spots, but was curious to know what it means when someone says a unit is crowded during a certain season. Where I am from the deer opener has a crazy amount of people and we pretty much have to setup and sit a spot all day, if we were to walk around we would be walking up on other hunters all day. Is that what guys generally mean when they are talking about places out west that they say are crowded? Or is more you see a couple guys per day or maybe a few people hunting the same drainage?

Sorry it may be an odd question, but I’ve heard some say the unit I will be hunting gets busy so I’d would just like to get a general idea of what that means in regards to hunting in Colorado.


Thanks!

 

[Dave N]

Welcome aboard!

 

[pointingdogsrule]

If I have to avoid others then it is crowded for me. Most of the time I can get to an area where no one else is.

 

[joelweb]

I agree that it means you see other people and have to shift your hunting strategy. I suggest not picking a spot and sitting all day unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

When you roll up to the trailhead...

 

[Davetats51]

Thanks for the responses guys! The plan is to do a lot of glassing and make a move from there. I hunted a unit a few years back that was referred to as a “zoo” opening weekend, and I only ever saw probably 6 hunters over 5 days hunting. I guess it’s just a different meaning depending on who you talk to

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I’ve hunted really crowded units but it never kept me from getting an elk.

 

[Old man bob]

Glass with good binos on a tripod and You will out glass most and find more animals . Thats how we do it in the Southwest and I take that mehtod everywhere. We use 15 power If You got em. Good luck . I am going to unit 70 in 3rd season...............BOB!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Depending on the area most hunters are road and ATV/Quad riders.After the opener things quiet down.
Get back in away from the Kooks and the folks driving down creekbeds and you'll be good.

 

[mtmuley]

Crowded out West? Really? Wonder why. mtmuley

 

[KipCarson]

Crowded is relative, when compared to eastern hunting where you likely have a someone sitting in every 40 acre block, and you hear 50+ rifle shots on opening day, you probably won’t consider it crowded. However, western hunting keeps you moving more, often you’re sitting high and seeing more ground, and is often call intensive leading you to have way more hunter encounters than on far more densely hunted eastern land. Seeing other hunters leaves you with a crowded feeling even when there is plenty of space to share. I did hunt a place for nine straight days when the trailhead looked like the one pictured above and only saw 2 non-hunting hikers the entire time. Like others have said before, part of the trick is just being willling to go where crowds aren’t. So like I said, it’s relative.

 

[Old man bob]

Dirtclod Az. You got the wrong State . I'm talkin Colo. for Deer.You got any tags this Year ? I have Coues in 36 A day after thanksgiving too......BOB!

 

[stealthy_bowman]

From a guy that’s hunted the northeast my whole life I can tell you that I will take the “crowds” in the west any day over the craziness we experience back east.

 

[glass eye]

Try and use the crowds to your advantage. Where would the game go with all that activity ?

 

[Pucky Freak]

Welcome to HT!

 

[antlerradar]

A few things that guys from back east should think about when they come out west and are shocked by the apparent lack of hunters.

Western seasons are generally much longer than those of the eastern states. This spreads hunters out over a longer time and gives the appearance of less pressure. For instance Montana's rife season is over five weeks long. If the season you are use to hunting back east is only a week long you should multiply the number of hunters you see in Montana by five if you are comparing pressure between states.
Deer density on much of the public land out west can be as low as ten deer per square mile and and some times lower. This is much lower than most of the eastern states were densities can exceed 100 deer per square mile.
Running into two or three other hunters on public land out west may effectively be the same as encountering 50 to 100 hunters back east when you take into account the longer seasons and lower deer numbers.

 

[Focus]

Crowded out West? Really? Wonder why. mtmuley

 

[PrairieHunter]

I think it depends on the area, species, trailhead, weapon, etc.. As well as where the plates are from. Plates from Colorado, California, and anything from the Central or Eastern time zone count double as they seem to have more people per vehicle.

More than 4-5 rigs at many trailheads is getting a bit crowded. I believe Randy left a trailhead in one of the Colorado elk episodes due to many vehicles/4wheelers, I forget how many it was, want to say 6-7.

Antelope hunting you might pass 100 other hunters on the road if a unit is broken up and you hunt all day.

The most crowded hunting I have ever experienced has been in Nebraska and Oklahoma on public land. Being within 100 yards of more than a couple dozen other hunters during the day can get a bit frustrating, but for the most part people are nice.

The last person you want to be is the guy freaking out because someone walks by you while hunting public land. It's going to happen, might as well be nice. There are some funny stories of guys who show up from back East and feel like someone parking by them at the trail head was wrong and they got upset. Then they got upset because someone walked through "their" drainage that they had set up on. Then they flipped out over people making noise, talking, etc... That is the wrong attitude to have hunting public land. Gotta put the big girl panties on and deal with the people if you want to have an enjoyable hunt IMO.

Colorado on a OTC tag with a short season = lots of pressure

 

[LaSportsman]

A few things that guys from back east should think about when they come out west and are shocked by the apparent lack of hunters.

Western seasons are generally much longer than those of the eastern states. This spreads hunters out over a longer time and gives the appearance of less pressure. For instance Montana's rife season is over five weeks long. If the season you are use to hunting back east is only a week long you should multiply the number of hunters you see in Montana by five if you are comparing pressure between states.

Deer season in many Eastern states is 2-3 months long. I hunted deer with a rifle from October to early January. Archery started in Sept. I never saw a one week tag until I moved to AZ.

 

[3855WIN]

Crowded is Colorado OTC tag and two hunters shoot bulls from a herd at first light that they’d scouted. Both bulls obviously hit and will go down soon. Two other hunters put “kill shots” on these wounded bulls and claim the kill.

I’m not driving 1,000 miles for crowded. I can get that at a WMA around here.