Archery hunt Colorado vs Montana

[hubbs77]

Just wanted to ask a quick question on what the major differences are when hunting Montana and Colorado for archery elk? I have hunted the past few seasons in some of Colorados more difficult terrain and was just wondering what y'all find to be the biggest differences between the two states? Whether it be hunting style, terrain, situational calling.... just curious. Thanks!

 

[Marine4life]

Grizzly bears. In many places of MT you need to take, and comply, with precautions. Terrain in MT varies across the state but assuming your talking about public land, MT has rough country but not the really high elevation country CO has. Elk are elk no matter where you find them and whether they bugle or respond to calls is dependent on hunting pressure and in my opinion there is no shortage of that in either state.


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[bz_711]

Only been to MT once, but differences for me:
-Grizzly bears, my buddy did see one
-Less high country where we were...so really depends as both states have units with alpine and both have areas all below treeline. In general I just preferred my CO areas where I have several views of rocky peaks each day...not much related to elk hunting I just enjoy the views and being able to get above trees.
-Considerably less hunting pressure in MT and about 95% less recreation/tourist where I was
-MT = Moo Cows! Was surprised how many times we came across cattle at over 10,000 ft
-Less cell signal. I had to drive 30 minutes to make a call home (I now have a zoleo because of that). I also drove a 2 lane highway for prob 40 miles without passing a single car or house (and no cell signal)...you better be prepared to be stranded.
-So many mule deer.

Elk hunting was similar (just as hard) and I do plan to go back. What I liked most of MT was the expansiveness of it and just fewer people...great state to get away from it all.

 

[Dos Perros]

I think the CO bow hunters are better elk hunters, elk callers. For that reason the elk are tougher to call and get close to. And then also more recreational traffic in CO than in MT.

 

[cnelk]

I dont think MT has the beetle kill CO does

 

[lager]

There is plenty of beetle kill on the west side of the divide. A lot of the areas where we used to hunt are such a mess of downfall the elk cannot get thru it, and have moved to different areas.

 

[wannakillabigbull]

I've killed archery bulls in both CO and MT. If you didn't tell me I was in MT I wouldn't have been able to tell you I wasn't in CO; there are definitely similar areas in MT if you're looking for steep and rough country. But both states are huge with such varied terrain, it'll depend on where you are. Grizzlies have been mentioned and that's certainly a factor depending on the unit you pick. When I hunted MT general I ran into about the same number of people on the trail as in CO OTC or low draw, but far less off the trail in MT. Hunters in CO tend to hunt very hard and put in a lot of effort compared to the other states I've hunted.

 

[Skerhunter]

Elevation/terrain, wolves, bears would be the major differences. The elk are still doing elk stuff!

Pressure in Montana has been steadily increasing during archery season and is now similar to OTC units.

 

[KHNC]

Well , NW Montana barely has any elk. I guess CO gives more actual chances of seeing one.

 

[BigLou]

you should definitely hunt Colorado. Twice as many elk. Shorter drive. Better beer. No brown bears.

 

[CMF]

I think there is too much variability in each state to compare without narrowing down seasons or parts of the state.

I've killed archery bulls in both CO and MT. If you didn't tell me I was in MT I wouldn't have been able to tell you I wasn't in CO; there are definitely similar areas in MT if you're looking for steep and rough country. But both states are huge with such varied terrain, it'll depend on where you are. Grizzlies have been mentioned and that's certainly a factor depending on the unit you pick. When I hunted MT general I ran into about the same number of people on the trail as in CO OTC or low draw, but far less off the trail in MT.

I pretty much agree with this

-Considerably less hunting pressure in MT and about 95% less recreation/tourist where I was

Again, depends, but archery pressure seemed the same for the areas I've been(MT general vs 0point CO) I've never done rifle in CO, but rifle in MT was nuts compared to the archery season in MT.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Colorado had way more guys parked at the trailheads. Montana had more grizzlies and more grouse from what I saw. The elk herds I saw in Montana were huge, hundreds of animals grouped together in small areas; Colorado had more but small herds. I've been successful both places and make my decision on where to apply based on factors unrelated to the actual elk hunting.

 

[hiker270]

Colorado has more elk, more hunters but easier to draw or buy a tag. Montana still have a lot of hunters and can be difficult or impossible to draw a tag if you don't have preference points.

 

[hubbs77]

Any advice on elevation? When hunting in CO we've always found the elk 2/3 the way up the mountain above 10.5 for the most part. If the elevation isnt as steep do the same rules apply? Are they still 2/3 the way up usually? I have seen some posts stating the elk tend to be in lower elevation in MT archery then move up higher and away from pressure as the season progresses. Seems opposite of what we've observed in CO?

 

[Hnthrdr]

Once again it’s a bunch of guys from both states telling him to hunt the other state… once again I must remind the MT folks they have about 3x the area and 1/6 the population, oh and co recieves roughly 90 million turons a year I would be surprised if MT breaks 15 million… Sept in Co is stupid busy in the hills, yes I’m sure the pressure is bad in MT too, but it’s nightmarish some weekends in Co and it’s not all hunting loads of hiking, backpacking, leaf peeping, fishing. Just raw numbers for thought for the op, you want to come, come on it’s not like there won’t be plenty of company oh and we do have more elk, haven’t checked what the per capita numbers look like, but personally wyo is pretty sweet if you can get a tag there, it’s getting busier every year as well.

 

[hubbs77]

I've already hunted CO plenty and kinda know what to expect as far as crowds go. Drew MT general this year and that's why I posed the question to begin with. I do appreciate all the replies!!

 

[CMF]

Any advice on elevation? When hunting in CO we've always found the elk 2/3 the way up the mountain above 10.5 for the most part. If the elevation isnt as steep do the same rules apply? Are they still 2/3 the way up usually? I have seen some posts stating the elk tend to be in lower elevation in MT archery then move up higher and away from pressure as the season progresses. Seems opposite of what we've observed in CO?

Most of the ones I saw in MT were at the top or near it. sometimes feeding above treeline, then dropping into timber bed, archery, and rifle. (at least the huntable elk. Some big herds stayed down low on private land the entire season. We only caught them on public once during the archery, a mall block of flat, wide-open country, and we promptly spooked them back to private)