Best shot at filling the freezer in Colorado?

[Doc Holliday]

If you just want meat, you might as well get good meat, so that means elk. IMO the easiest of all for a beginner would be raghorns during September, whether bow or ML.

Serious question here......when does a bull go from being a raghorn to not being a raghorn? Where is the line?

 

[5MilesBack]

Serious question here......when does a bull go from being a raghorn to not being a raghorn? Where is the line?

Genetics would come into play, but I'm guessing any bull that is 3.5 and under would be a pretty decent cutoff. I've seen 6x6's that I would still consider a raghorn.......very short spindly beams and short spindly points. That's my cutoff. Decent 5x5's and up I wouldn't call raghorns.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Genetics would come into play, but I'm guessing any bull that is 3.5 and under would be a pretty decent cutoff. I've seen 6x6's that I would still consider a raghorn.......very short spindly beams and short spindly points.

Is there a score you could associate with it?

 

[5MilesBack]

Is there a score you could associate with it?

I wouldn't even know where to start as far as score. I've never measured a raghorn.

Raghorns......

 

[Huntindog45]

cow elk...

 

[Titan_Bow]

I would not consider archery elk for any bull in CO to be a freezer filler hunt. Overall archery success is in the neighborhood of 10% Like cnelk mentioned doe antelope tags in WY are a gimme. I’ve shot 5 of them up there, not much hunting involved. Where I hunt in NE, season choice tags aren’t allowed, but I bowhunt NE every year and that’s a fun freezer filler. Lots of deer and rutting bucks, but they are all young deer. Late season cow elk is the way to fill your freezer. Look at the Colorado hunting Atlas map. Put elk winter concentration along with migration pattern, and correlate that with available late season tags.


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[wildwilderness]

Sounds like you are not scouting enough! You need to learn how to hunt. The secret is scouting. Cover a lot of ground while glassing a lot. Just takes time.

We never have problems filling cow/doe tags. I think a fork horn buck is the easiest to kill. As mentioned doe antelope In WY for $40 each is the best way to get meat. Won’t fill the freezer like a cow elk though.

For the draw a slam dunk cow hunt would be unit 61! It’s a class A tag and takes a few points but elk are all over. If there is a A tag for cows it’s probably a good one. I prefer late Dec tags since the elk are lower.

 

[cnelk]

CN Elk can you expand that a bit for a total noob?

Rifle vs archery?

Take your pick. Get each state’s regulations and read em.

 

[5MilesBack]

I would not consider archery elk for any bull in CO to be a freezer filler hunt.

I've done quite a few "meat hunts" for cows that were much more difficult than calling raghorns in during archery. IMO raghorns during September are like whitefish when you're fishing with dry flies for trout........they just won't leave you alone.

 

[Rich M]

Interesting series of answers.

I think Post #27 has the jist of it. You seemingly are having trouble finding animals for some reason and have until next season to figure out what it is.

I went to CO from FL last year for a mule deer hunt - never done that before and thought you walked around glassing canyons until you found some bedded deer and it was game on. LOL! Was I ever mistaken. You prop yourself up and watch where you have seen deer sign - watch large areas early and late in the day. Morning is better and the movement lasts longer. Evening movement starts about 2 hrs before dark.

Keep bopping around until you find some.

A doe tag would probably be easiest - go hunt some public near ag fields and shoot you a deer or two. A 2x2 mule deer might be easy as well.

 

[Stalker69]

Unit 36, 3rd season ( rifle obvisiously) I know several guys that go almost every year ( at least some of them draw) and they are self called trophy hunters. And they shoot some nice deer, ( usually 170+, biggest I think has been just over 200”) and they say they can kill average bucks very easy. I would think does would be even easier. On the map it’s around red and white mountain.

 

[fightthenoise]

Unit 36, 3rd season ( rifle obvisiously) I know several guys that go almost every year ( at least some of them draw) and they are self called trophy hunters. And they shoot some nice deer, ( usually 170+, biggest I think has been just over 200”) and they say they can kill average bucks very easy. I would think does would be even easier. On the map it’s around red and white mountain.

Party in unit 36, get your apps in deadline is approaching! See y’all there!

 

[Bsnyder]

If your building points ranching for wild life cow tags can be had for 2-3 points

 

[Glass]

This is an interesting topic. I am moving to CO in May. I have never hunted the mountains and am looking for info on how to properly do it. I am from ND so the concept of mountain hunting is foreign to me!

Anyone looking for a meat packer in exchange for some on the ground hunting knowledge?

 

[Stalker69]

Party in unit 36, get your apps in deadline is approaching! See y’all there!

Its limited draw, some draw with no points, but usually for sure with one. So the “ party” will be the same size regardless of how many apply. I don’t rifle hunt, and thought I’d pass it on.

 

[BoganOutdoors]

Check out stats for previous year draws. CPW offers this and harvest rates per unit on their website. They also have a hunting atlas with seasonal population densities per species.
With the old application process, I would put in for a deer unit that takes 1-2 years to draw (rifle) as a first choice and then a unit that would have leftover licences as a backup (archery). I believe the same can still be accomplished with the "new" secondary draw system.
For elk I do an OTC rifle bull tag (list A) and an OTC archery cow tag (list B). I try to hunt both archery deer and cow in the same unit if possible.

 

[Midnightmalloy]

If you are just after cows and does try taking a Saturday and knocking on some ranchers doors and if you tell them you just want to kill cows and does you would be surprised how much access you can get!