CO 1st rifle experience different than prior years

[Poser]

Yep, that’s a perspective that is easily lost. Even I do it sometimes. Almost made me nervous to go hunt the first time because people would make posts about idiots walking through the drainage they wanted to glass, next post would be about the dumbass camped on the edge of a field he wanted to glass, cutting across the ridge the mule deer bedded on, etc.

So it’s like, I’d like to minimize my impact, but how do I know what someone else that I’ve never met, and may have a completely different hunting style than me, considers high value terrain? I’ve decided it’s just one of those perspective things that sometimes gets interpreted wrong and you can’t please everyone. So hunt your hunt, and when you see someone else in the area you thought the animals would be, look somewhere else.

You have to contextualize everything. During 3rd rifle, I hit a popular area, though I accessed it differently than virtually every one else. We were glassing a south facing slope and seeing deer and elk every morning. On the top of this East facing slope is a pullout where you get an excellent vantage point looking to the East. There were guys posted up there (we could see them and their trucks) every morning at the top. We were glassing in their direction and seeing animals. They were glassing in our direction completely oblivious to the animals directly below them AND they were almost certainly not seeing a damn thing. I'm sure they blamed that fact on us and called us idiots for being where we were, but the idiots aren't the people not seeing animals they are hunting.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Has anyone else noticed that this year or have we just been blessed with the extra rut activity in the years past since 2019?

I think you were blessed. I haven't hunted 1st rifle for 2 years but hunted it for a number of years prior and ran into low rut activity, usually only the days prior and a tiny bit the first morning until the shots started (maybe day 2 also if no shots). One year heavy snow chased us lower and we walked into a rut fest in predawn day 3 but that evaporated immediately upon hunters converging with not a peep after that. I've been in that area since and that rutfest was an anomaly for the area (I think a herd that is normally on private was on the public).

 

[prm]

I didn’t draw this year. Regularly getting tags to hunt areas you’ve hunted for years seems a thing of the past. I will try again next year for 1st season. I’ve had some great rut activity and low activity over the years. I can’t pin it on any one factor. However, earlier dates, colder weather, and no moon seem to be better.
I did go out with my dad for 3rd season Mule Deer. Saw one of the biggest bull elk I recall seeing in CO and he shot a little buck. A total time hunting of maybe 30min. So that was fun!

 

[Phaseolus]

Hunted Colorado Second Rifle. Low low elk movement. Lots and lots of hunters driving around - constantly. Even with rain and snow Sunday through Tuesday, did not slow down the constant inflow of hunters.

Really took away from the experience of should have been an enjoyable hunt.

If you weren’t close to roads you wouldn’t have experienced that.