CO 1st rifle

[Bellis]

Anyone have expierence with 1st rifle ? I have only archery hunted elk. Was curious if it’s a safe bet to basically hunt them as I would in archery season as far as terrain / elevation . I’m hoping some elk will still be vocal if I’m lucky. Any advice and or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Not looking for spots or 350 bull

 

[wildwilderness]

Well I had a spot with a 350 bull but I guess you don’t want it

But yes, the bulls I have noticed during 1st rifle were in similar spots to the end of archery season. Never had much luck with tail end of rut action either. But the only places that I hear of that is private with lots of elk anyway

 

[patagonialuke]

At least for the local herds that I can keep tabs on throughout the year, I see them in roughly the same elevation and terrain ranges almost the whole time the ground isn't snow covered. With this year's dry winter, that meant they were in my archery zones by early April, and I've seen them there all the way through third rifle if we don't get big early storms. For context, nearly all the private land here is residential, so they don't have big private grazing swaths to hide in once pressured. I wouldn't expect much vocalization, but you never know; e.g., we barely had any bulls talking all of archery season last year, but then they went crazy the final two days of the season.