CO 2nd Rifle Tips

[sram9102]

No I'm not asking for your honey hole or even mentioning a unit. I drew a tag this year in a unit that a guy I know killed a bull in a few years ago. Nothing location specific, if you were going to give a first timer a tip, pointer, etc. What would it be?

 

[SonnyDay]

Stay out from first to last shooting light.

Keep the wind in your face.

Don’t over-invest in an area with no fresh sign.

By second rifle, there should be snow… which makes determining freshness easier.

Bring tire chains!

 

[KClark91]

Stay out from first to last shooting light.

Keep the wind in your face.

Don’t over-invest in an area with no fresh sign.

By second rifle, there should be snow… which makes determining freshness easier.

Bring tire chains!

This will be my first time out for second season. What’s your go-to mid day strategy? Get up high and glass, boots on the ground looking for fresh sign, or slow hunt dark timber?

 

[SonnyDay]

Get up high and glass, boots on the ground looking for fresh sign, or slow hunt dark timber?

Yes. Yes. And Yes.

It just depends on what's going on with the animals, the topography, weather, etc. If you're not sure, do one of them and the next day you'll probably have a better sense of which one makes sense.

The only wrong answer is going back to camp/town during the day.

FWIW, we usually come back to camp after morning ambush to grab a heartier breakfast at 8-ish... and then head back out until last light. Often we're moving, looking for sign, and getting to glassing places we think will hold elk.

I shot a bull last year during 1st rifle at 2pm on a bright sunny day... came across his tracks in melting, wet snow, and 10 minutes later he was dead. We were headed to glass some chutes a few miles away... but never got there!

 

[Beendare]

Study the topography and let the other hunters push them to you.

 

[rayporter]

Study the topography and let the other hunters push them to you.

listen up here


get up earlier than anyone else and get up there first

 

[Marble]

Find a glassing point that can see a large area to hunt. Glass either evening or morning. After you find animals, go chase them.

My best success is glassing in the morning, wat hinge them go in to timber and then riding up to kill them.

Also very successful, but not as much, seeing animals feed out in the evening and being there at first light.

If there is a big snowstorm, wait it out. Be out there the morning (or evening) after it's done. The elk take refuge during cold winter storms and then feed like pigs afterward and usually lay on south facing slopes to warm up.

If you are sneaking through timber to try and find elk, use a walking stick. You can move sticks out of the way and use it to cushion steps as needed.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[commandoNate]

I've done well finding an area where the elk can cross over a ridge top in the morning and again in the evening to get sun. I like hunting when it's cold and snowy and have found elk that follow this pattern in numerous different parts of CO in the colder months. If it's warm and dry you can disregard and just get in there and find em with your glass and with your boots. Like was mentioned above, spend all the daylight hours out there. They can pop up any time of day. Punch that time clock. Plus, there is only like 10 hours of daylight by the beginning of November so use all that time to look for elk.

 

[Max2491]

Water, food, and cover. 2nd season has a lot of pressure in most units. Get down in the rough country.

 

[Whaledriver]

You can't kill them from the truck the hotel, or a nice warm Sleeping bag in a tent. The more time you spend on the mountain the better the odds become. Use gear that can keep you in the hunt during and after bad weather. Almost all the bulls I have killed over the years have been after a good dump of snow.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

More often than not it seems like the weather during 2nd rifle consists of bluebird t-shirt weather days. A midday strategy for these conditions is to glass into steep north facing timber and find them bedded. This works best if you know there are elk in the general area and can make an educated guess as to where they will be bedded. It's tedious work that most people don't have the patience for. I recommend binos on a tripod.

 

[Laelkhunter]

This will be my first time out for second season. What’s your go-to mid day strategy? Get up high and glass, boots on the ground looking for fresh sign, or slow hunt dark timber?

For mid day, we usually don't bump them from their bedding areas. Glass early in the am, see where they are going, then try to ambush them when they leave that area to head back down to the meadows in the evening. I know that sounds easy, but if there are elk bedded and you bump them (midday), they will be gone and in another county by the time you realize it. Boots on the ground and glass in the morning, then plan your attack for the evening.