Co activity?

[husky390]

I just got a left over tag for 1st rifle. Slim pickings. I never saw an elk during muzzle loader and there wasn't much pressure where I was. Good thing I like to hunt.

Dave,
What unit are you hunting?

 

[2peterhunter]

Any thoughts on the first rifle season and rut activity?

 

[husky390]

Any thoughts on the first rifle season and rut activity?

Depends on the unit. In 2011 I got my cow because the herd bull was still cowed up and bugling at night and first thing in the am. He would respond to my bugles and cow calls and kept us up all night. His early morning bugles tipped me off on where to find him and his harem.

 

[2peterhunter]

How was the weather

 

[husky390]

How was the weather

In that unit it is pretty warm and dry with "cold" nights. It's near CO Springs and is around 9k feet and I think daytime temps were in the upper 50's by first rifle.

Last year during first season we were in a different part of the state and only saw a spike hanging out with cows. Temps up there do get a lot colder.

 

[2peterhunter]

Anyone hunting first rifle? How's the weather and rut activity holding up?

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

I spent 16 days in my unit in september and was finding groups of cows still by themselves last weekend. It was a very hot and dry month (last weekend the nights only dropped into the low 40's) so my educated guess is that they'll still be cows going into ready mode, younger cows stretch into rifle season anyhow. Temps are changing fast now. I for one am excited and hopeful for first rifle.

 

[5MilesBack]

Temps seem to be cooling now, but if they had stayed in the 80's through 1st rifle it would have been a blood bath that season as the bulls would have been going bonkers. I hunted 20 days in a limited unit and it was absolutely the best season I've had. In bugling bulls every single outing all season. It definitely picked up the last three days of the season however. Even though those days were the hottest we'd had all season. I had so many close encounters I lost count. But it was very difficult in close because of how dry and loud everything was. Just couldn't move a muscle without them hearing everything. Passed a lot of smaller bulls as there were 3 main ones I was interested in and wasn't settling with that many days to hunt. Got oh so close a few times to my top 2 choice bulls, but just never could get that last card to fall into place. Had one of them at 63 yards, but moved for a better angle and got busted by a 320ish satellite I hadn't seen 15 yards above me. Then the jig was up.

Here's the bull I really wanted, and got close a few times.......but no cigar. He's going down during 1st rifle if he's still screaming like he was during archery.

 

[BigDog00]

I was just down in the North Park area the last four days deer hunting and didn't even see a single elk. There was a lot of fresh sign and I know there are elk there. I only heard one bull sound off once. He bugled twice about 10 seconds apart and that was it. It was really quite. Temps were about 65 during the day and 35 to 40 at night. I was camped just under 11k and could glass a pretty big area. I was surprised I didn't see any let alone hear more.

 

[2peterhunter]

Hoping to still hear a few bugles

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

[video=youtube_share;wmRU50azMRI]http://youtu.be/wmRU50azMRI[/video]

How I felt on Sept 27th.

 

[husky390]

Last Friday a bull was kind enough to keep me awake all night by bugling, grunting, and chuckling all night long. Went after him Saturday morning and he would respond to my cow calls. Had a cow and spike keep me pinned down and I couldn't get to him. By the time the sun started warming things up, he shutup and was gone along with his harem. The end.

I wish we were able to hunt this week, I'm sure they're screaming all day long. I'd be willing to bet they'll still be cowed up by 1'st rifle.

 

[2peterhunter]

I am hoping so

 

[DRyan]

Hope your hunt went better then mine. I didn't see much and shot under a scrap 5x on the last day of the hunt. I am looking for a new unit to hunt next year and was thinking unit 11 or 3.

 

[parshal]

I've got RFW tags that starts on October 9th for 10 days. There's another late season in December, too. I've got both either sex and cow rifle tags. I never heard a thing on my opening weekend archery hunt although we say plenty of elk. The weather looks to still be rather warm, just slightly above average highs and lows, for late next week. This tag cost me 11 points so I'm excited to say the least. I'm really hoping the rut is late rather than already passed.

 

[Durangoadam]

I'm hunting 1st rifle season in GMU 66 (Colorado). I see that the weather is finally starting to cool off this weekend and I'm excited to see how the activity changes between this weekend and the start of the hunt on Oct. 10. When I was scouting a week and a half ago I heard quite a bit of action. Is it realistic to think that the longer warm weather will push the rut into 1st rifle? Are you guys seeing this year's weather as an advantage to us 1st rifle guys?

This is my first hunt, so I'm not sure exactly what to expect. I do see that the 10 day shows cooler temps and maybe even the beginning of snow around the Lake City area.

Good luck, everyone!

 

[COlineman78]

I see that the weather is finally starting to cool off this weekend and I'm excited to see how the activity changes between this weekend and the start of the hunt on Oct. 10. When I was scouting a week and a half ago I heard quite a bit of action. Is it realistic to think that the longer warm weather will push the rut into 1st rifle? Are you guys seeing this year's weather as an advantage to us 1st rifle guys?

Yesterday had a bit of a fall nip in the air down here in Denver even though it was ~70. Hopefully a good cold snap is in store for us soon. The last time the weather was like this I think 90% of the group filled the first day or 2 of 1st rifle on the same land that we muzzleload on, so I like your chances. As long as the wind stays down you should hear plenty of elk. Weather reports for the mountains are worth little more than toilet paper though so I wouldn't put too much stock in it just yet.

 

[5MilesBack]

I'm hunting 1st rifle season in GMU 66 (Colorado). I see that the weather is finally starting to cool off this weekend and I'm excited to see how the activity changes between this weekend and the start of the hunt on Oct. 10. When I was scouting a week and a half ago I heard quite a bit of action. Is it realistic to think that the longer warm weather will push the rut into 1st rifle? Are you guys seeing this year's weather as an advantage to us 1st rifle guys?

This is my first hunt, so I'm not sure exactly what to expect. I do see that the 10 day shows cooler temps and maybe even the beginning of snow around the Lake City area.

Good luck, everyone!

My best rifle elk hunts have been when it was very warm and very dry, I hate any snow or cold on my hunts....archery or rifle. When it's been consistently dry and warm leading up to and including the rifle seasons, they will be absolutely awesome.

My daughter has a 1st rifle tag, but we're still playing it by ear for now. She may not be able to go anyway, but I'm more flexible and might go up even without a tag just to see how things unfold.

 

[2peterhunter]

Hoping that's the case, how many of you guys buy a bear tag as well? How do you hunt them? Just try to luck into them?

 

[KMT]

I was mountain biking today and there were three bulls going crazy.