CO OTC tag vs WY no tag (and just tag along....)

[Rifleman86]

thanks for all the great responses, I talked to my son and his response was short and straight to the point "I want to hunt."...lol ... I kind of figured this would be his response. He is an intense hunter and he will be the one motivating me to keep pushing.

Nothing wrong with that!

Go, have fun, you will get out of it what you put into it. I haven’t done CO OTC but I suspect people still kill plenty of elk during those seasons.

 

[johnross0619]

First, you should decide what realistic success is for your season. CO can be very humbling as a new elk hunter. There are lots of elk there and first timer's get lucky every year, but there are a lot of people and pressure. If you are realistic and aim for gaining knowledge and experience, go to CO. Maybe start with one tag between you and your son. If you see elk, great. Try to get in close and if you punch a tag, it was worth it. if you can't kill one, but you can be in the area and observe them and hone your skills for next year that's valuable also. If your buddy in WY was a well-seasoned hunter that you could gain a lot of experience from, it may be different. Don't be discouraged if you don't fill a tag, 90% of tags go unfilled every year. Good Luck!

 

[Hnthrdr]

How did the OTC hunt turn out?

 

[trophyhill]

I’m gonna start applying for WY deer antelope and elk every year. So the competition just went up. After Cnelk’s comment on Wyoming, I got to doing some homework on some of the easier to draw hunts. Can’t wait to draw my first WY tag!

 

[Hnthrdr]

I’m gonna start applying for WY deer antelope and elk every year. So the competition just went up. After Cnelk’s comment on Wyoming, I got to doing some homework on some of the easier to draw hunts. Can’t wait to draw my first WY tag!

You are late to the game man, but it is magical up there. Seriously almost feels unreal on how easy it is to get into decent game. That said bull tags in better units will cost NR 6-12 years worth of points as it stands now. Even their 1/2 point units are worlds apart from Co 4/5 point units from what I’ve seen

 

[go_deep]

Wyoming is half way to matching Colorado on PP's needed. I use to pick up leftover buck antelope license, after archery season started less than 10 years ago and shot some pretty good bucks. Those licenses now go for 4+ pp's in the first draw to NR's and are 30-40% chance to draw in the first choice for a resident.

 

[trophyhill]

Wyoming is half way to matching Colorado on PP's needed. I use to pick up leftover buck antelope license, after archery season started less than 10 years ago and shot some pretty good bucks. Those licenses now go for 4+ pp's in the first draw to NR's and are 30-40% chance to draw in the first choice for a resident.

CO does have some pretty nice antelope. This guy took a step on the shot but quickly bedded not to far and I was able to finish with a 58 yard frontal. Rage Trypan

 

[Hnthrdr]

CO does have some pretty nice antelope. This guy took a step on the shot but quickly bedded not to far and I was able to finish with a 58 yard frontal. Rage Trypan

Nice pronghorn with a bow

 

[gostovp]

How did the OTC hunt turn out?

Well .... it went about as expected for two rookies with no elk hunting experience. To be honest... it really wasn't good at all. The pressure was unreal...the last straw was 11 young guys getting ready to hike up the mountain ahead of us. Every pull out, every place to park had a camp or truck in it. We made a ton of mistakes (which we did learn alot from)...things that are well documented on countless threads on here of the things new elk hunters should know ...and think they know from reading and watching videos...and yet still screw up. We did see one cow elk.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Well .... it went about as expected for two rookies with no elk hunting experience. To be honest... it really wasn't good at all. The pressure was unreal...the last straw was 11 young guys getting ready to hike up the mountain ahead of us. Every pull out, every place to park had a camp or truck in it. We made a ton of mistakes (which we did learn alot from)...things that are well documented on countless threads on here of the things new elk hunters should know ...and think they know from reading and watching videos...and yet still screw up. We did see one cow elk.

Hey man you saw one. That is better than some other guys I talked to. I know a lot of hyperbole gets tossed around with how bad pressure is. I think some NR think residents make it up to keep people away… but it really is something to behold. You guys cut your teeth, maybe save a few points and come back to a less pressures unit anywhere outwest, it will be like night and day for you. It kind of sucks to spend the money NR do and get what OTC currently is, but that is hunting. Good luck on your other hunts this fall

 

[cnelk]

The pressure was unreal...the last straw was 11 young guys getting ready to hike up the mountain ahead of us. Every pull out, every place to park had a camp or truck in it.

I feel for ya. But you pretty much described OTC elk hunting in Colorado to a 'T'

Your quote should be made a 'Sticky' on here for everyone to read.

 

[GunsAreFun]

As is stands now with the various point systems, it is possible to get a draw unit in Colorado or a general tag in Wyoming or Montana every year as long you and your partner are ok with some years only one person getting a tag.

Those systems keep changing so I don’t know how long that will last though.

For example, my group of four started hunting a 1-2 point Colorado unit this year. Half got a tag and half waited until next year. We also are building up to 3-4 Wyoming points to draw a tag there in 2023 or 2024 then we will go there for two years in a row with 2 tags per year and then back to Colorado for a couple years. Maybe mix a Montana, idaho, or NM hunt in there.