Colorado OTC Archery ?????

[Stwrt9]

My brother and i are planning on heading out to Colorado this year for OTC Archery Elk. While we have been planning this out i have several questions I need some expertise on. We were looking at the hunting the opening week possibly Aug 27-Sept 5. What are the cons to hunting that early in the OTC units? Should we go later in September? Obviously the bulls will be more vocal later than earlier but i'm worried about pressure being OTC Unit. Also worried about the back end dates would be a holiday weekend? Were also still trying to figure out camping arrangements. Do we hike in or camp by truck? What are the trail heads like in respect to camping near vehicles? we will be planning on hiking in but not having a lay of the land till we arrive has it's difficulties.

 

[cocky84]

I like to go the week before muzzle loader season. Try to get closer to the rut that way. More vocal. My uncle loves opening day. Especially dry years. You can hunt over water holes early if its hot. There is tons of pressure in Colorado no matter early or late. Ive been going there for 10 years and ive finally had enough. Way too many hunters. I wouldn't even consider a truck hunt on public ground. Your gonna have to pack in to get away from crowd.

One con about the rut is if they start bugleing you better hope your close because every swinging dick in ear shot is gonna be headed that way.

 

[xziang]

Keep in mind I don't have the experience others have but I hunted opening week 4 years ago which fell on the holiday season and it wasn't to bad in the woods. We were in probably 3 miles and never ran across anyone over that weekend. We then hiked out to head to a hotel I think on Monday and noticed all the campers and RV's at all the pull out areas camping on the forest roads. We then went back into the woods the following day in a different location.

You will run into people almost where ever you go at the trail heads. Get out have fun and keep a good attitude and take light fishing gear too.

 

[5MilesBack]

If you have the gear, I'd plan to set up a base camp at the truck and also have the ability to pack in if you want or need to. That's what I do every year, and many years I don't need to pack in at all. That will also allow you to get a feel for the lay of the land when you get here and decide what you want to do from there, with no pressure to immediately pack into an unknown area.

The first week can be very good hunting. I've gotten bulls to bugle every opening morning that I've hunted, and have stalked within range on a few of them then. Opening weekend should be crowded, but that Mon thru Fri the crowds might actually dwindle out some. A lot of weekend hunters here.

Good luck and make the most of it.

 

[Jimbo V]

If your worried about pressure look at doing a Monday-Friday hunt. Good hunts can be had from a truck base camp, (as 5milesback said) if you find pressure it will all most likely be within close proximity to roads, pack in a little ways and you'll get away for the crowds and most likely find more animals...I would definitely say go during the peak of the rut it can't be beat!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DEHusker]

The thing about Colorado is that there is everything imaginable here. Crowded road hunts or quiet backpack hunts and everything inbetween. I know OTC units that have over 1300 Hunters every year and OTC units with a fraction of that. If you find the steepest, nastiest, darkest, most difficult places to get to that you can find I almost guarantee nobody else will be there and there is always a very good chance there will be elk there - it won't matter the day or week, weekday or weekend. I hunted a large OTC unit last year that had 900 archery hunters but I never saw a single guy for over a week. I heard one, but never ran into one (terrible bugle). I saw elk every day and had a couple great chances at representative Bulls. Heard bugles every day too, good rut activity. Know why I saw elk and never saw a hunter? Cause I had to hike down 1700 feet elevation every morning to get to the elk. Who wants to do that? Not many people. Those are the situations you need to find. I'm not saying to get that extreme but if you are resourceful you'll find elk. It's a learning experience every year. OTC doesn't automatically mean "crappy crowded elk hunting." Get off the roads, get in the nasty stuff, call judiciously, and you'll find elk. Most of all, have a good time! It supposed to be fun!!
DEH

 

[danarnold]

we're heading from Missouri to Colorado on the 2nd, hoping to get on them, good luck to you guys

 

[Stwrt9]

thanks so much for the relies lots of great info!! Curious what everyone's thoughts on the probability of people messing with campsite/truck at Trail Head. Say we pack in I'm a little worried about people messing with my vehicle while were gone all week. Storing coolers and bow cases in truck bed. Obviously it would be locked up but my truck has a soft tonneau cover and could easily be cut open to get in bed of truck. Should I even worry about this?

 

[Stwrt9]

If you have the gear, I'd plan to set up a base camp at the truck and also have the ability to pack in if you want or need to. That's what I do every year, and many years I don't need to pack in at all. That will also allow you to get a feel for the lay of the land when you get here and decide what you want to do from there, with no pressure to immediately pack into an unknown area.

The first week can be very good hunting. I've gotten bulls to bugle every opening morning that I've hunted, and have stalked within range on a few of them then. Opening weekend should be crowded, but that Mon thru Fri the crowds might actually dwindle out some. A lot of weekend hunters here.

Good luck and make the most of it.

I really like the idea of having base camp at truck and playing it by ear to move and stay farther is as needed.

 

[5MilesBack]

Curious what everyone's thoughts on the probability of people messing with campsite/truck at Trail Head.

I have not had a problem or heard of problems, but it seems as though we're living in a totally different world today that we were just a few years ago. At this point I'd say it's a crapshoot.

Ya, I like having a base camp too. Nice to come back to as well even if you are packing in.

 

[xziang]

I've had the same fears as you before in regards to people snagging stuff and that is always a possibility. I stopped at a trailhead before and a truck with an open bed had their fishing rods/bow cases/coolers in the open in the back and they didn't have any concern/worry. They were in 3 days away from the truck. Most people are pretty respectful I think in regards to other peoples property being in the back country. Pending what part of CO you might have more of a worry with bears tearing into the back of the truck. I still lock coolers up when outside.

 

[ElkNut1]

Stwrt9, lots of good questions! 1st, if Trailheads are in use, stay away from them, they are virtual people magnets. If no one at Trailhead then go for it but have topo's of the area & have certain areas picked out that look elky to head towards that lead you away from the trail.

Truck camp or base camp but be prepared to bivy one or two days if the need arises. You would bivy into an area you were just at & had lots of elk action but too far for you to go in & out daily. Consider it then & not before otherwise it's a crap shoot with days wasted in areas you are not familiar with.

When to hunt primarily depends on what you guys want out of your hunt? If into Bugling/Calling action go after the 10th. If into Spot & Stalk, hunting water holes, treestanding travel routes, etc. then early can be good. Your choice! I prefer after the 10th for higher odds of Bugling Bulls, they are funner to locate & hunt at that time if into calling & glassing but mostly calling.

Don't concern yourself with lots of hunters, hunt where they aren't! It's rather simple really, most will start at access points, avoid them & you will be alone in many cases. In time as season progresses elk will also avoid the pressured areas & seek areas most hunters are not at! Look for elk where they are during your hunt not where you want elk to be! Big difference there! Find steep or rugged Timbered/Aspen or Brushy country where most hunters would drive right by because of difficulty & consider starting your hunt in areas as that! Have a topo of the area so you can see if trails or old roads are on the other side of these mountains, there will be plenty of solitude areas as this! Elk can be within calling distance for location purposes in these areas. A high note bugle from you can reach over a mile away, it's a great way to locate from vantage areas & save uneeded wear & tear on boot leather.

As a sidenote, we hunt Idaho a lot, it too is an OTC State but zoned, this means there are several units per zone, you can only hunt one zone here. Here are last years hunter numbers in the zone I hunt. 681--2330--3267--991 -- This totals 7269 individual elk hunters that can & do hunt any of the 4 units. That's a heck of a lot of hunters, add wolves into that equation & it seems even worse! Who would pick such a unit? Your odds of success there is 5.9% for a cow or bull, not good to many! This statistically shows that just under 7,000 hunters will go home empty handed, this happens every year! Most feel this zone is crap & would avoid it if looking for a new area to hunt. Actually it's a decent zone, you just have to be smarter than the other hunters out there & know how to find & hunt those elk ! My Son & I are 100% for taking elk in this zone for 25 straight years, we basically take 5 & 6 point bulls regularly. All OTC DIY where everyone else hunts. We mainly basecamp & return daily. We do not hunt out of camp per say, we drive away from it every morning to a pre-determined area that we've discussed the night before.

Most our elk are taken after the 10th of Sept. because we prefer hunting rutting bulls, we call over 95% of the elk we take, yes elk can still be called in on heavily pressured units, you just have to know what you're doing, you must sell yourself as one of them, this in itself is the game changer to avoid being one of the 7,000. We hunt where the elk are, here they are in the thick timber & those tough to get spots because of the hunting pressure, we locate them through calling, we do not sneak around in the timber like hunting deer. Most these elk are taken in the 1-2 mile range from where we park, a few others have been deeper but not many. We basically hunt where must hunters do not want to go, these areas can be found anywhere & everywhere if you seek them out! Hope this helps!

ElkNut1

 

[kpk]

We went archery in an OTC unit in the middle of sep last year. We ran into 1 local at the trailhead who was going way in on horse and one group maybe a half mile in.

 

[bogeyboy555]

The thing about Colorado is that there is everything imaginable here. Crowded road hunts or quiet backpack hunts and everything inbetween. I know OTC units that have over 1300 Hunters every year and OTC units with a fraction of that. If you find the steepest, nastiest, darkest, most difficult places to get to that you can find I almost guarantee nobody else will be there and there is always a very good chance there will be elk there - it won't matter the day or week, weekday or weekend. I hunted a large OTC unit last year that had 900 archery hunters but I never saw a single guy for over a week. I heard one, but never ran into one (terrible bugle). I saw elk every day and had a couple great chances at representative Bulls. Heard bugles every day too, good rut activity. Know why I saw elk and never saw a hunter? Cause I had to hike down 1700 feet elevation every morning to get to the elk. Who wants to do that? Not many people. Those are the situations you need to find. I'm not saying to get that extreme but if you are resourceful you'll find elk. It's a learning experience every year. OTC doesn't automatically mean "crappy crowded elk hunting." Get off the roads, get in the nasty stuff, call judiciously, and you'll find elk. Most of all, have a good time! It supposed to be fun!!
DEH

If you were hunting Holy Cross Wilderness, near mount jackson there is a strong, to quite strong chance that the horrible bugle you heard was mine. I might as well have an air horn.

 

[Stwrt9]

Maybe i'm missing something or just not looking hard enough, but I've been scouting units on google earth and am driving myself nuts! I'm having trouble finding discernible trail heads or parking areas to head back into the hunting areas. One problem off the bat is I've never been to CO so trying to get a grasp for what i'm looking at is difficult at best. The second is i see roads everywhere but how accessible are they? I feel like that once i navigate my access point finding quality areas to hunt will be that much easier am i asking to much? Is there somewhere i can go to find trail/trailheads to make it easier to locate areas away from them to hunt. google earth and Gohunt area great but i just wish Google Earth, Gohunt, OnxMaps Hunt, and the parks services got together and had a baby, now that would be worth it's weight in gold!

 

[Jmock97]

www​.earthpoint.us/TopoMap.aspx. I use this topo overlay for Google Earth it shows trails and forest service roads but u will have to get a motor vehicle use map from the forest service to no what roads a open and what are closed

 

[bz_711]

Stwrt9, lots of good questions! 1st, if Trailheads are in use, stay away from them, they are virtual people magnets. If no one at Trailhead then go for it but have topo's of the area & have certain areas picked out that look elky to head towards that lead you away from the trail.

Truck camp or base camp but be prepared to bivy one or two days if the need arises. You would bivy into an area you were just at & had lots of elk action but too far for you to go in & out daily. Consider it then & not before otherwise it's a crap shoot with days wasted in areas you are not familiar with.

When to hunt primarily depends on what you guys want out of your hunt? If into Bugling/Calling action go after the 10th. If into Spot & Stalk, hunting water holes, treestanding travel routes, etc. then early can be good. Your choice! I prefer after the 10th for higher odds of Bugling Bulls, they are funner to locate & hunt at that time if into calling & glassing but mostly calling.

Don't concern yourself with lots of hunters, hunt where they aren't! It's rather simple really, most will start at access points, avoid them & you will be alone in many cases. In time as season progresses elk will also avoid the pressured areas & seek areas most hunters are not at! Look for elk where they are during your hunt not where you want elk to be! Big difference there! Find steep or rugged Timbered/Aspen or Brushy country where most hunters would drive right by because of difficulty & consider starting your hunt in areas as that! Have a topo of the area so you can see if trails or old roads are on the other side of these mountains, there will be plenty of solitude areas as this! Elk can be within calling distance for location purposes in these areas. A high note bugle from you can reach over a mile away, it's a great way to locate from vantage areas & save uneeded wear & tear on boot leather.

As a sidenote, we hunt Idaho a lot, it too is an OTC State but zoned, this means there are several units per zone, you can only hunt one zone here. Here are last years hunter numbers in the zone I hunt. 681--2330--3267--991 -- This totals 7269 individual elk hunters that can & do hunt any of the 4 units. That's a heck of a lot of hunters, add wolves into that equation & it seems even worse! Who would pick such a unit? Your odds of success there is 5.9% for a cow or bull, not good to many! This statistically shows that just under 7,000 hunters will go home empty handed, this happens every year! Most feel this zone is crap & would avoid it if looking for a new area to hunt. Actually it's a decent zone, you just have to be smarter than the other hunters out there & know how to find & hunt those elk ! My Son & I are 100% for taking elk in this zone for 25 straight years, we basically take 5 & 6 point bulls regularly. All OTC DIY where everyone else hunts. We mainly basecamp & return daily. We do not hunt out of camp per say, we drive away from it every morning to a pre-determined area that we've discussed the night before.

Most our elk are taken after the 10th of Sept. because we prefer hunting rutting bulls, we call over 95% of the elk we take, yes elk can still be called in on heavily pressured units, you just have to know what you're doing, you must sell yourself as one of them, this in itself is the game changer to avoid being one of the 7,000. We hunt where the elk are, here they are in the thick timber & those tough to get spots because of the hunting pressure, we locate them through calling, we do not sneak around in the timber like hunting deer. Most these elk are taken in the 1-2 mile range from where we park, a few others have been deeper but not many. We basically hunt where must hunters do not want to go, these areas can be found anywhere & everywhere if you seek them out! Hope this helps!

ElkNut1

All first year elk hunters should read and memorize this post...heck, anyone who hasn't tagged an elk should read this. Took me a few season to put a lot of this together...the key, avoid other hunters (do not park at trailheads, parking lots, etc.). There are pockets of hard to access elk country .5-1 mile from roads in many places where you just pull off the shoulder of the road to park...the majority don't, and the majority don't like a "hard" hike & access. Two additional pieces I feel have worked to my benefit: Hike uphill from access points (majority of hunters don't want to), and crossing some decent size streams also eliminates another large bunch of hunters unwilling to wade a knee deep stream twice a day.

I still love truck camping as there are more amenities and more so because it's fun to hang with the group each night. This will be the first year I'll have everything I need to bivy out 1 night if that's what it takes to get into elk...but no sense in doing that your first hunt as you can learn a lot more country by driving to different spots each of your first few days.

Good Luck! And as others have said - most importantly HAVE FUN! It's a blast just knowing you are chasing elk...and stay positive even when the chips are down...

 

[elkduds]

This is a very good map resource for CO: Colorado Parks and Wildlife Atlas
It has all MVUM travel info, even summer/winter/migration range by species, topo, satellite, roads. I use it side-by-side w Google maps on 3d. Good luck in CO.

 

[Stwrt9]

www​.earthpoint.us/TopoMap.aspx. I use this topo overlay for Google Earth it shows trails and forest service roads but u will have to get a motor vehicle use map from the forest service to no what roads a open and what are closed

Thanks I'll give this a look! Much Appreciated!

 

[Stwrt9]

All first year elk hunters should read and memorize this post...heck, anyone who hasn't tagged an elk should read this. Took me a few season to put a lot of this together...the key, avoid other hunters (do not park at trailheads, parking lots, etc.). There are pockets of hard to access elk country .5-1 mile from roads in many places where you just pull off the shoulder of the road to park...the majority don't, and the majority don't like a "hard" hike & access. Two additional pieces I feel have worked to my benefit: Hike uphill from access points (majority of hunters don't want to), and crossing some decent size streams also eliminates another large bunch of hunters unwilling to wade a knee deep stream twice a day.

Excellent point! That's exactly why I'm looking to find accessible roads, trails, and trail heads so that i can narrow down hard to reach access points that someone not looking to put a lot of work into their hunt to go. i realize i might not have to go to extremes as in miles out, but i'm also not ruling it out either.