Colorado OTC elk

[nubbin]

Before y’all run me ragged I’m not asking for Units, GPS, or what drainage elk are in. I’m seeking knowledge for hunting crowded OTC areas. I’m a public land hunter here in Arkansas and crowds don’t scare me, i can work around people and fight the frustrations with success. My first trip to Co last year i hunted archery in Unit 62 and after being shocked with the amount of people traffic we picked an area to camp and struck off. We actually called in a bull our very first morning and if it weren’t for shifting thermals we had a close opportunity to put an arrow in a decent bull. My plan is to keep trying, I’m hoping to start saving up preference points for other units and just hitting the crowds in the mean time as a filler. Here’s my big question. Try different OTC areas, or just pick one and keep picking it apart each trip and familiarize myself to a Unit?

I like looking at new country, but i know from hunting crowded land here in Arkansas the best thing do is learn habits from hunters and deer in an area and hunt out the pockets. Part of me wants to just go back to Unit 62 and try and figure it out. But the other part of me sees all these other OTC areas and I’m like a kid at an Arcade, i want to try that one! Give this hillbilly some food for thought! Any and all advice is welcome!

 

[Newtosavage]

I say hunt 2 or 3 units until you find one you like, then stick with it.

 

[Colorado_native]

Find a unit that you like and then spend time to really learn it. Unit 62 can be pretty good at times.

 

[Speck1]

I stick with the same unit every year because I feel like my odds are better than starting over learning a new unit

 

[Poser]

The difference in crowding between OTC units is negligible. If you are jumping units to avoid hunters, you’ll keep jumping units.

 

[Newtosavage]

The difference in crowding between OTC units is negligible. If you are jumping units to avoid hunters, you’ll keep jumping units.

True.

However I've hunted about 7 units in CO now, and I definitely have my preferences as far as elevation, access, good camping locations, glassing opportunities, distance to fuel/water/groceries, etc. I've actually ended up preferring some units that had more hunters because of the things above are part of the hunting experience for me too.

 

[Hoyt Ag]

I like to have 2 or 3 units in mind each year. Depending on rainfall over the year, weather during hunt and scouting, I like to have a lot of options. They dont have to be next to each other either. As long as they are about an hour or two drive apart, I keep them on the short list.

 

[Dos Perros]

I've hunted 3 OTC units and they're not next to each other, or really even similar to each other. I like to try new stuff, because how can one know if a unit is any good without trying some others?

But, I really think it's not about the unit. It's about what you do when you get there. Or at least what you do is like 80% of it. You can do all the research you can, and when you get there if there aren't elk there it doesn't matter what your research said, you need to move until you find them.

 

[Poser]

True.

However I've hunted about 7 units in CO now, and I definitely have my preferences as far as elevation, access, good camping locations, glassing opportunities, distance to fuel/water/groceries, etc. I've actually ended up preferring some units that had more hunters because of the things above are part of the hunting experience for me too.

These are definitely valid points. When people are asking about “this OTC unit vs that one” and quoting success rates etc as the determining factor, I’m always thinking “just do a Google image search and hunt the unit that looks like country you’d like to kill an elk in.” If you’re going to spend a bunch of time out there hunting and we know that all units hold elk and the difference in pressure is negligible, might as well hunt a unit you like as the primary determining factor.

 

[Poser]

True.

However I've hunted about 7 units in CO now, and I definitely have my preferences as far as elevation, access, good camping locations, glassing opportunities, distance to fuel/water/groceries, etc. I've actually ended up preferring some units that had more hunters because of the things above are part of the hunting experience for me too.

These are definitely valid points. When people are asking about “this OTC unit vs that one” and quoting success rates etc as the determining factor, I’m always thinking “just do a Google image search and hunt the unit that looks like country you’d like to kill an elk in.” If you’re going to spend a bunch of time out there hunting and we know that all units hold elk and the difference in pressure is negligible, might as well hunt a unit you like as the primary determining factor.

 

[Poser]

True.

However I've hunted about 7 units in CO now, and I definitely have my preferences as far as elevation, access, good camping locations, glassing opportunities, distance to fuel/water/groceries, etc. I've actually ended up preferring some units that had more hunters because of the things above are part of the hunting experience for me too.

These are definitely valid points. When people are asking about “this OTC unit vs that one” and quoting success rates etc as the determining factor, I’m always thinking “just do a Google image search and hunt the unit that looks like country you’d like to kill an elk in.” If you’re going to spend a bunch of time out there hunting and we know that all units hold elk and the difference in pressure is negligible, might as well hunt a unit you like as the primary determining factor.

 

[enbhunts]

As has been stated already, it really depends on the experience you're looking for in terms of habitat, elevation, elk numbers, success rates, etc. I've hunted two otc units in CO, as a native, and the rest has been limited units. I can say without a doubt, getting to know a particular unit and knowing the ins and outs of how the elk react to pressure is very helpful. Hope you get into them this year!

 

[Dos Perros]

Pro-tip: if you're into the 12,000+ feet elevation kind of backpack elk hunting, it's way easier to hunt a unit that has water pouring out of the mountain everywhere than one where you always have to drop 1000+ feet to get a drink. I'm a little surprised how much effort I end up putting in to find water. Most places I've hunted are pretty dry, with a few notable exceptions.

 

[satchamo]

Pro-tip: if you're into the 12,000+ feet elevation kind of backpack elk hunting, it's way easier to hunt a unit that has water pouring out of the mountain everywhere than one where you always have to drop 1000+ feet to get a drink. I'm a little surprised how much effort I end up putting in to find water. Most places I've hunted are pretty dry, with a few notable exceptions.

I ran into this last year in one of the southern units. The odd thing was I found elk where it was dry as a popcorn fart so I was just loading up at the truck and hoping it lasted me all day. First day up I got into elk and ran out of water assuming there would be water (first time hunting southern part of state) then had to leave bugling elk because I was dehydrated and completely out of water with every stream and deep dried up.

 

[svivian]

Pro-tip: if you're into the 12,000+ feet elevation kind of backpack elk hunting, it's way easier to hunt a unit that has water pouring out of the mountain everywhere than one where you always have to drop 1000+ feet to get a drink. I'm a little surprised how much effort I end up putting in to find water. Most places I've hunted are pretty dry, with a few notable exceptions.

I learned this the hard way. Tried filtering water from snow melt and clogged my filter so fast it wasnt even funny. Ended up boiling and filtering water through a shirt to get all the silt and sediment out of the water.

 

[streetdoctor]

I killed a 6x6 in a unit with a 6% success rate last year. I'm not that good I'm just lucky. The elk are everywhere and nowhere.