Colorado unit 61

[sundance1]

My son has enough points to have a 50/50 chance of drawing an archery elk tag for unit 61. He was torn between unit 76 and 61 for several years but because we know the unit from my archery and hybrid hunts in the last 9 years, he is going for 61. My hunts were a blast, but the hybrid muzzle hunt 5 years ago was definitely a drop off as far as quantity, and quality, of elk. CPW increasing the tags hurt some, and the multiple dry summers have too because many of the elk on 61 spend the summer in unit 62 and have not been migrating over into 61 like they used too.

Talking to several locals here in Sw Co who have drawn archery and muzzle tags, it is even getting harder to find a 300 inch bull. We live in southwest Co and many residents here don't have much good to say about CPW because they always overstate the quality of their resident herds. 5 years ago some of us residents started raising hell with them that if they didn't start doing something they would totally lose the herds in our area. The result of our meetings with them was to only limit archery tags and cut rifle season lengths but keep the 2 rifle seasons still over the counter. It's all about the $$ in Colorado, and this last change made archery hunters pay the price for their own mismanagement.

Has anybody archery hunted 61 in the last several years? Also, has anybody archery hunted in any of the Otc units from 62 on north as we are considering kissing goodbye to our favorite areas here because it gets old to cover 10-15 miles a day and maybe getting into elk every 4 to 5 days. The effect of them limiting archery tags ? It just leaves more bulls for rifle hunters to kill?

 

[ahlgringo]

That 50/50 chance may not be 50/50 this year. Hunted 61 archery last year- feel free to pm me

 

[sundance1]

Am kinda of a newbie here as far as activity, so haven.t reached these PM thresholds....spent most of last couple of years staying with my 96 year old father. We split 61 into two parts.....Windy Gap north, Windy Gap south. It's like everything in the good ole woods anymore, you want to get away from the ant den mass of people, you have to walk many miles, or go where everyone else won't.

 

[ahlgringo]

I really never felt pressured and as soon as got about a mile off divide rd only ran into one other guy. The hunt is a blast!!! I hunted 3 of the 4 weeks only taking off Muzzie season- It was too much fun to put one down early. That being said- there are ALOT of 250-275 bulls running around.

 

[zrodwyo]

I bear hunted it a two years ago and I only saw rag horns. I came back in 1st rifle for my wife’s cow tag and didn’t see any bulls.

 

[ckleeves]

Not sure exactly how many points your son has, but adding 61 archery to the hybrid is going to take tags out of the “normal” draw.

I don’t know if I would really go as far as to say the elk “migrate” from 62 to 61. Sure you get some road crossers, but bulls that end up in 62 have a good chance of ending up dead so I would say a high % of older age class bulls have managed to get that way by not stepping hoof in 62.

IMO people are flat just getting better at killing elk. 20 years ago we didn’t have the information sharing like we do now, long range rifles have taken there toll in the canyon country during the later rifle seasons, people are more likely to hire an outfitter now that getting a tag takes crazy points etc.

There are still some real good bulls in there, you just may have to work a little harder and think outside the box more than a guy did 20 years ago. It never really cranked out lots of legit 300+ bulls in the 20 years I have spent lots of time in there. Lots of pretty 260-270” type bulls that most guys call 300+ but you have to look at a lot of bulls to find that next level up unless you get lucky.

There isn’t a unit in Colorado that’s “worth” the points it takes to draw it, but that’s just a result of being able to hunt otc or leftover and still gain a point every year pushing creep further and further.

Fun hunt, burn em, enjoy, and move on. It’s probably not going to get better anytime soon unless they drastically cut tags (0% chance lol) and then it would just be that much harder to draw and a guy could chase it for another 15 years.

 

[sivart]

Yes and aren't they dropping wolves near there as well?

 

[sundance1]

It took a drastic change for the worse about 6 years ago, I know several of the family outfitters there and they all told me that with the abnormally dry summers we've had that it's made the elk move over into 62. They said that there were nice bulls hanging in every camp during rifle seasons in 62. Anymore, with the point creep and the chunk of a guys lifetime that it takes to draw a tag, there is a degree of pressure in hoping that there is a reward for the investment it takes. As I found out, after passing up dozens of 275-300 inch bulls, you start running out of time and the pressure mounts to even harvest one. I was one of the lucky ones who drew out an archery tag and then when I accumulated 5 points, again, I drew out the muzzle hybrid. I've archery hunted for 35 years and both my 61 hunts were off the wall crazy in how I ended up harvesting both bulls....the muzzle hunt was fun but I'll take my bow 8 days out of 7.

I've told my son that because we know 61, that is money in the bank that gives us a distinct advantage. You learn that there are places where the bigger bulls are, and places where they aren't. With point creep, anybody chasing a quality unit has no idea anymore when they will draw out. Back 10 years ago, when i drew my archery tag, I knew exactly when I would draw. And, as I enter those so-called twilight years, my son gets on me sometimes because our hunts include a barrage of " remember when's" from me. My best years of pumping out 10-15 miles a day and ridge chasing bulls are behind me and the best years of archery hunting as a whole are in the past too. We hunt for the challenge, for the simplicity it brings in a complicated world, and for the memories that outlive the single moment when everything comes together to perfectly to produce a jaw dropping encounter.

 

[cnelk]

I drew my 61 archery tag ten years ago also.

Fun hunt.

But what is the main point of this thread?

 

[sundance1]

yes on the wolves. East slope liberals vote to put them only on west slope.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

It's like everything in the good ole woods anymore, you want to get away from the ant den mass of people, you have to walk many miles, or go where everyone else won't.

This applies to every part of the country no matter what you’re hunting be it pheasant, whitetail, gators or elk.

Too many people, too little public lands/resources. There is no solving it, no reversing the clock. Your ONLY solution imo is to lower your expectations on size of animals and just enjoy the fact you’re able to get out hunting with friends, family, or by yourself. Just enjoy THE HUNT putting less emphasis on the perceived quality of the animal.

I stopped worrying about killing certain size animals a decade ago. My enjoyment of hunting hasn’t diminished one bit.

 

[Coveyleader]

Or keep your mouth shut. Look what's going on with the ID bear situation. A once good thing getting slaughtered!

 

[Oakbrush59]

Hunted 61 hard last year. Found 3 bulls >350. Could not seal the deal on them. Great hunt. I want to go back but can't afford a 12K landowner tag. Feel free to PM me for details.

 

[Gadjet]

Hunted 61 hard last year. Found 3 bulls >350. Could not seal the deal on them. Great hunt. I want to go back but can't afford a 12K landowner tag. Feel free to PM me for details.

What season did you hunt?

 

[Oakbrush59]

What season did you hunt?

Archery for 3 weeks.

 

[Gadjet]

Archery for 3 weeks.

Hopefully my daughter will draw her rifle tag this year.

 

[Remfire]

I hunted 61 in 2015. Had an absolute blast sadly I passed early on a few 300ish bulls cause we were in the elk constantly as soon as the muzzle loaders started shooting the elk went silent and we worked hard to get back into them. I took a shot at a 300+ bull two days before season end and I missed. No regrets had a great hunt, but that shit still haunts me.

 

[sundance1]

Archery hunted it in 2012. In bulls by the dozens. Same way, passed a ton of 270- 300 bulls. Ended up getting a 320 the next to last day out of a 60 head rut fest that had 30 plus bulls tearing up a small meadow, Hybrid muzzle was total flip, hunted hard, saw 1 340 bull, ended up getting a 330 on the next to last day again. They cut the herd by 1/3 in 2015, too many elk was Cpw excuse, Ever since its not been the same.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

I am a Colorado Resident and I hunted 61 in 2022 3rd rifle season. I saw and passed a lot of bulls. A lot of the bigger bulls were broken (main beams or a tine or two). I saw one unbroken 340 class bull on the second day of season that I was not able to seal the deal on. I couldnt turn him up again. I killed my bull on the last day/morning of season. No regrets. Had a great time. Would have spent more than my 13pp no problem.

I am 6'7" 375lbs so it takes away from the bulls size a little bit (no long arming!). The rest of the pictures are the bull in the back of an 2021 F-150 with a 150qt Grizzly cooler.

 

[sundance1]

The genetics there are consistent, 90 % of the bulls are weak on the bottom, stronger on the top, 3rd.'s are usually weak.