I didn't draw a CO elk tag. Now what?

[Luziana Feller]

I was on a first rifle group application in a unit that we had very high draw odds in but didn't draw. what's done is done. what are my options now? we really want meat over horns.

correct me if i'm wrong but there are no OTC 1st rifle tags right?

 

[eyeguy]

I think you are correct unless there are leftover tags after the draw. If that happens it wont be in your unit for sure.

 

[sndmn11]

Em01101R should have several hundred on the leftover list.

 

[5MilesBack]

I didn't draw either, but that won't stop me from getting an OTC archery tag.

 

[davsco]

yeah check the leftover lists. yeah the high kill units won't be available, but hopefully the lower kill rate units will have some and supposedly there are elk in every unit!

 

[Newtosavage]

I was on a first rifle group application in a unit that we had very high draw odds in but didn't draw. what's done is done. what are my options now? we really want meat over horns.

correct me if i'm wrong but there are no OTC 1st rifle tags right?

Just watch the leftover list and be ready.

I hunted 1st rifle on a cow elk tag last October. There were something like 500 available on the leftover list for a group of units that was about the size of the state of Massachusetts, including an area I had hunted the previous year and knew pretty well. Even the week before the season, there were still about 100 of those tags available.

 

[Luziana Feller]

isn't it nearly impossible to get a leftover due to folks flooding the system trying to buy them when they drop? or am i thinking of something else?

 

[Luziana Feller]

i'm also not entirely opposed to archery. i just need to totally shift gears mentally and pick the stick chunker back up.

 

[Bl704]

And don't forget you also have one of those prized CO small game licenses

 

[Mosby]

I didn't draw either. Going second week rifle OTC. Better than not going at all. I am running out of next years.

 

[Luziana Feller]

Is there a process of figuring out where leftover tags will be or is that all dependent on where applications numbers didnt meet tag allotments in units? Do they trend the same units or areas every year? I'm trying to predict where I might be picking up a leftover tag. Or should I shift gears and get my bow dialed in?

 

[sndmn11]

Is there a process of figuring out where leftover tags will be or is that all dependent on where applications numbers didnt meet tag allotments in units? Do they trend the same units or areas every year? I'm trying to predict where I might be picking up a leftover tag. Or should I shift gears and get my bow dialed in?

When you were applying, did you ask for the leftover list to be sent to you if unsuccessful? If so, you will see it by the end of the week.

 

[cnelk]

I already have the leftover list for deer since I wasnt successful and I selected the 'Leftover Draw'

Im sure others have the elk list too, but you cant apply in the first leftover draw if you didnt select it on your app.

 

[sndmn11]

I already have the leftover list for deer since I wasnt successful and I selected the 'Leftover Draw'

Im sure others have the elk list too, but you cant apply in the first leftover draw if you didnt select it on your app.

I got deer, but have not received elk.

 

[sndmn11]

Em01101R should have several hundred on the leftover list.

There are 2100 of these leftover. There are also several other public land hunt codes that have several hundred tags leftover. So if you did not select to participate in the leftover draw, there should still be some, as there is every year, available to purchase after mid August.

 

[bascott1]

I had 2 computers last year trying to get a leftover tag and the wife had hers going as well, system was so bogged down never could get a leftover license for the unit I hunt. I wouldn't bank on the system working flawlessly

 

[TheHardWay]

There were several options you could have chosen on your app if unsuccessful. Leftover list, archery, and 2nd or 3rd rifle OTC. If you are set on rifle hunting and don't mind going a week or two later, just pick up a 2nd or 3rd rifle tag OTC. As a bonus, those seasons are longer than the 1st rifle season.

 

[jeastin880]

Excellent notes helping a new elk hunter in this thread. thanks all

 

[Luziana Feller]

Thanks for all the replies. We are weighing between 2nd rifle OTC or archery OTC. I did not know about the leftover option if I didnt draw or I would have done that. It's just a pain bc of all the planning we have done and now we have to start all over and its in a unit we have never been to. I guess at the end of the day it's still great to not be a vegan...

Thanks again for the info.

 

[Mosby]

I am going 2nd rifle OTC and have already started on plan b and it will be in a unit I have never been before. I take the cheapest camping and cooking equipment I have when going on a scouting trip because I am normally by myself and I leave stuff out when I am driving around(not food). I call it my hillbilly kit. Salvation Army skillet and pan. Tuesday Morning $10 coffee pot and a 20 year old cooler. Old tent, foam pad and micro fleece bag. If somebody steals it they need it more than I do. I pulled everything out today since my wife is away, cleaned it up a bit and packed it up. I am driving out after the 4th by myself and staying as long as needed to find a place to hunt. I actually had a blast today. Will spend the next few weeks on maps etc., and figure out where I am going to stay the first couple days. It is what you make of it. Make it fun.