PA public land pressure vs. CO public land pressure

[jarrettd]

We head to CO next month for our first Elk hunt ever. DIY, Archery, OTC. I read a lot about how much hunting pressure there is in Colorado. I want to hear from PA or Ohio whitetail public land hunters. In general, how bad is it really, compared to our normal stomping grounds? I mean... we are going either way. I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect.

Also, I appreciate and respect any advice y'all are willing to share to a newbie. Planning and preparing for this hunt has been over a year in the making. We will be hunting for 5-6 days.

 

[WTFJohn]

You'll feel happy with the numbers of hunters per square mile and only seeing 20-30 trucks at a trailhead.

The issue is we don't have anywhere near the animal population density per square mile as PA (or maybe they are there for a short period then gone again for a calendar year); and one hunter/group of hunters can easily blow the animals out of a multi-square mile basin/area with poorly placed camp, a bugling blowhard, or poor hunting tactics.

Call less, stalk more, play the wind. Good luck.

 

[street]

You'll feel happy with the numbers of hunters per square mile and only seeing 20-30 trucks at a trailhead.

The issue is we don't have anywhere near the animal population density per square mile as PA (or maybe they are there for a short period then gone again for a calendar year); and one hunter/group of hunters can easily blow the animals out of a multi-square mile basin/area with poorly placed camp, a bugling blowhard, or poor hunting tactics.

Call less, stalk more, play the wind. Good luck.

This is 100% accurate from my experiences.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I hunt a lot of public land in PA. last year in colorado (OTC archery elk) there were way more trucks at the parking areas, but in 3 western hunts (ID, MT, CO) I have still yet to encounter another hunter not on a road or trail. As opposed to PA where I routinely see 10-20 people per game animal sighting.

 

[jek5224]

Have you ever hunted opening day of pheasant season on PA public land? Picture that, but everybody is looking for elk. I'll qualify my experience by saying that I was in a very popular OTC unit in rifle season. Agreed with the above comment, though - almost everyone we saw was on roads and trails.

 

[MRC]

I have hunted Ohio and Pa my whole life.I hunted 3rd. season mule deer in unit 55 last year. It is otc for elk. It was shocking how many hunters there were.

 

[Poser]

It’s not really an equatable comparison. Out west, we’re talking Sq miles per animal not animals per sq mile. Sure you may have this vast area and 30 trucks at the TH, but if there are only 15 elk in this area, the vast majority of that available land is completely devoid of elk this time of year leaving a handful of “pockets” and 1/3rd of those hunters are savy to at least one of these pockets, that’s your situation.

It’s going to be chocking to you just how much ground you can cover and see absolutely zero elk sign that is anywhere close to be recent or just any at all. It’s not worth wasting the mental energy of trying to draw a comparison.

 

[Jethro]

My advice would be to hunt more than 5-6 days.

My CO OTC experience is dated, 2014. They'll be people. Know going in that you'll have to work/alter your game plans around other people. (same as we do in PA) Can be frustrating, but doable.

Some days you are parked at the end of a road with 14 other trucks and never see a sole. Other days you think you have a secluded pull off and run into people.

 

[el_jefe_pescado]

It’s not really an equatable comparison. Out west, we’re talking Sq miles per animal not animals per sq mile. Sure you may have this vast area and 30 trucks at the TH, but if there are only 15 elk in this area, the vast majority of that available land is completely devoid of elk this time of year leaving a handful of “pockets” and 1/3rd of those hunters are savy to at least one of these pockets, that’s your situation.

It’s going to be chocking to you just how much ground you can cover and see absolutely zero elk sign that is anywhere close to be recent or just any at all. It’s not worth wasting the mental energy of trying to draw a comparison.

what he said…


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[Fullfan]

Also from Pa and have hunted Colorado. You can prob imagine what it will be like, because it will. The only place left where nonresidents came buy elk tags otc. Guys that don’t get tags in other states flock to Colorado.

Just be prepaired and have plans b,c,d,e,f,g,h ready.

I will never go back to Colorado.

 

[Quackshack]

All good points above. Elk and whitetail hunting are different. If I'm archery deer hunting State Game Lands, you could be 200 yds from me and we never know each other exists. Archery elk hunting you could be a half mile away and you get called in to our calls. Last year we had way more hunters responding to our calls than elk.

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[jdmaxwell]

Hunted every year Colorado for 15 years straight..
Stay away from roads/trails..
Never much issue with people in OTC units

 

[The_Wild_Rambler]

Bring multiple back up plans when needing to pop smoke and move because there's that much pressure compared huntable animals, unless your going to cut other hunters off and be a jerk

 

[ArcherAdam]

I hunted Colorado unit 18 and 28 back in 2019 for muledeer (3rd rifle). It was also otc elk season. Admittedly we were camped in a camper off the roadway so we inherently were going to see more people. Well, let's just say that I never saw the amount of hunters I saw in Colorado back in Pennsylvania. It was something else!

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[ganngus]

You'll feel happy with the numbers of hunters per square mile and only seeing 20-30 trucks at a trailhead.

The issue is we don't have anywhere near the animal population density per square mile as PA (or maybe they are there for a short period then gone again for a calendar year); and one hunter/group of hunters can easily blow the animals out of a multi-square mile basin/area with poorly placed camp, a bugling blowhard, or poor hunting tactics.

Call less, stalk more, play the wind. Good luck.

Idiot Texans blowing animals out of an area is the primary issue I have with OTC units. I say this as a Texan…

 

[9.1]

I will never go back to Colorado.

I've heard the same thing from other hunters about certain gamelands in PA.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Like many have said it is an apples to oranges situation. Where in the Midwest you might have 800 acre area where there is game in every drainage and 20 guys can hunt it, in Co 800 acres might be the size of one drainage and really only 1 or 2 people if they are together can hunt it, you throw one more group in there and it’s too many

 

[Intelligent Ape]

I can't imagine what to do when I get there. I've been escouting, but I am going into the hunt discouraged. I hear even walking back you will see people. Maybe hunting anywhere is good if you wait for them to blow out the elk...

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Just go hunt.

 

[LongCut]

I have hunted OH and PA my entire life. Opening day of gun season in PA used to be like a Vietnam firefight. Now I can go days without seeing anyone... Ohio is a zoo. In fact, I very rarely if ever gun hunt in OH.

I have been to CO once. In my very limited experience, you will likely run into fewer hunters. If you are in OH and there are ten trucks in a parking lot, those ten trucks are sharing a couple of hundred acres. The same scenario on PA, they could be sharing ten thousand acres. In CO, it could be WAY more.

OH - Claims 1 million acres of public land
PA - Claims 4.5 million acres of public land
CO - Claims 23 million acres of public land