Why is Colorado OTC of such shit quality?

[Loo.wii]

Alot of people have their opinions on Colorado OTC units some people think its shit , others think its amazing. Obviously hunting is a money generator for states wether its OTC or otherwise. Why does the colorful state get a bad rap? Though I have little experience in the topic my suspicion is that people who hunt Colorado and complain about its poor quality are actually complaining about the fact that they don't see elk, in part because every fatty in the US who doesnt want to cough up for a Utah out of state tag comes to Colorado to get their fix. All the ground with the least field problems is crowded and blows the elk out.
My suspicions of why people don't see elk are in part due to inability to cover ground, weather its laziness or otherwise. My second hypothesis on how and why people dont see elk is lack of experience. I myself suffered from this ailment. On my first go around i didn't realize how much ground i needed to cover or how to do it. I also didnt know what i was looking for.
It seems like people in other states can drive up to the trail head. walk a mile and shoot an elk. It takes a bit more grit here but its not impossible.

I’m almost certain that the root of the complaints are that people can’t find elk as easily as they can in other states.

Whats the deal?
Am I out of line?
What are your opinions.

 

[cnelk]

Geee…. Hmmm….

It couldn’t be because Colorado has seen an increase in all OTC (archery & rifle) of over 24% by non-residents, from 35,818 in 2014 to 44,409 in 2021 could it?

 

[Ucsdryder]

Geee…. Hmmm….

It couldn’t be because Colorado has seen an increase in all OTC (archery & rifle) of over 24% by non-residents, from 35,818 in 2014 to 44,409 in 2021 could it?

Yep. 25% more guys, coupled with more guys “going deep” more guys staying for weeks at a time, or even the whole month, etc. it’s all about days in the field. That number has exploded. More days = more pressure.

 

[BBob]

Plenty of elk to see and hunt OTC CO. If you can’t find elk to hunt then you aren’t doing it right. Is AZ and NM better and would I rather hunt there? Hell yes but I wouldn’t call CO sh*t.

 

[Firestone]

I think it can still be pretty good hunting. My brother and I did a deer hunt in an OTC unit a couple years ago. We didn't buy elk tags but we seen bulls everyday, most of them we could of killed that day. Some were actually decent 6 points. But seemed like everybody we talked to couldn't find an elk, we were flabbergasted by the amount we were finding.

 

[stonewall]

I think it can still be pretty good hunting. My brother and I did a deer hunt in an OTC unit a couple years ago. We didn't buy elk tags but we seen bulls everyday, most of them we could have killed that day. Some were actually decent 6 points. But seemed like everybody we talked to couldn't find an elk, we were flabbergasted by the amount we were finding.

I am an independent fact checker. I’m going to need you to pm me those locations so I can verify the accuracy of this post.

 

[Marble]

Been hunting OTC CO since 2002. Two years I didn't fill my tag. One was because I passed up 6 bulls opening day. The other was my first year.

If you aren't seeing animals or are rarely successful, you are either lazy, not there for the hunting, inexperienced or you're not great at hunting.

If your goal is to kill an animal each year, you should be successful most of the time. If it's just to enjoy the experience, then enjoy.

I do not feel, and never have, that OTC is a shot show. Weather is more of an obstacle for me than other hunters.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Whaledriver]

Top places you won't find elk. In a tent, warm sleeping bag, in a pickup truck, or an atv, in a hotel room or cabin. Afraid of rain, snow or cold? You get my point. Elk hunting successfully is never an instaweb post with a cool soundtrack.

 

[Rifleman86]

I can’t comment on Colorado specifically, as I haven’t hunted it yet. But I hear complaints from every state on here about shit hunting in general units because of too much pressure, non residents, etc, etc.

Yet somehow I have no issues finding elk every year in general units.

Newsflash… Any OTC or general unit has elk, and usually plenty of them. There is a reason they aren’t limited entry units.

I have no doubt there is a lot of pressure in OTC units in CO, but I also have no doubt there are elk to hunt.

Although the funniest thing I ever read on here was that WY hunting was going to shit because of “all the nonresidents.”

 

[Overdrive]

Sometimes we have to ask ourselves, Is it more people out hunting OTC ruining your chances or is it that the CPW herd count is way off?
Is this why people are seeing less elk when they come out hunting?

 

[taskswap]

280,000 head



(We need a dedicated mic-drop emoji.)

 

[Artanis95]

Alot of people have their opinions on Colorado OTC units some people think its shit , others think its amazing. Obviously hunting is a money generator for states wether its OTC or otherwise. Why does the colorful state get a bad rap? Though I have little experience in the topic my suspicion is that people who hunt Colorado and complain about its poor quality are actually complaining about the fact that they don't see elk, in part because every fatty in the US who doesnt want to cough up for a Utah out of state tag comes to Colorado to get their fix. All the ground with the least field problems is crowded and blows the elk out.
My suspicions of why people don't see elk are in part due to inability to cover ground, weather its laziness or otherwise. My second hypothesis on how and why people dont see elk is lack of experience. I myself suffered from this ailment. On my first go around i didn't realize how much ground i needed to cover or how to do it. I also didnt know what i was looking for.
It seems like people in other states can drive up to the trail head. walk a mile and shoot an elk. It takes a bit more grit here but its not impossible.

I’m almost certain that the root of the complaints are that people can’t find elk as easily as they can in other states.

Whats the deal?
Am I out of line?
What are your opinions.

I left in 2020 but I never had a problem for me it boiled down to where, what time of year, and weather, a great early season unit can more often than not be a terrible late season unit and vise versa.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

Unpopular opinion here but i am one of those delusional whack jobs that does NOT think it is shit nor have i experienced the "overcrowding" in OTC units. Last time I was there in 21' in a general OTC 2nd rifle and all 5 of us got decent bulls. Yah most of the campsites were full of people and the roads and trails were full of trucks & atv/utv traffic but we only saw 1 group of 2 guys out actively hunting and they were within 1 mile of the road. If I remember right the only day we didn't see elk was the first day we were there. I would go as far as to say the pressure in the general units in MT i hunt is 1-2x what i have experienced in CO.

 

[GAHunterJim]

"When you take a look at average success rates for elk hunters, you'll find around 15% of elk hunters are successful each fall. However, when you neglect draw hunts and look only at OTC, public land, DIY elk hunts, the success rates drop to around 10%".

Potential for success is very low if you are not local and don't know your way around the area you plan to hunt. I would call 10% very low especially you have the time and expense of travel and time away from home and work. If you do log the hours on your feet and are able to get away from the crowd and find success, you need a gang of friends to pack out your elk. Elk hunting is complicated and expensive for non-residents but CO makes a ton of money selling OTC tags to non-residents who spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars in CO with little chance of having any impact on the elk population. Great deal for CO hunters and state coffers, bad deal for NR hunters.

 

[KHNC]

I think it can still be pretty good hunting. My brother and I did a deer hunt in an OTC unit a couple years ago. We didn't buy elk tags but we seen bulls everyday, most of them we could of killed that day. Some were actually decent 6 points. But seemed like everybody we talked to couldn't find an elk, we were flabbergasted by the amount we were finding.

Yall were probably just comparing it to NW Montana, where elk dont exist on public. LOL

 

[KHNC]

Unpopular opinion here but i am one of those delusional whack jobs that does NOT think it is shit nor have i experienced the "overcrowding" in OTC units. Last time I was there in 21' in a general OTC 2nd rifle and all 5 of us got decent bulls. Yah most of the campsites were full of people and the roads and trails were full of trucks & atv/utv traffic but we only saw 1 group of 2 guys out actively hunting and they were within 1 mile of the road. If I remember right the only day we didn't see elk was the first day we were there. I would go as far as to say the pressure in the general units in MT i hunt is 1-2x what i have experienced in CO.

Sweet! what unit were yall in?

 

[SuperDUECE22]

Sweet! what unit were yall in?

the one that takes a little sweat & boot leather to get it done. Can't kill em from the seat of an UTV like most folks were trying.

 

[venado mula]

Give me an OTC tag any day over any draw tag, draw tags are for suckers. What was that saying, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist". Everyone has talked themselves into believing nothing or relatively large horned animals exist in OTC units, I hope everyone keeps thinking this way.

 

[cnelk]

I’ve hunted Colorado OTC since the late 70s.
Guys can only dream of all the elk I’ve killed since then (deer too - yes, deer were OTC at one time)

Even tho there’s success to be had, it’s still a shit show and getting worse every year

 

[CodeMonkey]

I’ve hunted Colorado OTC since the late 70s.
Guys can only dream of all the elk I’ve killed since then (deer too - yes, deer were OTC at one time)

Even tho there’s success to be had, it’s still a shit show and getting worse every year

And there's no reason for CPW to change anything since they are making $$$ off of it.