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Got my OTC Tag: CO

Anschutz

Active member
Joined
Mar 2, 2017
Messages
167
Hey guys,

I just bought my OTC tag Archery tag this morning. Due to training requirements, I'll likely only be able to hunt for 4 days once and have 2 days of scouting before the season opens. I will try to get as many weekends in the mountains as I can but I will for sure have less than 10 days in the field. My freezer has been empty of any big game meat for about 2 years now. I'm the sole purpose I hunt, like many of you, is for the meat that the animals provide to us so any legal elk that is in range has reason to be worried about his/her safety. I've been masking hikes with the wife as just seeing wild country but for me, it's all about training for elk season. I've gotten several days of practice with the bow and am finally back to where I was when I shot my bow consistently. Due to my limited time, I'd just like a good chance to get on elk. I know in any OTC unit I'll be competing for space and will be limited in my amount of ground covered. Being acclimated to Colorado already helps with the amount of ground I can cover. The units I'm currently looking at are 47, 44, 80, and 81. I'm not tied to these units but I will be scouting 47 on one of my days to get a feel for the terrain which I've heard is pretty brutal. I plan on starting around Independence Pass and pushing as far into the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness as I can with a camera and spotting scope as my weapons of choice. Does this sound like a decent plan for someone with limited time to hunt? Thanks and I apologize for the long post.

Zach
 
Have you done any online scouting through onxmaps and google earth? If not, that is the best place to start!

I have done scouting online through google earth, the Colorado Hunting Atlas, and diyhuntingmaps. I am new to elk hunting so the first thing I did is watch Randy's tutorial on picking a spot to hunt. I try not to come to the forums without doing any homework first. That's how I found this trailhead. My thinking is to use a trail as a way to get into the backcountry and then go off trail to get into the elk country and if I get something, a well established trail may be the quickest way back to the truck.
 
Seems like you have it planned out. There is always a jumping point with hunting and from that point, all you can do is learn. You will learn from your failures as well as your successes. One thing I have come to realize over the years of hunting elk is that you will rarely find them in a small field that is surrounded by timber. They are some of the smartest animals out there, so they will always have a way to hide or a way to run! Are you planning on a spot and stalk or aggressive calling style of hunt?
 
Seems like you have it planned out. There is always a jumping point with hunting and from that point, all you can do is learn. You will learn from your failures as well as your successes. One thing I have come to realize over the years of hunting elk is that you will rarely find them in a small field that is surrounded by timber. They are some of the smartest animals out there, so they will always have a way to hide or a way to run! Are you planning on a spot and stalk or aggressive calling style of hunt?

I guess they have learned some terrain analysis over their time as a species. Right now, I am planning on a spot and stalk hunt. I've watched tutorials on calling and am sorry at best. If anything came into one of my bugles or cow calls, I'd be pretty suspect that the animal doesn't even know how to find water from a boat.
 
Haha... well like I said, it seems like you have a pretty good plan laid out for yourself. Most important thing, have fun... Hunting isn't just about harvesting the animal. More time is spent in no man's land than it is spent on harvesting the animal. Best of luck!!
 
I hear that. Heck, if I even find a shed or see an elk from a long ways out, I'll hang it in the win column. If not that I'll have had fun just spending time outside. Thanks zfava.
 
You have a great tag and will have a blast.Bugle in the early morning right before light.The bulls will tell you where they are.Then move close and cow call only;watch wind very close.Open Reed cow calls work awesome and anyone can master them.You don't need diaphragm calls
Get yourself in a mile or 2 on a trail,then jump off to get away from the trail a 1/2 mile to a mile and you'll find elk.In archery look high on the mountains and find a few drainages that have north facing slopes,water and small meadows and you can bet the farm some elk will be in there
Good luck
 
And please share how you get on, the good and not so good...

The very best of luck and good hunting!!
 
Good luck to you!!

And if my wife sees this, i've decided to pack up and head west!! This 8 years of lottery is getting too old!!
 
And please share how you get on, the good and not so good...

The very best of luck and good hunting!!

I will share for sure. Weather is supposed to get nasty this weekend but I plan on being out with camera and crappy spotting scope in hand and getting the lay of the land.
 
Hey Zach....if you don't connect, don't let it get you down! You sound like you have a good plan and are putting your work into it. That's half the battle. Give it hell and take plenty of pics!!
 
Hey Zach....if you don't connect, don't let it get you down! You sound like you have a good plan and are putting your work into it. That's half the battle. Give it hell and take plenty of pics!!

Well, I wouldn't want to take the CWEH title away from you. I've got a little this season, and maybe some at the end of next before I have to move so I'd like to get one. Of course if I do, HRC will get tired of my calls to move me back into elk country.
 
Good luck. I've hunted 47 several years. It gets a little crowded during muzzleloader season but the rest of archery season you shouldn't have a hard time getting away from other hunters. I've always been able to find elk but they are very scattered so don't spend too much time in one spot. Where I hunt it is thick timber and no opportunity for glassing but the unit is much more open from where you are planning to start.
 
I did a scouting trip today. Found a decent amount of sign leading into an area closed in by mountains on three sides (not sure what it's called). This terrain feature ran east and west and had a small swamp in the east end with a decent amount of elk tracks around a shallow wallow. I didn't put eyes on any elk but this area looks promising.
 
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