New living in Denver, Colorado

• Dec 17, 2018

• #1

JustPuddles

New member

Joined

Nov 6, 2018

Messages

7

Location

Denver, CO

Hello all!

I am new to the world of western hunting. I grew up on a farm in Highland County, Ohio hunting and fishing in that area. We hunted everything from Crows to Whitetail deer and everything in between. And I’ve always had an affinity with the outdoors. After a few years of living in the south, I am now living in Denver and would really like to get involved with western hunting in any way possible. I am a young photographer and videographer (27) and in my free time I love to go backcountry hiking and camping while taking photos of wildlife. After doing this for a year and some change I’ve realized how much I miss all of the different aspects of hunting. Hunting out West compared to where I’m from is a totally different monster. I know that hunting in the West is very competitive. I’m hoping to find people in the area to join on hunts in any capacity small or big game. I’ve always thought it would be great as well to film hunts cinematically like on Steven Rinella’s show Meat Eater. Looking forward to this western outdoor adventure

 

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• Dec 17, 2018

• #2

AvidIndoorsman

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Dec 9, 2015

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18,411

Welcome! Love the photos

 

• Dec 17, 2018

• #3

JohnCushman

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Nov 27, 2009

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13,268

Location

South East Colorado

Welcome! You definitely have a talent.

 

• Dec 17, 2018

• #4

Addicting

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Jan 19, 2017

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SW Michigan

Welcome!

 

• Dec 19, 2018

• #5

Elkhunter24

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Aug 17, 2016

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Location

PA

welcome and great pictures!!

 

• Dec 19, 2018

• #6

N

nrpate05

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Jan 5, 2015

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Welcome from the People's Republic of Boulder...

 

• Dec 19, 2018

• #7

teej89

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Oct 7, 2015

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1,677

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West of the Rockies

great photos! Love the one of the whitetail buck!

 

• Dec 19, 2018

• #8

P

pabearhunter

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Mar 1, 2014

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Pa,

Welcome aboard and great pictures.

 

• Dec 19, 2018

• #9

COEngineer

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Jul 6, 2016

Messages

1,462

I am curious what you mean by more competitive? I grew up in the Midwest and have been in CO for 17 yrs now. I think the Midwest rifle season is the most competitive kind of hunting I have ever seen - orange vests every hundred yards. In CO, I feel like a see a lot of people, but that's usually because you can see so much further.

Either way, start reading the regs and asking questions. The CO regs are infinitely more complicated than you are probably used to. Lots more species and the whole preference point thing. Don't let it bog you down, just be prepared to learn. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't have a great hunt without having a bunch of preference points. Most big game are killed on over-the-counter tags.

Joining a group like BHA, RMEF, or a local shooting club will give you opportunities to meet other hunters, but a lot of us are very selective about who we hunt with, so I wouldn't sit around waiting for an invitation. If you do get an invite, take advantage, but until then, just get out and start finding cool spots.

 

• Dec 19, 2018

• #10

Bigjay73

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Oct 28, 2017

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Home of the OTC

What type of hunting do you do? Archery, rifle, muzzleloader?

 

• Dec 19, 2018

• #11

Bigjay73

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Oct 28, 2017

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Home of the OTC

Oh, and I thought the refs were confusing too at first, till I tried figuring out Wyoming hahaha.

 

• Dec 21, 2018

• #12

JustPuddles

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Joined

Nov 6, 2018

Messages

7

Location

Denver, CO

Thanks for all of the kind words! I'm looking forward to getting back involved in a hunting community.

COEngineer, to be honest as far as competition goes that is just what everyone has told me about hunting here out west. They say that hunting public lands is a challenge. But I am excited to learn and see what it's like. Shotgun season in Ohio was very competitive as well but I was lucky enough to have lots of private property around to hunt. I have a very limited amount of experience hunting public lands. The few times that I hunted public lands in Ohio was turkey hunting. But I have yet to do any hunting in Colorado at all, so honestly I can't speak on it, all just hear say. I am for sure prepared to learn and approach everything with an open mind. Thank you for the advice on joining a local shooting club, that is a great idea. I am planning on checking out Bergen Peak SWA, Georgetown SWA, and Ralston Creek SWA for some small game hunting this winter.

 

• Dec 21, 2018

• #13

JustPuddles

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Joined

Nov 6, 2018

Messages

7

Location

Denver, CO

Bigjay73 In Ohio I hunted deer with a shotgun as well as occasionally a crossbow and muzzleloader depending on the season. In Colorado I planned on starting to use a rifle for elk hunting. But I think that it would be fun to pick up some other types of hunting as well. I currently don't have a muzzleloader or a compound bow, but I think that it would be quite the fun challenge to get into bow hunting here. I can imagine Wyoming's regulations are intense as well. I have had to do tons of reading on Colorado regs.

If anyone has any small game hunting recommendations near Denver please let me know! I'm looking forward to asking more questions and getting back out there.