Colorado Otc Hunting pressure

[jarmour1]

I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips or tricks for predicting hunt pressure in otc units in Colorado and any tips to use it in your advantage. I'll be hunting in unit 74 in Colorado 2nd rifle season.

 

[Dsnow9]

 

[schmalts]

It's not going to be pretty. Only hope is to get up early and hike in farther than anyone else.

 

[Nick_CO]

OTC is always busy obviously. I predict this year will be extra crowded in the southern otc units due to the winter kill and shortened rifle seasons in the NW units. I have already talked to a few people that are planning to hunt farther south so that they aren't limited to 5 days where they usually hunt. So my advice on how to use that to your advantage would be to zig instead of zag. Head to the NW units. Fewer elk there than normal but maybe less people too.

 

[Slm864]

74 has gotten a lot more attention the past few years due to that large fire that burned through. It’s definitely going to be busy but there are plenty of places to get away from everyone else. That unit is really rugged!!!
Those elk go where no sane person wants to be, so if your looking at a hell hole or terrain and thinking there is no way to access it then chances are the elk are there or will escape to there.

 

[winmag]

 

[hank4elk]

My bro just got back from a 3rd bow hunt in CO. He saw some elk. Ate the tag, again.
He said everyone raced to the ridges every morning and the elk were in the trees.


He shoulda hung with Snoop.

 

[Stocker]

I went deep into an area I thought I’d find elk doing elk things. 8 miles deep, up 1,800’ and every elk I saw was scared for its life. That day did a total of 17 miles, 3,400’ gained and lost. There’s nowhere that’s sacred anymore. In the dark on the way out a young kid asked me where I was and if the bulls were “screaming yet”. I told him I know he’s never hunted OTC before much to his dismay.


Colorado otc is the hardest thing you’ll ever do, but if you pull it off it’s a trophy, no matter the size.

 

[Stocker]

Also on otc I think people confuse skill with luck, I did. Thought I was the worlds greatest elk whisperer after pulling off an otc tag, turns out I’m your average shmuck.

 

[Eggslian]

Find yourself in the middle of the guy who isn't capable of hiking in more than 2-3 miles and the guy who is adamant on not seeing another hunter and will hike 8-16 miles in, in elk scouting trips/ bear hunts pre-season the only people in the middle zone are solid non-hunting back packers and occasionally someone wandered too far for their own limitations.

 

[Eggslian]

The cold is also going to drive off most avid backpackers and hunters who are just up for the day, wind at elevation is nasty unless you're comfortable in the terrain.

 

[jarmour1]

Well I'm going on a scouting trip this weekend and see what I think of the unit it will be my first time hunting colorado so I might end up back to the drawing board but I have a few other units in mind if it doesn't pan out.

 

[elkduds]

I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips or tricks for predicting hunt pressure in otc units in Colorado and any tips to use it in your advantage. I'll be hunting in unit 74 in Colorado 2nd rifle season.

74 has gotten a lot more attention the past few years due to that large fire that burned through. It’s definitely going to be busy but there are plenty of places to get away from everyone else. That unit is really rugged!!!
Those elk go where no sane person wants to be, so if your looking at a hell hole or terrain and thinking there is no way to access it then chances are the elk are there or will escape to there.

Welcome to HT. "Take a skillet if you hunt in there, son." My dear deceased dad said to me, every year I was able to hunt w him.

 

[Eggslian]

Well I'm going on a scouting trip this weekend and see what I think of the unit it will be my first time hunting colorado so I might end up back to the drawing board but I have a few other units in mind if it doesn't pan out.

Just be willing and ready to hike in mind for a successful hunt, even if not you'll have a better understanding of the landscape and be better suited for next year. E-scouting can be helpful but certain ranges look a lot more manageable when you're behind the screen. Best of luck, and can't wait to see your potential harvest or hear a story of a hunt lesson.

 

[Badger_55]

Come up with some plans. A-D. Get there early, assess the pressure. Put it in your expectations that it will be busy. Its a blue collar hunt, expect to work for it. Take it all in every day. Every minute you are out of the truck or tent you are in the game. I packed in with horses 6 miles back and hunted in further from there in multiple different areas with little opportunities but I still had fun seeing new country. I shot a bull after I packed out, changed base camp and hiked in from the road for a day hunt. Didn't want to waste a day. Expect pressure and utilize it. There is a reason my thousands of people still do it every year. Enjoy it before its too late and its gone.

 

[jarmour1]

Thank you for the advice everyone this will be my first elk hunt in the mountains I got 1 in Nebraska last year but the mountains are a whole new thing for me as far as hunting. I will let you know how I did after the season.

 

[Slm864]

I been in the camp that it’s poor etiquette to post unit numbers but I’m slowly coming around to not caring as much. I feel most people who spend their time looking up unit numbers on google for information are too lazy to make use of anything anyways.
It’s one thing to post specific drainages or landmarks along with photos of your successful hunt and definitely ruin an area but as far as just a unit number I’m not sure it matters as much anymore. A simple google of any CO otc unit will tell you it is overcrowded and over pressured and not much more in my opinion.

 

[Slm864]

Posting Unit #'s to Public Forum

Alright...I've gotta know if I'm the only one who thinks posting unit #'s, giving unit specific information and suggestions on the public forums is a bad idea/borderline unethical. I feel like in today's day and age, we've got more tools at our disposal to learn about units or areas, we've got...

www.hunttalk.com

The majority would disagree with you

That’s ok. I’m okay with people disagreeing with me. I’m not encouraging anyone to post unit numbers, I’m just saying I’m not going to get tear drops in my cereal over it.
I see the unit numbers that I hunt regularly every year and even though it results in more trucks and camps along the road I don’t see a change beyond that.

Did you have your area get burned out due to unit numbers being posted? You seem passionate about it.

 

[jarmour1]

For starters, don't post the unit number you are hunting on a public forum, especially when the thread is on OTC Hunting Pressure. View attachment 293851

Well if anyone wants to base their hunt on my 100% lack of experience that's their own mistake lol.

 

[Magnum Sherpa]

Colorado otc is the hardest thing you’ll ever do, but if you pull it off it’s a trophy, no matter the size.

Montana general units give Colorado OTC stiff competition for that distinction.