Folks,
This is my first post. About me: I'm a CO resident planning to hunt for the first time this year. I've decided to go all-out: my 2018 resolution is to kill an ungulate, and I'll be doing everything I can to achieve that. My plan is to go after pronghorn, deer, and elk, taking the best tags I can get with 0 preference points. I am new to hunting, of course, but I've been backpacking and enjoying the outdoors for many years.
I'm trying to gauge the probability of achieving my goal this year. Fortunately CO publishes detailed statistics on harvest for each species, so this helps give me a baseline expectation. But I'm curious about the numbers, and specifically why some hunts fail. For example, as a general rule, *most* hunters going for OTC Bull Elk in a given year will fail (well, they don't fill a tag, anyway - one might not consider that a failure). I'm sure there are many reason why this might occur, so I thought I'd poll y'all to see why.
In particular, I wonder how much grit/determination/sticking-with-it can affect the odds. This will be my first year hunting, which means that, even with as much preparation as I intend to do (shooting, scouting, practice stalking, etc.), I just won't have as much knowledge and experience as someone with many years experience. How much can I overcome my inexperience with pure determination and off-season practice/research? In short, how much control do I have on my chance of success?
To frame this, here are some general reasons why I think hunts might fail, in a sort-of-sequential order:
1. General lack of time on the ground: It might be that many hunters just can't spend much of the season hunting, for very good reasons (like work, family). Do a large proportion of the failed tags come from guys who can only manage to hunt weekends?
2. Never seeing an animal: Perhaps some hunters never manage to find anything? That could perhaps be due to limited time, but also lack of knowledge about where they are likely to be, or not getting out at the right times of day, or maybe they're just lousy spotters/trackers/hikers?
3. Being selective/picky: Lots of youtube hunts end "unsuccessfully" not because the hunter never had an opportunity, but simply because they never found the trophy buck or bull they were looking for.
4. Failing at stalking: If a desirable animal is seen, one might fail at maneuvering to get a shot without spooking the animal. I could imagine this to be quite difficult when the hunting pressure is on.
5. Failing to shoot and kill the animal: Finally, some hunts will probably fail because the hunter couldn't make the shot. Presumably this is the case when hunting more long-range situations.
Here's my guess: I can control factors (1) and (3) very well: my job and family situation allows me to take plenty time off when I need it; and my goal is to fill a tag, not get a trophy. As for marksmanship (5), I intend to put in lots of time at the range - up to 300 yards. For (2) and (4), I plan to do scouting trips well in advance of hunting season, and will spend many weekends in the mountains searching for and stalking up on game (as I did last weekend). But of course chance will stay play a role when the time comes.
Now I put it to you experts: in your experience, which of the above tends to be the biggest barrier to success, especially for a newbie? How much can a rookie overcome the difficulties with lots of research and determination? Where does the good hunter separate himself from the mediocre?
This is my first post. About me: I'm a CO resident planning to hunt for the first time this year. I've decided to go all-out: my 2018 resolution is to kill an ungulate, and I'll be doing everything I can to achieve that. My plan is to go after pronghorn, deer, and elk, taking the best tags I can get with 0 preference points. I am new to hunting, of course, but I've been backpacking and enjoying the outdoors for many years.
I'm trying to gauge the probability of achieving my goal this year. Fortunately CO publishes detailed statistics on harvest for each species, so this helps give me a baseline expectation. But I'm curious about the numbers, and specifically why some hunts fail. For example, as a general rule, *most* hunters going for OTC Bull Elk in a given year will fail (well, they don't fill a tag, anyway - one might not consider that a failure). I'm sure there are many reason why this might occur, so I thought I'd poll y'all to see why.
In particular, I wonder how much grit/determination/sticking-with-it can affect the odds. This will be my first year hunting, which means that, even with as much preparation as I intend to do (shooting, scouting, practice stalking, etc.), I just won't have as much knowledge and experience as someone with many years experience. How much can I overcome my inexperience with pure determination and off-season practice/research? In short, how much control do I have on my chance of success?
To frame this, here are some general reasons why I think hunts might fail, in a sort-of-sequential order:
1. General lack of time on the ground: It might be that many hunters just can't spend much of the season hunting, for very good reasons (like work, family). Do a large proportion of the failed tags come from guys who can only manage to hunt weekends?
2. Never seeing an animal: Perhaps some hunters never manage to find anything? That could perhaps be due to limited time, but also lack of knowledge about where they are likely to be, or not getting out at the right times of day, or maybe they're just lousy spotters/trackers/hikers?
3. Being selective/picky: Lots of youtube hunts end "unsuccessfully" not because the hunter never had an opportunity, but simply because they never found the trophy buck or bull they were looking for.
4. Failing at stalking: If a desirable animal is seen, one might fail at maneuvering to get a shot without spooking the animal. I could imagine this to be quite difficult when the hunting pressure is on.
5. Failing to shoot and kill the animal: Finally, some hunts will probably fail because the hunter couldn't make the shot. Presumably this is the case when hunting more long-range situations.
Here's my guess: I can control factors (1) and (3) very well: my job and family situation allows me to take plenty time off when I need it; and my goal is to fill a tag, not get a trophy. As for marksmanship (5), I intend to put in lots of time at the range - up to 300 yards. For (2) and (4), I plan to do scouting trips well in advance of hunting season, and will spend many weekends in the mountains searching for and stalking up on game (as I did last weekend). But of course chance will stay play a role when the time comes.
Now I put it to you experts: in your experience, which of the above tends to be the biggest barrier to success, especially for a newbie? How much can a rookie overcome the difficulties with lots of research and determination? Where does the good hunter separate himself from the mediocre?