OTC elk hunting. Idaho vs Colorado

[180ls1]

While I am waiting to get drawn in Ut, Az and Ca for elk I am looking into an over the counter elk hunt. I have hunted Az for OTC (which is really more of a depredation tag) and it is incredibly difficult. Utah OTC was also tough, only saw a couple cows. Then again the General Bull unit I was in was terrible. So I may branch out further to Co and Idaho but have no experience in those states.

From my research (please correct me if I am wrong)

Colorado:
- More animals
- WAY more hunters and pressure
- Most bulls will be young or barley legal

Idaho:
- Less animals but more mature
- Less hunters
- Much more difficult terrain
- Further drive for me in San Diego

Can any of you guys who have hunted in those areas chime in?

[RandyD]

I regularly hunt elk in Colorado. I do not believe they have OTC tags for out of state hunters.

[MJB]

UT OTC archery elk I'm 2-3 sorry you've had bad luck keep at it!

It's really hard going in blind to a new area but Id hit CO over ID

Good luck!

[Cody Lightfoot]

I regularly hunt elk in Colorado. I do not believe they have OTC tags for out of state hunters.

Colorado has a ton of OTC rifle elk tags. I live in 65 and 62 is across the street, both are over the counter, along with a bunch more.

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[Bull Elk]

OP.......your comments about CO make me wonder how much research you put into this. CO has more OTC elk tags than any other state. Second, 10-15 years ago I might agree that CO had a lot of hunters. Not so much anymore. Actually, I wish they had more hunters as there is much less pressure than before and they need more pressure. I've been hunting GU 23 and 24 pretty much every year since 1989.

[RandyD]

Colorado has a ton of OTC rifle elk tags. I live in 65 and 62 is across the street, both are over the counter, along with a bunch more.

Are they available to out of state hunters?

[Cody Lightfoot]

Yes
As far as I know, all the otc tags are first come, first served. Randy Newberg has a good show on Colorado and it's opportunities for nonresidents.

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[mebejets]

We have been hunting GMU unit 24 in the White River National Forest since 1995. We’ve been using JML Outfitters since then for our hunts. The area I hunt is about 30 miles outside of Meeker, CO. The bull tags are over the counter and cow tags are draw with high success rate. We have always had a great experience. Feel free to email me.

[180ls1]

UT OTC archery elk I'm 2-3 sorry you've had bad luck keep at it!

It's really hard going in blind to a new area but Id hit CO over ID

Good luck!

I think it was the unit. I just looked at the unit and year (West Beaver 2013 any weapon) and the success rate was 3.9%. I did see some rancher hanging a nice 5x5 opening morning.

I am going to dig more into other units and seasons. I have also hunted the Henry's and saw extremely limited elk sign there.

I am starting to think I need to head further north.

OP.......your comments about CO make me wonder how much research you put into this. CO has more OTC elk tags than any other state. Second, 10-15 years ago I might agree that CO had a lot of hunters. Not so much anymore. Actually, I wish they had more hunters as there is much less pressure than before and they need more pressure. I've been hunting GU 23 and 24 pretty much every year since 1989.

I am just browsing forums. Everyone makes it seem like there is a TON of hunters. Ive never been there. Do you do pretty well? How far in do you generally go?

Thats good to hear. I generally like hunting without a guides assistance but it seems like a lot of people like to use an outfitter to pack in. Do you feel that helps your chances quite a bit?

[180ls1]

Are they available to out of state hunters?

Yup, they sure are.

[HAVOC5150]

I've hunted Cortez, in the Hay Camp mesa area in the San Juan NF. Seen a lot of nice Elk come out of there but have not got an an Elk personally. I was thinking about going back this year at the end of Oct. probably second season.

[MJB]

Archery in UT is the way to go......before the rut

You can send me a PM with your number and we can talk

The hardest thing with elk hunting is finding them then it's game on

Here is a brief summary on them....

There are different stages of rut, and each make bulls vulnerable to hunters. This lasts over 2 months.

I think the rut starts right after they rub their velvet off. They are now bugling in the morning making them easy to find, but, not really into cows yet. This is like 2-3 weeks.

Next they start showing interest in cows, and normally some of the smaller bulls take interest first. Bugling etc.. couple weeks

Herding cows. Keeping them in check. sattelite bulls hanging around the herds. couple weeks.

Next some of the more dominant bulls pull off the herd of cows and now the bulls I call "the pretenders" smaller bulls that were satellite bulls now run the herd. Sometimes the big bulls will lurk around the herd. This can be another couple weeks.

Lastly the bulls pull off, but, they still may moan and groan early and late.

The key is to know what stage they are in. Calling of course works best in the early part of the rut for bigger bulls and once herded up it is hard to pull the herd bull off of cows, but, the satellite bulls will go for it.

[180ls1]

Archery in UT is the way to go......before the rut

You can send me a PM with your number and we can talk

The hardest thing with elk hunting is finding them then it's game on

Here is a brief summary on them....

There are different stages of rut, and each make bulls vulnerable to hunters. This lasts over 2 months.

I think the rut starts right after they rub their velvet off. They are now bugling in the morning making them easy to find, but, not really into cows yet. This is like 2-3 weeks.

Next they start showing interest in cows, and normally some of the smaller bulls take interest first. Bugling etc.. couple weeks

Herding cows. Keeping them in check. sattelite bulls hanging around the herds. couple weeks.

Next some of the more dominant bulls pull off the herd of cows and now the bulls I call "the pretenders" smaller bulls that were satellite bulls now run the herd. Sometimes the big bulls will lurk around the herd. This can be another couple weeks.

Lastly the bulls pull off, but, they still may moan and groan early and late.

The key is to know what stage they are in. Calling of course works best in the early part of the rut for bigger bulls and once herded up it is hard to pull the herd bull off of cows, but, the satellite bulls will go for it.

Thanks for the advice MJB. I will get a hold of you in the near future.

[LGB Loader]

CO.

LGB

[Bull Elk]

I think it was the unit. I just looked at the unit and year (West Beaver 2013 any weapon) and the success rate was 3.9%. I did see some rancher hanging a nice 5x5 opening morning.

I am going to dig more into other units and seasons. I have also hunted the Henry's and saw extremely limited elk sign there.

I am starting to think I need to head further north.



I am just browsing forums. Everyone makes it seem like there is a TON of hunters. Ive never been there. Do you do pretty well? How far in do you generally go?



Thats good to hear. I generally like hunting without a guides assistance but it seems like a lot of people like to use an outfitter to pack in. Do you feel that helps your chances quite a bit?

I generally hunt the third season and occasionally the fourth. The third season is unlimited OTC bull tags. The fourth is a bull draw season but in GU 23 and 24 there have always been a surplus of bull tags. The third season generally has a large surplus of cow tags so you could get two elk tags (one bull and one cow). Last year GU 23 and 24 had about 600+ cow tags available after the regular cow tag draw (only bull tags are unlimited). We hunt in an area called Buford which is about 25 miles outside of Meeker. We hunt private and some public land and access all of our hunting locations by foot, quads or 4WD. Easy public access especially around Avery Lake. Ninety five percent of the time we hunt from blinds...the same blinds we've used for 15-25+ years. No need to pack in at all in this area. You can camp and generally hunt right out of camp near Lake Avery. Just remember, if you hunt from tents it can get nasty if/when it snows. Another option is to rent a cabin from our guide/outfitter (Tom Tucker, Buford Guide Service). It will run you about $40-$50 per person per night. Rustic cabins for sure, but they have heat, kitchen and beds and there is a community shower restroom area just steps from your cabin. I'll be using one of those cabins the third season. Sure beats the hell out of a tent!