My brother and I are doing a DYI hunt in Colorado this fall, which week would be your 1st choice?
September 1-8 (includes weekends on each end)
September 7-15
September 14-22
September 21-29
We went to Idaho about 6 years ago pretty close to the September 7-15 time frame and we seemed to be a little early??
14-22 Those days in my experiance are tops.
I would stradle the middle two if i could. Start the 12th.
muzzle loading season is usually the third week of the archery season ; if that makes a difference to you...I'm not 100% sure on the dates this year though...
depends on what you are trying to do. If you want to call and chase, go later, but remember there is a muzzleloader season in there, and many areas of Colorado public land are not so great for calling (bugling) any more.
Early is warmer and the elk are not as sexually active, but they are still there and available to hunt, not yet so well chased.
Bear season doesn't start till a week or so after the elk season so if you are getting multiple tags, count on that too.
Lots of choices.
ChuckC
Yep, muzzleloader is 14-22.
Would you typically try to stay away from muzzleloader season to avoid the extra traffic?
Would the week after muzzleloader even be worth it? We're planning on going back in a ways.
My advice, based on my 20 years experience, is to get out and hunt before the muzzle loaders. Having said that I hunt before during and after them so ....
The week of 14-22
Unfortunately for bow hunters. They seem to be most active when the orange coats are in town.
I have hunted during orange coat season and had some trouble. I started going deeper into country and getting there a full week before them...if I happened to be there opening weekend elkless I used the invasion to my benefit and set up wear the elk would go when there was pressure. Even if it is early I found an ambush and sat it mostly. I think the week before ML there gives you the best of both worlds: less crowd with less impact and a little bit of pre-rut bugling. In my experience once ML season begins the bugling on hard hit public ground slows big time.
Joe is right on ; if you have the time...the archery season is usually SO hot the first two weeks you can hunt in your underwear...it cools off some the last week ...we have been in a severe drought here (in my area) for a good three years...A LOT of small creeks (and wallows) are dry..dry..dry
We went the first nine days and missed the best part. Very little bugling. Yes we saw elk but in very high and rugged areas. We just couldn't get to them in time. It was also warm and movement was very early and late. In the timber a large part of the time. Oh and it rained A LOT!!!
It's possible but much harder IMO. At least that was our experience.
If hunting public land where you expect a lot of pressure from the ML, then maybe I would lean toward the week before. I am headed to some private ground and some years it actually gets better as elk get pushed off other surrounding properties. So I guess it all depends....
Personally, if other hunting pressure is not a factor, I prefer mid - late September. Without the pressure there is a much better chance of catching them bugling, and if you can hear them it sure makes finding them a lot easier. Once you find them it's game on!
IMO
September 21-29
Why? Because the herd bulls will really have their harems by then, and the smaller sattelite bulls will be rut crazy.
Sure, they'll have been pressured but it only takes one dumb young bull in the rut to respond.
But ... you risk snow, colder weather with the later hunt as well.
You can get opinions from opening day to the last week. Some like opening day and the following two weeks because the animals have not been harassed and tend to be out a few more daylight hours. The third week the muzzle loaders are out. In the area I hunt, they tend to be road hunters or do not stray far from the roads so it is relatively easy to get away from them. The third and last week usually has them bugling more and this helps with locating them. Calling them in though is not easy as everyone and his brother have been blowing tooters since opening day and the bulls simply will not come.
I tend to favor the first couple weeks because the elk are more dispersed and therefore chances of seeing some are somewhat better. Later on they are herded up and more eyes make it harder to get close enough for a shot. But hey, hunting elk is great anytime of the season! :D
Thanks everyone, looks like we have some decisions to make. Pros and Cons to most any of the dates.
I agree with Bill. I have hunted all 4 weeks of the season different years and can see no benefit to hunting later except that you will likely have fewer guys in the woods the last week. The weather has a lot to do with whether the bulls will be bugling during any specific week. Too hot and no storms and they may stay silent and nocturnal most of the time. Colder and unsettled weather has a tendency to turn them on but it's tough to plan your hunt around that. If I had only one week to hunt I would probably hunt the 2nd or 3rd weeks with the nod to the 2nd as it is just before the muzzle loaders start.
I have gotten into elk at any time. But, in my experience, the first week would be the one I would skip if I had to make a choice. Otherwise, its all good IMO.
It really comes down to you anyway my friend, no matter when you hunt
Joshua
I would skip the muzzle loader season if possible. Weather, drought conditions, etc. are too difficult to predict this far out, and you have to adjust to those no matter which week you hunt. However,you CAN predict when the most people will be there, and avoid some of the crowd.
QuoteOriginally posted by BradLantz:
IMO
September 21-29
Why? Because the herd bulls will really have their harems by then, and the smaller sattelite bulls will be rut crazy.
Sure, they'll have been pressured but it only takes one dumb young bull in the rut to respond.
But ... you risk snow, colder weather with the later hunt as well.
What he said! CO has not seen much if any snow in the last 5 years during the archey season except at the very hig elevations that may last a day.
In my experience with public land (basically all I hunt), I would go before muzzleloader. Others are correct it may be warmer, but the Bulls should still be gathering cows to some extent.
Later in the season when the Bulls have cows they are vocal, but very seldom come to calling and will usually move away with their cows. I've hunted early in the season and I've hunted late, and the one thing I can tell you definately is Elk are not predictable.
Go enjoy the experience, fall in the Mountains with Buglin' Bulls and changing Aspens is a special time.
Thanks guys! - UP
Tater is right on!
IMO, the earlier the better. Here's why I like it. First off, regarding weather, there will always be some kind of weather and it will often determine where the elk are hanging out. So, first off you have to figger that out.
Next, very early the bulls are ready while the cows are still pretty much uninterested. At this time, any bull that is not hooked up with a harem is going to be susceptible to cow calling and most of them will not be hooked up. The sound of a hot cow in the ears of a bull will pull him easier than at any other time of the rut. Later there will be plenty of subordinate bulls that will come to your cow calls, but the herd bulls will not. They have a full time job maintaining their harem and won't come running to a call.
You have to use indicators other than bugling to locate the animals early since they may be very quiet even though they are willing to come to your cow call. If they announce themselves by bugling, that is all the better! Resist the temptation to bugle back and work toward them while using your cow call.
If none make themselves be known, go where you know the animals are and do calling sets for 30 or 45 minutes at a time. This tactic works all day long! They probably will not let you know they are coming so if you have ever done any predator calling, do things the same way. Just cause you don't see or hear them does not mean they are not looking at the back of your head!
This has worked for me from opening day right up into ml season.
I'm surely not the greatest elk hunter around, but this has worked for me many times. Other methods work great too. Adapt to conditions!
IMO you will have a better chance a large bull (herd bull) the week before muzzleloading season before they have really gathered their harems but a better chance at killing a legal bull the week after.
With that said I typically go the week after muzzleloading seasons. I have never had problems calling bulls in during a 7 - 10 day hunt. Either way I think you'll have a great hunt.
I would go somewhere else.. Im not contributing to colorado.
Listen to irishhacker.
But seriously, call me crazy, I love hunting the muzzleloader season. I gladly put up with the crowds for the kind of action I have experienced that week, year in year out. I know that runs against the opinion of most, but in my 17 seasons that week has never let me down.
Of the dates you listed, purely based on the action I have observed, I suggest the 14th-22nd. I try my best not to miss a day between the 10th-20th if I can at all help it.
Boy!, I really opened up a can of worms, I'm really scratching my head now. I'm just going to get me and my brother to agree on a week and then get out there and hunt my **ss off.
That is the best. Find em, wherever they are, and go have a fun time.
Don't forget to smell the roses. There are a ton of neat things to see and partake in while out in the mountains.
ChuckC
Chi lac has it right. Blood or no blod the Rockies is a special place. It doesn't take killing to make a memory
I do not like the first week at all as a matter of fact I will never hunt that week ever again. I like the second and third week in the area I hunt they seam to start to shut up towards the end of the third week from pressure. This year the third week is full moon so I will be going the second week into the beginning off the third. I have found it a lot harder in the full moon were I hunt. The mornings (my personal favorite) they go to bed and shut up very early in the morning with during full moon but evenings seam ok. Widow
QuoteOriginally posted by FerretWYO:
14-22 Those days in my experiance are tops.
I would stradle the middle two if i could. Start the 12th.
X2
Don't do it because I said it, but FerretWYO knows his elk hunting!
That time period has been what I've found best where I hunt. The ML hunters don't affect my area much as it is a pack in area and I've not seen one ML hunter in the last three years.
I know it's tough when you get advice and reasons for each week... it truly does depend on a lot of factors.
Good luck!
up
So, you see Burnsie, the consensus is to go sometime between opening day and the last day of season. Glad we could help with the decision! :bigsmyl:
I know I already posted... but let me give you some actual numbers/stats from previous hunts.
In 2010, I hunted 9 days before taking a young bull. I never had a bull to respond to cow calls until the evening before my kill. They would occasionally answer a bugle (location bugle) but that was it. The evening before I took my bull two of us teamed up and called in two bulls from opposite directions, but it got dark on us.
The next evening I called two different bulls in to within 30 yards and killed my bull at 23 yards. The next morning my buddy called one in, but didn't get a shot.
I had hunted off and on all season... and took my bull on the 14th of September. It just wasn't good until about that time.
I didn't get to elk hunt in 2011 due to a ruptured disc in my low back. Last fall I was on the mountain before season came in and hunted everyday. I called in cows and one calf, but didn't have any luck with bulls until the 12th of September. Between the 12th and the 16th I called in 6 bulls (one was missed by my son, another was 15 yards from him but he couldn't get the shot, and I passed one at 15 yards because of a branch in the way).
When I left on the 16th... the bulls were REALLY vocal. That morning I called in two different bulls and they both got wind of me before I had a shot opportunity. I was hunting around 10,500'.
My experience has been that you may chance into one earlier... especially a cow or calf... but if you want the best action, and the best opportunity to take an elk, especially a bull... choose the time period that ferretWYO suggested.
I know there are many factors... ML's, other pressure, location, weather, etc. I will be on the mountain by the 8th of September and prepared to hunt as long as it takes.
Good luck... and let us know how it goes!
Thanks for taking the time to respond Wayne.
I had not ad this thread in a while. You have a lot of good information. I will give you a little more info as to why I made my recommendation. A fair bit of this has been addressed already by very trustworthy individuals but I will speak to it as well.
The first weekend of the month will yield some talking but it will be rare and the rut will often peak around the 25ish. Many people choose to hunt the peak rut and I don't blame them at all. It's a lot of fun. I prefer to hunt before then though.
I don't call much if any at all. And for that reason I like to hear elk and be able to move to them.
Usually at the beginning of the month the elk are in scattered but separate groups. Some bulls àre starting to look at cows but nothing serious. Groups can be big or small. Then by the 12thish more and more bulls are claiming cows. This makes a lot of 4-12 head small groups. It also scaters the elk out making them a bit more accessible when the orange coats are on the roads. As the days progress from the the bigger bulls will start roaming and gathering cows as they see fit. By the last week and the peak rut you could have 60-70 head in a heard. How many eyes can you sneak up on and how many noses can you fool?
Big heards have sattalite bulls that make for good calling if the situation is right. My personal preference is to search a little harder a little earlier and contend with the least amount eyes and noses to get the best experience from every stalk. Again these are my ideas and not the only way.
My advice is pick a time hunt all day. And be aggressive when the time is right.
Randy, Thanks for taking the time to lend your advice. Your avatar picture definitely shows you know what you are talking about, along with all the other exciting hunts you have shared here on Tradgang. I'm going to process all this information, try to make the best informed decision possible and then just hunt hard and make the best out of whatever I decide. It will be a great trip regardless.
The first week is good . You will have the woods to yourself. One year we backed up to MZL season and were cut short mid week with a lot of scouts in the woods. PITA, My brother had a bull coming in and lost it to a MZL'r 100 yds up hill. They thanked him for calling it in for them. The early bird catches the worm.