Late-Season Elk Hunting

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So the wife wants to get a bull, so I've opted to apply her for a 4th Colorado tag. Not sure exactly which unit, but leaning towards a unit I have some experience with. She would be thrilled with a nice 5-6 point bull. She's not picky.
Just wondering how many of you have hunted 4th season elk in Colorado? Do you notice the bulls are settled down from the 3rd season madhouse? Is turning up a mature bull really tough.....hunting them after so many other hunts?

Anywhere we can go where the antlers are big but the bodies are really small? ha ha (I'm not looking forward to backpacking an elk out)

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
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LAST EDITED ON Mar-20-15 AT 10:00AM (MST)[p]Brian,


Without knowing which Unit you are hunting, I'll just give my opinion based off 26 years of hunting CO. Many of those the 3rd and 4th season.

My experience has been that by 4th season the bulls are definitely hard to turn up. You will see small 4 and sometimes 5pt bulls not far from where you find the herds of cows. The truly bigger herd bulls are holed up in their hidey holes. Those can be extremely difficult to find even if you know the area well. If there is a major weather event, hunting can get outrageously good. Over the years we've seen some big bulls have to vacate their sanctuary due to snow accumulation.

I'd say finding a decent raghorn/smaller bull is very reasonable if you can cover some country and get away from the major hunting pressure. If you want a mature bull, its just a matter of finding their sanctuary. Personally, if getting your wife a decent bull is your goal, I'd look at what CO calls a Quality Management Unit(all tags are draw only throughout the various seasons) and opt for a 1st rifle season tag. Typically you can catch the tale end of the rut and if you can scout them before season you stand a good chance at getting on the herd bulls. Chose this route in 2010 and have pretty good success. 7 out of the 10 bulls killed by myself or members of my party have gone over 300" including a 350" and a 330". We've also seen many others this size without a shot opportunity.

This is just a brief description of some of my thoughts, but feel free to hit me up if you would like to hear more. I'm new to MM, but have hunted CO my whole life and this fall will make season #27 for me chasing elk here.

Having said that, there is a ton of knowledge held by others of this forum and I hope they chime in. We each have unique perspectives to put on the table.
 
4th season has been really good to us in Colorado. Less pressure and things have settled down from all of the 3rd season deer and elk hunters. There are still usually plenty of nice ones to go around.
 
Getting one out when there is snow on the ground can be very easy on the back. We mostly hunt late. A cheap $10 sled and you can move miles easily. I don't want to take over the post. You can PM me if you want more specifics of what we have learned in 20 plus years of pulling them out.

DZ
 
I considered the earlier dates, but already have plenty of hunting to do in September and October, so late-season will have to work. She's in good shape, so we should be able to hit some of the country away from the roads.

I'm not looking forward to packing one out at all. My back already hurts just thinking about it.
A sled might work, or take me for a fun ride down the mountain..............

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
Will you LIKE MonsterMuleys.com on Facebook! I need a friend....
 
I hear ya. Packing them out is a chore no matter what season. As to the season dates, understand. Just through out the optional season as the bulls seem a tad easier to find. I hope you get her on a good bull this year.
 

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