Colorado Hype

ridgerunner · Apr 7, 2022

Seems like a lot less hype this year than last for guys putting in for Colorado. I imagine there will be point creep but I'm wondering if it will be less than it was last year.

elkassassin · Apr 7, 2022

Ya!

A Bunch Of Guys Blowed Their Points on PISSCUTTERS Hoping For Weather With The Later Hunts!

How'd That Pan Out for Most?

They Shot The Sshhitt Out of The Does Last Year as Well!

That'll Help Everything!

txhunter58 · Apr 7, 2022

Weather didn’t cooperate!

willfrye027 · Apr 8, 2022

I’d give my left nut to have a few points going into the draw this year!

hawkbill · Apr 8, 2022

Colorado has a young Deer herd, with to many tags being issued, keep dreaming!

ridgetops · Apr 8, 2022

The only hype I've been hearing lately, is how crappy Colorado is to hunt mule deer.

tailchasers · Apr 8, 2022

I think there will be less with covid mandates reeled in. Last few years the hunter satisfaction has been very low too with poor elk herd numbers and deer quality at least in my part of the world. Units are simply not worth the points or the dollars. I know we've pulled back on 2 out of state hunts for these same reasons.

270Whatelse · Apr 8, 2022

It's getting a little worse every year, with no end in sight...........

Lukegarrett2002 · Apr 8, 2022

Maybe bidenflation will help keep the number of people hunting out of state this fall down

The Texans will probably have a heart attack once they get into Colorado and see the gas prices

eyeman · Apr 8, 2022

Colorado is still a good place to go for Elk IMO.
I cant get an Elk Tag every year in my home state, so they get my money every year.
I am a NR but try to respect, enjoy and help others.
I know that NR do spend a little more than res with all involved with supplies and such but for the most part I haven't really had a bad interaction and have been treated nice as a NR.
I have even made some friends and decent connections after a few years.
I know that some res get rubbed the wrong way with so many NR and I cant say that I blame you.

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 8, 2022

eyeman said:
Colorado is still a good place to go for Elk IMO.
I cant get an Elk Tag every year in my home state, so they get my money every year.
I am a NR but try to respect, enjoy and help others.
I know that NR do spend a little more than res with all involved with supplies and such but for the most part I haven't really had a bad interaction and have been treated nice as a NR.
I have even made some friends and decent connections after a few years.
I know that some res get rubbed the wrong way with so many NR and I cant say that I blame you.

You have just as much right to those elk on National Forest as does a resident. Good luck.

1989Cohunter · Apr 8, 2022

Where I hunt has really taken a dump. Thanks to certain gps apps there are no honey holes. Or at least a couple less. Not to dump on non res hunters because I have met a few real stand up guys. But last year a group of assholes from Utah were posted on every ridge we hunt. That’s not a big deal it’s public’s what sucks is they shot no less then 20 times at two bucks. Hit both found one. I watched the lost buck run/limp from 1000+ yards onto private where I’m certain he died. They ended up tagging one, and myself and my buddy went to the kill site hoping to talk to them. Well they were gone but there were at least 10 havalon blade wrappers plus candy bar wrappers and a couple gator aid bottles. We cleaned up there crap and moved on. But dang I can’t imagine how lazy a guy has to be to not pick up your trash? Hell they had a quartered deer on there backs.

On a positive note. My family had some property when I was a kid. And. Group of guys literally just drove through our place to get to another property. Every time they came they would always cook us some fresh shrimp and were very appreciative of us for letting them come through our place. Which they legally did not have any obligation to us what so Ever.

I know this is a touch of rant... But what it comes down to is everyone thinks they can find a 180” buck in co. And that is not the case.

Togwotee · Apr 8, 2022

With very few exceptions an average mule deer tag in CO is better than a good tag anywhere else. Let's see how many booners come out of the other states this year.

1989Cohunter · Apr 8, 2022

Togwotee said:
With very few exceptions an average mule deer tag in CO is better than a good tag anywhere else. Let's see how many booners come out of the other states this year.

I would agree with this 10 years ago. I wouldn’t now.

Letshunt · Apr 8, 2022

I have hunted Colorado for five years in a row. There is a night and day difference from where it was at five years ago. Less deer, less mature bucks, and HUGE decrease in elk. With the potential of wolves being introduced to Colorado, the state of big game animals in Colorado will continue to decrease at an even more rapid rate.
The local restaurants and hotel owners have said that without hunters coming in from September-November that their establishments wouldn’t make it.
I’m a pretty optimistic person, but it’s been crazy how fast the decline has happened.

lostinOregon · Apr 8, 2022

I will just keep on hunting Colorado with the horrible mule deer hunting. I agree it is down right now, but that decline started in 2006 in my opinion. With that said, I still think there are some very good opportunities out there.

Rich

Bluehair · Apr 9, 2022

Argue all we want about how good it is. There’s no arguing that it’s getting worse.

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 9, 2022

I’ve NEVER been on a bad hunt! I’ve been on some better than others though…

The_Coloradoboy · Apr 9, 2022

I think mule deer hunting in Colorado will be in a extremely sad state by 2030 and on if things continue the way they are. At this point I consider myself fortunate to atleast get to experience the tail end of the good years and harvest some great bucks. Big mule deer have always been my passion, but if the course continues I’m going to have to start enjoying elk and whitetails a lot more…

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 9, 2022

Here’s something to ponder, while I do know for certain that our deer population is shrinking where we hunt, I have noticed deer, antelope and elk in the flat farm and ranch lands of Eastern NM. This area is approximately 200 miles from mountainous terrain. This was unheard of 10 years ago. Seems like a lot of the animals have migrated to new habitat. Our winters are mild, food and water is plentiful year around, there is plenty of cover in draws and such and we knock the hell out of the coyotes here. Interesting.

Tristate · Apr 9, 2022

Nobody goes there anymore because it's to crowded.

marburg · Apr 9, 2022

ridgerunner said:
Seems like a lot less hype this year than last for guys putting in for Colorado. I imagine there will be point creep but I'm wondering if it will be less than it was last year.

Once it switched to Colorado Parks and Wildlife the end of Colorado's deer herd was forgon conclusion. It will never come back at these tag levels, and these tag levels will only get worse.

Tristate · Apr 9, 2022

marburg said:
Once it switched to Colorado Parks and Wildlife the end of Colorado's deer herd was forgon conclusion. It will never come back at these tag levels, and these tag levels will only get worse.

I heard cameras killed all the deer.

Ynothunt41 · Apr 9, 2022

I spent a month in Colorado last year (before and during the 2nd and 3rd season). I couldn't belief how small (young) some of the bucks were that people were shooting. I know some people are meat hunters but dang. I thought I was back in PA.

rmanwill · Apr 9, 2022

1989Cohunter said:
Where I hunt has really taken a dump. Thanks to certain gps apps there are no honey holes. Or at least a couple less. Not to dump on non res hunters because I have met a few real stand up guys. But last year a group of assholes from Utah were posted on every ridge we hunt. That’s not a big deal it’s public’s what sucks is they shot no less then 20 times at two bucks. Hit both found one. I watched the lost buck run/limp from 1000+ yards onto private where I’m certain he died. They ended up tagging one, and myself and my buddy went to the kill site hoping to talk to them. Well they were gone but there were at least 10 havalon blade wrappers plus candy bar wrappers and a couple gator aid bottles. We cleaned up there crap and moved on. But dang I can’t imagine how lazy a guy has to be to not pick up your trash? Hell they had a quartered deer on there backs.

On a positive note. My family had some property when I was a kid. And. Group of guys literally just drove through our place to get to another property. Every time they came they would always cook us some fresh shrimp and were very appreciative of us for letting them come through our place. Which they legally did not have any obligation to us what so Ever.

I know this is a touch of rant... But what it comes down to is everyone thinks they can find a 180” buck in co. And that is not the case.

Not a rant. Just the truth. Hunters leave the mountian better then they find it. POS's trash the hills, shot up everything and have no ethics. Wish more could enjoy the hunt more. Punch a tag is a bonus and a 170+ buck is icing on the cake. Thanks for sharing the Colorado mountians with us NR. Sorry about the bad apples. Sure has changed in the past 50 years.

Bluehair · Apr 10, 2022

Tristate said:
I heard cameras killed all the deer.

Besides mine, I have never seen another trail cam in CO.

Wapitiwilly · Apr 10, 2022

lostinOregon said:
I will just keep on hunting Colorado with the horrible mule deer hunting. I agree it is down right now, but that decline started in 2006 in my opinion. With that said, I still think there are some very good opportunities out there.

Rich

Nailed it!!!

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 10, 2022

Hunting has never guaranteed the harvest of an animal. If you know what you’re doing and hunt from sun up to sun down every legal day of the hunt your odds are extremely higher than the vast majority of “hunters”.

just_a_hunter · Apr 11, 2022

Hunting in Colorado sucks. Stay home. Same with Utah. It's a lost cause. Waste of every resource possible. Stay home. Give it up. There will never be another good day. You'll be better off. It all sucks..... sucks, sucks, sucks........

grosventrehunter · Apr 11, 2022

just_a_hunter said:
Hunting in Colorado sucks. Stay home. Same with Utah. It's a lost cause. Waste of every resource possible. Stay home. Give it up. There will never be another good day. You'll be better off. It all sucks..... sucks, sucks, sucks........

Add Wyoming to that list. It's horrible and they are mean to the NR hunter.

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 11, 2022

New Mexico also. All the animals died of Covid. Stay home. Nothing to see here folks.

Lukegarrett2002 · Apr 11, 2022

I’m a optimistic person, I think that people are probably gonna stop hunting Colorado for awhile and eventually things will get better . As I learned in wildlife biology, everything works in highs and lows nothing is consistent , high population numbers are bound to drop and low population numbers are bound to grow. I do have to say the wolves put quite a damper on my optimism though.
Remember S.S.S

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 11, 2022

Lukegarrett2002 said:
I’m a optimistic person, I think that people are probably gonna stop hunting Colorado for awhile and eventually things will get better . As I learned in wildlife biology, everything works in highs and lows nothing is consistent , high population numbers are bound to drop and low population numbers are bound to grow. I do have to say the wolves put quite a damper on my optimism though.
Remember S.S.S

I know of at least a dozen folks here that if they don’t draw elk are going to hunt in Colorado this year.

Wiszard · Apr 11, 2022

Bigfoot 1 said:
I know of at least a dozen folks here that if they don’t draw elk are going to hunt in Colorado this year.

Make that 13!

The_Coloradoboy · Apr 11, 2022

Colorado will always be that homely girl at the end of the bar you go after at 2am when you’ve struck out everywhere else when it comes to elk hunting.

rmanwill · Apr 11, 2022

The_Coloradoboy said:
Colorado will always be that homely girl at the end of the bar you go after at 2am when you’ve struck out everywhere else when it comes to elk hunting.

I hear you Cole, but not everyone's reasoning. Some just like hunting elk every year or two and inches don't make that hunt good or bad. Just great times in the mountains with friends and family making memories is an awesome hunt to some of us. Colorado has some awesome places to just spend a week or two with a tag in your pocket.

Wiszard · Apr 11, 2022

The_Coloradoboy said:
Colorado will always be that homely girl at the end of the bar you go after at 2am when you’ve struck out everywhere else when it comes to elk hunting.

Wait...normally there are GIRLS at the end of the bar? I guess I never made it down that far to find em!

The_Coloradoboy · Apr 11, 2022

rmanwill said:
I hear you Cole, but not everyone's reasoning. Some just like hunting elk every year or two and inches don't make that hunt good or bad. Just great times in the mountains with friends and family making memories is an awesome hunt to some of us. Colorado has some awesome places to just spend a week or two with a tag in your pocket.

No denying that.

The_Coloradoboy · Apr 11, 2022

Wiszard said:
Wait...normally there are GIRLS at the end of the bar? I guess I never made it down that far to find em!

Well when you’re from a small town you got 3 to pick from and I’m always swinging on 2 strikes.

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 11, 2022

The_Coloradoboy said:
Colorado will always be that homely girl at the end of the bar you go after at 2am when you’ve struck out everywhere else when it comes to elk hunting.

Yeah but when you’re drunk and it’s dark it’s all the same….

The_Coloradoboy · Apr 11, 2022

Bigfoot 1 said:
Yeah but when you’re drunk and it’s dark it’s all the same….

That’s a perfect analogy for pounding rag horns on otc tags in my opinion

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 12, 2022

The_Coloradoboy said:
That’s a perfect analogy for pounding rag horns on otc tags in my opinion

Rag horns taste good!

TerynItUp · Apr 12, 2022

I know it’s anecdotal and is likely an exception, but last year was by far the best 3rd season I have ever experienced in CO. We have hunted it probably 10+ times since I was 18 years old (35 now) and this was hands down the best year for us. Quantity and quality was outstanding, rut was pretty dismal for us but we all three found great bucks we were happy to put a tag on. Don’t ask score because I don’t know ? All I know is my old man shot his best buck ever and my brother and I got real close to PB’s.

ridgetops · Apr 12, 2022

TerynItUp said:
I know it’s anecdotal and is likely an exception, but last year was by far the best 3rd season I have ever experienced in CO. We have hunted it probably 10+ times since I was 18 years old (35 now) and this was hands down the best year for us. Quantity and quality was outstanding, rut was pretty dismal for us but we all three found great bucks we were happy to put a tag on. Don’t ask score because I don’t know ? All I know is my old man shot his best buck ever and my brother and I got real close to PB’s.

View attachment 73900

How dare you post a positive report. You should be banned from this forum. I'm definitely reporting you to the administration and see if this post can be deleted. Sarcasm intended!

Gunnihunter · Apr 12, 2022

TerynItUp said:
I know it’s anecdotal and is likely an exception, but last year was by far the best 3rd season I have ever experienced in CO. We have hunted it probably 10+ times since I was 18 years old (35 now) and this was hands down the best year for us. Quantity and quality was outstanding, rut was pretty dismal for us but we all three found great bucks we were happy to put a tag on. Don’t ask score because I don’t know ? All I know is my old man shot his best buck ever and my brother and I got real close to PB’s.

View attachment 73900

Congratulations on a very successful hunt and taking some big bucks for all of you. The later seasons are are making a difference. It appears Colorado’s master plan is working. Think what it will be like if there is fresh snow and cold for the opening of the third season.

270Whatelse · Apr 12, 2022

Damn nice bucks!

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 12, 2022

TerynItUp said:
I know it’s anecdotal and is likely an exception, but last year was by far the best 3rd season I have ever experienced in CO. We have hunted it probably 10+ times since I was 18 years old (35 now) and this was hands down the best year for us. Quantity and quality was outstanding, rut was pretty dismal for us but we all three found great bucks we were happy to put a tag on. Don’t ask score because I don’t know ? All I know is my old man shot his best buck ever and my brother and I got real close to PB’s.

View attachment 73900

Nice! Congratulations!

Wiszard · Apr 12, 2022

Those bucks are ugly....should've passed.

rmanwill · Apr 12, 2022

TerynItUp said:
I know it’s anecdotal and is likely an exception, but last year was by far the best 3rd season I have ever experienced in CO. We have hunted it probably 10+ times since I was 18 years old (35 now) and this was hands down the best year for us. Quantity and quality was outstanding, rut was pretty dismal for us but we all three found great bucks we were happy to put a tag on. Don’t ask score because I don’t know ? All I know is my old man shot his best buck ever and my brother and I got real close to PB’s.

View attachment 73900

Congrats. Now that is an awesome hunt with horns and the memories

CODave · Apr 12, 2022

TerynItUp said:
I know it’s anecdotal and is likely an exception, but last year was by far the best 3rd season I have ever experienced in CO. We have hunted it probably 10+ times since I was 18 years old (35 now) and this was hands down the best year for us. Quantity and quality was outstanding, rut was pretty dismal for us but we all three found great bucks we were happy to put a tag on. Don’t ask score because I don’t know ? All I know is my old man shot his best buck ever and my brother and I got real close to PB’s.

View attachment 73900

Very nice. Congrats!

PRCnut · Apr 12, 2022

TerynItUp said:
I know it’s anecdotal and is likely an exception, but last year was by far the best 3rd season I have ever experienced in CO. We have hunted it probably 10+ times since I was 18 years old (35 now) and this was hands down the best year for us. Quantity and quality was outstanding, rut was pretty dismal for us but we all three found great bucks we were happy to put a tag on. Don’t ask score because I don’t know ? All I know is my old man shot his best buck ever and my brother and I got real close to PB’s.

View attachment 73900

Awesome job guys congrats!

BeDawg · Apr 12, 2022

TerynItUp said:
I know it’s anecdotal and is likely an exception, but last year was by far the best 3rd season I have ever experienced in CO. We have hunted it probably 10+ times since I was 18 years old (35 now) and this was hands down the best year for us. Quantity and quality was outstanding, rut was pretty dismal for us but we all three found great bucks we were happy to put a tag on. Don’t ask score because I don’t know ? All I know is my old man shot his best buck ever and my brother and I got real close to PB’s.

View attachment 73900

You definitely didn’t hunt where I hunt

Lukegarrett2002 · Apr 12, 2022

Bigfoot 1 said:
I know of at least a dozen folks here that if they don’t draw elk are going to hunt in Colorado this year.

Well thats elk though…I couldn’t give less of a **** about the elk in Colorado.

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 12, 2022

Lukegarrett2002 said:
Well thats elk though…I couldn’t give less of a **** about the elk in Colorado.

Me neither, that’s why I kill them!

LIK2HNT · Apr 13, 2022

The_Coloradoboy said:
Colorado will always be that homely girl at the end of the bar you go after at 2am when you’ve struck out everywhere else when it comes to elk hunting.

Use to be a late archery mule deer hunt in Idaho for me. Boy have times changed.

Ultimag · Apr 25, 2022

ho humm my wife and i have land owner tags again this year somtime it pays to have family members/inlaws that owns ranches in colorado
along with private land hunts in ,me,pa,mn,ny,id mt & wv

Ultimag · Apr 25, 2022

ridgetops said:
The only hype I've been hearing lately, is how crappy Colorado is to hunt mule deer.

reasidents in every state are saying the same thing

The_Coloradoboy · Apr 25, 2022

Ultimag said:
reasidents in every state are saying the same thing

It’s pretty common knowledge that across the west mule deer numbers are struggling. Loss of habitat, winter kill, predation, and poor management/over harvesting are all to attribute to this.

Bigfoot 1 · Apr 25, 2022

The_Coloradoboy said:
It’s pretty common knowledge that across the west mule deer numbers are struggling. Loss of habitat, winter kill, predation, and poor management/over harvesting are all to attribute to this.

Drought.