OTC Co elk

Wiszard

Long Time Member
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I know the success rate on OTC elk is very low...less than 10% if I am not mistaken. My guess is that the hardcore hunters who are willing to hike in a few miles will obviously find more elk than the road hunters. Anyone here hunt the same area year after year and are successful year after year? I have a few units in mind that I will do some research on. If anyone has any advice on OTC, please feel free to chime in...negative or positive. Thanks!
 
It definitely takes some work to consistently get it done in OTC units each year but usually those who work hard at it are typically rewarded. A lot of people are generally lazy on the OTC hunts which is why the success rates are as low as they are. I’ve honestly haven’t had much of a problem killing bulls on OTC hunts over the years. Some definitely came easier than others...

Coloradoboy
 
I just read on a goHUNT article that OTC Co elk has a 9% success rate. I think the thing to do is find a unit that works for you and plan on hunting OTC elk as well as deer on it....get to know the unit and make it a multiple species unit if possible.
Is there a way to find out the success rates of each specific unit? Or how many bulls were killed in one unit compared to another?
 
It's all on the Colorado Game & Fish website under statistics. But be advised there is a lot of numbers there. The elk statistics for one year is 65 pages long.
 
I'm a NR from Wisconsin and my success on bulls is 5/7. All from the same unit, have hunted and killed 1st, 2nd and 3rd season. I like 1st the best. I usually hunt my few hot spots and always check out a few new spots every year. I really think hunting the same areas year after year is a huge advantage in OTC units.
 
Depending on the unit, elk are more visible on the later hunts. Lower winter country and closer to roads, (not back in the high wilderness areas). However it's usually a chunk of private land and land locked public they tend to be on.
 
I would say screw the stats to a certain amount. The stats really provide very little information. The stats really vary with all sorts of factors. Some units can have great stats because they have lots of private guided hunts etc. In stead I would research a unit that has the terrain and type of hunting available. Focus on that unit. Getting away from roads is not nearly as big of a deal as finding places people over look. You can hike 7 miles into a basin and see more hunters and no elk than you might find on a hole 1/2 a mile from the road. It is about people pressure. For spell in Colorado I went 11 bulls archery in 13 years in a lower quality OTC unit. I am not sure the hunting is as good as it once was, but the reason why I was successful was experience in the unit. I knew where the elk went where they would not go. I knew where water was on the driest years and the best feed etc.

I see guys all the time chase the data, they always are trying the new place a different unit etc. However I can bet that guy who hunts the same small 3 drainages year in and year out will consistently have better success that the person jumping around looking for a magic place.

Of those 11 bulls I killed archery, not a single one was more than 1.5 miles from a road and a few of them I could get out whole...
 
Experience/knowledge of a unit is very important year after year success.


I've found that to be true in my Wyo, Ut and Idaho basically OTC units I hunt most every year.


Find yourself a unit Steve and keep at it for a couple seasons.


Robb
 
I know a spot, in an OTC unit, and the elk still bugle there. You have to get in there w/a horse. I know a girl, here family hunts in 62...I have no idea of where, but they have been hunting the same spot for years. There are spots in 62 that are only accessible by horse....or a long long walk.
 
I'm a NR from Wisconsin and my success on bulls is 5/7. All from the same unit, have hunted and killed 1st, 2nd and 3rd season. I like 1st the best. I usually hunt my few hot spots and always check out a few new spots every year. I really think hunting the same areas year after year is a huge advantage in OTC units.
I'll need GPS coordinates to confirm...
 
My group and I have hunted the same otc unit for the last 3 years.. we always find elk and it’s almost always a different spot than the year before... the biggest factor in success I believe is the amount of time you get to hunt.. most animals we kill on otc tags are on days 5 to 9 of the hunt
 

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