OTC Hunts

mtnmayhem · May 1, 2008

Every year I hunt public areas just a few minutes from my doorstep with OTC tags, both bucks and bulls. I almost never put in for the draw because of this convenience.

I was just curious how many of you hunt over the counter in Colorado and how well you do. I usually get at least one of my animals but sometimes I don't even see anything. I have seen trophy class animals in my area every year but never when I am out hunting of course.

coloradoman · May 1, 2008

There are no OTC buck tags in Colorado.

NickJ1980 · May 1, 2008

"There are no OTC buck tags in Colorado."

Unless you buy them as leftovers...over the counter. There are literally thousands of OTC buck tags sold every year. Thanks for the incredibly infomative input though.

To the original subject--I hunt OTC archery elk every year and have similar luck. Sometimes I can't get out of the elk (including some over 300") and sometimes I can't even find one cow through the glass. I've also been buying OTC either sex archery deer tags for the past two years and I've been pleasantly suprised with how few hunters I see and how many deer I come across. Not many big bucks, but it's nice to hunt AND build points every year.

coloradoman · May 1, 2008

Nick...You are correct I didn't even think about leftovers.

Rem308 · May 1, 2008

I bought an OTC elk license a couple of years ago when I did not draw a license,Never Again ! There was so many hunters in the area I was at, that it was like hunting a pumkin patch.If I do not draw a tag of my choice ,I will go hunt something else,not Colorado.

peanut · May 1, 2008

I've been hunting in an OTC elk unit for quite a few years now and we seem to do pretty good as a group. I had also been getting leftover buck tags, but wow did that unit and season take a hit 1750 tags last year to 750 tags this year. Might not get to deer hunt this year.
The area we hunt is tough and we very rarely see other hunters.

mtnmayhem · May 2, 2008

Units like mine with a lot of leftover tags get pressured quite a bit from my experience. I am close to the front range and there are a lot of - I don't want to say idiots - but people who just pick up a tag and a case of beer and drive two hour only to scare most of the game away. The first few times I hunted here I realized that most of these people never get out of their trucks though.

Since then I have found spots when hiking that people couldn't get an ATV to unless they airlifted it in by helicopter and that is when I started having success.

cmbbulldog · May 2, 2008

Post some pics of some of the animals you have killed with OTC tags. I have moved to Co within the past couple years, and still trying to find some good OTC areas. Post some pics, would love to see.

NickJ1980 · May 3, 2008

jdbfair · May 4, 2008

marley · May 4, 2008

just_a_hunter · May 16, 2008

Since I moved to Colorado in 2006, Have had 4 rifle deer tags (2 buck and 2 doe) and 4 elk tags. 2 cows and 1 bull with a rifle, 1 either sex archery. All but one of the deer tags were OTC, all of the elk tags were OTC.

Out of those 4 elk, I have filled all of my rifle tags and missed with my archery tag. The bull I killed was just shy of 300".

One of the bucks was a yearling, the other was a nice 4x3 and of course both does. Last year the deer hunting was pretty tough and I had to pack my doe out of a pretty nasty canyon.

There is a lot of really good opertunity in Colorado for the OTC hunts. Don't be afraid to move around and hunt a lot of different seasons. Also, anytime you distance yourself from a road your chances increas big time.

Todd

BeanMan · May 17, 2008

OTC and within 4 miles of my house. It's too steep to have many other hunters. NickJ would recognize the spot, steep and brushy.

Bean

JCHawk · May 29, 2008

I hunted over the counter last year and killed my buck, but I did not get a shot on an Elk. I say a bunch but they were on private property laughing at me. I will hunt OTC deer again this year and hopefully my wife will draw her late season cow tag and get her first kill.