Hey guys, I am planning taking my wife and father in law to Colorado for a OTC elk hunt this October. We will be staying in Laveta, CO. Hunting unit 85. We will have 2 elk tags and a bear tag. I am wondering if we should bother going after bear or just hope that we run into one while elk hunting? Also, Has anyone been in the unit lately that could tell me what the pressure will be like? There isn't much access to the public so I expect it to be very crowded. I have bought some Elk stalker maps because I plan to continue to hunt this Unit for archery elk in the future. Any input is welcome. Feel free to message me if you don't want the info public. Thank you guys. Good luck hunting!
2019 OTC 2nd rifle elk
- Thread starter TN911
- Start date
How important is bringing home a bear to you? Couple things to keep in mind. There was a HUGE (110,000+ acre) fire there last year and it went all the way down almost to La Veta. Not only is that going to affect the game there, it'll push some hunters out of 83 and into 85. Less game + more pressure = lower chance of success. In a couple years of course that'll flip, with all the new growth. But for now some of those hills are a hot mess.
Second, we see a lot of bear sign there, especially around transitions between aspen stands and brush, but it's not like Boulder where they're a nuisance and as numerous as raccoons. They're not nearly as trash-desperate, and have more room to roam. It's a very subjective thing, but PERSONALLY I'd be returning that tag for a preference point for next year. Best of luck either way!
Second, we see a lot of bear sign there, especially around transitions between aspen stands and brush, but it's not like Boulder where they're a nuisance and as numerous as raccoons. They're not nearly as trash-desperate, and have more room to roam. It's a very subjective thing, but PERSONALLY I'd be returning that tag for a preference point for next year. Best of luck either way!
Skibum81
Member
I saw a few bears in there is summer while foraging for mushrooms in the burn. One of which was an absolute beast. You are likely correct that pressure will be high. Also be advised that many of the forest roads that are on your map are closed because they washed out due to the burn. This could work to your advantage if you are willing to really hike far.
Do you think the elk will be in that burn area this year? Was there much green up?
The bear is not as important as bringing home an elk but we thought it would be a fun alternative if the elk hunting was slow.
brushcreek
Active Member
If it's an OTC hunt there are no preference points involved unless I'm missing something
Thank you for the report, with lodging already planned we will go make the best of it but it sounds like we may just purchase one elk and bear tag to get started. Thank you! Maybe we will get lucky!
Well we got back home to Missouri from our hunt late last night. Talk about a tough hunt! The mountains in this area are far from forgiving! We did not have any luck finding elk. We hunted in several spots, (cordova pass, purgatory, bear lake, price canyon, and the spanish peaks) with only one producing fresh sign up around bear lake. I think the burn or the drought seems to have really effected the game in the area. I saw 7 doe mule deer on NF ground and managed to glass up a single elk on the west spanish peak during the 4 day hunt. We enjoyed ourselves but I am questioning returning to this area for a 2nd season elk hunt. A lot of the locals I spoke with weren't seeing any elk either. I did catch wind of one 6x6 being killed but I never even saw a set of antlers in the bed of a truck the whole time we were there. Hopefully someone else was able to fill some tags in this area.
I saw a lot of deer and antelope in the private land. Some nice bucks in the 160s range I would guess.
And BTW the bear tags are LIMITED. One thing we didn't know before going. All in all it saved us an extra $100 because we never ran into any. The local game warden said they were starting to hibernate in the area, he also said they would be better to hunt through September.
I saw a lot of deer and antelope in the private land. Some nice bucks in the 160s range I would guess.
And BTW the bear tags are LIMITED. One thing we didn't know before going. All in all it saved us an extra $100 because we never ran into any. The local game warden said they were starting to hibernate in the area, he also said they would be better to hunt through September.
mallardsx2
Veteran member
- Jul 8, 2015
- 3,853
- 3,096
Sorry ya didn't find any Elk. There are a LOT of guys struggling this season to find elk. Makes me wonder if the herds are in the condition they claim or if the state is embellishing a bit on their estimates to sell tags or the OTC archery season pressure has pushed the majority of the animals to the surrounding private grounds.
I found out the same thing about the bear tags for the unit I hunted. They were all sold out. As it turns out I also saved a hundred $ because we didn't see any either.
Look on the bright side, the faucet is about to be turned on with your whitetail rut. Go get in a tree and try to forget about it. lol
I found out the same thing about the bear tags for the unit I hunted. They were all sold out. As it turns out I also saved a hundred $ because we didn't see any either.
Look on the bright side, the faucet is about to be turned on with your whitetail rut. Go get in a tree and try to forget about it. lol
JimP
Administrator
Any elk hunt where you go in blind not knowing what to expect is going to be a tough one. Even after you get to know a area and what the elk are doing it can get real tough finding them. Bears are the same way. Most of the bear tags sold OTC for the season during your elk and deer hunts are opportunity tags, if you happen to see a bear you have the opportunity to shoot it or not but your general purpose is to hunt deer or elk.
Just as a FYI in some areas of Colorado the elk herds are struggling. Where I live in the White River National Forest the archery tags went from either sex to bull only and cow tags are very limited. From what I have heard there are other areas of the state with the same problem.
Just as a FYI in some areas of Colorado the elk herds are struggling. Where I live in the White River National Forest the archery tags went from either sex to bull only and cow tags are very limited. From what I have heard there are other areas of the state with the same problem.
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
My wife and I were up in the La Platas north of Mancos last weekend. Went up to Transfer Campground, over to Windy Gap, Gold Run/Bear Creek and home via Haycamp. There was about 2 to 3" of snow at Transfer, Windy Gap & Gold Run. Saw very few hunters and camps. Usually fairly crowded. I was up there during first season and only saw one camp and 4 hunters. Pretty unusual.
Yes it was very unusual there too, It was supposed to be very crowded but I didn't think the pressure was too bad. The gun shop owner in town said he usually sells 60k dollars worth of elk licences a year. This year he had only sold 5k dollars worth. He believed it to be due to the new cost associated in the draw fees the state was pushing onto non resident hunters.
RICMIC
Veteran member
That draw fee is why I decided to get to get off the pot and use my elk points in CO. There was a 3 point jump in the unit I chose, likely because other NRs decided to do the same. I will likely hunt CO again, but only on a tag with 0 points.
prhunter
Active Member
I think across the West a lot of people are exiting the point game. It will be interesting to see in a few years how many people have left the point game and how many are stuck chasing one more point etc.
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
Used all my Wyoming NR Deer points (13) this year and will not be applying for any more. Still will be in the antelope point game .