Hey guys, hopefully this is a pretty open-ended topic that everyone is comfortable weighing in on. This year was my first year hunting in beautiful Colorado for elk. I was on a DIY backcountry muzzleloader hunt and was able to take a decent bull. With this said, what size bulls can a DIY archery or muzzleloader hunter reasonably expect to find in Colorado's less prestigious units (OTC tag for the archer and 0-3 points for the muzzy hunter)? Hopefully everyone benefits from this information...especially the guys like me who are newer to Colorado.
Bull expectations/considerations in Colorado during rut hunts (archery and MZ).
- Thread starter ttewes
- Start date
Can expect whatever size appears when the stars align. Could be a below avg bull, could be one that blows the unit avg out of the water. Every year young bulls get shot, every year bulls slip through the cracks to get more age on them. Luck into a bull that has managed to slip through the cracks for several years in an "opportunity" unit and you could be looking at a 350+ bull in a unit that avgs 250ish. I've seen 320-340" bulls pretty much every year in an easy draw unit (was 50% 0pt in '11, probably up to 2pt 100% now) and the trend is I'm seeing them in habitat/elevation that elk hunters aren't looking for them in and they are in those same pockets every year.
Hilltop
Veteran member
I agree with packmule. There are giant bulls in almost every unit in the state. I don't think a hunter can expect to have an opportunity at one every year though. I think you can "expect" 3 or 4 year old, 5x5, bulls if you work hard and really learn the elk in a given area. I think if you want to harvest an elk in these units it is foolish to set your expectations to high. I grew up hunting an easily accessible area and harvested many elk. Only one of those bulls went over 300" and he was just a lucky find. Bulls that reach 5+ years old are very rare in these areas so you can't "expect" them but occasionally you may get lucky. If you want a giant, start buying points for the areas where more than just a couple bulls get the opportunity to reach their potential.
CrossCreeks
Veteran member
I think any bull on a OTC tag in Colorado is good, especially on your 1st try out. If your are using 3 or 4 pp to get an area and have done some elk hunting I would think a bull over 300" is do able. Big bulls in most cases is going to take playing the pp game, as well as knowing the area your hunting. There are exceptions to everything and some hunters run across large bulls on public land with an over the counter tag or in a area with just a couple of points but I think this is the exception to the game in most cases.
Work2hunt
Veteran member
I would set your targets at the 1st legal bull you see in these units. However, in the unit I hunted this year that had left over bull tags I know of one 320 inch 6x6 that was killed. But I wouldn't hold out for that bull.
Thanks for all the replies guys. This is great information. The reason I even brought the topic up is that the bull I took this year was better than what I expected to encounter in that unit. I had only previously hunted Montana for elk, and after talking with several others, I really thought we would only find cows and raghorns this year. I guess it makes sense that some will always slip through the cracks, especially in hard to access areas.