Originally Posted By: saddlesore
Pretty hard to shoot a spike in Colorado. Not all, but most areas are now 4 pt or better. Watch a group of cows and it's easy to pick out the younger ones.
I do my best to pick out both cows and does "without" calves/fawns. When you see single elk, size and age is extremly difficult. I killed a wet cow last year and had to put up with the calf bawling for the rest of the afternoon. So I usually end up with an older one, with out a calf. Three years ago I got a cow with about 1/2 of her teeth left. She turned out very good but I was concerned. I did not shoot a doe this year because I could not find one without a fawn in tow. Ended up with a nice buck however. So I guess my point is that I do try and support management as best I can.
