Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 2016 was the worst elk season in colorado in last 12 years

year ------- estimated harvest for all manners and takes, all units

2005 56,462

2006 56,933

2007 49,012

2008 45,271

2009 47,543

2010 48,018

2011 43,480

2012 43,490

2013 43,606

2014 41,900

2015 44,852

2016 39,306

weather

I also believe more licenses issued and thus more hunters in the field

2015 221,274 elk hunters
2016 223,745 elk hunters

I guess 2500 more hunters isn't much as far as statistical significance, sure felt like I saw more guys in the field.

It was pretty crazy to be wearing a t-shirt in November while hunting.

1st and 2nd season were terrible conditions, warm and windy as hell. No real surprise.

My private land cow tag was good from September to the end of January. My tag was punched the last week of January. The animals just weren't there. I'm not sure what "normal" behavior for elk is anymore.

I killed a cow in ML season with a "B",but didn't see one elk in 2nd rifle season.

I knew where the elk were,but I didn't need an elk that bad to go into the area to kill an elk

We used to have tons of elk too. Our local elk herd went from near 20,000 to under 4,000 in about 15 years. Most of our moose are dead now as well. Colorado will feel the bite soon.

wolves?

Bet they've arrived. If so, big factor.

Yes the hungry kind. The USFS had a "target population" OF 300 WOLVES IN MONTANA WHEN INTRODUCED INTO YNP. THIS MAP IS 15 YEARS LATER. These dots are packs, not individuals. With enough food (our elk) they multiply like rats.

It didnt take long before the wolf was killing more bull elk than hunters, and we had a lot of hunters. Don't let this happen in Colorado.

We had a great camping trip, second week on October 2016. Didn't see many elk, though.

That pack map looks grim for human hunters.

Appears they are working their way south in the Rockies.

Here in MI, the urban areas in the south of the lower peninsula (Detroit/Ann Arbor) decided for the population of the upper peninsula.

I imagine Denver will do the same...

There is a Colorado law that prohibits the introduction of wolves into the state. I suppose there will someday be a reckoning between that law and Federal law that mandates wolves to be reintroduced into Rocky Mountain National Park.

The season for coyotes is year round and there is no bag or possession limit. At rifle range, I can't tell the difference between a coyote and a wolf and I shoot every coyote that I see.

S.S.S. I hope every Colorado hunter knows what that means.

I hunted elk during the second season last year in Northern Colorado. I saw only one live cow. I saw more orange than elk. I got some kind of intestinal thing and it made me real weak, so I left early. You can't expect to be successful if you don't put in the time. So it was my own fault. There were six people in camp and two went home with small bulls.

KC

Those OTC cow tags give me an opportunity to mosey out and tag along with my daughter every year...

God bless KC...:)

Not likely.This year,legislation was passed that any State Constitution amendment requires 2% of signatures from every district in the sate ,instead of all of them coming from a few districts to put an amendment on the ballet.. In the past, all these anti hunting amendments were constitution amendments. Boulder an Denver will no longer control that type of ballot measure

Good news.

There was a vote here in 2014 to allow a wolf season/hunt, which was turned down thanks to the large population of knowbetters in the south.

In the courts, the Humane Society is the biggest opposition, AFAIK.

Unfortunately wolves will not need to be "introduced" into Colorado. They will migrate their on their own, and they already are. Once there and reproducing, the largest elk herd on the planet will be decimated in 2 decades or less.

Wow had no idea that many elk were taken every year in co. What is the total estimated population? Going to try to get out there in the next few years. If we harvest 15,000 deer here it was a "big season".

Around 260-270K.