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.

Not saying wolves are not an issue/problem. But, you might want to correlate some of that data you've posted with the requirements of the elk management plan or the state and the population objective numbers in it...

I was sitting on a side hill on coal company property in Meeker, second combined season thinking I was going to die of heat exhaustion and sun stroke when someone from the ranch next door spooked a small herd of elk by me. Luckily, one was a legal bull and I shot him at 200 yards just before he got into some really thick oak brush, it was the only bull shot in camp, I got really lucky!

The wild variations in snow storm and then heat and ice killed off the lead cows that liked to stay high so the migration occurs earlier - couple that with slightly less population and the numbers go down.

There are 223K Elk hunters? 39K elk killed? Thats a success rate of >6%! Those are horrible odds.

Are there really that many elk hunters in CO?

That number includes anyone who buys a license, so it depends on how you define "elk hunter." In any given year for whatever reason, some don't get out much.

I figure a bullet that passes through and through and just dont go near it with you cell phone location device turned on.

I wonder if this years snows will be rough on the Co elk and deer herds.

Any ideas or news on that yet.

I was even warm during third rifle season so I wasn't going to be very picky and shot the bigger of two 5x5's that I saw on the third day.

Might wanna check your math there...

So, the success rate is actually about 17.5 percent. 17.5 percent is greater than 6 percent, so he was correct but not accurate.

It was one of the worst hunting seasons I have seen. In my opinion it was weather related for the most part. I knew where the elk were but I didn't want to go into where they were, high and in the thick, far from the road. At 57 I didn't want a really nasty multi day pack out. The statistics are skewed because there is a relatively small percentage that kills an elk almost every year. That means that most of the people hunting don't ever kill an elk.

This was the first year I many that I didn't fill at least one elk tag. I was too busy with harvest to go in September and the weather didn't help my B list cow tag hunt.

BeanMan hit it on the head, the elk were up high way high even in the fourth season. A co-worker of mine and both of his sons all scored on elk last fall all were taken above 12,000 feet and all were taken in the fourth season. Alot of shoe leather is necessary or in their case shoe leather and mules!

Yeah - 2016 sucked.

The fall was very warm (as have been the last couple) and dry. Not a good combination.

I hunted 4th rifle and while i'd got into elk while scouting over the summer (i was miles from any access road), they just weren't there when the season arrived.

So then i hunted lower, but just couldn't locate them. There was a camp of horseback hunters not far from me that had hunted the area for 20+ years and they didn't see any either.

Heavy snows in the high country this winter will hopefully keep the water supply good in the seeps, etc over the summer. Just hoping for a cool/cold Fall and Winter for 2017.

Total lack of snow.

It RAINED at 9400 ft in NOVEMBER up at our high country place. That was a first for me in 55 years of elk hunting that I can recall. Friggin' Al Gore and his Global Warming anyway.......


Casey

Doesn't take long for the wolf haters to show up--next thing we know it'll be the wolves fault women and children in Syria were gassed......




There is the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) but I've be darned if I've ever heard of the USFS.....United States Flounder Service?

Then again, it seems that elk numbers are growing in Montana--even in the highest density wolf areas...

http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/management/elk/

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/st...as-elk-hunting-season-expanded/74421088/


KC,

There is no federal mandate to restore wolves to Colorado. When wolf restoration in Montana and Idaho was being planned, the ESA required a review of all potential wolf habitat and most likely areas for wolf restoration, at least in the Western US. Based on a literature review, the Uncompahgre Plateau and RMNP were chosen as the best habitat for Colorado. Also, the state legislature passed legislation that prohibited the CPW from restoring wolves and wolverines in Colorado, but knew better than to attempt to antagonize the feds.

Ironically it was Vail Resorts who intervened on behalf of restoring the lynx in Colorado (long, long story that has everything to do with Vail Resorts and their "investment" in the Blue Sky expansion--the last known habitat of the last known lynx population in Colorado) and convinced the legislature to light a fire under CPW to restore lynx and retain management control (with USFWS's legal permission and whole-hearted blessing). Otherwise, at least during that period of time, CPW couldn't have cared less about the lynx.

That decision to restore lynx here has insulated Colorado from having to deal with all the crap that the feds (USFWS) has to go through if they are required to begin restoring lynx in other states.
Colorado could do the same thing with wolves. And what would make it even easier for Colorado is a nice, healthy wolf population one state to the north. That way Colorado wouldn't be dealing with a species that is edge of extinction, instead they would have a lot of leeway.


For others:
Currently, nobody has seen a wolf in Colorado in a couple years, and when occasional individual does show up they tend to have a short lifespan--and not from SSS. I-70 has killed more wolves than anything else here in Colorado.

What can happen is that a breeding pair appears in Colorado, and then the ESA can potentially kick in (with a lotta help from lawsuits). I've been arguing for a while the smartest thing Colorado can do is the same thing they did with lynx. That way Colorado can keep management control of wolves.



Of all the myths and old wives tales I've heard about wildlife, this one has gotta rank right up there........

So Spotshooter, answer me this; So as all these elk descend (except for the now perished lead cows) at what altitude do elk turn back into deer?...............


Casey

Everybody wants to kill elk until it's time to put your pack and boots on and go where elk are.

Tanner

That's crazy talk. Now let's get back to talking about the best cartridge for elk. I like my .375 RUM. I need it for those "raking shots in heavy timber." Use enough gun, and if you can't handle the recoil, take up knitting. DRT, baybee!!

If your winter was anywhere as tough as ours, this year will be the worst in recent history. The elk and deer herds in So. Idaho are in big trouble.

Agreed. It was harder than I expected, but the elk were still there. Just took a couple days to extract a bull if you shot one in the places they had retreated to in the warm November weather.

Hmmm,,,,, saw many elk. Two small groups hung around ( 30-40 animals each). Saw two really nice bulls. Naturally day before second rifle started. My season lasted about 7 hours opening day. Matter of fact old son was trying to get a deer and several cows nearly stepped on him,,,,,,, twice.

We were hunting family ranch so I think they were kinda hiding out on the place. Happens often. I know this is atypical for most hunts. Just thought I'd throw it out. I will admit I was sweating when I shot my bull. Young son shot his bull out of same group about 5 minutes earlier!! Wasn't the choicest of weather. Ranch is about 8700' alt.

That's cheatin' I say!

Yup!!! 😁

(But no high fence! Hell! No fence at all on west [mountain] side!).

I think Rafer Johnson the great decathalete said it best, " The road to success is all up hill". I'm not sure he was an elk hunter but his comment certainly applies when it comes to elk hunting.

8,500-9,500 ft is about the altitude at which we hunt. Saw about as many elk last fall as we usually do, but they weren't moving around much in the daytime. I played cat and mouse with a nice 6x6 in the aspen thickets, but couldn't get close enough for a clear shot.

When I was back up at the beginning of February, there were still quite a few elk on the ranch. Snow depth ranged from a foot or so at 8,000 ft up to just below the top wire on the fences at 9,500 ft.

I couldn't agree more about 2016. For us though, I think two things happened. Little background first. We've been hunting in elk in Colorado since 1996 and in the same spot for the last 5 years, last year being the 5th year. Hunted 2nd season the first year at this spot, and 1st season every year after that. Over those years weather has varied from 70 degrees to 15 degrees and 18" of snow.

2016 started off super warm, and then dropped 40 degrees and snowed. We started to see some elk and elk sign after the snow fell. Two issues though, first was the amount of hunters. In 2016 I saw more hunters opening day, and everyday thereafter, than I did in the previous 4 years combined. It was seriously like some secret got out or 5 new outfitters moved into the area. Crazy insane the amount of people considering it was a draw only season. We walked 56 miles over the season, including being 6 miles away from the nearest road at times and still ran into hunters. I'd rather get a tag every other year, than deal with all those people on a draw only hunt.

The other issue was the timing of first season. Seems like it was super late, even in line with 2nd seasons of previous years. All the elk tracks we saw were moving down in elevation. Unprecedented behavior from the previous four years.

We are giving it a shot again in 2017 and have fingers crossed 2016 was just an anomaly.

Hunted @ 7 - 8500' elevation. The area we like seems to get better as the season(s) go on. Hunting pressure pushes them in. But as warm as it was in 2nd season, not much was moving during the day time unless someone stumbled on them.

Of the 4 of us, two scored on decent 5x5's.

The last afternoon of the season, we had a small herd move through our camp area. No bulls other than a single spike and one tow-head spike calf though.

Wolves are already killing elk in Colorado.

Source? Thanks!

I'm confused. Isn't that the same acronym?

It was only the worst for those that didn't kill and elk

No source DOW says there are none but I have seen them in area 5 and 161.

I hunted 1st rifle, and in hunting that area for five years, I saw more hunters on day one than I'd seen in the previous 4 combined. Very few shots opening day verses what is typical. None after that. It was hot, full moon, and of course the elk went underground, or flew out on vacation.

Welcome to Oregon!

I enjoyed hunting elk in CO (compared to Oregon) for a couple reasons... first, to be ALSO hunting deer was awesome. Didn't fill my tag, but just the possibility... I've seen some nice muley bucks in Oregon while elk hunting. Second, being able to shoot any elk (except a spike).... I'd have tagged out ever year in Oregon under those rules. At least until the elk were all shot out.

4 point minimum in many CO areas.

Shoot on site all "it looked like a really big coyote". Southern Colorado where I go between Durango and Pagossa Springs. I go only 4th season. Scares the touron(tourist-moron) outa there as it may snow and they don't/can't chain up to get up in the elk. I would rather freeze and see no elk and no hunters than roast and only see hunters. And maybe I have jinxed everybody. Since I have loaded 180gr.Speer Grand Slams I haven't seen any elk. When I used 200gr A-Frames I got every time. I still have 60 or so left, so for the sake of the greater good, I will switch back this year. DaveO.

I'm in that club... only saw them on private land below, but nothing on public

I saw a couple hundred on private land less than 5 miles from our camp. But without access and the other hundred grazing the soccer fields in Crested Butte we didn't have any luck.

I think elk hunting in Colorado has gotten worse every year for 20 years. The division of wildlife grossly overestimates elk numbers to lure in nonresident hunters and their money. Not to mention, there are so many archery hunters anymore that I think they push the elk back into really remote places, and they don't come back until heavy snow flies. Everyone and their grandma hunts archery anymore. A month straight of molesting them pushes them into no man's land or private.

Private (trespass fees) does seem to be the way to go. Not "free", but if you don't see anything hunting public land then you wasted the tag fee and all the time/money spent hunting.

Unless you know of public land that holds elk. Elk are easily visible on private land in stream valleys because it's open. That doesn't necessarily mean there are none on the surrounding public lands. Every year I run into guys at the trailhead who tell me they've seen no elk on public land and heard no bugles. Then I hike in a ways and get serenaded by multiple bulls.

mu cousin who live in CO took down two elks last year, besides squirrels, deers....not too bad.

That settles it once and for all.

I saw five "really huge coyotes" while hunting antelope in Unit 3 last fall. I watched them with binoculars from about a third of a mile. This was just 13 miles south of the Wyo border.

I have a friend that shot a wolf probably a little over 20 years ago about 10 miles past Rustic, CO, which is on the road outside Ft. Collins on the way to Walden. He was lion hunting and came across two wolves taking down a deer and managed to shoot one of them. He called DOW and asked if there were any wolves in CO., of course they said no, so he asked them to come by and see if what he shot wasn't a wolf. They took one look and said "yep, thats a wolf". We had been seeing wolf tracks for a couple of years in that country. We figured what was happening was there was this guy that had a "hospice" or shelter that took in 7/8 wolf hybrids from people that decided they didn't want them. You'd drive by his place and sometimes he'd have 4 or 5 and the next time you drove by his pen would be empty. No proof but we figured he was just turning them loose up there.

Hah! There is difference between the "party line" and reality. Apparently those CO wolves couldn't read the signs when they left WY! Sounds like the same situation for the wolves who didn't read they were leaving Jellystone Park.

X2

Our base is at 8600 ft.

It rained on us too during the third rifle season the first night. Guys we're moving cots in the cabin to avoid the showerhead above their beds in the ceiling. First time it ever rained on us there in 20+ years hunting the ranch. We were re-roofing the roof the last day with roll roofing.

This is the basic issue. In my entire life I've never once seen an elk from a road where it could be hunted (Estes park is different). In a warm weather season like last year, you simply have to put on your boots and climb up to the elevation where the elk are. If you don't want to do that, you didn't want to shoot an elk very bad after all.

My wife's statement after hunting in CO: "hiking with a rifle"

Too many licenses given out the last six or so years...at least in some units. My guess is that it was more than a few units.

I went to Unit 54 last year during muzzleloader season; Soap Mesa area. Hadn't been there since 2010. Used to be a mecca of elk, now the population in Unit 54 has been reduced by over 50% by the DOW. That was by design according to what the DOW said in several magazines I got in Gunnison before going to make camp. These were the free "tourist" magazines they give out in town but they were hunting issues because it was Fall. They wanted to reduce the herd size because of landowners complaining about elk eating their hay/feed in the winter so they ramped up the license sales. Now they cut back but the damage is done. And the DOW even admitted in the article they might have went too far.

So, the area around Soap Mesa anyway was nearly devoid of elk. Several camps up on top, probably 10 guys or so and all of two animals were taken in the muzzleloader season off of Soap Mesa; and very few overall were sighted by the hunters camped up there. I made it up on top a couple of times (didn't have horses this time and I can't climb quite as good as I used to). Did not see a single animal and virtually no sign. In all the previous ML seasons I hunted up there (2003-2010) the elk were thick; I always got a shot (didn't always make the shot though) and would always see at least several dozen animals each year. Heck in 2003 I probably saw 150+ elk on that mesa.

Sadly, I won't be going back to Soap Mesa again. It was a wonderful place to camp and hunt, but lust for $$$ in the form license sales and lower restitution costs has ruined that unit. They did the same thing to unit 55 but didn't devastate the herd quite as bad (according to their figures). Guess I'll go back to hunting there.

1. It was all about the weather.

2. CPW has been reducing elk herds in overpopulated units for some years now. Finally down to where they should be in most (but not all) units.


Casey

They were on the Castleton Ranch then.

Here is what I heard at the meeting the other night from a guy that was at the Gunnison meeting the week before.

Several years ago there were 7-8000 elk in Unit 54.The CPW said that was too many. So they issued those 500w/cap either sex tags for a few years that cut the number down to 3-4000 thousand so then they only issued those 500 w/cap bull tags for two years. Since there were fewer elk and the ones that were left ended up on the private ranch along Ohio creek hunters said screw it and went elsewhere.Locals complained saying they want 6000 or so and want the hunters back ( They didn't like losing that money I guess).

So this year CPW is selling OTC bull tags,unlimited. There are still only 3000 or so elk in the unit, and 800 or so get onto the private ranch pretty fast. The OTC ploy is to get more hunters back. So if you are planning on hunting Unit 54 this year,especially the eats side, don't expect to see more elk, but probably more hunters. Local businesses will like that though

I'm though with 54 - haven't been hunting there in years. Yeah, sure lotsa elk in pre-season scouting/hiking roaming about, but as soon as the string-twangers and the smoke-pole hunters arrive most of the population hop the fence to safety.

By the time the rifle seasons start up there are too few animals that remain in the 'public' domain. This happens on the other GMUs i've hunted as well, but doesn't seem as dramatic as in 54.

Dropping truth bombs right there.

You are absolutely right Tanner but if you need to be in the same physical shape as a marathoner to get there then it loses some of its luster. I've lived in CO/hunted area 55 for twenty years and the first decade was decent hunting. The last 5 years have been crap. I'm about to the stage of giving up my annual donation to the DOW and advising the rest of my group to do likewise. I will go hunting because my brother and I use it as a family reunion to get away for a week but we don't expect success. Like the gent earlier in the thread opined; I'm ready to save my money and pay a guide/trespass fee if I feel the need to get another elk. Hell, I haven't seen anything but raghorns for the past decade dead or alive. I honestly have seen mulie racks as big as a lot of the elk racks I've seen carried out the last several years.