Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting CO 1st Rifle vs 2nd Rifle

Which do you prefer and why?

2nd. The 5 day seasons re too short. It might take 2-3 days to find the elk, then two days of bad weather ends it. I wait all year for that.I don' t want it cut short. I go for the pleasure of elk hunting. Of course, I try to get " B " tag for ML season and then a OTC bull tag for 2nd season. Last year I got a bull opening day. I felt cheated

I like the 1st season. The elk haven't been driven into the dark timber yet. I hunt the same ridges every year, after a couple days of being shot at they head into the steepest, nastiest timber they can find.

If I lived there I would definitely agree 100%, as it is though we are faced with Thursday of 2nd Rifle being the latest we could shoot an elk and expect to get it packed out and get our redneck asses back home for work on Monday. Essentially for us its going to be 1st Rifle Saturday through Wednesday or 2nd Rifle Saturday through Thursday.

First season is draw and elk already been hunted archery/ML. I live Co and first is less hunters so easy for me to hunt it.

1st season for my “A” tag. 4th season for my “B” cow tag.

I would say whichever hunt has less hunters would be better. It’s crazy how many guys fill these units up during 2nd rifle, you aren’t just competing with elk hunters you are competing with deer hunters too. So many units allow in excess of 1,000 hunters for both species during 2nd rifle.

IMO, the 5 day 1st season just isn’t enough time to allow for a foul weather day or two and locating elk. Depending on the area, it may be tough for a non-resident with limited local area knowledge to make a 5 day hunt really work. Weather and local movements can put elk in the hidey-hole mode for a couple of days. As a non-resident myself, I can’t see making that long of a road trip for a 5 day hunt unless that’s all that can be managed. Personally, I prefer 3rd or 4th Rifle in the west slope area we hunt. Mild early season weather has impacted hunting the past several years. Best of luck!

It’s not close for me: 1st season. In my neck of the woods, hunter numbers quintuple in 2nd season, they haven’t been harassed for at least two weeks, you might catch the tail end of some bugling too.

4th season Co is only 5 day hunt and it's draw tag same as 1st

True, but animals are usually on the move where we hunt by 4th Rifle. Happy Trails

I sure could understand that. I've got to ask since you also like 3rd are elk on move like 4th?

Please go 2nd season! Definitely the best. For sure. And you can potentially get a deer tag too. Never mind all the extra hunters, they help push the elk to you.

1st season for me. I have never actually been faced with comparing 1st and 2nd because 1st season tags are usually far more difficult to get than 2nd season. 2nd season is unlimited in most units and even for the limited tags the allocations are more generous during 2nd season meaning many more hunters.
The 1st season hunts that I have done have been great. I have found elk much easier to find during 1st season.
With respect to weather it is 1st season all the way. Very nice to be able to hunt with lighter gear.

Hard to say about 3rd season. To me, later is usually better with snow usually pushing them out of the high country. It’s always a crap shoot whether or not they will be moving out of the high country at any given time. For the spot we hunt, my order of season preference would be: 3, 4, 2, 1. I’m certainly not an expert. I’ve been wrong before and I can prove it! LOL!

Haha be assured we wouldn't add to the numbers, our unit isn't 100% draw.

Depending on where you hunt, 2nd or even 3rd can be better. I save 4th for Mulies.

Perusing the deer draw reports it appears there are only a handful of units that have more than a few deer licenses available in 4th season and most of those require a pile of points to draw.

Neither. I prefer NM first rifle.

As a resident who has hunted here forever I know where the elk tend to be . Therefore I always go for the 1st hunt ( drawing ) ... Far less hunters & none of the elk have been shot . More elk still in the field. This is my "A" hunt , bull. I then take a "B" tag cow late season . The 2nd over the counter hunt has hunters behind every bush. Hunt a season or two & learn an area , then hunt the first hunt. It may be only 5 days but can be more productive than the far more crowed second season.

Hesp, you are blessed to have that opportunity. There is an orange army 2nd & 3rd rifle most places unless you have private ground to hunt. Happy Trails

Hey WAM.. Come on down. Would be glad to show you around.SW Colorado , San Juan national forest.

Hesp,
I might just take you up on that! I’ve been hunting a ranch south of Craig for 14 years, lately with the landowner and family/friends 2nd and 3rd rifle and once 4th. We hunted north of Fruita units 30/31 in 2013. Before that we hunted in MT until the tags got hard to come by and expensive. I’d move to SW Colorado in a heartbeat but the dearly beloved is convinced that CO is infected with the Denver/Boulder crowd much like here in WA is terminally infected with the Seattle idiots that are taxing us to death. Happy Trails

She has that right and the new lib governor is going to make it worse. I fear Colorado will never have another Repubilican governor again in my lifetime

Saddlesore is right, Colorado is lost. We'll be lucky if Reps ever get a majority in either statehouse again. If you're gonna move somewhere Wyoming is one of your best bets.

1R app submitted. Me and buddy applied as a group, so we either both have a tag or we both get a point and do 2R OTC.

Chris,
Thanks for PM
Happy Trails

Weather warming here .SW Colorado, Snow melting back , at last. The back of winter has been broken..Had s single small bull wander thru my place a couple days ago. Elevation 7630' here. Will be an abundance of food & water this year. . This will allow game to scatter as opposed to being concentrated close to water sources like last season. Should have deer moving back in in a week or two. This has been a long winter. In a more normal year I would have at least half of my of my next years wood supply already cut. Last year I recall this much snow was 1996. Hit 61dg F here yesterday. . Should be able to use my shooting range again shortly. Spring at last, WAA HOO!!!!

About the same here,. I'm at 7650 and the snow is melting fast. If it isn't snow, it's mud right now. I had 7-8 deer come thru yesterday, not in to bad of shape,but they could use some groceries.Turkeys are moving around. Even saw two blue birds .

Maybe this is obvious, but CO publishes success numbers for each elk unit and season. If you look at a few years, it will be clear which is better for a given unit.

For most high mountain units, it's 1st season and not even close.

Well, it’s all over but the shouting until draw results are released. I know there is value in the summaries but I have had a tough time correlating 2nd and 3rd season success rates with what we experience most years. I’m too old to start new high country adventures so I just keep hunting our spot and hope the elk show up like they have in so many years past. Last year sucked where we were. I’m sure that all the elk that we were not seeing were elsewhere getting shot at!

Same here Wam. Last year I got a nice bull on opening day of 2nd season. Saw nothing the two years proceeding that. Have hunted it on and off since 95. Probably go back and sit at the same tree this coming years

Saddlesore,
We didn’t see boo with any headgear 2017 or 2018 2nd season but 3 cows taken in 2018. We killed 3 bulls in 2018 first 3 days of 3rd season and 1 the last day and not one cow for the hunter that only had a cow tag. In 2017 I don’t think any bulls were killed 2nd season. I had a deer tag and cow tag 2nd season and got neither. Had an OTC bull tag 3rd season and got an average 5x5 the third day. So you just never know. Many years ago I bumped into an oldtimer sitting in the same spot two years in a row as I was hiking in and out of my hunt area. I stopped and asked him if he was doing ok and he related that he has sat in that very spot for years and taken more elk than any of the others in his party that roam far and wide. That changed my elk tactics considerably. That and leave fourwheelers in camp until they are needed to drag one out.

That is what I do. In one area I hunt,I have taken3 bulls and a cow all within 100yards of each other sitting at one tree. Two bulls and a cow in three years running.Then two dry years and a bull last year

The only variable I'm aware of that you can predict far enough back to make decisions in the draw is what units have recent forest fire areas (which are generally very good).

Other than that, it's what weather you get and where the pushes the elk.

Yep, the weather you get is the weather you have to deal with. Unpredictable at best....

Yeah we were spoiled on our first trip, we had near perfect weather every day. It rained almost every night, and one night the temps dropped far enough to give us fits thawing water the next morning, but as far as hunting it was beautiful every day.

I quit using a camelback water thing several years ago for that reason. All my water froze a couple of times last year after leaving camp. It was chilly....

Welp we drew 1st rifle...pumped!

Congrats, Chris! Hope you have a great hunt!
Cheers, Steve

I have a 6 week season (private land only), so I go out when I see the Elk come down. Makes for a quick hunt.

Haven't hunted 1st or 2nd in years. Started hunting 3rd Rifle instead. This year we will all have OTC bull tags for 3rd and cow tags for 4th. Hoping to catch the migration, don't care which I shoot. Daughter #1 also has an either-sex 3rd Rifle buck tag good for private land in units north of Craig. We have a couple ranches we hunt there where there are a bunch of deer and the ranchers are happy to reduce the number.

I've never hunted first season draw, I would like to give it a try. I've hunted second combined two or three times and killed elk, I never shot a deer second season, it was too hot. Three years ago, I was sitting on a hillside in Meeker getting a sunburn in 75 degree weather when a 5x5 elk ran by and I shot him. It took 4 hours to get him out, I was soaked. I much prefer third season.

I have never hunted 1st season either. I have arrived early on the last day and it is sometimes mild. We have had weather from 80 degrees to single digits and snow during 2nd season. A little less likely to have that warm weather during 3rd season. By 2nd season the deer have winter coats and it seems that the warmer it gets the less they move. I think the worst sunburn I ever got was near Craig during 2nd season 2006. Happy Trails

Depends on where I'm hunting and if I have a bull or cow tag.

1st Season
The elk are not too spooked from archery and blackpowder in most areas, but some areas they can be. So if the elk are there a couple days before they'll usually be in the same area opening day/weekend. If a guy is looking for a mature bull then this is usually (but far from always) the best bet. First season can be warmish--especially the last 15+ years or so, rarely is there tracking snow If they get pushed around, they can be harder to find. Ya' got 5 days to find them. First season is draw only, and for the units that are all limited license, I'm not going to wait around to accumulate that many points when there are other options for a decent bull.

2nd Season
Weather tends to be cooler, but the moon is often out during that time period. Because the 1st season is limited license, the elk often are not yet too spooked, but between archery, blackpowder, and first season, they have a darn good idea what going on, and some have already gone to ground in the hellholes and private land. Better chance of snow but again not like what it used to be. By Tue or Wed in many units a lot of hunters are out of the woods for 2-3 days and that can make for better hunting. One good thing is the elk tend to be in hidey holes on public lands in the dark timber or the hellholes. So now they are more concentrated and a guy can have a better chance of finding elk. As I've said many times on here, most places I've hunted in the west, for every elk we glass out in the open with our high dollar optics, there's 10 more in the timber. But now that the leaves are gone they are easier to spot in the timber
I learned to hunt the elk jungles from the time I started following my dad hunting 55 years ago so I'm perfectly good with it. Some elk hunters seem to never figure it out.

If the leaves are still on the trees and oakbrush, they can be very hard to spot if bedded during daylight. Captain Obvious, here 😊