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

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 😊