Colorado OTC questions First timer

[larosa041]

I have just begun to plan an elk hunt in colorado for 2023 with the intention of purchasing an OTC Archery Tag and roughing it in the woods for 3-5 days. I am unsure of what zone to pick, so I am looking for any tips on how/where to choose. This is my first time doing something like this so I am seeking advice from the pros.

[jnd1959]

Since I hunt out west a lot, I subscribed to gohunt. It will give you some insight to the different units. There all going to be crowded. I've had experience with the units around Craig and North of Pagosa Springs. I can't remember which units are otc and which are draw. Colorado DNR or gohunt can tell you.

Don't expect much your first time. Also I'd plan a truck camp unless you've spent time camping in the mountains in fall.
Come next April (early April) put in for the draw and start earning preference points. You'll have to buy a Colorado small game license and pay for the draw but you want to be building points the same time you are building experience. Look at otc as an annual hunt.

Good luck. I'm burning my points in the next two years.

[flywise]

Good population around and north of Deloris and east to Durango.
Archery elk is hot days and cool and sometimes cold nights. Will be a fun adventure. Get a single buck tent and a good sleeping pad. Other than that you already have what you need as far as gear goes other than a cow call and a bugle.

[WItoTX]

Good advice so far. Get yourself gohunt, and also get an onx membership. GoHunt has a mapping system, but the offline version sucks. OnX will more than make up for that. GoHunt's big perk is it will lay out all the units, where they are, what draw odds are, which are OTC, and will give various bits of information about any given unit, though they are pretty generic. GoHunt also sends reminders of draw deadlines, and has a gear store which offers a really good points system to all members. I have gotten a lot of free gear off their site.

On top of that, start scouring anything Randy Newberg, and especially his hunttalk forum. It consists of mostly mountain hunters from around the US. Search for your answers there, and don't ask too many questions without an exhaustive search first. Or they will tell you "best of luck".

Also, we hunted one of the busiest OTC units this season, and we saw 1 other group of hunters. We hiked in about 11 miles though. We called in elk, and generally had a really good hunt (Except for my dumbass not ranging before my shot) in a unit that is known for hunter pressure. We called in elk every day. So don't be afraid of high pressure units. Just know where that pressure is, and how to use it to your advantage.

[wytex]

You need to hunt more days I'm afraid. Most folks try to allow 5-7 days for archery elk hunting. A couple of days to find elk then a few to actually try and get in close to one.

Heck I would apply in Wyoming in an area with some random tags available for the draw. Might get lucky and our pressure is way less than OTC Colorado. Big price increase may be coming, probably is, so get in now.

[ORIONTHEHUNTER]

You are going to want more than 3-5 days to hunt. Ideally you'd want 10 days, a day to drive out, a day to scout around, 7 to hunt and a day to drive back home

[texaspyro21]

A colorado local told us the best time is the last two weeks of September.

[larosa041]

Thank you

A lot of great advice. Thank you all for taking the time to reply.