Montana or Colorado for first elk hunt?

[maninthemaze]

I'm in the process of planning a 2017 elk hunt for me and my brother. I guess my question is, which state? We've hunted antelope the last two years in Wyoming and are ready to try for bigger critters. On our last antelope trip there were hunters everywhere. It was like civil war erupted opening morning. I would like to avoid some of that, if possible, while elk hunting. I know everyone says Colorado is the place to elk hunt, I'm thinking Montana, just because everyone else goes to Colorado.

So what do you think would be best to avoid crowds, Montana or Colorado?
Which state has the higher odds of success?

Also, this will be spike camp hunting trip. And being in bear country is not a deterrent from hunting a good area.

Thanks for any input and suggestions.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Not familiar at all with Montana, but if you thought it was crowded there, Colorado looks like an invasion of orange soldiers in the mountains on opening day. OTC areas have unlimited licenses that can be bought at just about any store, and the shoulders of the highways look like parking lots with pickups parked by hunters that head into the woods.
Best bet might be to do some research and pick an area that has a draw system, and try to draw. Might be less hunting pressure in those areas.

 

[scottyboy]

i hunted the second week in Montana this year and heard the horror stories of opening week. if i had to do it all over again, i would go 3rd or 4th week. you can get a deer-elk combo license in Montana as a non-resident for about $1000 and typically the mule deer are rutting in the 3rd-4th week and the opening week pressure goes down significantly. also, i was told to NOT hunt the last week, which is the week before Thanksgiving if i am not mistaken as that is as much of a sh^@ show as opener.

never been to Colorado, but MT...i would recommend looking at, but not the first or last week of the season.

good luck and keep us posted! PS: my MT public land bull i shot a few days ago is attached

 

[Laelkhunter]

Beautiful bull scottyboy !! Congrats !!

 

[scottyboy]

Thanks Laelkhunter! could have gotten him with my bow..go figure practice all year out to 7-800 yards and i get him at 50

 

[maninthemaze]

Thanks for the tip about avoiding first and last week's of the season. Large crowds are definitely something I want to avoid. On my last antelope hunt I had just crawled to within 300 yards of an antelope, I brought the gun up on the bipod, when I dialed the scope down to 6, there was an orange hat in the scope. He was 200 yards on the other side of the antelope. I just stood up and walked away, hoping the other guy would see my orange vest.

I'll definitely look into Montana. It's got the most confusing system I've ever dealt with. If you don't mind me asking which Region did you shoot your elk in? You can PM me if you would rather. I sure would appreciate any help you could offer on selecting a Region/Area

 

[scottyboy]

I hunted in the beaverhead national forest, off hand I'm not sure of the region/unit. I will send you a pm with my contact info if you want to chat, but I will also send you everything I have/had from all the applications, game reports etc etc (probably be tomorrow before I get to it)

 

[maninthemaze]

Wow, thank you very very much!!! I would really appreciate it.

 

[NEMTHunter]

I would have to tell you Colorado.......... Why? Thats not my stomping grounds!!!! But in all reality MT is a great place to elk hunt. Its hard to get a tag drawing Unless you do archery. There are some nice bulls taken in sanders county. I have a Relative that guides there also. There its just a over the counter tag. for us in stater's...

 

[SansSouci]

Not familiar at all with Montana, but if you thought it was crowded there, Colorado looks like an invasion of orange soldiers in the mountains on opening day. OTC areas have unlimited licenses that can be bought at just about any store, and the shoulders of the highways look like parking lots with pickups parked by hunters that head into the woods.
Best bet might be to do some research and pick an area that has a draw system, and try to draw. Might be less hunting pressure in those areas.

Start accumulating bonus points in trophy elk states. Until then, hunt Montana.

 

[aspenbugle]

I discussed this recently on another thread. I'd disagree and suggest Colorado. I have family in Montana and have hunted there. I live in Colorado. Most of the hunting in Montana seemed more crowded. I almost always hunt an over the counter unit in Colorado and just about always get my bull. This year was probably the busiest I've seen the unit, but almost everyone was road hunting. I never saw a hunter in the woods and I kicked up elk and deer every place I walked. They almost looked baffled to see a human with legs...I think they figured we all had wheels attached. Colorado has vast sections of public land and if you'll walk a half mile from the forest service roads, you'll see elk (if you are in the right country). I ran into dozens within a half mile of the roads everyone was driving. You don't need to pack in for miles.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I discussed this recently on another thread. I'd disagree and suggest Colorado. I have family in Montana and have hunted there. I live in Colorado. Most of the hunting in Montana seemed more crowded. I almost always hunt an over the counter unit in Colorado and just about always get my bull. This year was probably the busiest I've seen the unit, but almost everyone was road hunting. I never saw a hunter in the woods and I kicked up elk and deer every place I walked. They almost looked baffled to see a human with legs...I think they figured we all had wheels attached. Colorado has vast sections of public land and if you'll walk a half mile from the forest service roads, you'll see elk (if you are in the right country). I ran into dozens within a half mile of the roads everyone was driving. You don't need to pack in for miles.

Where you able to connect with a Bull ?

 

[spdcrazy]

I am hunting Colorado for elk for the first time next week. While ive been in the woods plenty and hunted mule deer here, id agree with the rest on looking like a gypsy city during hunting season.

Are you limited to only montana or Colorado? I have spent a lot of time hunting elk in Arizona, and there are some monsters there, always did well getting away from hunters there as well. I don't know what non resident tags would cost however.

My first elk ever was in AZ and he was staring at me, lying down and I missed him. hit a rock just behind him (silly ranging mistake due to inexperience and bull feaver). The bull didn't even flinch, just looked at me, looked at the dust coming off the rock and back at me. even let me rack another shell in and actually hit him before he stood up. the other bulls in the herd weren't bothered either.

 

[maninthemaze]

I was limiting my driving distance to 24 hours away. I can reach northern Arizona, Montana, Colorado and I guess Utah. I guess it's just what I've always heard, Colorado or Montana. I knew Utah had some elk, but honestly didn't think they had a lot of public ground to hunt.

I called Montana and got their hunting brochures, rules and regulations. I've already gotten Colorado as well. It looks like Arizona OTC tags are kinda like KY. Yes you can buy OTC elk tags in KY. They are like Arizona, they are "Out of Zone" tags. Any elk that wanders out of the 16 counties were they are supposed to be, it's fair game if you have the tag. Very similar to what Arizona has, from the way I read it. So I'm sure there are people sitting on fences waiting for them to show up. Maybe I'm wrong, hopefully I am. I will definitely check it to more.

As it stands now, I'm leaning towards Montana and my brother is leaning to Colorado. We will just have to weigh the pros and cons for each state.

Thanks Guys