hunting the beginning vs end of season

[Invasioncpxnate]

Hi guys, the start of the new year is coming up and I have to put in vacation if I want to be guaranteed off in sept. We are planning on getting over the counter tags for Colorado in the steamboat springs area. This is going to be my first year out there hunting and I'm pretty pumped. When do you thinks better to hunt first two weeks or the last two weeks? and I read about contacting the local biologist but what kinda questions should I ask him? any pointers would be much appreciated Ive been reading as much as I can on this forum and the Extreme Elk Magazine

 

[Jimbow65]

I have hunted CO twice: Once in the last week of September,and once the second week of September. I liked the earlier part of the season I would like to try the earlier part of the season again. In the area we hunt the Muzzleloader hunters put a lot of pressure on the elk. I would like to go before muzzleloader season if possible. in the 2 trips I have done,  I saw more and heard more in early Sept vs. Late Sept.
Good Luck Jim

 

[Bullhunter]

Here in Idaho last year I hunted the towards the last part of the season for archery and saw and heard a lot of elk.  This year i actually hunted the second week of september and didnt hear anything bugling but did manage to takea spike bull.  Next year ill be taking off the third and fourth week of the season and hunting.  In my opinion i hear a lot more bulls during that time and it makes it well worth the trip.

 

[Invasioncpxnate]

Thanks for the info guys, wasn't thinking about the muzzleloader guys coming in towards the middle of the season. Hate to get there early and miss the best part of the rut but probably lean towards the less crowded time

 

[jackdaddy]

Hunted pagosa springs last year public ground the second week of sept and didn't hear one buge, there were muzzle loaders out there but we used that to our advantage it may be public ground but there are still going to be places that are off the beaten path that most won't go or its very hard to get to, with a lot of pressure they know where to go and what I've experienced if no snow in forecast they go HIGH to remote areas... a good buddy of mine is a guide out there a d pointed us in the right direction and recommended the second half of sept so that's the time of month I'll be trying this year.

 

[Swamp Buck]

I personally think the answer will depend one main factor.  One, how well you know your area.  If you are going early you better know where the elk "should" be or you will be in for a lot of in season scouting, not usually very productive (that is what my first trip ended up being).  Early in the season the elk are not bugling AS MUCH as they USUALLY do later in the season.  If they are not talking, they are going to be real hard to find for a first timer.  In addition that area gets pounded by outdoor enthusiast and hunter alike.  Trail heads are busy around that popular ski town, early with trail riders, backpackers, campers, day hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers, and hunters.  Later in the season you will see more hunters, muzzy and archery, rifle hunters that are out scouting, in addition to all the other outdoor enthusiasts.

When talking to the biologists, if going early I would concentrate on where the elk will be during summer, and where the elk will move to as the season progresses.  You will want to be where the elk are moving TO not where they came FROM.  From there you can focus on the best spots for the elk to find Food, Water, and Shelter.  Also keep in mind that you are not the only one calling these biologists so the information that they are telling you is the same that they are telling everyone else...

 

[Arnold PF]

I love the Steamboat area and was fortunate enough to spend almost 40 days there over the last calendar year between Easter, July 4, Archery Elk, and Christmas.


Not sure where you are planning on hunting around the Boat, but I was there last year for my first ever elk hunt. I went out over the 4th of July to scout the Sarvis Creek Wilderness and spent 2 nights in the back country logging just under 25miles. I thought I found a great spot 6 miles back. When I came back in Sept. there were close to 30 rigs parked at the trail head and guys camped about every 1/2-3/4 mile along the trail. My partner and I hiked back in to the spot I thought we could "get away" from the crowd and there just happened to be an outfitter camp right where we had planned on base camping. We decided to hike up a ridge and hunt our way back to the TH and ran into a couple guys staying with the outfitter camp. They asked how we got in there and were pretty mad when I pointed at my Kennetreks. They said we were the 4th group of guys they saw in 3-days and I wasn't surprised.  Then the guy turned to his partner and said "I can't believe we paid $3500 each for this".  They were muzzy hunters.  We did see a 5x5 and a ton of sign, but only stayed a day because of all the guys.


Our plan B was to take a forest road off Rabbit Ears pass and that was pretty thick with guys too.  Plan C was the Zirkels and it was pretty well packed too.  We ended up in the Flattops where there were still plenty of pressure but we were able to find a pocket of undisturbed ground and were able to work some elk, but just couldn't seal the deal. We started on 9/12 and hunted to 9/23. For us it seemed the elk were more vocal around 9/15.


Like I stated above, I love the Steamboat area, but I don't know if I will be back to hunt it. I don't know if my expectations were too high, but there were just too many guys for me. I was hoping by bivy hunting I would be able to get in the backcountry away from the crowds, but apparently everyone in the spots I went had the same idea. I guess that is OTC in CO 

 

[wapiti_will]

I've been archery hunting around Steamboat for a while, but things have changed quite a bit in the last 4 years.  Archery hunting popularity keeps rising and so does the number of hardcore backcountry hunters.  I used to hunt late in the season, but quickly found elk being unnecessarily pushed around by careless hunters.  So i started hunting earlier and things were less crowded...used to be the only guy parked at the trail-head...but now I can't even find a place to park my truck.  The Steamboat area sees more archery hunters than anywhere else in the state. 
You'll probably be better off looking into going the first two weeks, but I would also look into other areas in Colorado for a back up plan. 
I've been forced to start recon on other units this year, because I'm annoyed with the outfitters hunting in the Zirkels.  They bring their hunters in during the last two weeks, but will ride in right before the season opens and start clearing trails and pushing all the elk out of the area (hoping they'll be back in a couple weeks and keeping the early season hunters unsuccessful and disinterested).
Good luck wherever you end up man.

 

[Montana_BackCountry]

For me it's more of a ratio of: early season = less pressure, to later season = more bugling.


Of course this is a living system and therefore has exceptions along a spectrum of changing conditions from year to year, but the average year will hold true to the above ratio.  Last year in my spot here in MT, elk were sounding off as early as the third week in August, and about done by third week in September.  Year before they didn't get going until the third week of September, so it's a tough call and dependent on a lot of variables. 


What holds true is that if you get out there early elk won't be educated to the hunting season yet, and therefore more likely to come to calling, even if they aren't totally rutting yet.  On the flip side, if you find a herd in the later part of the season and the bulls are jacked up looking for cows to breed, pressure makes less of an impact. 


To sum it up, it's a double edge sword you're swinging with this question, and I'm not sure a single definite answer will surface.  maybe flip a coin?  ha.  Otherwise consider whether you want to hunt elk before they've been bumped and hunted, or wait till they have a solid chance of rutting hard.