When is too late?

[colorado russ]

Have a CO rifle cow elk tag that\'s good through 2/28/2017 on private land. My question is around gestation and how far along an elk would be around end of Feb. Assuming bred end of Sept would put at 5 months end of Feb.

Any sure fire way of telling at 5 months if a cow is expecting BEFORE pulling the trigger? Really don\'t want any field dressing \"surprises\" should I end up going late in the season to fill the tag. Guess could always do gutless.

Would go earlier but duck/goose hunters have it leased up. Duck goes through 1/29 and geese 2/12. Not sure if the hunters have any weekends they don\'t hunt so working that angle now.

 

[Ol' Arky]

If duck season is like ours they have several days that the season isn\'t open within the season dates... Not sure about goose season there but it\'s open a long time here with no closed days within the season...

I just looked and the central flyway has a 74 day season... We have 60 days... If we had 74 days there would be a lot less duck and a lot of marriages would be in trouble... :lol: :lol:

 

[cnelk]

Shoot a calf

 

[colorado russ]

There is a break during duck and coot season BUT goose season overlaps and doesn\'t have any breaks from November to Feb 12th.

Good point Brad plus easier to get out.

 

[WW]

My daughter shot a cow in mid December a few years back. The fetus was about the size of a real big rat. I doubt if you could tell if a cow is pregnant by looking. So take Brads advice. Shoot a calf or a yearling. They are nice and tender and taste better anyhow.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Gutless method? Ignorance is bliss kind of deal?

I shot a cow last year and when I went to leave the udder for evidence of sex milk came out. Felt bad but the damn calves were as big as the cows in 4th season!

 

[cnelk]

The CPW factors in this kind of cow harvest, even with impregnated cows.

I was mostly kidding about shooting a calf, shoot a antlerless elk that gives you a shot

 

[colorado russ]

Ucsdryer, more just a preference of not seeing an unborn calf that\'s upwards of 6 months developed when field dressing.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Russ that was my point. I wouldn\'t want to see it either. If you stay out of the guts and just quarter it with the loins and tenderloins you probably won\'t know one way or the other if theirs a calf in there.

 

[colorado russ]

Right now the cart is in front of the horse!

Will cross this bridge when/if I come to it later this year. Appreciate the input and if I do end up going that late in the year then I could very likely find a decent size calf which would be all my wife and I would need anyways. Just less to give out to friends.