Question on Hunting Pressure

[Outta Range]

Scenario - Colorado Wilderness Area, OTC Unit, 3-4 miles in & 1 mile off trail.

Based on scenario above, can I expect to see elk feeding in alpine meadows during the 2nd week of archery season?

I appreciate any advice. Thanks!

[elkmtngear]

Going in that far, in the Wilderness areas I hunt...sometimes there are more moo cows feeding than elk in the big parks

Depending on weather and other factors, sometimes elk are only visible in the parks in the early morning and late evening hours.

End of second week is also when the Muzzy hunters start rolling in, so this can tend to push elk into more secluded, heavily timbered drainages.

Everybody has an image of seeing herds of elk when you get back into the Wilderness areas...the reality is quite different in my experience. The elk are there...it's just not always as easy to find them as one might think.

[cnelk]

Yes

[Outta Range]

Thank you both for the replies. That's what I needed to know.

Great forum guys!

[Trophyhill]

Depends on what unit. In the units I hunt no matter how far in you are I look for pressures elk in unpressured areas

[ElkNut1]

Anything is possible but expect the unexpected! There are no guarantees that elk will be sitting in a meadow or feeding in them during your hunt. Make sure you have plenty of back up areas to fall back on in case elk are not where you had hoped! It's nice to have 4-5 different areas to checkout & it's very possible you will need more depending on your length of stay. Hunting pressure can move elk around & who knows who may already have hunted the elk in the area you had intended to hunt before you got there, this can & does happen on OTC Public Land hunts, it's a risk we all take.

ElkNut1

[Outta Range]

Thanks. That makes sense. I'll avoid the labor day crowd and go the 2nd week of archery season.

[Swede]

I think where I hunt in Oregon has pressure comparable to anything in Colorado, I have seen elk out feeding in an open meadow when the temperature was 90* at 3:00 PM during the hunting season. If that isn't crazy enough, I saw them from an open road.

[zpd307]

I could only dream.......