- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 70,011
- Reaction score
- 1,007
Flexible hunters better off in '02
By Charlie Meyers, Denver Post Outdoor Editor
October 16, 2002
Hunters who venture out Saturday for the start of the second and most popular of Colorado's big game hunting segments, have this to learn from the limited session that ends today.
Expect the unexpected. Don't get locked into patterns. Don't give total credibility to everything you hear or see, not even all the words printed on this page.
But if you can commit to hunting hard, losing sleep and remaining flexible, the opportunity to bring home a deer or elk - or both - could be encouraging.
Second-session hunters can count on dry, dusty conditions over much of the state, a nagging reminder of the situation that plagued last year's hunt. With the exception of a forecast for scattered showers Friday and Saturday in the extreme southwest, the current spate of sunny weather is expected to continue well into next week.
"Conditions are super dry. It's difficult to stalk anything," declared Steve Yamashita, assistant director of the Division of Wildlife's Grand Junction office.
Depending upon location and to whom one speaks, the first three days of the elk-only opening session produced either resounding success or ringing disappointment, and just about everything in between.
Yamashita reported sparse hunting activity on a jaunt into the country south of New Castle, where he found elk scattered from 10,000 feet elevation all the way down into the lower piñon-juniper territory.
"Patterns of distribution have changed. Hunters must change their habits, too," said Yamashita, who couldn't quite say what those changes should be. "Elk aren't spooked. They're still bugling. It's just a matter of locating them."
Yamashita's appraisal of hunter success was echoed by the principal Grand Junction game processing plant, Old World Meats, which reported a 20 percent decline in traffic from a year ago.
Early elk harvest also lagged in the Durango area.
"The animals already are back in the dark timber and away from the roads," area biologist Scott Wait said.
Wait reported that hunters who took the trouble to move into the back country are doing well, especially for bulls.
Conversely, hunting has been good across a broad band extending from the Flat Tops in the north down into the Gunnison Country. On a weekend tour of the White River Plateau near Craig and Meeker, DOW enforcement chief John Bredehoft found lots of animals hanging in camps. Bredehoft attributed a preponderance of large bulls to the general lack of success during the 2001 season.
Bredehoft's observations were echoed by Bill deVergie, district wildlife manager for the area north of Meeker.
"We've been doing very well, about what we expected," deVergie said.
Officers working out of the Glenwood Springs area also found plenty of happy campers.
"Lots of animals, a real good start," area wildlife manager Pat Tucker said.
Farther south, Gunnison-area biologist Don Masden reported significant success, particularly from hunters who prowled the aspen and mixed spruce-fir territory.
"Animals seem to be more accessible to hunters than usual," said Masden, who opined that the elk haven't found their way to private land as yet.
This checkerboard theme of success and location was emphasized by the impressions Randy Boston, who operates Burfield's meat locker in Gunnison, gained from conversations with hunters who brought animals in for processing.
"Elk either are already down on winter range or have moved back up high," said Boston, who added that the substantial number of animals he received are in excellent condition.
Stan Abel, biologist for the lower Sangre de Cristo area, also told of a harvest substantially improved from a year ago.
A significant increase in harvest - if, indeed, this actually is occurring - was roundly predicted by DOW managers eager to reduce runaway elk populations. A 33 percent decline in the 2001 elk kill ensured a larger supply of animals, including big bulls. In a desperate stab at herd reduction, the wildlife agency issued a record number of special licenses, more than 200,000 total, a move that virtually assuring a leap in success.
To fully achieve its stated aim of a record harvest, DOW may need help from the weather - something it apparently won't receive for either of the first two sessions. Continued warm, dry conditions would serve to keep animals scattered beyond the reach of many hunters. Such circumstances also cause animals to feed at night, which in turn prompts serious hunters to change their own habits.
"Scout your area and then get out well before daylight," said Fred Quartarone, of DOW's Fort Collins office. "You'll need to be on them first thing in the morning and again toward sundown."
Early elk hunters also reported seeing large numbers of deer, giving promise to hunters who hold licenses for that Saturday season opener.
By Charlie Meyers, Denver Post Outdoor Editor
October 16, 2002
Hunters who venture out Saturday for the start of the second and most popular of Colorado's big game hunting segments, have this to learn from the limited session that ends today.
Expect the unexpected. Don't get locked into patterns. Don't give total credibility to everything you hear or see, not even all the words printed on this page.
But if you can commit to hunting hard, losing sleep and remaining flexible, the opportunity to bring home a deer or elk - or both - could be encouraging.
Second-session hunters can count on dry, dusty conditions over much of the state, a nagging reminder of the situation that plagued last year's hunt. With the exception of a forecast for scattered showers Friday and Saturday in the extreme southwest, the current spate of sunny weather is expected to continue well into next week.
"Conditions are super dry. It's difficult to stalk anything," declared Steve Yamashita, assistant director of the Division of Wildlife's Grand Junction office.
Depending upon location and to whom one speaks, the first three days of the elk-only opening session produced either resounding success or ringing disappointment, and just about everything in between.
Yamashita reported sparse hunting activity on a jaunt into the country south of New Castle, where he found elk scattered from 10,000 feet elevation all the way down into the lower piñon-juniper territory.
"Patterns of distribution have changed. Hunters must change their habits, too," said Yamashita, who couldn't quite say what those changes should be. "Elk aren't spooked. They're still bugling. It's just a matter of locating them."
Yamashita's appraisal of hunter success was echoed by the principal Grand Junction game processing plant, Old World Meats, which reported a 20 percent decline in traffic from a year ago.
Early elk harvest also lagged in the Durango area.
"The animals already are back in the dark timber and away from the roads," area biologist Scott Wait said.
Wait reported that hunters who took the trouble to move into the back country are doing well, especially for bulls.
Conversely, hunting has been good across a broad band extending from the Flat Tops in the north down into the Gunnison Country. On a weekend tour of the White River Plateau near Craig and Meeker, DOW enforcement chief John Bredehoft found lots of animals hanging in camps. Bredehoft attributed a preponderance of large bulls to the general lack of success during the 2001 season.
Bredehoft's observations were echoed by Bill deVergie, district wildlife manager for the area north of Meeker.
"We've been doing very well, about what we expected," deVergie said.
Officers working out of the Glenwood Springs area also found plenty of happy campers.
"Lots of animals, a real good start," area wildlife manager Pat Tucker said.
Farther south, Gunnison-area biologist Don Masden reported significant success, particularly from hunters who prowled the aspen and mixed spruce-fir territory.
"Animals seem to be more accessible to hunters than usual," said Masden, who opined that the elk haven't found their way to private land as yet.
This checkerboard theme of success and location was emphasized by the impressions Randy Boston, who operates Burfield's meat locker in Gunnison, gained from conversations with hunters who brought animals in for processing.
"Elk either are already down on winter range or have moved back up high," said Boston, who added that the substantial number of animals he received are in excellent condition.
Stan Abel, biologist for the lower Sangre de Cristo area, also told of a harvest substantially improved from a year ago.
A significant increase in harvest - if, indeed, this actually is occurring - was roundly predicted by DOW managers eager to reduce runaway elk populations. A 33 percent decline in the 2001 elk kill ensured a larger supply of animals, including big bulls. In a desperate stab at herd reduction, the wildlife agency issued a record number of special licenses, more than 200,000 total, a move that virtually assuring a leap in success.
To fully achieve its stated aim of a record harvest, DOW may need help from the weather - something it apparently won't receive for either of the first two sessions. Continued warm, dry conditions would serve to keep animals scattered beyond the reach of many hunters. Such circumstances also cause animals to feed at night, which in turn prompts serious hunters to change their own habits.
"Scout your area and then get out well before daylight," said Fred Quartarone, of DOW's Fort Collins office. "You'll need to be on them first thing in the morning and again toward sundown."
Early elk hunters also reported seeing large numbers of deer, giving promise to hunters who hold licenses for that Saturday season opener.
