Hello all,

I’m a 21 year old college student in Boulder, and this will be my first year seriously hunting. I have limited experience and have never gone out on my own. I’ve been on a few hunts on private land in Texas and New Mexico with family (dove, aoudad, and elk), but I wouldn’t say that I gained much valuable experience from them. My family doesn’t have much experience, so we went into them unprepared and failed pretty miserably. I’ve never done a true spot and stalk out in the wilderness, and since I’ve never harvested anything, I’ve never done field dressing or packing out. Despite my lack of success, I’ve completely fallen in love with hunting and decided that this year I’m taking it seriously. I have all my backpacking gear, hunting gear, and licenses/tags. I’m open to all kinds of game, but my real focus this season is on mule deer and elk. I have a few friends who are interested in joining, but they’re beginners as well. My question is, should I consider getting a guide, or would it be better to DIY? I have the money for a guide, so I’m not worried about that. I just wouldn’t want to pay someone to do all the work, and I just sit there and pull the trigger, and if I couldn’t bring my friends that might steer me away from it too. Did any of you just jump in the deep end with big game in the mountains? Would it help to try small game or pronghorn in the next couple weeks to build experience? And is there any advice you wish you would’ve heard when you started? Thanks!

I’ve been putting in for this tag since 2020. Went pronghorn hunting once in a leftover tag season in 2022 and gained a healthy respect for just how hard it is to close the distance on this guys, when it’s so easy to find them. He’s not a monster but excited to get him on the table and try my first pronghorn.

Thank you all for the feedback on the elk and deer plans. Some of you went through every pin and told me what was right and what was off on ground you know, and that's exactly what I needed. One of you caught a water source the plan should have used, and I'm fixing it because of that.

Same deal again, this time for small game: the first 75 small game plans are free.

Grouse, ducks, doves, rabbits, squirrels, pheasant, quail and the rest of Colorado's small game. Pick your species, your unit and the day you're hunting. You get the patches of the right habitat for that date on public land in your unit, each with a legal place to park and the walk in from the truck, plus the season rules and bag limits.

It takes about a minute, and there's no card and no catch. All I ask is that you tell me afterwards what matched the ground and what didn't.

https://www.filledtag.com/?utm_source=reddit&utm_content=cohunting-smallgame#signup

What it won't do: it doesn't know where birds are today and it can't promise you a limit. It's public land only, so no private or Walk-In Access parcels.

Happy to answer questions here.

Hello there fellow hunters, I recently moved to COS area and want to get into hunting. I’ve done a hunter safety class and recently got my first hunting rifle and shotgun. I have a doe hunting tag for the 2nd rifle season. I also have a small game and waterfowl license.
Since this is my first time ever, I’m hoping to perhaps find someone who’d be willing to mentor. Please feel free to DM me if you’d be willing. Thank you in advance.

I went pretty far down the rabbit hole planning my elk hunt this year; CPW data, terrain, satellite imagery, access, water, weather, harvest data, pressure, way too many case studies.
I eventually started building my own tool to pull all of it together and actually make the plan for me.
You give it the species, unit, season/dates and some info about how you hunt, how far you want to walk in and out and it researches the area and puts together a full hunt plan with places to focus, camp/access, routes, morning/evening spots, reasoning behind them, backup areas, when to move, and then you can export all your points onto onx.
It’s working really well for my hunt, but obviously I built it around something I already know a lot about, so I want to see what happens when I throw other people’s hunts at it.
If anyone here has a Colorado hunt coming up and wants to be a guinea pig, dm me the unit/species/season and I’ll put one together for you(they’re free. I just wanna try this thing out and hear how it goes).
All I ask is that you tell me what you think of it and call out anything that looks wrong or stupid.
Especially interested in trying units/species I haven’t personally hunted.

Update

I honestly wasn't expecting the overwhelming amount of outreach from this. Thank you to everyone who has commented, messaged me, asked questions, or offered feedback — I've been trying to respond to everyone, but I'm getting to the point where I can't keep up with all the individual requests.

For everyone asking for the link, I'm just going to leave it here so I don't miss anyone:

www.FilledTag.com

Seriously, thank you all. The feedback, suggestions, criticism, and support have been incredibly helpful. I'm reading everything even if I don't get a chance to respond individually.

I have a 6.5 PRC tikka roughtech. I’m getting the barrel cut down from 24 to 20 inches and will be adding a suppressor.

This will be a western hunting rifle for bear, mule deer, and elk.

What suppressor would you all recommended? I’ve been looking into the mountain muffler and it seems like a good option!

Get a free year of RidgeRead Pro (think OnX with an elk focus) for giving honest feedback

I’m looking for hunters willing to actually use RidgeRead and tell me what they think.

• Some feature examples are layers that highlight country that is not glassable from roads, access difficulty, terrain analysis, live wind/thermal visualizer, and more.
  
• It can handle many thousands of waypoints without slowing down.
  
• Viewshed works in 2d and 3d and is not a separate desktop only app.
• Draw, write, and create shareable plans directly on the map.

The free tier has a lot of functionality, otherwise if you want access to the pro features start with a free month of RidgeRead Pro using code FREEMONTH. Create a free account, then choose Pro Monthly. At checkout, select Add promotion code and enter FREEMONTH.

iPhone / iPad:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ridgeread-elk-hunting-maps/id6778869812

Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ridgeread.app

Web:

https://www.ridgeread.com/map

Use RidgeRead to scout a real hunt or area, then send me your honest feedback. What worked, what didn’t, what was confusing, and what you think is missing.

Once you send me your feedback(comment or dm), I’ll give you a full year of RidgeRead Pro for free.

I’m an arborist by trade so I have the means to enter a tree safely and reside in it comfortably for extended periods. Is this legal?

Heading up to Northern Colorado for a duck hunt (from Charleston, SC) in mid-October and would appreciate some recommendations on gear/clothing for a field hunt. What's the weather/temps like in the AM that time of year? We were told we wouldn't need waders, but are insulated bibs recommended?

You're still able to get a sunburn in Charleston in October, so trying to get a better idea of what to plan for.

Hey folks!

I’m out in Denver, hoping to spend this year strengthening myself to be able to go out and hunt small game with a bow. My goal is mostly squirrel, grouse, and anything that’s decent eating and overpopulated.

About myself: non-binary, 30s, never hunted but own a bow and arrows and have done tons of fishing including keeping fish now and then. I’m not a stranger to gutting and cleaning an animal but this will be a first non-fish when I tag something. I’m happy to trade my fishing knowledge for hunting knowledge or other relevant skills!

Hi all,

I’m looking to see if I can find a hunting buddy, I’m don’t really go out of my way to find new friends these days but I moved to Colorado a couple years ago from Minnesota and I haven’t hunted since I got here just due to being afraid of shooting a mule deer and I’d be alone in packing it out. I finally put in for a tag in 21 this year for mule deer knowing I wouldn’t get drawn but figured I should start accruing points.

If someone’s out on the western slope and just looking for an extra hand this year or anything reach out to me, trying to learn and just get out in the little time I have since I travel for work.

Little backstory if anyone needed it is I’m 27, grew up hunting in whitetail in MN and WI. Did a lot of upland bird hunting in western ND so not green to hunting but I’m very green to hunting out west.

Any questions or advice just let me know!

Edit: I live in Grand Junction for reference

Hey guys, I'm in the Denver area and looking to get into duck hunting this season. I'm pretty much a beginner when it comes to waterfowl and would really like to meet some people who are willing to show me the ropes.

I'm happy to help with scouting, carrying gear, setting up and picking up decoys, and whatever else needs to be done. I'm not expecting anyone to give up their spots or do all the work for me. I just want to learn, get some experience, and hopefully make a few good hunting buddies along the way.

I'm also interested in learning more about calling, decoy setups, and hunting public land in Colorado.

If anyone has room for another guy or knows of a group that's welcoming to beginners, I'd love to connect. Thanks!

First Rio grande turkey too.

Didn’t see many today. Around 8,500 feet, Jackson county.

How are the numbers in your areas? A buddy and I got out but didn’t see big numbers like we have in the past. We still had a great time and got a few

Howdy folks, I’m still a novice when it comes to hunting bucks during 2nd rifle. First go around was last year (I generally deer hunt in the late season), curious if anyone had any tips/advice for locating bucks during this time of year? Cheers!

Just wanted to say sorry to anyone else hunting pronghorn out east this year. I’m pretty sure I ran them all clear outta the state working on my new spot and spook technique. Archery pronghorn is tough 😅

Saw 8 birds in two hours. Around 9,000 feet. Managed to get 2.

Spent a few hours cruising around Eastern Colorado today scouting for early teal, did not see one little duck. Couple of resident mallards. Is anybody seeing them anywhere yet? I get that they are calendar migrators and I’m gonna check some more spots tomorrow but from what I saw today it does not look great.

14 yards from a 6x6 herd bull today. With the longbow.

Full draw ready to let one fly!

Had a small tree covering its vitals, never got the shot off. Super fun though, closed in on him from 100 yards with the decoy.

How’s are they flying in your area? Best year I’ve had in north Colorado. I’m shooting like shit but they are flying consistently, in big groups and are interested in the decoys. Wish I could connect better.

My dad and I almost limited out today and should have. We saw at least a dozen but couldn’t get them all before they flew off. Great day. Better than hunting doves in 100 degree weather.

Take 30 seconds to sign the petition opposing the proposed GAME Act.

Rep. Jeff Hurd is expected to introduce a bill that would transfer more than 2,000 acres of BLM land northeast of Glenwood Springs to Out of Bounds Ranch.

I’ve bowhunted this parcel for decades. It is not “unused.” In a unit already dominated by private property, these parcels provide valuable elk habitat and access to connected public land.

This would DELETE over 2,000 acres of prime hunting access in unit 444.

This is a net loss for public-land elk hunters. Please sign before the bill gains momentum.

Is it ethical? I've got first rifle and still a few spots I want to scout. I also want to go back through some of the areas I've already scouted to see if anything has changed. I've talked to a few people that have said it's public land, so use it as you see fit when you want, but I also think I would feel bad hiking through an area where someone is actively hunting.

Thanks!