CO 2nd Rifle question on bulls being with cows or not

sambo3006 · Oct 16, 2024

Colorado second rifle season runs Oct 26 through Nov 3 this year. I did a bull elk hunt a few years ago in Utah in mid November and we saw plenty of bulls but not a single cow with them. This was expected given the time of year. I'm headed to CO for bull elk second season next week, and, given the somewhat earlier date, I was wondering if the bulls will generally still be with cows or will they have separated from them. Thanks!
Sam

HntHrdr · Oct 16, 2024

It depends, smaller bulls might be around cows, big mature bulls will likely have pulled off on there own

tailchasers · Oct 16, 2024

The bulls will like be recovering from rutting

Deercy · Oct 17, 2024

I've seen both.

wweaver79 · Oct 17, 2024

It could go either way. I was in gunnison area for 2nd deer In 2022 and there were lots of smaller 5 by 6 , 5 pts and rags with cows still but nothing big. Also saw bull bachelor groups.

sambo3006 · Oct 17, 2024

That's kind of what I was thinking, older bulls likely by themselves, smaller bulls possibly still with cows. Thanks for the info guys!

txhunter58 · Oct 17, 2024

Another take on it:

Public: rare to still have bulls with cows
Private: more likely to still have bulls with cows.

Thill · Oct 18, 2024

Completely depends on the year. The bigger herds will typically only have smaller bulls if any with them - Again depends on the year.

TKMulePacker · Oct 18, 2024

As with all things elk hunting, the answer is all of the above at any given time.

wweaver79 · Oct 18, 2024

A similar answer is telling someone to go look at xxxx spot that usually holds elk and say “ they will either be there or they won’t “. At least the summer weather is temporarily ending in CO.

sambo3006 · Oct 18, 2024

The extended forecast looks like highs in the mid 40's and lows in the mid 20's with 10 mph winds and very little precipitation where I'll be hunting. I'll take that any time for the end of October at 10,000 feet. I have been doing some e-scouting and have multiple areas to check out on foot and looking through my spotter. It's not an OTC hunt and there aren't a ridiculous amount of tagholders for bull and cow, so hopefully I can find a good looking 6x6 to give a ride back to Missouri.

oldmossback · Oct 18, 2024

sambo3006 said:
The extended forecast looks like highs in the mid 40's and lows in the mid 20's with 10 mph winds and very little precipitation where I'll be hunting. I'll take that any time for the end of October at 10,000 feet. I have been doing some e-scouting and have multiple areas to check out on foot and looking through my spotter. It's not an OTC hunt and there aren't a ridiculous amount of tagholders for bull and cow, so hopefully I can find a good looking 6x6 to give a ride back to Missouri.

From what I saw during first rifle the average bulls with still be in the herds. The larger/mature bull are breaking away.