One October many moons ago in Colorado, I thought I had it all figured out. I drove out to my hunting area—an OTC tag unit—two days before the general rifle elk season opened. There wasn’t another soul in sight. I joyously set up camp and then scouted on foot both days, locating two small herds of elk.
Then, the afternoon before the opener, other hunters started arriving in droves. The dirt road leading to camp looked like an L.A. freeway during rush hour. Where did they all come from?
Most general firearms elk seasons do not open until the rut is, for all intents and purposes, over. While elk still talk on occasion, and the odd bull might bugle, pretty much all that can be heard are tumbling streams and screaming mountain jays. And other hunters. Obviously, I needed a new game plan—one completely different from hunting during bow season.
