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Colorado Big Game 2019

1 by CHWolff
Any CO folks put in for tags this year? I've put in for either sex black powder in 86,18, 85 and antlered in 69. My wife and I used the group option and I am interested to see how we draw.

I wasn't too happy that we had to first buy annual small game or fishing tags in order to even put in for the draw but we would have bought them anyway so no use complaining. :lol:

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

3 by CHWolff
We got our tags. My wife and I are in GMU's 86, 861 and 691. So much work to do now. We got a rifle so we need to find time to shoot it, get on the OnX maps, do some legwork on the ground and treadmill and buy gear because my outdoors/camping closet is getting pretty bare.

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

4 by K9s
CHWolff wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:18 pm We got our tags. My wife and I are in GMU's 86, 861 and 691. So much work to do now. We got a rifle so we need to find time to shoot it, get on the OnX maps, do some legwork on the ground and treadmill and buy gear because my outdoors/camping closet is getting pretty bare.
It would be interesting to see the outdoor gear you get. I assume technology has advanced a lot. Does anyone carry all their water anymore or just use purifiers, for example?
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

5 by CHWolff
That's a good question. Last time I was roaming the mountains I'd just come off a yearlong stint living in the WI north woods where I acclimated myself to drink straight out of the creeks and lakes. Up in the mountain wilderness you can often find the marshy seeps where the springs begin so I also drank straight from the creeks there too as long as I knew it wasn't below a beaver dam. Hikers would travel up there to climb Uncompaghre and I'd see them filtering their water 100 yards from where the water come right out of the mountain. That's probably overkill.

This year I'll be in new and unknown territory so I'll be prepared for water treatment. As for gear, I don't need much but will need some few items. I've got to check my impulse to buy fun looking stuff and remember to meet my needs. Mostly I stick basic gear and wool clothing. I'll post some photos of items that I've been getting out of the crawlspace and garage.

One thing that I will get this year is a knife with the detachable little blades. That looks like a great way to always have a sharp scalpel edge without sharpening or carrying multiple knives. Here's a link to an example of what I mean. Do you know anything about them? I'll have to get some recommendations. My main knife is a very simple one. I like it because it's thin. Good for skinning, making tomahawk handles or cutting carrots without sending the slices flying across the campsite. It's made of a simple steel which can be sharpened on a rock. I bet it costs $25.00. Great little knife but does need to be sharpened a few times when taking an elk apart.

I've attached some pictures of my gear. The two pack frames are good for carrying stuff of course. I wrap up my items in a wool blanket or two and tie it onto the frame. They carry well when you have the straps adjusted properly and they'll be excellent if we actually shoot something. The assorted gear is my main camping stuff. I'll need a new tomahawk handle but for where we're going I may not need/want the tomahawk at all. The adidas are there because this is my favorite backwoods or mountain hiking shoe and I use them for everything. Outdoors, it's a modern moccasin. The problem with them hunting is the skree fields you might have to climb up and down and getting stepped on by a horse but generally I consider these sneakers as essential camping gear for me.
Attachments
Gear Pack Frame 1.jpg
Gear.jpg
Pack Frame 2.jpg

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

6 by K9s
Regarding the skinner, I hadn't thought of that. Replaceable blades sounds smart. I really like the Buck PakLite Skinners and Capers. They are super light and sharp.

Like everything, if you know what works, go with it. You probably won't have an option to swap out knives up there.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

8 by K9s
CHWolff wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:04 am Do you ever use onX maps? I've got that sub. and am beginning to play with it now. It looks great but it's not as intuitively easy as expected. I think I'll have to dedicate a little time to dial it in.
Lots of YouTube videos on it, but that is all I know. If you are bringing tech like that, consider your power sources and bring a paper map.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

9 by CHWolff
We'll be car camping so the power should be ok. The cool thing is that GPS works even if you're in airplane mode or out of range for calls/text. Gonna do a trial run with the car camping this weekend in Tahoe while attending a tracking evaluation that a friend of mine is running. Should be a good shakedown cruise for the first summer outdoors sleeping.

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

11 by K9s
CHWolff wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:29 am We'll be car camping so the power should be ok. The cool thing is that GPS works even if you're in airplane mode or out of range for calls/text. Gonna do a trial run with the car camping this weekend in Tahoe while attending a tracking evaluation that a friend of mine is running. Should be a good shakedown cruise for the first summer outdoors sleeping.
Great idea to test everything out. It is funny how you forget important things when it is just a table-top exercise.

Give an onX review, please! I am now curious.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

12 by CHWolff
Didn't get a great opportunity to test out onX. I've still got to do a deep dive into how best to use the software but where I went was National Forest with great access roads off the highway. The little that I used it shows that it works plainly as well as a GPS mapping things. The guy who showed me the system did so when we were in Wyoming near Douglas. Up there we saw miles and miles of endless open land filled with Pronghorn and Mule Deer. Playing with it in WY was cool to see that even though it looked all open land there were clear property boundaries between public and private which weren't that well marked on the ground. So...no great review on onX yet but I do have a great review for http://trackercertification.com/.

We went out for two days and identified at least 50 tracks and it was amazing. I haven't done any tracking since 2010 and I never was anything more than a really basic hobbyist. The other people who were in the evaluation were pretty serious about it though and they have memorized all the animals in the region. It was two days of solid education including everything from how ant lions prey on ants up to black bear and their habits including scent marking etc...

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

13 by CHWolff
We had our hunting season and saw nothing but a few tracks. No rut, no bugling, no elk no nothing but it was awesome! My parents watched the kids and my wife and I had a full week to ourselves. We'll keep at it with an eye on getting the children involved as they grow.

As for onX maps hunting app, it was fantastic. The phone app kicks ass. I haven't enjoyed using it on my PC for research but the app was invaluable. We were in an area with almost no cell signal and it was an area that we don't know at all. Basically we just picked a campground on a map within the game management unit and went there. It's not a great way to hunt but it is a great way to get out in the mountains and learn some new country. Each day we'd drive my Mazda 6 as high up as possible and when we got a point where I had enough cell signal to do a download I'd download maps of the days area. You can do 3 map sizes with the best resolution and detail on the smallest size. The three downloads are 5 miles, 10 miles and 100 miles. Once you download your map and select the overlays you'd like to view such as private property, state land boundaries, National forest/wilderness, elk concentrations (summer|winter|migration corridors) or even precipitation and historic wildfire burns you're all set. You put the phone in airplane mode select GO OFFLINE on the app and now you have a beautiful GPS that tracks your mileage, speed, waypoints you select and shows your route. This helped out when we went off in the woods and wanted to circle back to trailhead. We had a nice clean path to follow. It's pretty cheap too at $30 a year for 1 state's coverage or $100 per year for all 50 states.

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

14 by tagsoup
I'm headed out for second rifle sometime over the weekend and through to the 27th. Didn't draw the public land tag that I usually get but my son got one so we have a pretty good chance of a cow elk in the freezer from the private tag.

Besides the bull tage I also have a "concurrent" bear tag which statewide has a success rate of around 2%. Also a buck tag 3d season.

I like OnX and have used it in a handheld GPS for a few years. Good for deep woods at night and also allows you to see the terrain around you in real time. Also have an emergency beacon.

Dropped by to see if anyone was watching debates, saw the thread about hunting. Good luck in CO next year.

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

16 by CHWolff
tagsoup wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 10:58 pm I'm headed out for second rifle sometime over the weekend and through to the 27th. Didn't draw the public land tag that I usually get but my son got one so we have a pretty good chance of a cow elk in the freezer from the private tag.

Besides the bull tage I also have a "concurrent" bear tag which statewide has a success rate of around 2%. Also a buck tag 3d season.

I like OnX and have used it in a handheld GPS for a few years. Good for deep woods at night and also allows you to see the terrain around you in real time. Also have an emergency beacon.

Dropped by to see if anyone was watching debates, saw the thread about hunting. Good luck in CO next year.
Good Luck this hunt. I've seen some weather reports of lots of snow hitting the high country and I hope that works in your favor.

Re: Colorado Big Game 2019

18 by tagsoup
How did you do,
I lucked into a medium sized bull third day of second season. There was snow but not too deep. Third season had more snow and I spent 10 days but couldn't connect with a buck. Despite similarities elk and mulies are very different animals to hunt. I still had elk left over from last year, now the freezer is pretty full, and my son will probably get a cow. We start looking for the cow next weekend. Saw no bear tracks, didn't go look at a place I know they den sometimes, usually they come up the hill later unless they have cubs and those you can't hunt anyway.
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