Well, I was invited along with my buddy and his family on a fantastic elk hunt in GMU 5 in CO. Turns out I'm the only one who didn't draw. this would have been my first elk hunt, too. I put in 1st choice for either sex and 2nd choice cow and got neither. Turns out the DOW reduced licences in this area quite a bit. My 14 year old son drew a cow tag so I'll be hunting with him and helping him (which is great) but I won't be able to fill my own tag. I think I have a few options.

a. Take a shot gun along and tag some grouse (there are supposed to be plenty and they are in an area away from where we hunt elk) once we've filled my son's tag.

b. Try for a left over elk license for this GMU, but it looks like it won't be likely as they cut back on the licenses specifically to reduce the number of leftovers.

c.Try for an OTC bear license for the unit. I could do this but I'm thinking that it would be a waste because I will still need to be with my son and it's like trying to fit two totally different hunts into one.

I think I'll go for some grouse either way, but what are your thoughts on getting a bear tag? This would be 1st rifle (early Oct).

Spud