possible switch
 

Hey guys, need your advice. I'm an avid deer and elk hunter, and have never hunted them with anything other than a rifle. This year my partner and I decided to hunt in my fathers old hunting spot. We went scouting twice, once in mid August and again in early September. Both times we were amazed at how many elk and deer wewere seeing. But by second rifle season, despite busting our butts and covering alot of ground in extremely rugged country, we only saw a couple dozen elk, and they were all over a mile away.
The area we hunt is in the San juan mountain range in southern Colorado. It's very rugged but gets a decent amount of hunting pressure. My buddy and I hunt completely on foot. Years ago when my father hunted there, he seemed to do the best during muzzleloading season, far less pressure. That was over 10 years ago, but I'm strongly considering switching to muzzleloading, to have a better chance. Do you guys think this is a wise move? Also, I haven't kept up with Colorado's law changes, are in-line rifles allowed? Any major tactic changes I need to be aware of? If there is anything else that needs to be considered please let me know. Thanks for the help.

Workhorse- Hunt hard.

RE: possible switch
 

You will have a better chance at a big bull in the ML season than the rifle season.IMO. The elk will be in full rut at that time and calling one in isn't that hard especially for a 100 yard shot. Use bugle, cow, and cow in heat calls and be ready cause they could come RUNNING in. As far as laws go, in-lines are legal but you can't use pelletized powder, it must be in powder form, no smokeless powder either. Shotgun primers are legal. No scopes are allowed, only open sights. Sabots are illegal and the bullet length must not excede twice the bullet diameter, in other words a 50 caliber bullets maximim lenght is one inch. I think that about covers it.

RE: possible switch
 

BigBulls, thanks for the info. I definitely need to work on my calling, as I have only used a simple cow call while in late rifle seasons. Back when my father hunted blackpowder, Colorado's antler point restrictions didn't apply to ML. Has that changed, or can I shoot a spike? If I can't use sabots, what is the next best option? Thanks again for the help.

Workhorse- Hunt hard.

RE: possible switch
 

I have the Primos Terminator bugle and have found it to be very easy to use and produces very realistic bugles. I was able to call in about 15 bulls during the archery season this year with that bugle. The Sceery line of cow calls work very well also and they too produce realistic sounds. If you are married like me your wife will probably grow to hate the calls and you practicing with them. Keep them hidden! I don't have the hunting regs around but I think it is 4pt on one side or a 5" brow tine. Both are legal. For bullets look at Colorado Conicals, TC maxi hunter, and Hornady great plains. Any of those should work well for you.

Edited by - bigbulls on 12/17/2002 23:42:43