Hunting in Colorado

I have a potential job offer in Denver I'm considering. Deer hunting in Alabama is by far my biggest hobby so naturally I would want to continue hunting in Colorado. For anyone familiar with hunting there, what is it like compared to here in Alabama? I obviously would have access to different game like Elk and Mule Deer, but I hear the regulations there can be really burdensome even for residents. I would mostly be hunting public land. Part of me thinks that Colorado would be a hunters paradise and another part of me thinks the difficult access to land near Denver, ability to draw tags, shorter seasons, excessive costs, etc could be really frustrating for someone used to Alabama hunting. Thoughts?

I think youd like it.

Elk, Mulies , whitetails, moose, black bear antelope even desert sheep I believe, all are huntable there .

Lots of public land, and the seasons are long. you can start elk hunting end of August and finish your season Dec 15th . Their seasons are split season I believe with 3 or 4 different seasons with 3 -5 days between each.

It has 2 zones too...western and eastern and I 25 that runs through denver is the line I believe. One side of Denver is the western CO season, the other eastern CO season.

Youd be hunting a month and a half earlier for archery elk, and end up just before Xmas. You could actually hunt there LONGER and have chances at some great species.

Very pretty country as well.

I'm waiting on my hunting buddy to pick me up and we're headed a little northwest of Denver to chase some elk. we'll be there for a week, I'll let you know what we find.

Man just when I was thinking there is no way I should do this, yall about have me convinced it would be a blast.

Colorado has a ton of OTC units that you can hunt as a nonresident. I couldn't imagine it being worse for residents. Although, the "better" units will require a draw.

If you are an average hunter in Alabama, you will be a rockstar in Colorado. Deer there are dumb, lazy, and big. Only issue is you can only kill one buck a season. Elk hunting is about as difficult as killing a mature Alabama whitetail.

They also got plenty of THC.

Never been to Colorado but my first thought is I would be there Tomorrow.

Be prepared for a cost of living shock.
Denver area is $$$$.

I'm jealous you'll be getting to hunt in your "backyard".

Lots and lots of public land. I've killed 3 elk (2 bulls and a cow) with my bow and all 3 were with OTC tags and self guided hunts. I've only been 5 or 6 times. If I lived out there, I would hunt OTC units and put in for some of the better draw units.

While elk hunting, I have seen some monster muleys. I walked up on one in its bed. I could only see its rack because of the grass in the thick oak brush canopy. I thought, that's a funny looking fuzzy stick that is sticking straight up...and hey, there's another fuzzy stick over there (about 30 inches away). About that time, I realized it was antlers and he stood up less than 20 yards away, stood there and looked at me for a few seconds, then took a few hops and was gone.

It is much different than hunting whitetail, but once you get a feel for it and realize the differences, you can be very successful. It can be very physically demanding, but it has been some of the most enjoyable hunting I've ever experienced. I've only elk hunted out there.

Let me know if you take the job and I'll let you have all the maps I have of Colorado in exchange for your knowledge of Cahaba.