Last year was a bit freakish, we had that snowstorm you got caught in and drove a lot of archers out of the high country early. It has not been normal for that to happen for last several years. That said it could happen again.... I may be wrong but it seemed to get cooler about 1 or 2 weeks early last year.

Its tough to say what is the best time. Most folks that are local seem to hit it hard the last two weeks. On the other hand, I know several archers that do very well in the first week and have zero problem calling them in on a bugle or cow call.

Thanks for the information. I think we have decided to be there on opening day and see what happens. I've told my wife she might not see me for a month. I have been elk hunting for the past 7 years but it seems I get more excited every year. Season is a little over a month away and already I am having trouble sleeping at night for thinking about the hunt. Can I expect to hear bugling on the season opener?

In my experience, I hear a few bugles and some bulls are starting to gather their harem up, the first week of season. Many times these "raghorn" bulls will keep the harem and control it until the day of transition, aka when the big bulls get off of their duffs, come out of their hiding places and take over. This usually happens in our area around the 2nd to 3rd week of September. One of the complaints by Colorado archery hunters is, the 3rd week of archery season, muzzleloading season starts and the mountains get a lot more hunting pressure. Sometimes to bulls will go nocturnal and only bugle at night and as soon as daylight comes, they shut up and quit bugling. So many Colorado archery hunters enjoy the first week of season more than the others.