Photo by R. E. Fly

It's that time of year again -- the best time, in fact!

For those of us nimrods who thrill to the alpine chase of bugling wapiti, the arrival of this autumn's elk hunting season brings the same enthusiasm, hope and optimism that sleepy-eyed children have every Christmas morning when they bound out of bed to see the presents that St. Nicholas left under the tree.

For Colorado's camo-clad set this fall, the difference is that our antlered gifts must be earned. Of course, there's no other way we'd rather have it. If past seasons are any indication, the Centennial State's 2006 elk seasons hold promise that hunters trekking through the Creator's stunning high-alpine canvas should enjoy another outstanding campaign.

Thanks to the state's burgeoning elk herd -- just under a quarter of a million wapiti, at last count -- there is rarely, if ever, a bad elk season in Colorado, although some can admittedly be better than others. So what will this autumn bring?

"Overall, I'd say an 'A' (forecast grade) for the state," said Bruce Watkins, the Montrose-based big-game coordinator for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Such a thumbs-up prognostication comes despite the fact that Colorado's elk herd continues to be trimmed toward management's long-term objective of 188,580 elk statewide. Post-hunt population estimates for the past three years show this trend: Following the 2003 seasons, the elk population was 278,660; in 2004, there were 274,570; and in 2005, their number was 247,090.

This comes despite the fact that the dreaded word "drought" is on the radar again after very dry conditions greeted much of southern Colorado during last fall and winter.

This fall, all of that notwithstanding, elk hunters here still have plenty of reasons to smile.

"We're still the No. 1 elk state by far in North America," Watkins said. "We have good populations of elk in much of the state, even though we're reducing the population in some cases to get to our objectives. There are not quite as many elk out there (as a few years ago), but hunting prospects for elk are still very good in Colorado."

Despite the progress that some of the state's data analysis units (DAUs) are making in bringing elk herd numbers down to CDOW management objectives, hunter success rates remain high, as 2005's harvest tally of 56,463 elk attests.

For the record, that 2005 figure includes the harvest of 23,817 bulls; 29,487 cows; and 3,159 calves killed by hunters.

Such figures also indicate what Colorado's elk hunters -- 246,521 strong, a year ago -- can look forward to this fall, since Watkins anticipates yet another good wapiti harvest.

Add in the state's ample hunting opportunity, the ability to purchase elk tags over the counter in some areas, and the sizable number of cow licenses available, and it's easy see why this may be the golden era of Colorado elk hunting.

In fact, about the only downside to this picture is that opportunities to kill a bona fide trophy bull in Colorado are somewhat limited, as compared to other Western states. As most hunters know, opportunities to kill a 5- or 6-year-old bull with a set of mega-antlers are restricted to a few units in the state -- which take years of accumulating preference points to draw.

"We don't have the same type of quality for our elk hunting on a statewide basis as we do for our mule deer hunting. But the quality of our elk hunting is a lot better than it used to be," Watkins said. "Since we went to the 4-point antler restriction, we see a lot more branched-antler bulls today that are 2 years old or better than we did in, say, 1984."