Hunting Opportunities Near Denver

[gsphunter23]

Hello Everyone,

My wife and I are planning to move to the Denver area by summer. I was wondering how far good pheasant hunting is from the Denver area. Are the areas mostly public or ask permission private? Is there a lot of hunting pressure?

I have a 2 1/2 year old GSP who loves to hunt. Hunting for birds here in Connecticut/New York is ok, although chasing around pen raised birds released by the state is not my idea of great hunting. The one positive is that we do not have to travel very far to bird hunt.

I know this is a pheasant forum but could anyone also tell me about other hunting opportunites close to Denver. I bowhunt and gun hunt for whitetails here in CT.

Look forward to hunting with some of you in the future!

 

[jcneng]

Roughly 2.5 hours east to walk in public hunting in CO and if you drive another hour you can hunt public walk in in KS or NE. :cheers:

 

[gsphunter23]

wow 2.5 hours, nothing closer?

 

[snipet]

wow 2.5 hours, nothing closer?

there are some closer pay per hunt type places but wow they are alot for one hunt...

take a look at http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/SmallGame/WalkInAccess/Pages/WalkInAccessProgram.aspx

download the Walk In Atlas to see where the free areas are in the state. Mostly E and NE parts of the state for pheasant.

 

[BleuBijou]

GSPhunter23, Large State!!!!! If you drive like me you are looking at 9 hours from Kansas to Utah!!! Plenty of Game!!! Waterfowl and Big Game are somewhat closer!!!! Upland you have to travel a bit!!!! If you get a place like HHR( Hen,Hen, Rooster: forum member) you can shoot Elk off the porch with your Bow!! Welcome to the site and When you get here, Welcome to Colorado!!

 

[CO_Weimar]

Most of the drives aren't that bad ... I just get on I-76 or I-70, put it on cruise control and head on out, stop for coffee, and before I know it, I'm there. =) I enjoy driving, so ... 2+ hours is fine with me.
Goodland, KS ... pheasant Mecca is just over 3 hours from Denver.
McCook, NE is ~4.5 hours ... a bit far, but plenty of birds.

Some of the pay places that we have gone to in the past:
Laybourn's Hunt Club - really like. ~1:45 drive.
Strasburg Game Birds - good, close to Denver in Strasburg, CO, good for training and Bob offers a variety of cover.
Steel Fork Pheasants - East of Colorado Springs, bird prices are good, but can be a long drive. Also, they have ~10,000 acres.
Auer Bird Valley ... IMHO it is just OK.
Rocky Mountain Roosters ... too pricey for me, and too far of a drive.