My dad and I want to hunt elk in Colorado in the fall of 17'. We know about the draw bur we want to just buy over the counter leftovers. It's hard to figure out where to start. Anybody ever done it?

I have hunted the southern area for a good many years with okay success. I got lucky and knew someone from the area, and have gotten to know many others, so I was helped out a bunch when it came to finding where they might be. You should get a bunch of responses from others whom will have good advice. Pick an area you might want and the season you want to go and then plan. You can make it as tough a hunt as you want, depending on where you go. Good luck. I got hooked on it and can't get enough.
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My dad and i go every year, been doing it since 95. We hunt public land the old fashion way, using backpacks and tents. I would say our success rate is probably 25-50% of the time we get one.

You can usually get over the counter bull-tags or left-over tags for certain areas no problem, infact, because of my hectic job schedule i almost never put in for the draw. I won't tell you which areas to go, i'll leave that up to you. But, just remember you don't need horses and a bunch of fancy gadgets to do it. We sleep in tents and haul our elk off the mountain using backpacks.

CO has plenty of OTC tag areas. With that said I recommend putting in to the draw every year for atleast elk and Mule deer, especially mule deer. Almost all Mule deer are 2-4 Prefence points.

I was born and raised in CO and am a 5th generation native of the state. If my count if right I have personally taken 25 elk and have been in on the taking of over 100 by other hunters, mostly family members. So yeah, I've done it but most of my elk hunting was cows for meat but I have shot 9 bulls. First off you need to ask what type of elk you want to hunt. That sounds dumb on the surface but if you are happy with a cow for meat then that is entirely different that looking for a bull. And if you're looking for a bull you need to decide if you're happy with a run of the mill raghorn 4x4 or 5x5 or if you only want a big trophy herd bull. The answer will dictate where you need to focus.