CO 2018 app changes?

[Grant K]

I probably got a bit carried away. Its post like the following that upset me.



Reducing point creep by pricing people out is a terrible long term idea.

Yes, I have points for MSG in CO, so I will be affected. I'd rather young people had hope of drawing a tag.

I don't disagree but at the same time you cant claim this makes it any better for a young person..this all but ends a young persons chance of drawing a MSG tag, especially if they are a non res...

right now Moose, Sheep, and goat as a resident are all at roughly 2% chance, there are less than 250 sheep and goat tags and ~350 moose tags, it doesn't take that many more people in the pool to make those odds way worse, especially if you are drawing for a unit with one or two tags, looking right now there are about 113,000 people drawing for elk tags, if one in five of those throw in for a sheep just because they can your odds for sheep are down at .7% overall, and worse for any unit that is desirable.

I apply for sheep and goat every year, I have since I was 14 and I'm not rich, I wanted it really bad, still do... and fronting money has never bothered me, in fact I seek out the states where the barrier to entry is high because my chances are better, yes, I have to sacrifice other things but I would rather pay to have a real chance than a cheap it and never really get a decent chance.

 

[jm1607]

So.....

Is this legit? No tag fees at all? No other fees besides stamp and $3 a pop??

I knew they were going online only but I didn't realize they were dumping the tag fees...

 

[Fitzwho]

Not really dumping the tag fees, just dumping being a “float” state. If you draw, you will still have to pay the full tag price, you just wouldn’t pay the tag price up front.

If it is all legit, I'm surprised that Colorado went so cheap on the app fee per species. I'll be putting in for everything OIAL, not just points.

 

[jm1607]

Not really dumping the tag fees, just dumping being a “float” state. If you draw, you will still have to pay the full tag price, you just wouldn’t pay the tag price up front.

If it is all legit, I'm surprised that Colorado went so cheap on the app fee per species. I'll be putting in for everything OIAL, not just points.

Ya sorry, that's what I meant..

Exactly. I would think they would jack the point fees up to like $20 each or something at least.. That's why I'm a little baffled

 

[5MilesBack]

I think people will buy pts and apply at some point yes but I know if this happens I’ll be buying pts for my kids now as well, yet they will not hunt for a long time and their first hunts will be otc.

Not sure if this was mentioned or not.......but your kids have to be or turn 12 that year, before a valid season ends to apply, even for a point. They also have to have a valid hunter safety card in order to apply.

 

[dotman]

Not sure if this was mentioned or not.......but your kids have to be or turn 12 that year, before a valid season ends to apply, even for a point. They also have to have a valid hunter safety card in order to apply.

Well guess I’ll be holding off a few years for them, honestly never even considered it for them due to cost.

 

[dotman]

Ya sorry, that's what I meant..

Exactly. I would think they would jack the point fees up to like $20 each or something at least.. That's why I'm a little baffled

I bet that the fee increases with time and is closer to $50 like WY. I have to agree that they went cheap on the fee, they could make way more money off this.

 

[Anello]

I've hunted Colorado 7 years as a non-resident and I can tell you that the costs of fronting the tag fees prevented me from putting in for Deer/Elk/Bear (and sheep, goats, pronghorn, etc.) in one year. I didn't have a high limit credit card and could not be out the money, even if it was for 2-3 months (which is ridiculous). As I have gotten older and more financially stable I can afford it now, but that doesn't justify it, at all. What I used to do was buy a non-resident OTC archery Elk tag, which usually required me saving up for a few months in the Spring/Summer and I hunted my ass off ... and you know what, I killed several Elk by doing exactly that. I think fronting tag fees is ridiculous. We, as a hunting community, should have the foresight to understand that more applications and opportunity increases the amount of interest and expands our community. This is a benefit, long term, as the younger generation or folks that simply cannot afford the up front cost (family guys and gals) need opportunities to get points and or tags. Period. Plus, non resident tags are capped, right?

I do agree with a $20 or $30 or even $40 point fee for non-residents, but any more than that is just gouging. Point creep?! I am a CA resident and I can tell you that our odds on even a resident Elk tag are doggone insane even with max points! Our system is terrible even for residents, let alone what our idiotic state does to non-residents (as you can tell I am looking to get out of here as soon as an opportunity arises ... which I am exploring).

You CO guys and gals live in a great state with a ton of opportunities to hunt every year as a resident. Relish in that. You have the upper hand in scouting OTC areas every year that posses both opportunity and potential trophy quality animals, which means that you can hunt every year if you so choose. If the state wants to adjust a system to invite more applications, big deal. You can still hunt every year, unlike states like Nevada, Arizona and even Utah these days.

My long winded point is that I see this as an improvement to the overall stability of our hunting future ... which should be the goal.