Colorado 2025-2029 Big Game Season Structure

[Mighty Mouse]

Highlights from preliminary recommendations released today:

• No more OTC archery elk tags...all draw for residents and non-residents
• New early (Aug 15 - Sep 1) archery deer season (in addition to regular archery season Sep 2-30)
• Allow some deer hunting during first rifle season

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. CPW issues hunting and fishing...

cpw.state.co.us

 

[Jbehredt]

I like it. Draw only for resident archery elk will be the last straw for me in this liberal dumpster fire.

 

[HuntandFly]

Looks to me like the rifle deer seasons are also headed back to the earlier dates of the 2015-2019 structure

 

[AG8]

At least they admit that all of their choices are actually the least popular…

 

[AG8]

Their reasoning for their choice regarding rifle elk is particularly absurd. ‘We feel we need 5-10 years to think about it’. A government operation at its finest.

 

[bozeman]

Better start buying points fellas!

 

[cnelk]

Better start buying points fellas!

I’m using my PPs this year and the CPW can go screw themselves

 

[UncleBone]

Makes no sense to me to keep unlimited OTC rifle tags for everyone, and go completely to a draw for all archery tags. It seems like a lot of folks who don't get a tag drawn for archery, would just go OTC rifle, increasing the pressure, and possibly harvest rates.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Makes no sense to me to keep unlimited OTC rifle tags for everyone, and go completely to a draw for all archery tags. It seems like a lot of folks who don't get a tag drawn for archery, would just go OTC rifle, increasing the pressure, and possibly harvest rates.

You mean with rifles which already has a 2x harvest rate of archery?! Archery hovers around 7-10% and rifle is 14-20% roughly

 

[Mcribs]

Yea let’s study for another decade how bad we’ve made OTC rifle.

 

[chanson_roland]

Highlights from preliminary recommendations released today:

• No more OTC archery elk tags...all draw for residents and non-residents
• New early (Aug 15 - Sep 1) archery deer season (in addition to regular archery season Sep 2-30)
• Allow some deer hunting during first rifle season

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. CPW issues hunting and fishing...

cpw.state.co.us

Wyoming better start building that border wall...they comin'....

 

[bergie]

Lol CO is becoming the new WA

 

[CodeMonkey]

So no spring bear season, mountain lion hunting trying to get banned, and now I have to draw for a crappy unit that was OTC the year prior, but someone with a gun can hunt it OTC.

While I'm excited to potentially hunt mule deer above timberline starting mid August, this is going to be the hunt that every mule deer bowhunter applies for, but there will still be the "regular" tags available Sep 2nd.

Does anyone at CPW have a brain?

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Maybe everyone should just boycott it.
I would love to go hunt there but my life is still complete without it.

 

[UncleBone]

You mean with rifles which already has a 2x harvest rate of archery?! Archery hovers around 7-10% and rifle is 14-20% roughly

Yeah, and I would venture to say a lot of archery hunters are probably more in tune with elk hunting in general, they just like the challenge of hunting with a bow, and the opportunity to hunt the rut. However, put a rifle in their hands, and they are probably a lot more deadly than the current otc rifle hunters.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Can someone make early season deer in CO make sense to me?

Aug 15th - New first season archery
Sep 2nd - "Normal" season archery
Sep 7th - Early rifle
Sep 14th (moving target, but this is where it falls this year) - Muzzleloader

Why would anyone hunt these alpine units with a muzzleloader when the deer have already been shot at with scoped rifles and are likely moving down by that part of the month? Is starting my season two weeks early for archery worth it when the draw odds are likely going to be worse and I have less days to punch a tag?

Making the early season dates for elk and deer the same is really, really stupid if your goal is to provide good hunts for all manner of take.

 

[Phaseolus]

Yeah, and I would venture to say a lot of archery hunters are probably more in tune with elk hunting in general, they just like the challenge of hunting with a bow, and the opportunity to hunt the rut. However, put a rifle in their hands, and they are probably a lot more deadly than the current otc rifle hunters.

There was a rut in Colorado last year during archery season?

 

[Ben Nicholson]

I was hoping that they would allow parties to pool points. I guess point creep isn't really CPW's concern...

 

[dirtytough]

I was hoping that they would allow parties to pool points. I guess point creep isn't really CPW's concern...

That would increase creep. Sharing, banking, etc

 

[cnelk]

That would increase creep. Sharing, banking, etc

Averaging PPs in Wyo doesn’t increase creep