Forcing CPW hand

[fngTony]

Well, how else are we gonna pay for the electric vehicle charging stations at state parks?

 

[tdhanses]

Sorry I couldn't afford to move out in my own to Wyoming when I was 14.
And I can promise you this.
The shittest shit bag day of hunting ever in Wyoming will always be better then the Best day of Oregon hunting.
So yeah its a sliding scale man. Personally I don't believe you can even fathom how bad it can be.

Unless your finally willing to admit the Wolves killed all the elk.

It’s getting bad for old Buzz, he can only get 30 tags a year when he wants 50. Too bad we all aren’t old so we can remember the good old days and complain about it on the internet.

 

[bayoublaster7527]

Don’t forget, we need more hunter recruitment.

Let’s try for 100,000 more applicants next year,

That’s right, we have to maintain the hunting youtube/Instagram influencer industry with OTC elk tags for everyone! “Hunt elk every year! Subscribe to my channel/service and buy my merchandise!”

 

[Rich M]

No offense is meant here and I am just making conversation and I will bow out of this thread graciously with the following final comments. I don’t see your unlimited resource and renewable resource? We are all trying to limit the total amount of licenses being sold. Every Western State Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado are all getting slammed with NR numbers Even as a NR I want to see a reduction in hunters. That hopefully will be a MORE finite number for each GMU. That quantity is not unlimted, on the contrary it will hopefully become even more limited in the future. We all complain of there being too many hunters already.So hypothetically if GMU 80 has determined to have 300 licenses sold to harvest X amount of elk, to keep the population at a desired level, do you think the DOW wants to sell those 300 licenses at $31.00 or sell 300 licenses at $689.35. It is a money thing. So when I move to Colorado in the next few years I will be right with you on all these darn NR’s!

You can't just say something and run away Folks think that by limiting the NR that they will get more kills and see less folks in the field. Yet, here we have all these folks flocking to the states and increasing the Resident population.

It's kinda funny where the populations keep going up and the guys think its gonna be like some carefully edited You Tube video of Randy Newberg or whatever your media favorite is. LOL! Folks are fooling themselves and showing their true selfish nature. NR bad, me good - I moved here and expect a fairy tale hunt. Best wishes to them on that one.

The resource itself is renewable and the mountains aren't going anywhere.

Archery hunting is the best tool for maximizing hunting. Most guys don't get anything and they get the most out of it. They do it down here - we get 5 day archery hunts and 3 day ML and rifle hunts for quota hunts. The idea is to provide opportunity and not kills. Folks get to go and hunt, few kill.

 

[Fatcamp]

Curious, has this uptick been happing over the past 5-10 years? Or just very recently (like the last year or two).

People can be overenthusiastic. A lot of Joe Rogan and Cam Hanes wannabe's have poured into hunting this past year I noticed. I'm wondering if it'll be like camping and weight equipment; everyone will sell their stuff and go back to doing the activities they did before Covid by next year. Craiglist is already flooding with full home gym setups. Camping not yet, but give it time... Next year will be a buttload of used once campers and camping supplies for sale is my bet.

I wonder if this will trend with hunting out west. Hunting is a blast and we all are passionate about it, but not everyone who gets into gets hooked. Especially first-timers. My guess is a lot of us on here have the family tradition connection that convinces us to freeze our ass off, almost get eaten by a grizzly or lion, and destroy shoulders and backs shooting bows and hauling meat. Venison/Elk/bear is good, but so is that $25 sirloin at the butcher shop. Just like that hotel room sure is comfy compared to that tent site...

The campground we stayed at this weekend was about 30% full. This same campground had 100% reservations. I assume the weather forecast and rain kept everyone home. There is also the element that people are all excited to go camping when the only effort it takes is a few clicks and you have your reservation. Pulling stuff across the state takes a bunch of work. If a little rain keeps you home that $10,000 a year camper/truck payment is gonna get real old, real fast.

All these pursuits are awesome from the comfort of the couch. People are generally lazy and like comfort. All the work involved really adds up. I anticipate lots of burned up wheel bearings on campers and boat trailers this summer. People who are new to this are going to learn some interesting lessons.

How does this translate into hunting? I'm not sure, but time will tell. How many people after watching YouTube will be satisfied with not killing anything for years? Because judging by comments here and other places that is what is happening.

 

[5MilesBack]

Folks think that by limiting the NR that they will get more kills and see less folks in the field.

For me, I've killed enough animals in my lifetime that I don't need to kill anymore. It's all about the experience for me.........and that experience declines in value the more crowded it gets. It's like everything else in life.....the more crowded it is, the less enjoyable it is. I'm willing to pay more........a lot more......if that would ensure less people and a more enjoyable experience.....even without another kill in my lifetime.

But from my experience over the past 5-10 years, it's more than just hunters crowding the outdoors. I've hunted a limited unit quite a bit, and the number of tags has remained the same over that time. Yet the unit has gotten exponentially more crowded all through September over that time period. So either there are a lot of folks now hunting it without a valid tag, or general recreationalists are coming out of the woodwork as well.

Just 8 years ago I saw one other person/camp in a two week span in there. In the last few years, it's been grand central with all the camps and people.

 

[Teaspoon]

That’s right, we have to maintain the hunting youtube/Instagram influencer industry with OTC elk tags for everyone! “Hunt elk every year! Subscribe to my channel/service and buy my merchandise!”

Ding ding ding. Winner winner chicken dinner.

 

[Mosby]

I’m thinking about starting a new hobby.

It dawned on me that I can buy a new hunting dog for what I spend(or don't spend) on elk tags. I bought a young German Shorthair pointer last fall. I am on a list for a Vizsla pup for early next year. I don't expect to draw an elk tag this year or every year, so I am going to Pheasant hunt all fall/winter when I don't. Going to be driving around the midwest this summer looking for places to hunt birds and train the dogs.

None of it is new to me but I got away from it. I am going back to hunting what I grew up hunting, before going out west was possible. I will hunt elk when I can. I will hunt birds when I can't. Not sitting at home either way.

 

[WCB]

No offense is meant here and I am just making conversation and I will bow out of this thread graciously with the following final comments. I don’t see your unlimited resource and renewable resource? We are all trying to limit the total amount of licenses being sold. Every Western State Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado are all getting slammed with NR numbers Even as a NR I want to see a reduction in hunters. That hopefully will be a MORE finite number for each GMU. That quantity is not unlimted, on the contrary it will hopefully become even more limited in the future. We all complain of there being too many hunters already.So hypothetically if GMU 80 has determined to have 300 licenses sold to harvest X amount of elk, to keep the population at a desired level, do you think the DOW wants to sell those 300 licenses at $31.00 or sell 300 licenses at $689.35. It is a money thing. So when I move to Colorado in the next few years I will be right with you on all these darn NR’s!

Montana and Wyoming already have NR limits....Montana is not getting more NR deer or elk hunters (except this year as they passed the outfitter guaranteed thing)....they are getting a lot more applicants that is for sure. Problem with places like MT is 90% of NR deer hunters are hitting the same spots that the YOUTUBE dweebs are pushing making those already popular areas more popular. I remember the good ole days of the YOUTUBE Geeks telling people "look for tags you can get every year and learn the area" hahahaha.

Wyoming yes used to have left over tags and doesnt now but most of those were bought up before season anyways and the ones that were left unsold were a very small percentage or private land tags.

Now with true OTC or Guaranteed unlimited tags like Idaho had or Colorado....maybe spring bear tags in MT I agree completely. But it is funny that Residents want it all to themselves but don't want to pay for it....wait here comes the "I pay taxes here" gig....I guarantee $1000 a year of your taxes are not going to Game and Fish.

I hunt private and public. I have also been a guide and hunted with outfitters myself. Don't care and the hardcore "PUBLIC LAND OWNER" crowd is what it is...but I find it funny how a bunch of these "PUBLIC LAND OWNER" hunting "influencers" seem to be using more guides and are many times buying lawndowner tags/vouchers while teaching everyone how to draw tags or telling them every detail of how to get easy tags.

 

[540-Virginian]

For me, I've killed enough animals in my lifetime that I don't need to kill anymore. It's all about the experience for me.........and that experience declines in value the more crowded it gets. It's like everything else in life.....the more crowded it is, the less enjoyable it is. I'm willing to pay more........a lot more......if that would ensure less people and a more enjoyable experience.....even without another kill in my lifetime.

But from my experience over the past 5-10 years, it's more than just hunters crowding the outdoors. I've hunted a limited unit quite a bit, and the number of tags has remained the same over that time. Yet the unit has gotten exponentially more crowded all through September over that time period. So either there are a lot of folks now hunting it without a valid tag, or general recreationalists are coming out of the woodwork as well.

Just 8 years ago I saw one other person/camp in a two week span in there. In the last few years, it's been grand central with all the camps and people.

This is interesting because the exact opposite is happening in Virginia. Years ago it was crowded, now its kinda crowded opening day, then lonely planet almost every weekday for the month of October. We have different issues here so its not apples to apples. Again, just interesting the differences

 

[sndmn11]

I think the biggest benefiting and most realistic change would be to turn OTC statewide CO Elk licenses into a specific DAU. I am aware of too many people who hopscotch around the state being ultra aggressive in their tactics and end up moving oodles of elk hundreds of miles apart because they can. Limiting them to a DAU means the herd they plunged into and sent running is the same herd they have to keep hunting instead of packing up and heading across the state.

 

[cnelk]

I think the biggest benefiting and most realistic change would be to turn OTC statewide CO Elk licenses into a specific DAU. I am aware of too many people who hopscotch around the state being ultra aggressive in their tactics and end up moving oodles of elk hundreds of miles apart because they can. Limiting them to a DAU means the herd they plunged into and sent running is the same herd they have to keep hunting instead of packing up and heading across the state.

I’ve said this for years. Especially since the CPW manages elk herd by specific DAU.

 

[timekiller13]

This is interesting because the exact opposite is happening in Virginia. Years ago it was crowded, now its kinda crowded opening day, then lonely planet almost every weekday for the month of October. We have different issues here so its not apples to apples. Again, just interesting the differences

Same thing just south of you in North Carolina. I can remember in the late 1990s and early 2000s, seeing 30-40 trucks parked at every parking lot on public land. Hillsides literally covered in a sea of orange. Now, public land spots are vacant. Opening day of rifle season you will see a few hunters, as you will around a major holiday like Thanksgiving, but overall, there are very few hunters. And our license sales have INCREASED steadily over the last several years, yet public land hunting sees less and less pressure. I don't know where all the hunters are. All I hear from people in NC is them bitching about how they can't find anywhere to hunt. Yet, license sales increase, and public land pressure decreases. Either less people are hunting, but still buying a license (doubtful) or there is plenty of private land to be had.

75k increase in applicants is a huge jump. Be interesting to see the whole breakdown (PP only vs those who actually applied for tags). That big jump in applicants does have me worried about drawing my mule deer tag. Should have been nothing to worry about, but we will see what happens in the next couple weeks.

 

[Scooter90254]

Is there even an argument here? I’m a NR and clearly Colorado needs some regulations on the OTC units. Obviously there should be a cap on NR overall.
With the big increase in interest tags are going to be harder to draw for NRs.

Where it gets confusing is when states that have no NR growth let’s say Idaho blame the NR for crowding. Lol

 

[CoStick]

I don’t mind the crowds for the most part, but the mess left behind by visiting hunters is unfortunate.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

I started in 2017 - when OnX Maps told me if I was on public or private.

To help fix this problem I think OnX needs a trespassing alert feature so that Landowners would get a notification with the address and contact info of the OnX user that has entered their property. I'm averaging about 1 encounter per year of OnX users that I've either witnessed trespassing or had them literally tell me that they had, despite using OnX.

People are using it as a crutch to make questionable decisions, and also taking the boundaries way to literally despite the associated error from the mapping software.

 

[BrokenArrow]

This year I believe we will see a lot of the applicants(point builders) who sat on the sideline for years and otc hunted after they didn’t draw first choice, went ahead and cashed their points in. I believe this will correlate directly to point creep. All it took was losing their toilet paper and sanity last year!
seriously, draw odds are going to restructure after this season. This draw’s many applicants in 4-5 years with 4-5 points will rewrite the book.
the question is what will the cpw commission consider to change it.
Time to fight for the difference

 

[Rich M]

To help fix this problem I think OnX needs a trespassing alert feature so that Landowners would get a notification with the address and contact info of the OnX user that has entered their property. I'm averaging about 1 encounter per year of OnX users that I've either witnessed trespassing or had them literally tell me that they had, despite using OnX.

People are using it as a crutch to make questionable decisions, and also taking the boundaries way to literally despite the associated error from the mapping software.

It happens. I use onX , BLM, Top Rut, Google Earth, and gis roadway maps to determine where I’m going. Have paper map of land area and onX chip.

not 100% but real close. Not traveling across the country to say that I didn’t try to do things right. Some land owners are too sensitive. If the fence is in the right place, hard to screw that up. If no fence, should give benefit of doubt. Only get panties in was if guys are blatantly disregarding boundaries.

in CO, we hunted against private property borders, shot a nice Muley 200 yds from land border. Saw a bunch of deer on that little parcel.

in WY we had locals telling us we were trespassing on numbered county roads. We had already talked w gw about hunting there. Jerks.