How many preference points should you bank up for Colorado Archery Elk Primary Draw?

Joined
Jun 18, 2023
Messages
99
OTC will be nonexistent in 3 years...everything will be draw.
Don't you think that at the very least us residents will get 5 years of OTC with NON-res draw only archery until we hit the 5 year point when the structure changes?
 

hoosierhunter11

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 5, 2024
Messages
135
Location
Indiana
At the rate we are going i will be suprised if hunting is even allowed in colorado in 5 years...lol
Scary possibility - I’m trying to decide how long I want to bank my deer points. Sitting at 4 and really want a high country early rifle tag. Burned 3 elk points this season and got my first bull!
 

Beendare

WKR
Joined
May 6, 2014
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9,098
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Corripe cervisiam
Thats crazy to hear.

I guess I'll just hunt OTC in that case. The main reason I wanted limited units was just for less pressure, but since I'll be hunting archery hopefully it wont be as crowded as rifle season.

Thanks.
Sadly, the "Just Apply"advice by the many services selling their info has created a situation where a guy like myself who has 21 points in Nevada and that gets me a whopping .3% chance of drawing a good tag. Not a misprint- I have a less than a one percent chance of drawing one of the top units after buying the license for 21 years..

The point creep gets worse every year to the point a guy starting now will never catch up to something like the top 3 units in Colorado. Right now they are at approximately 25 years...and it gets worse every single year.

Guys new to the Draws for elk would be better off buying lotto tickets than applying in some states.
 
OP
Chrizmac1995
Joined
Feb 18, 2023
Messages
27
OTC Archery should hopefully be changing for the better for Residents, at least until the next change in structure, when I would guess it goes to draw only, which will really kill archery hunting for the majority of archery hunters. Most people aren't going to tune, and shoot and practice all year long if they can only hunt every 3-5 years, they'll just switch to rifle, way less dedication required for rifle, pull the stick out a few weeks or a month before season and shoot a dozen or so rounds and you're good to go.
Why is this the direction its headed? Hunters brought back the Elk populations, their tags help pay for conservation, and hunting season only benefits local economies. Is this just because of the high liberal population in Denver that has the majority of the voting power?

I like the idea of limiting out of state hunters, as it was getting out of hand, but why would Colorado ever make all archery hunting draw only? That seems insane to me.
 
Joined
Jun 18, 2023
Messages
99
Why is this the direction its headed? Hunters brought back the Elk populations, their tags help pay for conservation, and hunting season only benefits local economies. Is this just because of the high liberal population in Denver that has the majority of the voting power?

I like the idea of limiting out of state hunters, as it was getting out of hand, but why would Colorado ever make all archery hunting draw only? That seems insane to me.
I think it is all related to the Front Rangers yes, the reality is that the extremely hard-hitting winter of '22/23 and the above average winter of '23/24, on top of the wolf reintroductions already and forthcoming, not to mention the more than likely ban of mountain lion hunting will have detrimental affects on moose, elk, and deer populations. The rough winters alone have seriously damaged the herds, especially in NW CO.

I really hope it doesn't head that way but I wouldn't think it that far fetched.
 

Hnthrdr

WKR
Joined
Jan 29, 2022
Messages
3,631
Location
The West
People crying about pressure...
I'm curious to see how the wining pivots after the otc is gone...
Honestly I think they will sell so many tags it will be basically a 0 change, I could be wrong but it would take a massive reduction in tags sold to make any sort of tangible difference. Honestly a lot of low point units are pretty busy too, maybe a hair less than OTC.
 
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