New Record! Colorado elk…

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

This just blows my mind. But if I truly sit and think about the scenario, it’s not that far fetched. Too much belief with people nowadays that it’s easy or it’ll just “happen” without putting in the planning or the work. Expect someone else to provide them information or to be handed to them…

Yet here people are on this very site asking for information to some degree in order for them to do less work.

If someone were to look at all of your posts on this forum, would they find a single post (or more) with you asking a question? .

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Public land is public land, if your spot gets blown up then put in the work in to find a new spot. Trail heads are for hiking not hunting.

That right there is the problem: there is no "your" spot on public land.

 

[el_jefe_pescado]

In the last week I have run into several archery elk hunters. One group I met on the trail were completely gassed going up a steep trail 3 miles from their truck with gigantic packs in 80 degree weather at noon at 10,000 ft asking me - a random hiker - if I knew where the Elk were and how much farther the top was. So obviously they have no plan other than to hike uphill a long distance with camping gear and bows hoping for the best.

Then two days ago I'm camping and fishing with my family about 3 miles from a "trailhead" when 2 bowhunters approach our camp while I'm cooking breakfast for everyone. They were shouting something at us from like 50 yards away. I stood up and looked at them and when they got closer they yell again and this time I heard them say "seen any?"

I played dumb and yelled back "seen any what?" to which they replied "elk!" and I yelled back "no, too many people camping and yelling around here". There was an awkward pause and then they turned around. Was that their plan? To hike around and ask campers with kids and dogs running around if they knew where the Elk are?

There are so many people out there without a clue. I feel bad sometimes but mostly just sorry that people are wasting vacation time and money to go camping and hiking dressed in full camo.

You’re accurately describing 85% of the guys out there. They’re at a greater risk of harming themselves than an elk.


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[ScreamingPotato]

Do away with NR OTC, cap NR tags at 50% of the last 3 year average. raise NR tags to $2k and Resident to $250…problem solved.

Cap the tags for sure, but they're capped so no need to raise the price for anyone. I don't think hunting should be a rich man's game.

 

[Hnthrdr]

That right there is the problem: there is no "your" spot on public land.

This is true, but unless you are a Co resident whose state is getting pimped out to the max by the people who are supposed to manage the game for residents, it’s hard to understand… I mean man you are from AZ, how many NR tags is AZ selling? Heck, dang YouTube blew up the AZ deer hunting and it almost shut that hunt down for you guys. Stuff has to be managed for residents first and foremost

 

[jcmupar]

That right there is the problem: there is no "your" spot on public land.

My point exactly. Only exception is public land whitetail hunting in TX, not worth trying to explain that to a deep east TX local, best to walk away…

 

[WoodrowCall]

Yet here people are on this very site asking for information to some degree in order for them to do less work.

If someone were to look at all of your posts on this forum, would they find a single post (or more) with you asking a question? .

Not sure if you’re directing that at me or making a generalization.

Either way, asking questions other than “honey holes”, “looking for tips”, “what elevation”, blah blah blah is not a bad thing. Those same questions every year get old to read and see the same responses. A newbie could spend weeks searching and reading to get the answers they’re looking for. That’s doing your homework, to give yourself the best chance at success. Asking questions for further clarification is a great thing to do, BEFORE you get on the mountain… However, most don’t want to spend the time or effort to do so it seems.

 

[Huntin_GI]

I agree! The simple fact that cheap tags and high demand leads to a depleted resource. Just look at our world right now!!

If you want to hunt CO you should have to fork out some big bucks ( res and non res). The DOW is mainly funded by license revenue and we need to keep it that way. They do great work with our hard earned dollars but They should raise the price to lower the demand, and raise it a lot. I’d say $1200+ for non res and $400 for res.
I know this is a Hot Take but seriously if it’s not worth it to you maybe you shouldn’t do it.
I’m a resident and frankly I would pay $1000 dollars if I had a chance for a good quality hunt with reasonable pressure. Hell I pay that all day long in MT and gladly!

And honestly it’s cheap when you think about the experience you get out of a quality hunt.
CPW Raise the prices for tags please!!!

You realize CPW was $54million dollars in the black last year before the new license plate tag fees that are estimated to raise another $30million. They don't need more dollars. They need recognize that the current system is dog shit and fix it.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Not sure if you’re directing that at me or making a generalization.

Either way, asking questions other than “honey holes”, “looking for tips”, “what elevation”, blah blah blah is not a bad thing. Those same questions every year get old to read and see the same responses. A newbie could spend weeks searching and reading to get the answers they’re looking for. That’s doing your homework, to give yourself the best chance at success. Asking questions for further clarification is a great thing to do, BEFORE you get on the mountain… However, most don’t want to spend the time or effort to do so it seems.

It's all about perspective.

One person's "clarifying question" may very well be interpreted as "too lazy..." by the person being asked.

Yes a newbie could spend weeks reading posts about topic X. But if a single person would tell the newbie the answer is "Y" then the newbie would not have pissed away weeks of time trying to get a single answer. Rinse and repeat and you are going to have a newbie that has a very slow progression. Go the other way: be there and and actively help the newbie during the formative time and he'll be much further along in a significantly shorter time period.

Put that same approach in the field. Spend years learning to hunt animal X or do a guided hunt and learn how to do it in a week. One is WRK-approved and the other will draw the ire of many WKRs.

All about perspective, priorities, and assesed value of time.

 

[WoodrowCall]

It's all about perspective.

One person's "clarifying question" may very well be interpreted as "too lazy..." by the person being asked.

Yes a newbie could spend weeks reading posts about topic X. But if a single person would tell the newbie the answer is "Y" then the newbie would not have pissed away weeks of time trying to get a single answer. Rinse and repeat and you are going to have a newbie that has a very slow progression. Go the other way: be there and and actively help the newbie during the formative time and he'll be much further along in a significantly shorter time period.

Put that same approach in the field. Spend years learning to hunt animal X or do a guided hunt and learn how to do it in a week. One is WRK-approved and the other will draw the ire of many WKRs.

All about perspective, priorities, and assesed value of time.

I can get behind you on that, it is all about perspective and value of time.

 

[raptor16]

The pendulum is always swinging. It’s just probably the first time the pendulum has swung for hunting (particularly western hunting) due to “influencers” and access to information. OP is exactly right about it being up to resident hunters. Everyone else is making too much money to care…

The pressure probably seems extreme to a lot of western resident hunters because most the western states don’t have the population that the eastern US has. I think it’s something like 80% of the US population lives east of the Mississippi. I would say the hunting pressure on public ground in CO is not terribly far off what you would find on public ground in a good southern, midwest, or eastern whitetail state with easy access to tags and those primarily consist of resident hunters…

Go look up “Bayou Meto Boat Races” and you’ll see what really stupid crowds and stupid people look like. And I’d bet the majority are residents.

As a NR, I’d support closing OTC or making tags exorbitant. I’d be happy only hunting every 2-3 years in a semi decent/less crowded draw unit. Especially if it resulted in more units going to draw. I think the applications would start to wane in 3-5 years time if this happened.

 

[FLS]

Unless CPW reduces the total amount of tags, changing a unit to draw won’t make a difference. I first hunted CO in 1999. It’s a completely different state now. There are a helluva a lot more people living in CO now. Hikers, mountain bikers fishermen, there are a lot of people of all kinds in the mountains in Sept.
I’ll play devils advocate and say if you’re a new resident hunter, you as much a part of the problem as a non resident that’s been hunting the same area for the last 20 years.

 

[trophyhill]

It's not just otc. I went in Thursday before opening day in a draw unit to get acclimated for a couple days. There were 3 trucks at the trail head. I should have known what it would look like coming out when 3 people from Utah, 1 hunter and 2 companions came walking past me at 10,200' letting me know they hiked in just past my camp below with eyes glued to OnX and talking as they went.

I heard them coming from quite a ways. I guess people just don't know or care how far their voice can carry. When I came out Monday there were 18 trucks at the trailhead. But that's not all. For the next 3 miles of forest road on the way out, there was a camp every 50-100 yards. Reminded me of Covid and unit 80-81 when it was still otc. Last time I hunted this unit, it was otc. I didn't see a third the traffic then.

And for the record, it makes no difference if you call out unit numbers anymore. OnX, GoHunt, Newberg and many others have already put the info out there to the lazy hunter

 

[LIWolverine]

I know right, isn’t it absolutely insane that people are getting into hunting??

I sure wish we could keep it all to ourselves and no one would ever mess up “our” spots. I mean, people really suck that they want to get into something like hunting and are putting themselves out there and putting boots on the ground just like we tell them to…..pathetic peasants.


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[Brandon.miller.4]

I think we are at or near the peak of the influx. I think at some point within the next decade tag applications will be on the decline from the current high. So many things happened at once to create a perfect storm. GPS maps on your phone, services that tell you exactly what unit to apply for, the COVID outdoor activity spike, social media presence, increased predators in many states, etc…I think a LOT of people will either A. Do a year or two and be unsuccessful and give it up, or B. Get tired of playing the point game for years and quit trying.

Just gotta ride it out to that point and hope the wildlife makes it through.

I think you make a great point here. Even on a localized level, hunting was never the "cool" thing to do. It was tradition held by certain families and not by all. I think you're right about us being at or near the peak. I've already seen/heard it from the people that "kinda" care about hunting. The type of people that will archery hunt, turkey hunt, deer hunt, and maybe do 1 out of state hunt are all saying things like "it's not worth going out on opener" or "I'll just go every 5 years when I draw a tag." Seems to be alot of guys losing interest in the battle. Some diehards adapt and keep hunting.

 

[MuleyFever]

I know right, isn’t it absolutely insane that people are getting into hunting??

I sure wish we could keep it all to ourselves and no one would ever mess up “our” spots. I mean, people really suck that they want to get into something like hunting and are putting themselves out there and putting boots on the ground just like we tell them to…..pathetic peasants.


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I know you're trying to be witty, or whatever, but the issue is that CO doesnt have to let everyone and anyone that buys an OTC tag hunt at the same time. To me, its more about poor management. You see a lot of NR hunters advocating for a draw these days because an enjoyable hunt every few years beats out the current mess they see.

 

[dtrkyman]

If Co. is bringing in the money claimed above they sure as hell are not going to give it up!

It is happening all over and not just with hunting, we had some amazing fishing in an undisclosed location for years, was literally like catching fish in a barrel and giants to boot, could fish for a week and maybe see one or 2 other boats the whole week, now go there and there are dozens of boats a day and the fish have wised up!

Just going to have to adapt and ride it out a while, I am hunting some different things the past few years that are not as popular and having some great hunting by myself.

 

[whaack]

Public land is public land, if your spot gets blown up then put in the work in to find a new spot. Trail heads are for hiking not hunting.

This is true. But a guy can still be annoyed.


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[streetdoctor]

Quit hunting from a marked trail, they attract people like a moth to a flame.

Definitely,

Not to be argumentative, but I'm a little confused at what your rant is and have a couple questions.

1. Why did you hike in before opening season to hike out opening day if you were hunting?
2. Why do you expect people not to camp where you saw elk months ago? Elk migrate through campgrounds same as every other section of woods.

Not trying to argue, but genuinely curious as to what your beef is with OTC CO elk hunts.

1. I hunted a draw unit last year, it was a relief to actually hunt elk. I'm not interested in dealing with that many other hunters who don't know what they're doing in that small of an area. It's a waste of time and you're literally just playing the odds of "right place, right time". I'd rather pack up and go somewhere else.

2. The area I was hunting is relatively flat. To camp where this guy camped was pointless. All he's doing is pushing elk around. This isn't a campground, this is a bedding area where elk aren't used to seeing people. I've made this mistake in the past in a different area (on a saddle in a ridge with zero other flat ground) and nearly been trampled in the middle of the night by an entire herd, who proceeded to bark at my tent, and vacate the zip code.

 

[IH8Cali]

Hunt your home state and support your local rancher; a whole beef can still be had for >$3k