tag draw failure...

[CBECK61]

You guys out west have no clue what an orange army really is.

Try 21 trucks parked at the gate to access a 450 acre piece of public land.

Try 250 hunters on 3500 acres of public land.

Or how about counting 29 archery hunters on opening day at 2100 acre piece of public.

I do have a buck tag I want.



Yea Covid is insult to injury. Hunting pressure varies greatly state by state. Where I grew up, the hunting pressure has declined even since I was in high school, and the hunting has gotten better and better. My Dad is dumbfounded at how few hunters there are in our area. Read the Outdoor Life article, "Why We're Losing Hunters" and you'll see, in fact, hunter numbers are declining and declining. It just so happens, there are exceptions, and I think Colorado must be one of those exceptions. And as some pointed out here earlier, I clearly don't really understand the nature of tag allocation for migratory species (elk/mule deer), so I'll def rescind some of my earlier complaints. I'll stick to the point that it's really irritating to have nowhere to hunt after work...

IDK if Colorado is an exeception. I truly beileve that while hunter numbers are dwindleing the number of people who take it very seriously is growing. Barrier to entry is high enough now that its hard to get into. Access to info has increased exponentially to allow greater access for more "hardcore" guys to be a

And those guys coming from the east see a crowded parking lot as the norm. Western hunters have no idea what "crowded" looks like.

Comparing apples and oranges. Grew up in Iowa and have played the whitetail game. Been out west for 8 years and have seen this side to hunting OTC units in 5 western states. Two reasons you shouldn't compare them is animal density and behavior. # of elk per acre is much lower than white tail as well as when you blow an elk out of the country he could go several miles. Access to public land in the Midwest sucks but the access to free/cheap private is much easier. Might not be premium ground but almost every likable person has a uncle/cousin/friend/co worker that will let you hunt for free/cheap/manual labor. Out west especially w/ big game this is much less common.

 

[Lukem]

Comparing apples and oranges. Grew up in Iowa and have played the whitetail game. Been out west for 8 years and have seen this side to hunting OTC units in 5 western states. Two reasons you shouldn't compare them is animal density and behavior. # of elk per acre is much lower than white tail as well as when you blow an elk out of the country he could go several miles. Access to public land in the Midwest sucks but the access to free/cheap private is much easier. Might not be premium ground but almost every likable person has a uncle/cousin/friend/co worker that will let you hunt for free/cheap/manual labor. Out west especially w/ big game this is much less common.

Um, this whole thread from the OP on down is about apples and oranges. That was my point.
Land hunts differently.
Wildlife are different.
Management is different.
Access is different.
Permit allocation is different.
Permit demand is different.
Success is different.
Expectations are different.
And on and on.

I know both sides of it being in NE, we have all those species except mtn goats. And South Dakota says "hold my beer..."

 

[Fatcamp]

Um, this whole thread from the OP on down is about apples and oranges. That was my point.
Land hunts differently.
Wildlife are different.
Management is different.
Access is different.
Permit allocation is different.
Permit demand is different.
Success is different.
Expectations are different.
And on and on.

I know both sides of it being in NE, we have all those species except mtn goats. And South Dakota says "hold my beer..."

LOL. No need to bring SD into this.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Dosent Colorado have OTC elk tags? Me and my dad got a few up by Craig back 20 years or so ago.

 

[bsnedeker]

Dosent Colorado have OTC elk tags? Me and my dad got a few up by Craig back 20 years or so ago.

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone about that, CO might get crowded with elk hunters!

 

[mountainhawks]

Colorado is designed to function off the non res money and will not change a damn thing to make the hunting experience better. And true wildlife management takes a back seat to revenue intake. So there is no single way to recommend a better system when ultimately money is the only thing that drives the decisions. They also know it’s crowded as hell, they are told that annually yet do nothing to change it. I honestly don’t even know what the hell they do with all the money they bring in, the entire state is like a giant slot machine for them, camping , hiking, biking, fishing, skiing, boating, rafting, OHV‘s, ATV’s, hunting, it’s a non stop revenue flow. Yet everytime you turn around theyve come up with a new way to get more money from us.

"True wildlife management takes a back seat to revenue intake"

Thanks for your well thought out approach to the subject. The revenue argument always cracks me up, I mean, all the friends I've made that work for wildlife agencies certainly got into it for the money... give me a break. Wildlife management requires money, shocker I know. By charging non residents a steeper fee they are able to limit the amount of total non-resi tags allocated while offering residents more tags at a lower price, it's a simple concept that favors residents. Most western states (if not all) operate this way. The alternative is to jack up resi fees and even out tag allocation, either way someone is gonna cry.