Western Hunting losing it's appeal

[Fatcamp]

There’s a lot more to hunting than just antlers

I can't like this enough. The people who have monetized hunting and their fan boys have made this endeavour seem so linear.

If you are a hunter you will hunt.

 

[Fatcamp]

It's interesting that folks from "back east" will hunt whitetails 50 yards from the next guy and within 1/4 mile radius of a few dozen, but get in a tizzy and bark about "western" crowding if they see a guy in orange 1/4 mile away...while also reporting they saw their elk.

You can hunt two elk in CO, in the same or separate seasons, every single year without applying for anything. You can hunt deer in CO every year without applying for anything. You can hunt phorn in CO every year without applying for anything. You can hunt two bear in CO without applying for anything.

That is SIX licenses without filling out a single application!

You can also hunt phorn in WY every year without any sort of "preference point game".

I am guessing there are also OTC tags in other states as well. Can't a person go hunt Bighorns EVERY SINGLE YEAR in Montana?

Explain to me how I can hunt deer in Colorado without applying?

 

[Slugz]

Explain to me how I can hunt deer in Colorado without applying?

Yes please tell. Id like to know also.

 

[missjordan]

I am fortunate to live in Montana so the home field advantage is real for me. However i watch my friends from Michigan come out every year and they struggle and we all hunt the same area. They definitely don’t have the eye for glassing big terrain and have a tough time thinking like an elk since they only get to hunt elk for the short amount of time they are out here.

With seeing them struggle for 3 years if i was in there shoes I’d definitely invest in guided hunts for any species out west and bag the points game. I haven’t wanted to throw in the towel with hunting yet but i definitely felt frustrated last year with the amount of people running around our area because most of them were driving around gates on closed roads. But I’ve seen it come in waves where some years are definitely busier than others.


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[5MilesBack]

Explain to me how I can hunt deer in Colorado without applying?

They sell unlimited WT tags in some units, and there's always leftover tags for MD every year after the draws.

 

[Slugz]

They sell unlimited WT tags in some units, and there's always leftover tags for MD every year after the draws.

Valid but more than 95 percent of them are on private so hardly a public land DIY hunt.

Thanks for the info. I forgot about those.

 

[Felix40]

I can literally get more tags than I have time for every single year. Cost is a little bit of an issue but I make very little money and still make it work. I don’t think non residents have anything to complain about when it’s still easy to do a week long elk hunt for sub $1000.

 

[S.Clancy]

Can't a person go hunt Bighorns EVERY SINGLE YEAR in Montana?

Haha, I think about .01% of NR hunters would find the unlimited hunts in MT an enjoyable experience. But, they could go....

 

[Fatcamp]

They sell unlimited WT tags in some units, and there's always leftover tags for MD every year after the draws.

Ya, technically correct. Not really an opportunity without paying large fees though.

 

[orionthehunter1]

Except that same guy gets more use and guaranteed outcome out of the 60,000 truck towing the 20,000 razor behind it.

It's foolish to pay 1,000 for just the experience alone when you can that for free...

Then quit hunting out of state easy fix

 

[Wilderness Disciple]

This might have been said before, but I think the issue maybe with the hunters themselves and trophy mentality. I don't apply for any unit that is more than 1-2 points to get it or I'll do OTC. Yeah it would be awesome to get trophies but honestly I am happy with anything. And coming from Oregon, we have the worst hunting in any western states, but we make it happen every year. Just hunt hard, hunt multiple animals, and be content with what you get. You'll do awesome just keep at it and don't get discouraged.

 

[ewescue]

Honestly I am surprised at a lot of the opinions here. For me, I'm 24 years old and live in the east. I've been wanting to get into Western hunting my entire life but never had the money growing up. Instead I scraped by doing trips in my state and other surrounding states for as cheap as you possibly could. Went to college, just graduated less than 2 years ago, got a good job and have now jumped into the "game" of western hunts and point systems.
Is it fair? IDK. Is it simple and easy to understand? not really. Is it getting better or worse? I think it depends on the persons attitude. The way I see it, there is still opportunity everywhere. Will you kill a giant bull or buck? maybe not. Will you see other hunts? maybe. Will you still be hunting? yes.
I think this all boils down to want/desire balanced with expectations. I know what I'm getting into, I've accepted it because it's how it is. Not saying it won't change, or should or shouldn't change, but it's how it is right now. I want to hunt badly enough that I'm willing to accept that, and through countless hours of research and hard work I've uncovered more opportunities than I have the time or money to spend on. Just this year alone I'm planning on atleast 3 big western trips, and probably closer to 10 smaller trips around here. The opportunity is still there, if you want it enough.

 

[z987k]

There’s a lot more to hunting than just antlers

I can't eat horns. Y'all can have them. When it's legal and the population can support it, I always target females. Taste so much better.

If not required, I leave antlers in the field. Waste of weight. Dog seems to like them though.

 

[archp625]

I don't think Western hunting is loosing its appeal. If anything it is gaining steam here in the midwest. But like others have said you need a plan and have to execute it perfectly. Its only going to get harder. The digging and the more research and its not to bad at all to figure out.

On a side note I have never hunted Colorado. I have hunted Wyoming and Montana and have not run into a crowd situation yet.

 

[sndmn11]

Valid but more than 95 percent of them are on private so hardly a public land DIY hunt.

Thanks for the info. I forgot about those.

Around half are the same units people elk hunt in. Some are even list B tags so you can whack two and pad your lifetime success stats.

 

[downtownbrown0610]

I believe that everyone will have their own personal opinions on this topic. I honestly see western hunting as a whole growing massively. Maybe I just submerge myself into all the content and I am just noticing it more? But to me it seems as if everywhere I turn its Podcasts this, videos that, gear this, E-scouting that..... I am all for it. There will always be some negatives associated. But for the most part I see good things coming out of the hunting industry. Just because some are more into things that I do not necessarily agree with, the amount of attention the industry is getting is good. Just look at the overall support that came out of the California ban of bear hunting. Massive push back from the hunting industry helped push that bill to the curb. If it was not for social media I do not think that would have happened. Just a few years ago bear hunting was not that popular, where as today many many more are into it.

One thing I have noticed lately in regards to western hunting loosing its appeal, is I have noticed a lot more grumblings and overall dislikes for most western state draw systems and point systems. I think most are getting fed up with the ever changing rules that are usually against the NR and the overall cost associated with applying for these states. It is going to be interesting to see what comes out of the next couple years. More people are getting involved in the political side of things, because of social media and everyone now having a platform. Interesting topic and I appreciate everyone sharing their opinions.

 

[sndmn11]

Oh shoot! I forgot....
You can get two phorn tags in CO without applying. Also, you can get an infinite amount of Elk tags in CO that are EITHER SEX WITH NO ANTLER POINT RESTRICTION with a FIVE MONTH SEASON.

That's the opposite of decreased opportunity.

 

[Ozarkansas]

I jumped on the western hunting bandwagon last year after several years of going on progressively more challenging hunts on big tracts of public land in my state. I have to say that while I had a blast in Colorado and can see the appeal, I may not go out west as much as I had originally thought I would. Not only do I prefer the slow, quiet chess match of going into a new area for whitetail over the relatively fast-paced glassing/calling of western hunting, but I can do so much more hunting with 10 days off work if I stay in my home state rather than driving out west.
There’s probably quite a few people like me that got excited for hunting out west from YouTube and Instagram and then after doing it decided the effort really isn’t worth it to do every year. I imagine the current obsession with western hunting will wane and a lot of Midwestern guys will go back to chasing big whitetail like they were in the 2000s when Bone Collector was all the rage and nobody knew what Meateater was

 

[ReddingArcher]

I think it all comes down to what you want in a hunt. Do you want to hunt trophy units only? Gonna have to either wait to draw the tag, which depending on the state and the way the point system is you are probably not going to draw a premier unit in your lifetime if its a true preference point system. Possibly if there are any tags given to random point holders. Or you are going to have to pony up the cash and hunt with an outfitter or buy landowner tags. Personally I want to hunt every year, me and my hunting group have it figured out where we should be able to hunt a different state every year with us applying in 4 states. Granted they are not trophy units but we realize that and are more willing to hunt and learn areas and I think that will give us a better chance of killing quality animals. This past year we hunted a heavily hunted deer unit in Colorado, over the week we were there we looked at 50-60 bucks and filled 3 out of 4 tags. I could have filled my tag any day I wanted to but I had a goal in mind and was fine with eating a tag. We saw 5-8 bucks that we great bucks during the hunt, albeit on private but those bucks were still there and were chasing does, all it would have taken was for a hot doe to pull one of them off private and I would have had a chance at a great buck.

I get it though, it can be frustrating. If you know your gonna see people and have to compete with them for animals and just accept it for what it is it sure makes the hunt more enjoyable.

 

[SirChooCH]

I don't think Western hunting is loosing its appeal. If anything it is gaining steam here in the midwest. But like others have said you need a plan and have to execute it perfectly. Its only going to get harder. The digging and the more research and its not to bad at all to figure out.

On a side note I have never hunted Colorado. I have hunted Wyoming and Montana and have not run into a crowd situation yet.

It is definitely going to get harder and harder in the states you hunt as there is a Montana bill 143 to reduce NR tags unless outfitter sponsored and another top thread from yesterday of Wyoming discussing capping it to 10% NR tags. This will push even more pressure to OTC to states, which will soon no longer be OTC and will be draw only with capped tags and increased prices yet again.