Why OTC hunting has ruined CO

[HighPlainsHunter]

I bet the percentage that hunt is way higher in Wyoming and montana tho. That being said im sure there are more hunters in Colorado with a few more deer

Likely. But even if half of the people in Wyoming hunt (250k), and only a quarter of Colorado folks hunt (1.5 million) that still leaves Colorado with 6 times more hunters, and in this case only 50k more deer.

These discussions always look different once emotions are put aside and real numbers are used.

So if you had to choose.
Montana General Elk
Wyoming General Elk
Colorado OTC or tag that can be drawn every year with 0 points.

Montana General Deer
Wyoming General Deer
Colorado deer that that can be drawn every year with 0 points.

And to make matters worse for Colorado, Montana and Wyoming folks can get those general tags while still having a shot at a premium tag in the random draw. From my understanding a Colorado resident with zero points has no chance at drawing a premium deer/elk tag in the draw because of the preference point system for residents.

I think you could make the case that Colorado is the best state for hunting as a NR with all the OTC elk tags, and transferable landowner deer/elk/antelope tags for folks with more money than patience. But from a residents perspective it leaves a lot to be desired, and the short seasons suck for resident hunters but are great for NR hunters who only come out for a few days at a time anyway.

 

[Slugz]

"But from a residents perspective it leaves a lot to be desired"

Yep I agree two elk a year, one deer a year.......I had to get a bigger freezer.....terrible I tell ya!! No room for my turkeys, geese, pheasants, mountain grouse, antelope doe, antelope buck or whitetail doe. And thats just mine.....I told the kid he had to start processing his own and get his own freezer.

Its all in the perspective my friend

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

"But from a residents perspective it leaves a lot to be desired"

Yep I agree two elk a year, one deer a year.......I had to get a bigger freezer.....terrible I tell ya!! No room for my turkeys, geese, pheasants, mountain grouse, antelope doe, antelope buck or whitetail doe. And thats just mine.....I told the kid he had to start processing his own and get his own freezer.

Its all in the perspective my friend

This thread is pure entertainment.

Do you think that tags which are good for a week leave a lot to be desired compared to Montana tags which are good for 4 months?


So if you had to choose from the list you would pick the Colorado license? LOL
Montana General Elk
Wyoming General Elk
Colorado OTC or tag that can be drawn every year with 0 points.

Montana General Deer
Wyoming General Deer
Colorado deer that that can be drawn every year with 0 points.

Only a fool would pick Coloardo with those choices. Also note how not one of the Colorado fans have been willing to answer those questions. Pretty easy to see why.

 

[BKC]

Only a fool would pick Coloardo with those choices. Also note how not one of the Colorado fans have been willing to answer those questions. Pretty easy to see why.

Color me a fool! I would choose Colorado. Keep hunting in Wyoming and Montana and try to convince everybody you talk to how great of time they would have doing the same as you. This leaves more for those that choose Colorado.

 

[Slugz]

HPH/HPD,*
Like I said it's perspective. Any resident who has to OTC hunt in Colorado has either not done the homework or has made that choice which I'm fine with....it's a free world.

Yes the 4 month tag is nice but I don't know anyone with four months of vacation a year. Most hunters have limited time to get it done and balance family, work and other commitments. And yeah you could live close and hunt every weekend so 32 days roughly out of the season spread out over 4 months.

Nope I wouldn't pick the Colorado OTC elk lic.....if you see all my posts on the entire forum poo poo OTC Colorado tags.

No one answers because we all agree and would like to see Colorado Elk OTC go by the wayside and all tags be drawn. Quality would go way up.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Color me a fool! I would choose Colorado.

LOL

1 week tag vs 4 month tag
not so great elk tag that can be drawn with 0 points vs Better elk tag with chance for premium elk tag

Thanks for answering, I was not expecting someone to actually choose the Colorado elk tag in that scenario for obvious reasons, but I guess emotions win over reason in some cases.

I am not a homer in in way and would gladly take the MT elk tag that lasted 4 months. Better tag all the way around plus the chance for a premium tag.

Where do you rank Colorado overall resident hunting opportunities in the USA?

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

HPH/HPD,*
Like I said it's perspective. Any resident who has to OTC hunt in Colorado has either not done the homework or has made that choice which I'm fine with....it's a free world.

Yes the 4 month tag is nice but I don't know anyone with four months of vacation a year. Most hunters have limited time to get it done and balance family, work and other commitments. And yeah you could live close and hunt every weekend so 32 days roughly out of the season spread out over 4 months.

Nope I wouldn't pick the Colorado OTC elk lic.....if you see all my posts on the entire forum poo poo OTC Colorado tags.

No one answers because we all agree and would like to see Colorado Elk OTC go by the wayside and all tags be drawn. Quality would go way up.

If you are going to hunt every year in Colorado your choices are 0 preference point tag, leftover or second choice tag, OTC tag. Is that accurate?

If you are going to hunt every year in Montana the first choice is limited entry unit, then general elk tag. That seems like a much better opportunity to me.

4 months tag is far superior to a 1 week tag. Clearly most people don't get 4 months off but that allows much more flexibility to hunt and less pressure in the field. A person could get many more hunting days in with that season structure IMO.

I appreciate your honesty and being realistic. I am also honest and would be tempted to not choose my home state either as the length of the MT season is appealing to me.

I agree on the OTC tags being an issue in CO. Much like the landowner tags they hurt resident hunting opportunities.

So what about the Deer tag.
Colorado deer tag you can draw every year with 0 points?
Montana General deer?
Wyoming General deer?

 

[BKC]

Where do you rank Colorado overall resident hunting opportunities in the USA?

In the bottom ten, just above Rhode Island.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

In the bottom ten, just above Rhode Island.

I was figuring you would put CO just above Alaska based on your past comments. LOL

 

[Slugz]

So for elk it's 1st choice draw , 2nd choice draw , 3rd choice draw, 4th choice draw, leftover over draw, leftover list then OTC.

I hunt deer every other year on a one point draw limited tag.......sometimes consecutive years. I don't know enough about the deer opportunities in WYO and Montana to comment.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

So for elk it's 1st choice draw , 2nd choice draw , 3rd choice draw, 4th choice draw, leftover over draw, leftover list then OTC.

I hunt deer every other year on a one point draw limited tag.......sometimes consecutive years. I don't know enough about the deer opportunities in WYO and Montana to comment.

So every other year or so you have to deer hunt on a second choice tag to get a point to hunt next year, yikes. That certainly would not compare to a Wyoming or MT general tag, they they get a chance for a premium unit.

With the limited choices for deer tags that can be drawn in CO with 0 points and the 1 week season this is yet another situation where the longer season structure and chance to draw a limited entry unit in MT and WY would seem to have some advantages for resident hunters. As does the huge area available to hunt with a general tag in those states versus 1 unit in Colorado.

If I was ranking states by resident hunting opportunity.
Alaska
Montana
Wyoming
Idaho
New Mexico
Colorado
Nevada/AZ
Washington/Oregon

I get the feeling that some of the Colorado folks think they are right there with Alaska based of some of these responses. I think one guy even said Colorado was #1 for resident hunting opportunities.

 

[Winchester]

I'll agree with Slugz on this thread.
Colorado is awesome once you learn how to use this system.
I have a large upright freezer that's completely full ... gotta start eating faster before next season.

 

[JimP]

Once your learn how the system works you can hunt deer every year while still gaining points and the units can be some great units.

Perhaps Wyoming and Montana need that 4 months to actually fill a tag instead of what we can do here in Colorado in a week.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

I'll agree with Slugz on this thread.
Colorado is awesome once you learn how to use this system.
I have a large upright freezer that's completely full ... gotta start eating faster before next season.

Slugs also said he thinks Colorado offers the best resident hunting opportunities in the lower 48 and clearly I have blown holes in that theory. It's 'funny to go back and read the responses.

So to you and any of the other Colorado homers.

Would you choose a 0 preference point CO elk tag over a MT gen elk or WY gen elk?

Slugs won't answer that one, just like everyone else except the 1 fella (LOL). It's obvious why you guys won't answer that simple question.

Same goes for Deer.

Would you rather have a 0 PP CO deer tag, MT general (chance for limited), WY general (Chance for limited).

I am going to bet that nobody will answer yet again. That's the entertaining part of this tread. Folks like Slugs sear up and down how great the hunting is but never actually answer the simple question.

 

[Winchester]

Your question has been answered a couple of times now.
There's plenty of great deer and elk hunting in Colorado and a lot of it can be done with 0 PP once you learn our system.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Once your learn how the system works you can hunt deer every year while still gaining points and the units can be some great units.

Perhaps Wyoming and Montana need that 4 months to actually fill a tag instead of what we can do here in Colorado in a week.

LOL, at that point you are comparing second choice CO tags most year to those in MT and WY which offer general tags but also a chance for a limited entry unit. There is no way in hell that a second choice CO tag is comparable to a MT general with a chance for limited entry units. No way.

As far as the 4 month joke, that as already been used. A 4 month season is much better than a 1 week season for residents. Not even remotely comparable for residents. The CO season structure is for NR"s, and sucks for residents as everyone is hunting that short period and then it's over for a whole year. Longer seasons are much better for residents as you have more flexibility, more days in the field, more days to work with weather, etc.. MT guys even get to hunt Thanksgiving week.

So did you want to answer those 2 questions.
Would you choose a 0 preference point CO elk tag good for a week over a MT gen elk (chance for limited) or WY gen elk (chance for limited)?
Would you rather have a 0 PP CO deer tag good for a week, MT general (chance for limited), WY general (Chance for limited)?

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Your question has been answered a couple of times now.
There's plenty of great deer and elk hunting in Colorado and a lot of it can be done with 0 PP once you learn our system.

Actually it hasn't, but feel free to chime in.

Would you choose a 0 preference point CO elk tag good for a week over a MT gen elk (chance for limited) or WY gen elk (chance for limited)?
Would you rather have a 0 PP CO deer tag good for a week, MT general (chance for limited), WY general (Chance for limited)

 

[mallardsx2]

If I was ranking states by resident hunting opportunity.
Alaska
Montana
Wyoming
Idaho
New Mexico
Colorado
Nevada/AZ
Washington/Oregon

You should move to Alaska.

 

[Winchester]

Actually it hasn't, but feel free to chime in.

Would you choose a 0 preference point CO elk tag good for a week over a MT gen elk (chance for limited) or WY gen elk (chance for limited)?
Would you rather have a 0 PP CO deer tag good for a week, MT general (chance for limited), WY general (Chance for limited)

One more time, I'll take the CO tags. Thx.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

You should move to Alaska.

What makes you concerned with where I live?

Would you take the 0 PP tags good for a week in CO over the MT or WY general tags?

LOL