New Colorado Big Game Season Structure 2020 - 2026

[Karl Blanchard]

I stand by my statement. Residents act like they are the only ones who have to deal with NR. Guess what, NR affect NR hunters hunts too. For a decade I've been hunting CO, and in the "crappy" units with all the tags and NR hunters and never once have I had an issue finding a killing very quality animals. So like I said before, if a guy isn't filling tags and having a good hunt he need only look in the mirror to see the issue. 

People in general like to complain and blame others for their short comings. There's too many non residents so that's the issue.  Then when that gets capped and their tag fee's double they will scream about that as well. And leta not forget about the endless list of small towns who would become abandoned ghost towns or reduced to a few meth labs without the MILLIONS that NR hunters bring to those economies 🤦‍♂️

Are you aware of the application changes and what it’s done to the point system?  BTW. Killing elk isnt the problem.  And something tells me you don’t kill an elk every year like you claim.

never claimed to kill an elk every year. I seldom even buy an elk tag. I'm a mule deer guy. But EVERY SINGLE SEASON I see bulls I could shoot. EVERY single year.

Yeah I'm tracking the app changes and creep is no more an issue now as it was 5 years ago. That's just the name of the game in every state. WY is even worse.  I personally liked paying my cash up front and wish it was still that way but it's not, so I adapt, look for draw trend changes and get out ahead of it.

[Karl Blanchard]

The new applicants into the system from 2 years ago have ZERO affect on the guy with 3 or more points. And the vast majority of those new players arent even applying for points. They got in because it was cheap. The. We small game license requirement nuked quite a bit of those guys.

[cem3434]

I stand by my statement. Residents act like they are the only ones who have to deal with NR. Guess what, NR affect NR hunters hunts too. For a decade I've been hunting CO, and in the "crappy" units with all the tags and NR hunters and never once have I had an issue finding a killing very quality animals. So like I said before, if a guy isn't filling tags and having a good hunt he need only look in the mirror to see the issue. 

People in general like to complain and blame others for their short comings. There's too many non residents so that's the issue.  Then when that gets capped and their tag fee's double they will scream about that as well. And leta not forget about the endless list of small towns who would become abandoned ghost towns or reduced to a few meth labs without the MILLIONS that NR hunters bring to those economies 🤦‍♂️

Are you aware of the application changes and what it’s done to the point system?  BTW. Killing elk isnt the problem.  And something tells me you don’t kill an elk every year like you claim.

From the sounds of, neither do you and that's why you're pissy. I think Karl is spot on and you're just bitching to bitch at this point because you have yet to make any valid points on how non residents adversely impact CO other than "over crowding" of your PUBLIC LAND hunting spots.

[Karl Blanchard]

I stand by my statement. Residents act like they are the only ones who have to deal with NR. Guess what, NR affect NR hunters hunts too. For a decade I've been hunting CO, and in the "crappy" units with all the tags and NR hunters and never once have I had an issue finding a killing very quality animals. So like I said before, if a guy isn't filling tags and having a good hunt he need only look in the mirror to see the issue. 

People in general like to complain and blame others for their short comings. There's too many non residents so that's the issue.  Then when that gets capped and their tag fee's double they will scream about that as well. And leta not forget about the endless list of small towns who would become abandoned ghost towns or reduced to a few meth labs without the MILLIONS that NR hunters bring to those economies 🤦‍♂️

Are you aware of the application changes and what it’s done to the point system?  BTW. Killing elk isnt the problem.  And something tells me you don’t kill an elk every year like you claim.

From the sounds of, neither do you and that's why you're pissy. I think Karl is spot on and you're just bitching to bitch at this point because you have yet to make any valid points on how non residents adversely impact CO other than "over crowding" of your PUBLIC LAND hunting spots.

OUR public lands

[cem3434]

Agreed 

[PlateauNDN]

Karl not killing a elk every year isnt for lack of trying. I'd say for lack of freezer space due to cramming Muley's in every available spot.

[jetjockey]

I stand by my statement. Residents act like they are the only ones who have to deal with NR. Guess what, NR affect NR hunters hunts too. For a decade I've been hunting CO, and in the "crappy" units with all the tags and NR hunters and never once have I had an issue finding a killing very quality animals. So like I said before, if a guy isn't filling tags and having a good hunt he need only look in the mirror to see the issue. 

People in general like to complain and blame others for their short comings. There's too many non residents so that's the issue.  Then when that gets capped and their tag fee's double they will scream about that as well. And leta not forget about the endless list of small towns who would become abandoned ghost towns or reduced to a few meth labs without the MILLIONS that NR hunters bring to those economies 🤦‍♂️

Are you aware of the application changes and what it’s done to the point system?  BTW. Killing elk isnt the problem.  And something tells me you don’t kill an elk every year like you claim.

From the sounds of, neither do you and that's why you're pissy. I think Karl is spot on and you're just bitching to bitch at this point because you have yet to make any valid points on how non residents adversely impact CO other than "over crowding" of your PUBLIC LAND hunting spots.

Let me explain the point creep system to you.  CO changed the system two years ago and made it easier to apply for point.  Units that USED to have 1000 applicants for 500 tags, now have 2000 applicants for 500 tags. That means a unit you could draw every other year, will now take about 4 years to draw.  A group of guys my FIL used to hunt with from VA ran into it his year.   Not enough guys in their camp drew, so they will be hunting OTC, which will put more pressure on OTC hunts.  The change basically only affected out of state hunters, because they had to fork out $500+ for their tags before they drew, knowing they would get a refund if they didn’t.  Residents only had to fork out $40 for a tag, so it was no big deal.  Spending $600 for a tag knowing you might not get the money back for 3-4 months scares people off.  CO changed the system so now you only have to buy a $40 qualifying license for out of state hunters.  That nearly doubled the applicants over night. Time will tell how many hunters it will add to the OTC seasons, but my guess is it will be a bunch, as I know a group who’s hunting OTC for the first time in 20 years.

 I also call BS to the guy who said he could have killed a bull every year.  I know guys who hunted landowner tags for cows two years ago and didn’t see an elk until December, they didn’t get close all season, and that season is 3 months long.   Outfitters don’t have that kind of luck, and some of them own the land they hunt on.

[BULLBLASTER]

I think you are misunderstanding your own draw system. You have to buy a $90 license now to apply as a nonresident plus $9 per species. You are right that the first year they changed it there was a massive increase but that was because people weren’t understanding they would be charged $40 per point later on.

Just a heads up you might want to think a bit before calling bs on guys like Karl. He is the real deal.

He has in fact killed an elk every year I’ve known him though not in Colorado, but both times I’ve been to Colorado we had opportunity’s at bulls in otc seasons and public land if we would have had tags.

[jetjockey]

This year you did.  Last year you didn’t.  And you don’t need a qualifying license to hunt OTC.  I understand our system perfectly well.  Id prefer they charge $200 for a qualifying license.  That’s why I would have preferred the mid week- mid week season.  Less hunters.

[cem3434]

So just to recap, every single post you have in this thread is whining about YOUR loss of opportunity like you have more of a right to hunt then the rest of us because you're a resident.  We pay more and have every right to hunt the same animals in the OTC units as everyone else. If you don't like hunting crowded areas, then you should probably reconsider where you hunt and the OTC tags you chose to buy. WA is probably one of the most crowded states when it comes to OTC hunting because of the amount of hunters and significantly less game to hunt, so your preaching to the choir. Don't forget how hard it is to draw a tag here either, because your draws that take 4 points to draw would probably take 20 points to draw in WA....and only if you're lucky.

Like others have said, you should be careful with calling out guys like Karl because you don't know anything about him. Get over yourself and go whine on monstermuleys because I don't think you're going to get much sympathy from your fellow hunters on this site.

[Karl Blanchard]

This has gotten entertaining  

You can call bs all you want, but I'd like to think my track record pretty much speaks for itself. I don't even go looking for bulls but can't get away from the damn things in CO. They really screw up a good muley spot that's where having a buddy around who does have an elk tag  comes in handy

[Bigshooter]

Some of you need to relax. 

[jetjockey]

This has gotten entertaining  

You can call bs all you want, but I'd like to think my track record pretty much speaks for itself. I don't even go looking for bulls but can't get away from the damn things in CO. They really screw up a good muley spot that's where having a buddy around who does have an elk tag  comes in handy

I’m not calling BE on your hunting ability, it’s just that weather, moon, hunting pressure, etc play a HUGE roll in CO elk.  Two years ago we had full moons and 70 degree weather at 11,000ft.  Nobody saw elk, and it wasn’t because they weren't good hunters.  I know we’re several very nice bulls are right now, but who knows where they will be when the shooting starts!  These two guys will be gone in about a month,  and I see them every day!   So, I don’t buy it when guys say they “could” kill an elk every year, even though they don’t buy a tag.

[BULLBLASTER]

Believe what you want....

I’ve been there and seen it with Karl, granted only two years but we saw bulls.
@coachcw killed this bull in a heavily hunted otc area 2 years ago in the full moon and heat.

[jetjockey]

In the heat with all that snow on the ground? 🤣🤣🤣🤣.    You pretty much just lost all credibility.