Colorado Point Creep

lostinOregon

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The odds for Colorado are now up on Huntin Fool if you are a member. It is clear by the numbers that all of the "premium" units are point creeping about one point a year. It looks like if you are chasing a hunt it just goes one point higher every year. I was hoping with the banking two years ago that things would flat line, but it doesn't look like that at all. I guess I'm just venting but i like to try to plan on my hunts but it is getting harder and harder every year. Now with the bad winter and possibly fewer tags it just may keep getting harder to get a tag. Am I the only noticing this trend in Colorado or does anyone really care in January?

Rich
 
Colorado is going to start to see a big drop in non residents applying for points if they don't change things. They are offering so few tags now that its just not worth it.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-18-08 AT 10:44AM (MST)[p]Too few tags? what are you smoking?
Even in the premium units, CO is adding tags nearly every year.
I tend to think that with any more tags offered in these premium units, the guality is going to begin to slump again. Then what good is banking points all those years for the opportunity at a little 4 pt?
If you want to work at it, there are dozens of units to draw as a second choice, in units with thousands of tags. Work hard and even in those units, big deer are found.
Sorry bro, the 'too few tags comment' holds no water.
 
too few tags is a joke. there are definately way too many elk hunters which takes a toll on the deer hunting as well. the deer have been managed great imo. elk need more limited areas so the quality will increase
 
I would have to agree! way too many elk hunters are making it more difficult to hunt the great units that we all wait to draw every few years.
 
Colorado gives proportionally more tags to nonresidents than any other western state. In most states NR are limited to 10% of the tags, CO gives 35% in units requiring less than 5 points, and 20% in units requiring more than 5 points. The NR split used to be higher, but residents demanded a bigger proportion of the tags and got it.

About point creep, I see it in all western states with point systems. I almost feel bad for youth that are just starting out in the application game. That is why I am glad we have a few states like ID and NM where everybody is on an equal playing field. I also like the fact that there are states that reward you for being persistent. I hope we can continue to have some of both rather than have every state go to a point system.

As for me, I will be holding onto my CO points for a few more years when the deer recover from this bad weather and when the management pendulum swings back towards the quality from the opportunity direction that it is swinging in right now. In the meantime I will continue to hunt second choice units with potential that rivals lots of draw units in other states. There is more crowding and competition, but the potential is there.

Viva Colorado!

Dax
 
CO has consistentley been putting out the biggest bucks (or at least the greatest number of big bucks) in the counrty for the last several years. Points creeping up is no surprise.

http://www.wildernessathlete.org/ because the most important piece of equipment you own is YOU!
 
I have 5 points this year and have a few 180-190 class bucks to my credit already. I want to save my points also to try to get a buck in the "next level" category. But in the mean time would like to chase big bucks in other units that can be drawn with 0 points. Im in good shapand hunt with bow and muzzleloader aswell as rifle.Were would a guy start. Oh and it sounds like Colorado is doing a great job managing their deer.
 
Point banking was a joke! The only thing point banking did was make the easier draw units creep! The tough to draw units continue to creep and now there are even more guys vying for lower pref pt units! I can guarantee the high pref pt units continue to creep even without pt banking.

If you think about it guys that normally just applied for tough draw units had the opportunity to bank their pts and draw several tags rather than burning all of their pts on 1 tag. If you were one of the few that took advantage of pt banking it was a good deal but guys that prefer to draw and hunt easier draw units got screwed! I hope we never see pt banking in Colo again!
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-20-08 AT 08:54AM (MST)[p]Just thought I'd add an additional comment. If I was a Colo nonresident I really wouldn't be complaining! As mentioned above Colo is THE most liberal state in the Western US in regard to nonres/res tag percentages. Utah, Wyo, AZ, NV, WA, ID, and other states are charging nonres applicants $60 to over $100 just to apply for tags. This may prevent a few non-serious guys from applying just to build points.

As a nonres would it be worth it to you to have somewhat better draw odds but have to pay an additional $100 to apply each year? How about Wyo where they have regular vs special price nonres tags? Would something like that work?

I would say that usually something needs to be giving up if more opportunity is offered (quality of hunt, more hunters afield, trophy potential, etc). As mentioned above, the opposite thing is true with Colo elk...lots of hunting opportunity but is it worth crowded conditions and low trophy potential? It gets a guy wondering what the potential for some of Colo's elk units would be if the bulls were given a chance to age! Our neighboring state of UT is re-writing the B&C elk books! I am sure there would be a lot of out-cry that tags keep creeping if fewer elk tags were offered!
 
I agree Jims, Colorado is doing many things right for there deer, I tend to think that the difficulty involved in getting a good muley will just make more poeple try to hunt Colorado.
 
Colorado gives out more non-resident deer tags than Utah, Arizona and Nevada combined.

Points creep may be happening, but atleast you have a genuine, serious, bankable opportunity at drawing a tag in your lifetime as opposed to a lifetime's worth of license purchases and a crapshoot with horrible odds for the premium units of Arizona and Utah. Talk about piszin' money away.

30 years of license purchases at almost impossible mathmatical odds is over 4 grand. Point creep doesn't sound to awful bad at that point when you consider that even in the less opportune units in Colorado, there are still a handful of true monster class bucks.

Of course thats just my opinion. I could be wrong.
 
If you take a look at all the western hunting mags throughout the year, how many Colorado bucks came from the 'premier' units? I can't think of one unit or region that won't kick out a 180 plus. The point creep is helping everybody who doesn't read Huntin Fool. From the plains to timberline, sagebrush to the desert canyons, we have big bucks. You may have to work harder than driving around blm roads in November, but the opportunities are there. Nothing against Huntin Fool, but they appeal to the hunter who doesn't want to do there homework. They should be used as ONE of the many tools hunters use in there research. If people want to wait 17 years or more for a 'premier' unit, so be it. The rest of us will hunt trophies in the rest of the state. The elk hunting though... You had better put in for the best units or just plan on having fun with the family on your annual elk trip looking for a raghorn.
 
I re-read my post and I want to reiterate that I wasn't complaining about tag numbers. Colorado is more than fair to NR's and I appreciate it. I don't hunt the Gunnison and the tag I like when I started hunting colorado you had a chance with 0 points, currently you need 2. It appears that some of the sleeper units are not going to be freebies every year. I love to hunt Colorado and make it my number one priority. It just seems to be getting very popular to hunt deer in Colorado. Make sure you donate to the feeding program in Colorado.

Rich
 
Zekers I applaud your 2 cents!
While everybody plays the point race I'll be hunting every year and still have a chance (sometimes very slim to dang good) at a great deer. My wife whacked a 218 n/t a couple years ago in a unit with hundreds of leftover tags!

Jeff
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-22-08 AT 04:09PM (MST)[p]For deer I do not play the pref points game,that is O.K. if that is your choice ,but I have found some nice bucks over the years in the leftover draw units,I have hunted the east slope for several years and took my share of nice bucks.I havebeen skunked on some years but have done real well on others,but thats huntin.
The thing I have always enjoyed,is that I have always been able to hunt Colorado thru a leftover deer or elk tag,I think that is great!
 

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