What happened to Colorado?

K

kkensimpson

Guest
LAST EDITED ON Jan-16-04 AT 09:30PM (MST)[p]why doesnt colorado produce the same quality elk that it used to. does anyone remember the last time they heard about a 400 point elk being shot in Colorado? any explanations?
 
The suspect the best answer is that they have chosen quantity over quality. I suspect that is true even in the "premier" units where they severely limit the tags. They give few enough tags to raise some good 350 bulls but not giants. Also, places like unit 61 (quality unit) and 62 (quantity unit) are side by side and the elk move back and forth somewhat. I suspect poaching of the better units happens too.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
There are many large bulls taken each year in Colorado that don't make these cites. Call sangre di cristo outfitters, they get two to three bulls each year in between 380 and 390 and take a 400 bull every few years. There are also private land areas east of I-25 near Walsenburg in flat pinon tree country similar to the terain in New Mexico that produce bulls over 400 yearly. The Twin Peaks ranch near Aguilar CO. also produce bulls in the 380 to 400 class annually.
 
Bobbby is exactly right. There are a few places that still produce 400+ class bulls... Twin Peaks, Crazy French (RFWs) and a few others along the south central border. Overall Txhunter is right though, Colorado is about quanity over quality. There are a few units in the state that really have potential to grow big bulls but the DOW allows to many hunters and seem to only think about the money they generate by selling unlimited licenses.
 
There are few units in every state that have the potential of producing 400 class bulls with the exception of AZ and NM. In every other western state that has elk, 400 class bulls are few and far between. The bonus that the other states have over Colorado is that they have these huge bulls on public land although it might take 10 years to draw a tag, where as in Colorado most of the land that has 400 class bulls is private. Here are a few other ranches that have produced bulls of that size: Wolf Springs, Elk Spings and Forbes Trinchera.
 
Because we suck and you shouldnt come here and hunt anymore, No just kidding I think its because 60% of the tags go to non residents and if I paid 490.00 for a tag Id be comming home with an elk regardless of size, Also because non residents can buy over the counter tags, and then I also think the CDOW has the point restriction backwards instead of protecting spikes they need to protect the 3-4-5 point bulls, Your going to have so many spikes every year regardless but if you shoot all the 3 points with 5" brow tines 4 and 5 points your not going to have very many 6 point bulls let alone bulls that come anywhere near 400. Just my $.02 COLORADO NATIVE BORN AND RAISED
 
Avsman: Actually aprox 60% of the tags go to residents and 40% go to nonresidents overall (DOW figures), and on limited tags, noresidents are capped at 40%, which means that they get less than 40% of the tags in some of the limited units. Otherwise your analysis is probably accurate.

Don't worry though, I am sure that the DOW is hard at work figuring out how to cut nonresidents back even furthur.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
Quit whining about how Colorado is out to keep non residents out txhunter58. You've been belly aching about this for the better part of 3 years on a couple of message boards. Try drawing an elk tag in Arizona or shell out 1,000.00 for a Nevada tag before you keep whining about Colorado.
 
Sorry if I offended you Bruin. Just stating the facts which Avsman had backwards. There is a difference between whining and trying to sway public opinion. I strive to do the latter as I am sure you do about things that are important to you. Guess you could look at my last sentence as whining, so for that I appologize. Whining accomplishes nothing.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
Suck it up baby !! Haha. Actually we used to trade emails when I visited hunting.net. That was a few years back. I forgot what my username was there and I don't visit that place anymore. Happy hunting, nice buck you took this year by the way, congrats !
 
If I'm not mistaken I think Colorado is the only western state that sell OTC tags to nonresidents statewide????. Is this correct?
 

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