Ranching for wildlife question

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, I have never looked into this before now. If someone drew a ranching for wildlife tag (pick any species, say mule deer)what does that get you access to at their ranch? I have looked on some of their websites and it says, "you can hunt here for $6000 and we'll take care of you", blah blah blah. Obviously, you wouldn't need to pay the $6000 because you drew the tag but what else do you get? Does it cost anything more? Do you have to use them as a guide? Sorry if these are ridiculous/obvious questions.

Here's a link off of CPW web site I hope helps you. Plus you can always call them for more info. http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/RFW.aspx

I've read that but I was wondering if anyone has hunted one and what is there opinion/review. Is it worth it? Did you get anything for it vs. going out on your own, etc.

I have not hunted on one, but I have heard both great stories and horror stories.

Horror Stories included things like limited access and the hunter had to hike 2 miles to access areas and after hiking that 2 miles the guides drove in with vehicles and other clients. So the public hunters were not getting a fair shot. I have heard that some ranches have rules about the direction you must hunt even if the wind is totally wrong as approaching from a different direction means pushing the animals towards the property boundary. I know a guy who did a paid hunt on a RFW in Craig and he was allowed only 1 shot per day as multiple shots would likely force the animals off the ranch. One fall I watch a guy shoot a bull in the spine on this same ranch. The elk turned towards the property line, there was no followup shot and that bull sat out there trying to get back up for almost an hour. The hunter and guide were 200 yards away and would not send a second shot.

On the flip side I also know that some ranches treat you exactly like a paying hunter. They provide meals, guides, horses etc. I have looked at the process and have never been able to determine which ones are the good the good places and which ones are the poor.

As a hunter I am fundamentally opposed the RFW program and would have a hard time participating. With all things, some places are going to be awesome some are just going to suck. I have no idea how to tell which is which. Also when you read the web page it states that you will only get a copy of the rules for the ranch after you have successfully drawn the tag. I am not sure I would ever be willing to dump points into such a hunt with out knowing how the game will be played ahead of time...

Also the other item to point out is that RFW does not mean there is any better quality to the animals in many cases. The only difference is the quality of the hunt. For example in the NW part of the state when you watch hunts on 3 Forks or with elk horn outfitters, they are typically killing rag horn 4 point bulls with a few medium sized 5 and small 6 in the mix. The same elk earlier in the same elk earlier in the season will be higher on National Forest and later they will eventually end up on BLM winter range. There are a few exceptions but when you look at photos from the ranches, they typically show show what other outfitters and hunters are taking from the same units.

I usef 11 deer points years ago at crazy french. Horror story. They wouldnt let me on the ranch before sunup or hunt the better part of the ranch.

Each ranch has different rules, all can be read on the CPW site. My experience w RFW has been generally (+), about 7 hunts, mostly w cow tags. I have never been surprised by limitations after reading the rules of the ranch I was hunting. Many of the RFW cow tags now take 2 or more points. Also, most RFW hunts are not @ peak seasons, that is when paying hunters are on the ranch, in my experience.

On the Deakins and ??? (Brain cramp...straight north of Lay and NW from Craig) you have free range and they gave me good advice.

The other time was the 4 Mile...they assign hunters to an area. Then, the next day, most everybody was gone and they said hunt wherever you want.

So, I've had positive experiences on 3 ranches.

That said, the one north of Lay, we saw a bazillion does and not one decent buck.

John 14:6

Deakins was one of them I was looking at. Are they worth giving up 11 Res. PP for or would you hold out?

>Deakins was one of them I
>was looking at. Are
>they worth giving up 11
>Res. PP for or would
>you hold out?


Elk or Deer? I would be very hard pressed to spend 11 points on either species. I worked for several summers with the Moffat County Pest department. As a result we covered virtually every corner of the Deakins place. It is an OK place but the animals you will be hunting will not be very good at all. Unit 301 is not a trophy unit for anything (except maybe antelope, but even then it is not exceptional). It is a large chunk of ground but it is also very weather dependent. The largest buck I ever saw in the area was 160s and I never have seen a bull any bigger than a Raghorn. I would think that there are several other hunts that would provide as good of a hunt. It seems really silly that anyone would spend those points to hunt the same animals that are earlier on high public ground and a little later on some lower winter grounds. They do have a few resident deer and some of those bucks get decent, but again anything big will typically be killed by a paying hunter before the public gets a shot.

It would be for deer that I was considering it. Good to know that is all the bigger they are. Hardly worth 11 points. Ha, so I'm back to square one as to having no idea what to do with the points!

>It would be for deer that
>I was considering it.
>Good to know that is
>all the bigger they are.
> Hardly worth 11
>points. Ha, so I'm
>back to square one as
>to having no idea what
>to do with the points!
>

The other point I will make is the Walz family is great and really good people. He is really helpful and really open to being contacted. As a result, I would contact him. I have watched the deer he has taken on Film and saw some that went into the taxidermy. 170 is a good expectation. He has taken 1 buck that hit 200, I believe he had an article or did a write up. 170 would be a good buck anything bigger would be larger than I would expect. I would call him and speak with him.

The other issue right now is this winter is hard and scary. I had held off getting too concerned, but the last few days we have had rain then really wet snow. Freezing at night etc. I am not sure what this next couple of weeks will bring but I have a feeling we might be seeing a rough time in the NW. I would try to get a hold of him before completely writing it off.

That's good to know on all accounts. I'm sure that each place is different and each experience is different. I probably won't do it, I just can't seem to make up my mind as to what to do with my points. I struggle with this every year.
The weather this year is pretty rough for some wildlife so I guess i'l have to wait and see how it is come draw time.