Gunnison a bust

C

cabinfever

Very Active Member
Messages
2,382
We'll the Gunnison basin that received so much hype, ended up being a bust. Most of the reports that I have heard from guys that have hunted both 2nd and 3rd have not been good. I especially feel bad for those guys that burned 12 points or more and went home empty handed. I was in Gunnison during the 2nd and was suprised how many two points I seen hanging from the meat pole. We covered a lot of ground and talked with a lot of hunters and all the reports seemed to be the same.
 
We were in that area and it is not good at all. Not enough snow up high to get them on the move. I have friends that are in 54, 55, 62, 67 and 43 and not one of them have shot a decent buck. They have all seen very very few deer. The DOW said that last year there was tons of early October snow that made them move into the area and it was phenomenal but this year it is terrible. I have been told that the elk hunting is just as bad.
 
When I saw the hype in Huntin Fool, I was thinking that the really good kill last year was made possible by the unsually early snows last year. Plus, the higher kill of mature bucks last year had to mean less mature ones left this year. Sure glad I stayed the course and used my 8 points on the early wilderness buck hunt in 43!
 
>I especially feel bad for those
>guys that burned 12 points
>or more and went home
>empty handed.


You make your own luck.
 
Just got back from 55 and it was not as expected. However, if someone wants to see lots of deer and more elk hunters it's the place to go...Mike, I ended up shotting a 27" 160" buck for a taxidermy project. I had a good hunt, hunted hard and it was the second biggest buck I could find. I won't go back because of the roads and elk hunter numbers...Steve
 
Hey Steve, Good to hear you got back ok. I'll probably give you a call. One of my favorite mounts is a 160 class 4 point from Co. Lots of hype for sure in the basin.

Mike
 
Hearing the same here. We hunted 54 during the first rifle elk season and saw lots of deer. No big bucks or even medium size bucks. We talked to several hunters working our way south from the wilderness and they saw no big bucks. A friend of mine is up there with a 54 buck tag and I heard from his wife on Friday and they had no luck finding deer. Today is the last day so I hope he got lucky.
 
Going to change the area a little but the same thing seems to be happening in the other area's that receive alot of hype, in Colorado. Warm weather and no snow along with every tom, #####, and harry riding 4 wheelers where they should not be has put a damper on the success rates.( They wonder why they can't find a descent buck to shoot.) Just my $.02
 
It sounds like to me that most guys you talked to didn't work for their buck. It sounds like most guys were probably pounding the lower sage brush country 8,800-9,400 elev. with multiple roads and trails around the Almont triangle etc. and or where ever the DOW guys in the Gunnison office told them to go to which from what I understand it turns out they told everyone to hunt in the same lower sage brush areas (which there wasn't any weather at the time to move them out of the high country). If you are reading this and that is what you did, you know the bucks weren't there. They were up in the high country at or just below snowline where you had to hike to get to them. 2 of us killed our bucks at 10,600 elev. and the third guy killed his at 10,400 elev. No 4 wheelers where we were! On average it was a
2-3 hour hike up in the dark and a 1-2 hour hike down in the dark. Everyone we saw in our area hunting the high country did great. Due to the lack of new snow and a beatiful week of weather and of course hunting pressure, those deer moved up high within a day or two of the season opener.
Go to www.bowsite.com, click on state bowhunting forums and toggle down to Colorado, then find the topic "CO Unit 55 second season baby." I have included pictures of our second season hunt in Unit 55. Bowsite is a bowhunting site, but info. is shared for all seasons and all animal types so that is why I posted my gun hunt success. When you see the pick of me packing out my buck in my backpack you can see a road in the background down in the valley below. That road is at 9,400 elev. and you can see just how much higher I am than that road. I was at 10,600 elev. Glad I wasn't elk hunting. It was alot of work butchering and packing that deer off the mountain, but worth every drop of blood and sweat. The season wasn't all gloom and depressing. Those of us that hunted the high country did great! -crestedbutte-
 
I hunted second season as stated above in the second paragraph. It was truly awesome! If that question was directed to the others, then I apologize. Hopefully they will give you some feedback. I hope all of you had a great time in CO. -crestedbutte-
 
Well,Crestedbutte,You were able to take some deer on 55.Sounds
like you did pretty well.Now hunting on the second season you probobly new deer would be very high still.Those of us that had 3rd season tags should have been hunting deer that had migrated out of the high country to the wintering ranges.The dwr told this to people based on normal conditions.Now some of us that used 12-16 points this year really[myself included}got burned.So when someone like your self who wants to beat on his chest, starts running his mouth it kind of iritates some of us....I left a unit in Idaho,the 30th of Oct.To head for Colorado.The deer in Idaho were really rutting.I get to 055,the deer arent rutting at all,its very warm and absolutly the biggest problem was Elk hunters everywhere.It was a absolute Circus.There were so many people,people were camped on every ridge as high as they could go.In fact you had to park next to some ones camper and walk behind there camp to glass a bowl...I dont have a problem with elk hunters i hunt them myself.I just cannot believe the dwr would put 1800 cow elk hunters out in a unit at the same time guys are trying to find big deer.I worked very hard hunting 055.Its very hard to walk in to the back country every day when you left the horses home this trip.Obviously the many other Cow elk hunters on horses that passed me climbing up everyday didnt mind... I still took a very nice deer the last day,[better than yours by the way]but it wasnt the type of deer i was looking for or the hunt anyone expected.
 
Part of my message got cut off.Mosty the part i was cussing you.
The worst part of the hunt wasnt the fact they werent rutting at all.Or the warm No snow weather. It was the 1800 cow elk hunters.Nothing against elk, i hunt them too.I just cant believe there were that many guys hunting and allowed to cow elk hunt during a primium rifle deer hunt.It was an absolute Circus,I have never seen anything like it.I talked to one Elk hunter that told me.If he was going to hunt elk
he might as well see some big deer at the same time...I hunted very hard,having to switch from low country to hikeing in every day.Getting pasted by horses everyday isnt fun when your horses are home.No one was expecting the weather ect.So you were able to take some nice deer good for you.I took a very good one myself.But i wouldnt start beating my chest,telling everyone they did hunt hard enough...
 
>We'll the Gunnison basin that received
>so much hype, ended up being a bust. Most of
>the reports that I have heard from guys that have
>hunted both 2nd and 3rd have not been good. I
>especially feel bad for those guys that burned 12 points
>or more and went home empty handed. I was in
>Gunnison during the 2nd and was suprised how many two
>points I seen hanging from the meat pole. We covered
>a lot of ground and talked with a lot of
>hunters and all the reports seemed to be the same.


I know I'm going to catch some flak for this....but what the hell. As a CO resident I can't really shed any tears for out of state folks that "burn" any certain number of points to hunt here in CO. You should count yourselves fortunate you are even able to hunt here with such liberal numbers of tags given to out of staters to begin with. If I'm not mistaken, CO hands out more non-resident tags than any other western state. Fortunately, the CO DOW has a plan in place to reduce by at least 5% the number of tags alloted to non-residents starting next year. I know - bad for you (but good for CO residents).

One other thing, I'm going to have to raise the BS flag on anyone "burning" 12 points to hunt area 55/56 (or any other area except GMU 10 for that matter) for bucks in any season. The DOW stats for non-residents for last year (2004) were as follows: Area 55 - third season - min number of points required: four, max number required: five. I really can't imagine the number of points required to draw that tag jumped up eight points in one year!
 
I had 8 points and didn't draw unit 54 3rd. so yes it did take more points because of all the hype. I'm new to this forum and I'm sure this has been beat to death but res. againt non res. hunters is a bad thing for all of us, I do agree Colorado gives out alot of non res. tags and a cut back would seem in line. non res. hunters DO have the right to hunt federal land and res. hunters DO have the right to the lion's share of the tags. I think there's common ground if we all work together. hunting here in Oregon sucks so don't shut me out or I'll move to Colorado and run you competition for res. tags!
 
Yes, the points needed really did jump up this year.Yes ,you are right Colorado gives the most tags to out of staters.Probobly to many in fact.But during hunting season look at the money brought in to all the little communitys.Theres a ton of money beeing spentPlus as a resident you dont have to pay as much for a licence because non residents are paying so much...What did you mean about unit 10?
 
This is a bit selfish, but I could care less how much money is being spent in the small CO communities. The amount of money spent by non-residents has absolutely no bearing on my hunting experience.

What I do care about is being able to find a decent place to hunt on public land where I'm not looking 50-100 yards away and seeing a field of orange worn by guys whose truck license plates are from every state in the union except CO!

I will have to disagree the money being brought in by non-residents has any effect on the prices I pay for my deer & elk tags. We are about average in price for the western states for resident tags, yet we allow many more non-residents to come in and hunt than any of the other states. Montana, Wyoming and Idaho all charge almost the same as CO does for resident tags, but the amount of non-residents hunting in those states pales by comparison as to what our DOW allows to come in here and hunt.

As to your last question, GMU 10 usually has the highest demand for buck tags, so it took around ten points for non-residents to draw that tag in 2004. I imagine it was also a popular tag this year.

Sorry to open up any new/old wounds but I needed to get this off my chest.
 
Hey you guys crack me up. I hunted 54 3rd season. I had a great time hiked 8-10 miles a day with my father(70 years old in Dec) with me. I had 8 pts and drew the tag for the dream hunt and was excited about the possibilities that the unit may hold for a quality deer. We hunted mainly 8-10.5 altitude and saw many deer and elk. However, we didn't find any mature bucks as I suspect they were still in their summer ranges and we were not set up for the wilderness hunt. That's why they call it huntin.

We hiked long miles only to have Phil Fulmer(fat asses) lookalikes ride by on their atv's. We had the pleasure of meeting many elk hunters that provided good information as they where they had seen deer, most of them locals.

I would say that this unit was a tuff hunt with the lack of snow up high.

As far as the res/non res hunting goes....I would say that the signs saying "Welcome Hunters" say enough. They don't specify res/nonres. Also, I would say the signs "Posted""No Hunting" say enough also. Welcome to town, spend your money but stay off of my land.

I had a great hunt and feel that I could help with areas to hunt this unit in the future but, I can't go for 10 more years. In ten years I look forward to taking my 80 year old father back to a hunt on this unit.

Vols suck
 
>Hey you guys crack me up...........

>Vols suck

Aren't you the eloquent one!

I guess if you can't refute any of my points or attempt to make any valid points of your own, you can always take the discussion to the gutter! Well done!

............and with that, I'll bow out of this thread and ride off into the beautiful Colorado sunset!

BTW, "jcrich" see you in ten years!
 
That land you are standing on when looking at all those license plates who's is it? State of Colorado or Uncle Sam's? If you are looking for nonresidents did you see any plates from Mexico, Canada, China, Korea, South Africa or Germany?
Also where are the Vols with regard to the Hokies?
 
TennVol, I think I have a solution for your problem with seeing orange on every hillside. Quit selling general season elk tags to every Tom, ##### and Harry in Colorado, and the rest of the USA. What a poor idea it is to have the general elk season during the rifle deer hunts!
It seems like I talked to a business owner in Gunnison this year with your same last name that told us that he just couldn't justify cutting back the elk tags because of the revenue he would lose from the license sales.
I think there is a problem with the locals wanting to keep all the bucks to themselves. I can empathize with you. Any area that has good bucks or bulls will draw attention, and people will want to see them, and or hunt them. Give up the 15% or 20% of the tags to nonresidents and be happy with what you get as a resident.
At least you can draw a good tag every year or two. Most states hand out good tags every 6-10 years to their own residents.
I know you guys all think you have hand raised every deer in the Gunnison basin. I am sure you have contributed time, money, and feed to keep them alive during some of the winters, and have done a lot to help them out.
So have the rest of us. We all take care of the deer in our neck of the woods, so we as hunters can protect and preserve a beautiful species. We have put countless hours and dollars into habitat restoration, and predator control to help the mule deer out, and we will gladly give up some tags to nonresidents. We all live the the good ol USA, and we are all part owners in the public property. Let's remember that and be thankful we have the opportunity to hunt in so many beautiful places in so many states each fall. Thank God for the public ground that we have to hunt on.

PS there were several people who had 10-12 bonus points saved up that did in fact use them to draw the basin units.
 
pardon the spilling , er spelling , did colorado become a sovern nation with closed borders ? :) and btw the attitude professed by some here is of no suprise to me , because i'm a out of stater willingly spending my time and effort to go to your states and do what i like to do the most HUNT and i regularly get treated poorly by SOME only SOME very few people actually :) most of the people are quite nice actually :) guess theres always a few people in life sucking on a lemon :) all i have to say is enjoy yer lemon cuz i'm still coming :)
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-16-05 AT 05:48PM (MST)[p]
>It seems like I talked to
>a business owner in Gunnison
>this year with your same
>last name that told us
>that he just couldn't justify
>cutting back the elk tags
>because of the revenue he
>would lose from the license
>sales.


deerbedead,
I believe that a business owner said this to you, but he is wrong. The Dow has practically eliminated CO businesses from profit on hunting seasons with the advent of the draw, along with internet/phone sales directly through the DOW. The licenses he does sell he only makes around 4% of the sale price depending on the type of license. In todays world non-resident hunters have likely been stocking up for months for their hunting trip from Cabelas or other mail orders, and will probably only buy maps and a few things they may have forgotten at home from the local sporting goods store where they are hunting. Usually that trip to the local store is more for hoping that the guy behind the counter will sing like a mocking bird about the big buck he's been seeing, than it is about supporting that community. Fact is that resident hunters spend about 4 times more over the course of the year on "hunting stuff" in their community than a non-resident does. I'm not saying that resident business owners dont appreciate the extra money that non-residents bring in, I'm just saying that it doenst have the monetary effect that it used to.

Also, its not that they need to sell less Elk tags, they just need to make all elk tags draw tags, like all the other western states. This way they can regulate the numbers of elk hunters in each unit, instead of it being the free for all that it is now. But remember that those elk only hunters have every bit as much right to be there hunting that public land as the mule deer hunters, whether it is a trophy deer area or not.

Just my .02, take it for what its worth.
 
Peashooter, I can agree with on the point that the elk hunters have every right to be in the woods too. I just wish that they were in the woods a week earlier, or later than the deer hunters.
I also think that 4% of a $500 elk tag is $20, and the line to get these tags was pretty long for about 3 days before each of the deer/elk hunts. I don't have any facts on how many tags are sold by private vendors, but it looks like quite a few.
I also spent a week or two in Colorado this year and it may surprise you just how much a non resident or an out of towner actually spends on a hunt.
We spent 6 nights in a motel @$76 per night.
Diesel fuel was unbelievably high at $3.59 per gallon, and I personally spent over $300 on fuel.
We ate at least one meal per day in a restaurant at $20 per.
We bought maps at$7 each
We bought food for breakfast and lunch at $15 each per day.
We bought socks, clothes, radios, batteries,hunting magazines, and a whole bunch of other stuff.
We paid a butcher to process our deer, and to cape it and store it.
I forgot the scouting trip during august too.
All said and done each one of us spent around a $1000, not including our tags.
I know this don't sound like much, but I haven't seen many small towns like Gunnison as busy as it is during the hunting seasons. Surely there are literally hundreds of thousands of dollars injected into the local economy.
I for one enjoy seeing a town with Welcome Hunters! signs on the doors. It is the way it ought to be.
It is sad that a few people are whining about a hunter that doesn't reside in his home town.
Would you rather have a bunny huggers convention in town for a week?
 
Deerbedead,
Your point is well taken, and it doesnt suprise me what you spent. The average NR hunter will spend around 1000 bucks in the state they are hunting, but the resident hunter will buy guns, scopes, bullets, gas for scouting all year...etc, around $4000 per year. Like I said, the money from NR hunters is appreciated by local economies, but not required to stay in business.
 
Well it looks as if this thread got revived. I have read all the threads from top to bottom and have to give my two cents. I 'm a little disappointed that guys feel like they have a private right to local public ground. I mean last time I checked, this was a free country with open borders between states, and national forest and blm are federal land not state lands. Although i don't live in CO, i can assure you i have pumped plenty of dollars into that states economy. I know a group of 4 guys that bought LO vouchers and combined they payed 20,000 dollars for those vouchers (thanks to the hype) and I also know each one of those guys spent at least a $ 1000 each into the local community. My point is the LO made out like a bandit, and the local economy benifited as well.

Mike
 
granted i'm on my 3rd corona ,,, but has this boiled down to i have more of a right to public lands than you do because i spend more money per year than you do in the particular state in question ? sooooooo to some more money spent = more rights to public ground ? ummm huh ? as far as i can recall we all have equal rights to public lands no matter how much money we do or dont spend ,,,, mebbe i'll have another beer and read on ,,, oh but wait did i spend less money on my beer than someone else ? ohhh wait i live here so i'm entitled to spend less but get more ,,,, :)
 
I wish California would jack up lettuce, cheese, milk, and beef prices to about 60$ an ounce when shipped out of state. Since we can't grow big deer, and Colorado doesn't really have anything going for it besides mining, and big deer. Then maybe Co. residents would see what it is like to pay $500 to hunt elk on "our" public land. Tenn/vol I hope somebody pees on your lettuce next time.
 
TC you may need to adjust your beer goggles. I think you are missing the point slightly.
Point in fact is that public ground is for all of us residents. United States Residents.
 
When i piped up earlier,I was just moaning about the circus of elk hunters.I just wish they would have put the deer hunt and elk hunt at seperate times.Not lumped into the same week...With the warm weather and no rut,it would have been less distracting
without all the extra people riding around...
 
umm maybe i dint read what i posted quite right ,,, sorta thought i sorta implied uh what you said i sorta missed ,,, but oh well goggles adjusted ,,, thanks for pointing that out :) least i only missed it slightly ,,,,
 
Let's get this back on topic. Gunnison was a "blast" not a bust. Who cares about how many ponts people are using up to hunt these areas or non-res. vs. res. tag allotments. People who used 1 pref. point or 12 points know how hard they hunted or how willing they were to adapt to hunting conditions so an "area" shouldn't get the blame due to others lack of success. There are tons of deer in the Gunnison area especially Unit 55 and we saw plenty of trophy bucks alive and dead.
Fullcry, why the pitty party explanation about your season when you say you took a good one! Let's see, the conditions you explain for your season sound identical to our second season...deer weren't rutting, warm days, no new snow and elk hunters everywhere and we did great and everyone else that hunted the high country did too. In my link above I describe where to go to view the pictures from our hunt, so you don't have to say it sounds like from what I described we had a great hunt....go to the web site to see for yourself. How about that good one you took. Where might we go to view pics. of it? Can't wait to go back and don't care to hunt any other units...there is no need to when you are hunting the best in the state in my opinion! Congrtas on your successful seasons everyone! -crestedbutte-
 
You missed my point....because I was not trying to make one.

I never stated that you need to spend more money to have a right to hunt CO, I was merely responding to a statement that was made to deerbedead that was not factually founded.
 
TennVol,
Nice buck you got in CO. I met you and your buddies on saturday. You guys seemed like pretty stand up people. I would like to also thank you for being in the USAF and protecting our Freedom! I do have to say I don't understand your post for a number of reasons. One main reason is I thought you are from back east and you are only stationed in Colorado Springs. Doesn't that make you a non resident or a temp. resident? Not jerking your chain just wondering what you meant by it.


ProHunter
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
 
Against my better judgment, I will respond to some of the posts made here after my somewhat inflammatory comments regarding non-residents. I guess I should have expected all of the comments from the non-residents. This is not an apology - it's an explanation and it's only posted because someone who I met while hunting this season has asked for clarification of my posts.

I believe first and foremost I should explain my posts were intended to be a form of venting against our DOW for allocating way too many tags to non-residents. Upon re-reading my posts, I realize they did not come off that way. I realize non-residents are only taking advantage of a situation our DOW has stuck down our throats. Please show me one Western state that allocates their licenses as follows: 60% residents, 40% non-residents, and of the 60% resident tags, landowners can purchase up to 15% of those. In reality, in the popular areas non-landowner residents have the potential to only be eligible for 45% of the tags available. I realize that is not always the case, but the potential exists nonetheless. I realize our DOW has taken the step of increasing the resident allocation next year to 65% in areas needing less than five pref points and in those areas needing five resident pref points or more, the percentage was raised to 80%. As a resident, I applaud our DOW?s efforts ? however late they may be in coming.

?Prohunter?, I remember meeting you and the two other guys hunting with you. I also remember you mentioning you were from CA. Did you all eventually fill all of your tags? I remember two of your group were holding out for a really nice mulie. We had to take off on Thursday because of some commitments here at the base I had that weekend. I'm sorry if you have taken offense to some of my statements. They are based on six years of hunting here in CO. It wasn?t based on this past season in the area we were deer hunting. With all of the public land there, I certainly didn't feel crowded at all. To answer your questions, yes I am from ?back East? although I prefer to say I'm from the South (Tennessee) and yes I was stationed here at Peterson AFB over six years ago because of serving on active duty with the US Air Force. I am a resident of CO. I own a home and I pay CO property tax and CO state income taxes. I am going to retire and make my home here. I believe that more than qualifies me as a resident. I certainly don't feel my chain has been jerked by you ? it's a legitimate question only a person who had actually met and spoke with me would know to ask.

As far as some of the comments in this thread I have read from people who appear to be non-residents ? WOW! I didn't realize so many of you had such thin skin! I must have really hit a nerve with some of you. I suggest you try and put yourselves in our situation. Living in a state where up to this year, you aren't even eligible to be considered for at least 40% of the tags in the most desirable areas of your state. I defy anyone to come up with a Western state with a situation like that. And yes, I realize it's a self?inflicted wound, but it's still one we have to live with.

I suppose one nice thing about being a resident is we have the capability to pre-scout areas to see if the hype is just that ? hype. It's unfortunate some of you folks had to ?burn? your points to hunt an area that was supposed to be more of a deer-shoot than a deer-hunt, but ?them?s the breaks?! I agree with everyone else it's difficult to be in the woods with so many other deer & elk hunters (regardless of where they live). The CDOW should look at separation of the elk & deer seasons here, but I believe that's highly unlikely in the near future.

I'll have to say I really got a chuckle out of comments such as: ?I'll move to CO and run you competition for res tags?. .....Feel free, I love it here and encourage everyone to move to CO! Or, how about ?We hiked long miles to have Phil Fulmer (fat asses)?..on their atv?s?. ......Please - tell it to someone who cares. How about ?Vols suck?. .....Grow up! This was one of my favorites ?Where are the Vols with regard to the Hokies?? ......Is this an NCAA sports forum or a hunting forum? Try and stick to the subject at hand. What's this one about? ?enjoy yer lemon cuz I'm still coming? .......WTFO????? But, my absolute favorite has to be ?Tenn/vol I hope somebody pees on your lettuce next time?. ........Whatever.

To sum up, I offer the following personal observations/opinions:

1. CO is not a sovereign nation
2. CO should quit selling OTC bull tags
3. CDOW needs to change their priorities
4. I don't eat lettuce
5. I don't like lemons
6. CA can charge whatever they like for their products
7. This is a free country (I should know)
8. Non-residents have the right to hunt here in CO

Did that cover everything?:D
 
I've lived in Colorado since 1974 and have lived in Gunnison since 1999. Here's my $0.02 on hunting here.

I'm not surprised that most of you saw more hunters than deer during your seasons. Units 54 and 55 are two of the most popular elk units in the State. All you have to do is show up and buy a license. Whether you're a resident or non-resident, there is no limit to the number of tags sold. Local business owners love this. More hunters = more money. Last year there was a proposal to make 54 and 55 limited units. Business interests were strongly opposed to this and the idea was shot down. Big game hunting in Colorado generates more revenue than skiing. Sadly, money is the primary factor when decisions are made about license allocation and season structure. The commercialization of hunting is a problem that I believe is going to get worse.

There are a lot of deer in this basin. There are some good bucks and a few monsters. If you burned your points on a deer tag and were surprised to see so many elk hunters, you didn't do your homework. The hunting regulations clearly state that deer and elk are combined seasons and that elk licenses are OTC. This is terrible arrangement, but that's the way it is. I quit hunting the OTC seasons years ago because they've become such a circus.

Another problem compounding the situation are the number of roads in these units. There are miles and miles of trails accessible by truck. Add in the trails accessible by ATV and you can hardly get away from other hunters. The wilderness areas are better, but even they get too much pressure. ATV abuse is also a problem here. Every year I see single tracks that have become two tracks, new trails where there were no trails. I think that non-hunters are just as much to blame for this though.

Resident and non-resident hunters are welcome here. This is a beautiful place with a lot of public land (86% of the county)that everyone should be able to enjoy. Whether you're in the field or in town, mind your manners and be polite. Don't drive like an idiot. Obey the hunting regulations and stay on the trail. Don't ride where you hunt.

I'd like to see some big changes to tag allocation and season structure in this State, but that's another post entirely.

I'm going elk hunting after work today. My brother and my nephew have 4th season cow tags. The deer seasons are over, so I'll probably see a few monsters. Maybe some day I'll even have enough points to draw a tag!
 
no offense takin by me. thanks for clarification. i did not have a tag but my buddy did. i was just along for the ride. he tagged a nice 5x4. good luck to you and again thank you for your service in the military.
ProHunter
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
 
Saw crestedbutte's pics....the one in the middle is an awsome deer. Not bagging on his hunt.....but am I the only one who thinks the other two bucks are extremely average for Colorado??Especially a draw unit? It just seemed from the way he posted that the unit and hunt were just great. IMHO bucks like the other two get taken all the time all over Colorado.
 
He kind of gave me a hard time before, but i didnt want to say anything bad.Obviously they had a great time.Thats all that matters.I think he mentioned they burned 3 or 4 points.About what you would expect for that many points maybe.Someone with 10-14 points has been at it long enough they are looking for a lot more...I was able to take a fairly good deer,but i thought the hunt was a bust,burnt tag ect.Not the hunt i was hoping for.If i hunted in snow,the rut was on,saw lots of deer,past up a bunch,but coudnt find the 'one' then i would have been happy going home with out a deer.But to shoot a good one,but no rut, no snow, fight crowds.Wasnt what i was hopeing for...But hey thats hunting...Do the best with what you got...
 
no offense to crestedbutte, but those are some average bucks for CO, with the exception of the 180 class buck. It looks like they had a good time, and I guess thats all that matters.

Mike
 
I agree with Waygoner about the situation in
Gunnison. Started hunting and hiking in the 60s
in Gun and truely love the area. having otc elk
tags with the buck hunting is not a good situation.
I went to the CWC meeting in Gun July 04 when the
propoosed draw inits were presented. Make
NO MISTAKE about it, its ALL about the MONEY.
Wildlife and sportsmen DO NOT enter into the
picture. Colo has and continues to sell out
its wildlife and sportsmen to the highest
bidder. This is truely sad the way we manage
OUR wildlife. Roy in Montrose
 
I agree with Waygoner also,except maybe the part about doing my homework.I had heard about the elk hunters in there at the same time as the deer hunters.It was /had been mentioned.Something tells me there were more Elkers than usual.If it was normally that crowded i would think it would have been talked about more often.Several guys i talked to had never hunted there before and mentioned wanting to see big bucks...What i didnt mention before was even with the circus i still saw/past in 5 days on 15-20 deer as good as or better than what cressted took.
 
Fullcry, the amount of elk hunters you saw is typical for the third rifle season in Gunnison. If you look up the stats for each unit you will see that units 54 and 55 are two of the most heavily hunted elk units in the state. Always has been and will continue be until OTC licenses are not available.
 
Cabinfever, thanks for the PM. Skeet your right, but an area that big you would think you could spread out a little.You try to cover all you can in scouting,research ect.My bad,but you can only cover so many options...Funny thing is a couple of guys i talked to said they have hunted it for many years,and they know the elk hunting is not very good, but they still go there...Colorado has more elk than any other state.But i dont think they spend much time in 055...
 

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