Colorado Harvest Statistics ??

[oldmossback]

Does anyone know how colorado bases their harvest statistics? How accurate can that be? Other than the phone survey they do every year.

I am trying do some homework to find a decent OTC elk unit for my sons to hunt while they build points.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Not every hunter in a unit gets surveyed. The statistics are just an estimate and I would imagine they are especially skewed for OTC units.

You'd probably do better to just locate an OTC unit anywhere in CO with ample public land and some wilderness and hunt the crap out of it . . .

 

[leonard]

Likewise. Only been contacted once or twice since 1991 about harvest and have only been checked in the field by 2-3 game wardens both as a nonresident and now resident. The more wilderness or roadless in a unit lowers success overall, but doesn't mean its any less of a good spot.

 

[elks96]

zzzi get called nearly nearly every year on every tag as does my wife. Needless to say we have over 80% success on our tags... I feel we skew results some.

I know several guys who get tags every year, and never get called. I would not put much into the stats at all...

 

[mntman]

I wouldn't even look at the stats. Like previously said they are a estimate and a very poor one at that. I hunt a OTC unit every year and have got an elk every year (8 years) from it, twice I got two.

I have been called once in 8 years of hunting for all of my deer, elk and pronghorn tags. :-(
Not to get off on a tangent but they should have mandatory reporting of everyone. With todays technology off the internet, they could easily set up a website to login and have you report.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"


Let me guess, you drive a 1 ton with oak trees for smoke stacks, 12" lift kit and 40" tires to pull a single place lawn mower trailer?

 

[HiMtnHntr]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-31-12 AT 08:36AM (MST)[p]I agree on madatory reporting. It would be nice to have an accurate picture of how many critters were killed in a given unit vs. how many hunters. This would be hard to do in OTC areas as far as hunter numbers go . . .

 

[contender]

The harvest stats are worthless information since they don't do private and public land seperate. Once you mix the 100 % kill of the private land to the 2 to 3 % public results are a little off.

 

[Squirrel]

If you ignore the "results" and look at the methodology behind them all dow numbers are pure hocus-pocus (talking herd #'s male/female ratios, hunter numbers and hunter success.) It is all based on the money- cutting the money out and maximizing the money in- do a cheap study and tell the non-res what they want to hear!

If they published the real non-res, non-guided, public land bull elk success rate (where all the $ and hunter #'s are) it would be so tiny everybody would stay home and watch football and their cash cow would go dry.

So they survey, use a little magic powder and say a 17% success on elk- sounds good around the kitchen table in MO. "If 5 of us go out huntin' one of us should get one..." we'll split the meat... shazammm $2500 in the dow acct...

Do what is stated above the elk ARE there but you'll earn every one, the more you sweat the luckier you'll get.

 

[Whiterock]

No dought ,it involves money.

I still look at the stats ,but mostly to see how many hunters per season hunted a unit.

 

[Bambistew]

In the last 4 elk hunts, I've filled 4 tags in a total of about 4 days hunting, 3 bulls and one cow. One trip we killed 7 elk in 3 days... CO is a FUN state to hunt because of all the elk you get to see. Just because its OTC doesn't mean it's an easy hunt... but its about 5x easier than an OTC hunt in Montana.

If it has ATV access, go somewhere else... If it has a lot of horse trails... go some where else. It's not hard to get away from the people if you try a bit. I can't wait to go back!