Got my copy of the Colorado hunting regs today.

JerryBobCo

Just thought I'd post this for anyone interested in hunting in Colorado this year. April 4 is the deadline for submitting your applications.

early

Mine came too.

Six-Gun

Jerry -

I'd like to talk to you about how the antelope situation is looking in SE Colorado and figure out if I'm going to apply this year or keep banking.

Unfortunately, I'm on the outs with CPW after an abysmal public land experience during my elk hunt last year. Let's just say that any state that allows a mountain bike race to take place in the heart of an elk unit on opening day of muzzleloader season has permanently lost my interest and business as a hunter. After a dozen and change consecutive big game tags filled, that was the first one in about 5 years that went empty. With that in mind, I look forward to antelope hunting with your regular group, and I should be good to draw any time now. Different location and different circumstances makes all of the difference.

I'm also still holding mule deer points, which creates an issue. I've got some tough decisions to make in regards to how long I care to build/stash the deer points before cashing them in and ending my relationship with CPW. On one hand, I want to stop giving them money ASAP to the point that I've considered just letting my points expire. Part of me figures that cutting my losses and simply not hunting is better than a ton of money in tag and travel expenses pissed away on a poor quality experience. I have learned the hard way that low point/easy to draw hunts are seldom worth doing in most of the West, and a decent quality public land mule deer hunt in CO (especially with the recent human population explosion there) will probably take a non-resident like myself at least 7 points to draw. *shudder*

On the other hand, I'd like to at least try and get a low pressure/high quality hunt since I've already put money into my points. It just kills me to let them hold that much cash for several more years in a row after the disaster that was the "elk hunt" (and I use the term loosely since nary an elk was seen due to the aforementioned circumstances). Hopefully, we can get some time to discuss this over the phone if you're game. I'd really like your advice.

JerryBobCo

Luis,

it would be a good idea to check with Mike (Linefinder) and Paul (Mosseybuck) as well. If we sell our house, I'll be in Texas this fall. I can still hook you up with the place we hunt, but don't know about the population of goats.

I'll keep you posted regarding our house situation. It might be a good idea to wait until the last minute before applying as this will give time to get a better idea on the population.

early

Six-gun, every year I go its with the option of it being my last year. So far the over crowding had not stopped me or even effected me that much. Although some of the interactions with people have been odd. It has effected my personal life a great deal however. So much in fact that its easy for me to understand your frustration.

Six-Gun

JerryBobCo wrote: »

Luis,

it would be a good idea to check with Mike (Linefinder) and Paul (Mosseybuck) as well. If we sell our house, I'll be in Texas this fall. I can still hook you up with the place we hunt, but don't know about the population of goats.

I'll keep you posted regarding our house situation. It might be a good idea to wait until the last minute before applying as this will give time to get a better idea on the population.

Thanks for that update, Jerry. I will keep an ear out and check with Mike here shortly to see how the situation is. Hopefully, you'll be able to get back up there some time if/when you move.

early wrote: »

Six-gun, every year I go its with the option of it being my last year. So far the over crowding had not stopped me or even effected me that much. Although some of the interactions with people have been odd. It has effected my personal life a great deal however. So much in fact that its easy for me to understand your frustration.

early -

It's extremely sad. Roughly 10 years back, my wife and I were talking about our big plans to retire out in Colorado and be close to her parents. It was a beautiful state with a relatively low population density with mostly sensible social values. A few pockets of leftist extremism (like Boulder) existed, but nothing too hard to avoid. Years later, on this last trip out there in the Fall, in the days leading to the hunt I couldn't even find an isolated stream stretch to go for trout, looking a couple hundred yards up river and seeing the entire bank dotted with competing fisherman. It was ghastly for a person who values the West as an escape from the East Coast grind. Here I was, in the middle of the Rockies, with a million people all around like some sort of bad dream. No way on Earth we would retire out there today.

We got up to the elk unit, and seemingly every campsite was filled. We saw a big tent and about a mile from where we camped and signs saying "Mountain Bike Race Ahead." Sure enough, right before the main trail forks, there's a huge race clock and a pile of people standing there on opening morning. We watched countless bikes and ATV splitting the roads, assuredly equally annoyed with each other. You can guess how well that worked out for anyone trying to see elk . We talked to numerous other hunters, none of whom had seen a single elk from opening day forward. You could cut the tension around that mountain with a knife.

Denver proper? Forget it. It's become an overpopulated dumping ground for California burnouts who out-priced themselves in their home state, racing to get their legal pot fix and pushing the housing prices and general cost of living through the roof. The road taxes are now in effect for the HOV lanes (just like Cali) and an underwhelming house goes for a small fortune. Speaking of roads, the traffic around there is now brutal.

early

If I could type good enough to rant it would just be an extended version of your experience. I have future adaptive plans in the works.

1965Jeff

Our group stayed in silverton last September and it has one gas station and three head shops...


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Six-Gun

early wrote: »

If I could type good enough to rant it would just be an extended version of your experience. I have future adaptive plans in the works.

God bless, man. I hope you have something great in the plans. I don't mean to sound like a turd, but I was blown out by how much your state has changed in such a relatively short time.

1965Jeff wrote: »

Our group stayed in silverton last September and it has one gas station and three head shops...

Wow :rotflmao:

sakodude

Both daughters still live there and the eldest is due in June. Needless to say the motivation to move back is great. Only problem is every time were back for a visit the crowding just kills us. Nothing at all like the Colorado I grew up in.
Have not hunted there since 05, not sure how hard it would be to feel like I had the mountain to myself like I used to.

Sako

CHIRO1989

Dang, you guys are not a ray of sunshine. MHS left out the mountain bike race in his elk hunting report. They were working on their cross country ski trails up by Crested Butte when were hunting second rifle several years ago:bang:

Six-Gun

sakodude wrote: »

Both daughters still live there and the eldest is due in June. Needless to say the motivation to move back is great. Only problem is every time were back for a visit the crowding just kills us. Nothing at all like the Colorado I grew up in.
Have not hunted there since 05, not sure how hard it would be to feel like I had the mountain to myself like I used to.

Sako

That has to be painful, Tom. I can only imagine how awesome it was growing up back there when you were younger. With your grandchild's birth looming, I'm sure the desire to get back has to at least give you consideration, but you clearly know how different it is out there now.

CHIRO1989 wrote: »

Dang, you guys are not a ray of sunshine. MHS left out the mountain bike race in his elk hunting report. They were working on their cross country ski trails up by Crested Butte when were hunting second rifle several years ago:bang:

Yeah, the bike race had my blood boiling. I don't know how the chamber of commerce could approve that when they had to know they are screwing the people (the hunters) who pay to maintain all of those trails and facilities. MHS informed me that none of the other people using those trails has to pay a cent to be up there. That cost burden is solely on the hunters, yet guess who got hosed? Needless to say, my first public land elk hunt in CO was also my last.

My problem is that I have perspective. I've hunted and visited other western states in roughly the same time frame and have seen what a truly secluded, public land mountain hunt looks like. This past Fall, there was no such thing as seclusion.

JerryBobCo

Six-Gun wrote: »

It's extremely sad. Roughly 10 years back, my wife and I were talking about our big plans to retire out in Colorado and be close to her parents. It was a beautiful state with a relatively low population density with mostly sensible social values. A few pockets of leftist extremism (like Boulder) existed, but nothing too hard to avoid. Years later, on this last trip out there in the Fall, in the days leading to the hunt I couldn't even find an isolated stream stretch to go for trout, looking a couple hundred yards up river and seeing the entire bank dotted with competing fisherman. It was ghastly for a person who values the West as an escape from the East Coast grind. Here I was, in the middle of the Rockies, with a million people all around like some sort of bad dream. No way on Earth we would retire out there today.

Luis,

I can still find places on the upper Arkansas that offers some room to range. If I go during the week, I can usually go to one of my favorite spots and have a good section of stream to work. I guess it helps that I live so close, though. I don't like to stand in one spot and cast. Instead, I live to work upstream at a slow pace and cover a lot of water. I'm still afforded that luxury here.

As for the state itself, I've certainly seen a lot of change since 1990, when I first moved here. It's sad, but that's just the way it is.

JerryBobCo

I read some of the regs last night, and have some very good news for those who don't like to wear fluorescent orange while afield. You now have the option of wearing fluorescent PINK.

I guess the CDOW is trying to appeal to a different set of folks.

Six-Gun

JerryBobCo wrote: »

Luis,

I can still find places on the upper Arkansas that offers some room to range. If I go during the week, I can usually go to one of my favorite spots and have a good section of stream to work. I guess it helps that I live so close, though. I don't like to stand in one spot and cast. Instead, I live to work upstream at a slow pace and cover a lot of water. I'm still afforded that luxury here.

As for the state itself, I've certainly seen a lot of change since 1990, when I first moved here. It's sad, but that's just the way it is.

I'm like you in that regard. I love working upstream and moving all day. When there's country to cover, it's usually worth checking out. If I lived closer, I'm sure I could find a few remote places to go, but the few places that I figured would be away from the crowds when I was there in September had at least 5 or 6 cars in the pull-offs. Way too much pressure for some of these small streams and the fish were as picky as you would expect with that kind of traffic. I caught a decent number of fish and a whopper of a cuttbow (a solid 22"-24") on the larger Dream Stream, but the overall experience with all of those people around was just not my cup of tea. It is sad that you've seen such an intrusion into your personal space since 1990, but like you said, that's just how it is. There's no control over where others decide to call home.

JerryBobCo wrote: »

I read some of the regs last night, and have some very good news for those who don't like to wear fluorescent orange while afield. You now have the option of wearing fluorescent PINK.

I guess the CDOW is trying to appeal to a different set of folks.

This should be a huge hit with the SE shoot bunch. :tooth:

MileHighShooter

The bike race sucked, but honestly it was the worst hunting season, across the state, in every season, in decades. Record low harvest due to heat. Guys with 20 year once in a lifetime tags with no people around didn't fill tags either.

MileHighShooter

Been looking through mine, I like the changes on tag returns this year. Last year, they tried a free for all of Amy tag that was turned in. Some were tags that take decades of points. This year, a tag that takes more then 5 points, if returned, they'll ask the next 5 people who put in, if they want it. If all 5 say no, it goes into the free for all.


No clue what I'm thinking about this year. The winter kill is looking to be bad, real bad. Looking like a near total fawn kill, and more then 50% yearling.

I've got a couple antelope points now, but not enough for the Pawnee, and no ranch access. I might be able to pull a comanche tag.

Another year of bad moon phases too, full or more than half in every season but 4th.

Six-Gun

You know my philosophy on that when the conditions are that stacked against you: hold out for a better year. There's just no sense in going afield when you are starting off that far behind the curve unless you really want to sit in the mountains with a gun across your lap above all else.

MileHighShooter

Six-Gun wrote: »

You know my philosophy on that when the conditions are that stacked against you: hold out for a better year. There's just no sense in going afield when you are starting off that far behind the curve unless you really want to sit in the mountains with a gun across your lap above all else.

Preferably, ill do points, and hit left over list. Only issue is Chiro wants to come out, so gotta commit to something that'll work for everyone. OTC is easiest, but me and 15k of my closest buddies will all be in the field. Most likely hunting 4th for elk, to go with my dad. I dont think he'll hunt if i don't go.

CHIRO1989

MileHighShooter wrote: »

Preferably, ill do points, and hit left over list. Only issue is Chiro wants to come out, so gotta commit to something that'll work for everyone. OTC is easiest, but me and 15k of my closest buddies will all be in the field. Most likely hunting 4th for elk, to go with my dad. I dont think he'll hunt if i don't go.

November is out for me, I still need to look at the regs closer, make your plans, I will try and keep up.

early

Antlerless muzzle loader elk tag came in the mail today. Dry spring up there. Hope, anticipation, and crossed fingers.

Six-Gun

Antelope buck rifle tag showed up a few minutes ago.

MileHighShooter

Bear, antelope and deer here. Waiting on my elk refund, and the leftover list for a 2nd deer tag and elk tag