My question in particular has to do with a post that Cherokee-Outfitters replied to, so C. O. maybe you can help me. In your post you said something about taking 3 or 4 elk. I know this is probably out of context to what you meant, but did you mean that a resident or nonresident can take up to 4 elk a year in Co? I thought that you could only take one bull and a cow. Also am I deciphering the book right, It appears to me that you (anybody) buy a license for one season (week or however manydays that season is) and if you don't get an elk you have to buy another license, for lets say the 2nd season (week), and so on, is this correct and does it apply to both resident and non-res.
Now I'm not even sure I understand what I just wrote. Simply put, if I buy an over the counter elk (bull or cow) the 2nd season and kill one can I buy another for the 3rd week and take another. Or if I don't kill one can I buy another license for the 3rd or 4th seasons.
As you can tell I'm about to lose it trying to understand all the rules and regs. from the different states.
Thanks,
dog1
__________________
It ain't the killing, it's the going and doing.
Don't feel bad, when I read other states regs they mak emy head hurt
Right now in Colorado you can buy one tag for elk. There are some units that allow you to purchase a second elk tag (has to be cow for second) This doesn't not apply to all units though, so you have to go through the book. If you go here http://wildlife.state.co.us/Brochure...r_elkmoose.pdf you can see what I'm talking about.
You can actually kill as many elk as you care to in Colorado if you can find a elk east of i-25 since there are unlimited tags for there, but I've never seen an elk that far away from the mountains
__________________
Caution - Some posts may contain sarcasim
You (resident or non resident) can have ulimited elk tags, if you have the land available in all the right places that it would require to do all of this.
#1 (one of these) your aplication tag. PLUS
#2 (one of these) an archery tag, private land only cow tag, limited cow tag for specific units, or OTC cow for specific units. PLUS
#3 (ulimited# of these) left over cow for units 391 or 461, unlimited either sex plains elk tag, any auction or raffle tags, game damage, special population management, or disease management tags.
__________________
"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency........... Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."
Last year colorado issued as many as four tags to some hunters who researched and applied the right way.
*note you can only apply for one elk tag for the draw in april 1st.
If you draw for a private land tag for either sex or cow tag and get it, it doesn't count against your regular season tag for elk.
Saying you used your draw for the private land tag. Then you can buy an over the counter 2nd season bull tag. So far that's two elk.
Then during this season you were able to get an additional cow tag from the division of wildlife. That makes three elk.
Then comes the special hunts like conservation hunts on big state wildlife lands. You have to get on the list to do this hunt. It will be a cow only hunt. That makes four elk.
lets revise
one for private land hunting (eithersex or cow)
one over the counter bull tag (except 1st season)
one additional cow tag for the season you hunt the bull
one conservation hunt (cow)
Thats atleast 1 bull and three cows for the hunters willing to pursue that approach.
I was shocked and appalled when all this came to realization in my mind. I know several people who killed three elk last year. There are enough hunters in colorado non-residents and residents if they got really serious about taking 2 to 3 animals our elk herds would be devastated in one year. Not to mention if we had a harsh winter and predators to boot.
Also you could of applied December cow hunt instead of private land cow.
Outside of populated areas where you are very limited on hunting where the elk are in abundance, we are seeing the impact of this on the elk herds in open units. Not all will agree but this has to slow down or stop. Some area's are getting hit so hard the elk are moving to private ranches with limited hunting and down into new mexico where they don't migrate back. The cow to calf ratio is very poor, and its none other than too much stress for months of the cows first part of pregnancy and trying to survive the winter on lower body fat from being run around for months on end. While the bull population is still holding it won't last if the number of cows go down. This is not speculation its from seeing it first hand and input from other reputable hunters.
I'm going to a Dow meeting feb 6 and I hope they listen to what most of us will be saying. Some areas need to be reduced but others can handle double the herd size. They have to start breaking down the units better and not do a couple of surveys and put all units in the same class.
__________________
Take a youth hunting and preserve the future.
yeah but isnt the elk herds population in colorado going at a fast rate? this may be a way cdfg downsize this rapid growth. 2003 wasnt as sucessful as cdfg hoped it would be due to the hot weather.
There's alot of area's throughout the state where the elk are beginning to over populate. These are mainly around populated areas where you can't get alot of access to hunt and on big ranches and state parks. That's why they are doing the conservation hunts. The division of wildlife's success rate is a joke compared to the number's of animals today and the number they had fifteen years ago.
Fifteen or so years ago the numbers were low and you were lucky to see a 4/4 out running around. Let alone a big bull. Today we have lots of bulls to chose from. But in some area's open to lots of public access the cow's numbers are dropping some. The DOW is basing alot of elk herd size off data that they study from these overpopulated private ranches and state park areas. Yes we have a nice herd size throughout the state. But to create quality hunting we are gonna have to stabilize the herd size at what it is today.
Back to the success rate of Colorado today. People have changed and most have gotten pretty lazy. Most never see anything beyond their pickup window. Most hunters are not walking into the woods to try to find an elk. They either drive their pickup or atv to where they sit for the day. And by chance something runs out in front of them. Last year it was just as hot here as anywhere else in the state. And we managed to take 7 bulls out of nine rifle hunters. Out of nine hunters they all but one took shots. Just my opinion but I think its how you hunt, no matter the weather. The elk are still there, just have to approach them alittle different depending on the year. But for the most part it's the same. With todays modern education and gadgets. Hunting should be getting easier with all the information out there from articles to instructional videos. But elk hunting on public land boils down to knowing your country your hunting and putting forth the effort and patience to make it happen.
Some people will disagree with what I say about population numbers of elk. But in a couple of years when Colorado becomes a total draw, then most of us will be wishing we could of had an elk tag this year. After awhile the Quality of a bull will be better on the average and this means the price of hunting will go up. But I don't care to see this happen I'd rather walk down to the local sporting goods and still be able to buy an over the counter lisence. It isn't the fact that I have to kill a bull every year but when I have an open season to hunt without clients I would atleast like to have a chance to go for myself. Since the deer draw statewide I get to hunt deer once out of every three years. I do not want to see this happen to mine and everyone else's chances to hunt elk. Once Colorado has the elk population where they think its managealbe where going to a draw. I've heard this straight from the people at the Division of Wildlife. Its just a matter of time.
__________________
Take a youth hunting and preserve the future.
yes i agree with every word you just said especially the part of where hunters are getting lazy! yes i do see people just glass from their truck and do road hunting! just ticks me off that they dont walk or anything, you know these things rarely walk in front of your truck but most hunters i talk to are the hiking type but in general people are getting lazy.
Personally, I love road hunters. I wish more people would switch over to that mode of elk hunting --- that makes it better for the real hunters. One caveat to that though, for public ground, in my area ATVs are NOT allowed off of the graded roads, I wouldn't want to see that change. Last thing we need is roadhunters bringing "the road" into the back country --- I don't care what the excuse is: lazy, wanting to pack out game, or disabled (special zones should be set up for the latter).
Good Luck and Good Hunting,
EKM
__________________
Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime!
Good judgment comes from bad experience! Learn from the mistakes of others; you' ll never live long enough to make them all yourself!
Am I understanding the Co. Regs. and your comment that as a resident of Colorado, you have to submit to the draw to hunt deer. Maybe being from the southeast and spoiled on the ease of getting a license to hunt deer and other game (for residents), it seems to me that for a resident of any state to have to draw a tag for that states' game animals, when that resident pays taxes, buys hunting goods that are taxed and normally a percentage goes to support wildlife, it is a ripoff for that resident.
Maybe I'm missing something here. I understand that if a specific game animal (herd) is down you lower the amount to be taken or shut an area down for a while. But to make a resident have to compete for a license (tag) just doesn't seem right.
dog1
__________________
It ain't the killing, it's the going and doing.
Dog1 our numbers of elk are just as high as they have ever been. Its the numbers of hunters vs. the number of game. In the mountain states game feeds on the vegatation in the mountians from spring to fall. Its the winter months where the animals have to feed down into private land that causes the division of wildlife problems with the private land owners. So this causes the division pressure on keeping the animal population in control. The deer herd has comback very well but I don't see over the counter tags coming back in the near future. We just don't have the land setup like back east does to run large numbers of game without privateland conflict. Theres just too many people today trying to hunt and theres nothing wrong with that . The world changes and some how we have to find a way to make the wildlife have a stable enviroment.
Sure residents pay taxes and live in the state. But the non-residents pay more money in one year hunting exspense to equal two years of a residents spending on tags. I still think no matter the outcome of a draw a non- resident should have a 50/50 chance to come hunting. While the game of colorado belong to the state. The non-resident pay taxes to the federal goverment which helps maintain the forest service. Giving every usa citizen a right to access the forest and enjoy it.
__________________
Take a youth hunting and preserve the future.
Number of Elk you can take in Co.
