bugs11

'Nother question, why on the DOW GMU map some GMU numbers are in red and others in black? Nothing on the map explains the color difference. My guess is the black are unlimited draw units.

bugs11

Looked up 3 Forks Ranch on the net, it's a "Colorado Ranching for Wildlife Hunts" place. Which I interpret as a fenced type of hunt, they raise 'em and you slay 'em. I'm interested in fair chase hunts.

hillbillyhunter1

bugs,
I don't mean to but in here, but I think that Elk Freak mentioned the "ranching for wildlife" program as a DOW/Landowner cooperative program for access to private land. If that is the case it is probably similar to MT's "block management" which is a great program and has nothing to do with high fence. If I understood his posts correctly. Good Luck.

txhunter58

In your situation, I would consider applying for the first rifle season, either sex or bull tag, with a second choice of a cow tag. To me the first season (elk hunters only, no deer hunters, elk at the tail end of the rut) is the premier season for elk. If you don't pull an either sex or bull tag, in most areas it is almost a lock to get a cow tag as a second choice, and you would still get a preference point for next year.

Since elk are so mobile that "elk are where you find them" a good area that holds lots of elk this week may be empty next week. That makes a drop camp on public land a crap shoot. Also, any outfitter that tells you that it is better hunting on public land in his area than private, I would not trust, unless you get a confirmation from a DOW official. That is NOT true 98% of the time. As stated above, I think you should look into some private land tresspass hunts. Usually eaiser hunts with a higher success rate. That said, a drop camp is probably better than camping at the trailhead and hiking in every day.

Here is a useful link: http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/Statistics/ The "hunt recaps" has been the most useful to me as a nonresident. When you figure out a unit that you are interested in, click on elk, then scroll down to the unit code that you are interested in. On the far left, they give you the number of general tags availble. On the far rightare the numbers of resident and nonresident hunters that applied broken down with how many had how many preference points. Of course with elk, except for the draw only units that you would not be able to draw except withno points, the main thing you will be looking for will be the first and fourth rifle season. As you stated, the 2nd and 3rd are OTC.

Now remember that the percentage for nonresidents is only 35% of the tags in the primary drawing. However, if there areleftover tags after the primarydrawing, then you have a50/50 chance regardless of residence.

So, lets say that you decide you want to hunt unit XYZ and there are 100 tags available. And lets say there are over 100 people that aplly for those tags. That means that nonresidents get at most35 of them. Now look at the nonresident preference points coloums at the right. There are 2 rows of numbers. Starting at the left on the top line, the number in that slot are the number of residents with 0 points. The next to the right 1 point, the next to the right 2 points, etc. Go to the last slot that has at least 1. Start counting from this number to the left until you get to 35. Now figure out how many points it took to draw. It is easier than it sounds once you figure out the system.

For example, for the following set of numbers:
23 17 0 12 2 0 0
0 0 0 0 000
2+12+17 = 31 so all of these guys were drawn. After them, there are 4 more tags to be drawn, so out of the 23 people with0 points, 4 of them were drawn. So with can say that last year, everyone with1 points or more were drawn and you had a small chance with 0 points.

HOWEVER, as stated above, nonresidents get AT MOST 35 tags. That means you have to look at the resident preference points too. Count backwards also starting from most preference points to least. In my example above, if residents had 80 people applying with 2 or more points, then residents will get 80 tags and it will take at least 2 points for a nonresident to draw. The 65/35 means that nonres. are CAPPED at 35% in the first choice draws, but residents are not. They could get 100% of the tags if they have the most points. Looking at that another way, if there are only 65 nonresidents applying and none of them have preference points, they will still get 65 tags even if all the nonresidents had preference points.

Now, after you have figured out where you are going to hunt and have gotten in the best shape of your life, imagine butchering a full grown elk 5 miles from the nearest road. Can you quarter/debone a cow sized animal. Then how are you going to transport it the five miles back to the car without it getting too hot or covered with dirt? In one sense, the drop camp is better because they usually pack out your elk for you, however, they only check on you every 2-3 days, so what if you kill one and it is 80 degrees (not unheard of ). Again, private land tresspass hunts usually have better accessablitiy when you get one down.

Good luck and watch out, you will get additcted!

PaRu

bugs,
the first and fourth season is draw only, archery is otc ,and muzzle loader is draw only need any more help i'll try to help a friend of mine is on the board of directors with dow .

Elkfreak

bugs,

I like your optomistic thinking but no. The game units that do not have point restrictions are units that are harder to hunt than the units that have point restrictions. If you look online you will see the success rate for each unit. I have hunted in the over the counter units and will tell you that it is much more difficult to bag an elk in those units unless you have a honey hole to go to. Let me know where you decide, if you draw unit 4, I can give you some spots to go to.

txhunter58

I think the red units are ones that they have had cases of CWD (chronic wasting disease)

Ranching for wildlifes hunts/ranches are DEFINATELY NOT high fenced hunts. The DOW will not give tags for those, in fact, you don't even need a license for a high fenced/private elk herd hunt. These are fair chase hunts that the elk COULD go freely onto public land and back. If you research the RWH program, you have to have a ranch, I believe, that has at least 16,000 acres.

bugs11

Tx58,

Thanks for the info. I'm looking at the Limited Lic. Drawing report, how does one know which GMU a particular set of data pertains to? For example the very first set has EE001ER as it's identifier. What does EE001E1R refer to?

You hit the nail on the head about toting a bunch of meat a long distance over rough ground at altitude. That's the main reason we're looking at a drop camp, having pack animals haul an elk out is very attractive. If we go the DIY route we're thinking abouthiring an outfitter to just pack the critter out for us (if we get one). After talking things over with my hunt partner today, we're leaning towards the DIY hunt on the condition we can find an outfitter to pack a critter out for us.

I think I'm already addicted... I like the idea of hunting the first season.

Bugs

txhunter58

EE001E1R
First letter: species: elk
second letter: sex: either sex
next 3 numbers GMU: unit 1
next letter/number: season: in this case: early/1st
last letter: weapon: rifle

To put it all together: elk/either sex/ unit 1/early 1stseason/rifle

EF05501R would be Elk/female/unit55/1st season/rifle
EM05501M would be elk/male/unit 55/1st/muzzleloading

Remember too that some units are grouped together, so if you decide you want to hunt unit ZZZ, and you don't find a code that has that unit in it, it is probably grouped with 1 or more other units and the tag would be good in any of those units.

Black elk

Bugs,

You will definetly want an outfitter lined up to pack out the animal. It usually runs from $200-250 to pack one out. As an outfitter myself I would say the DIY hunts are almost as successful as a drop camp after the 2nd or 3rd time you hunt an area. But never on the first hunt. Any outfitter worth their salt will tell you how the elk use the territory when you arrive to your camp site. There are a ton of horror stories on outfitting but I think some are because of hunters are expecting a hunting video type hunt each day they are in the field. On the other hand there are some outfitters that don't do what they say they will do or hire crap for help. This is what I would do if I were you. I would ask for two references atleast. Then I would contact the local forest service office where the outfitter is issued his permits through. If the forest service has no bad reports on the outfitter you may do well with them. Good luck on that.

You can also get nailed hunting private land if it is not big enough of an area, elk are creatures of mobility. They may or may not be there depending on how many hunters have came before you.

The red area's on the map are chronic waste disease area's. You would know if you had and elk in the later stages of the disease, they look very ragged and sick. No fear you can have it tested by the DOW to make sure. I glad all them area's are up north east for now.