Colorado, Let's Git 'er Done !!!

[Moosie]

Can someone from Colorado post the dates of the Draws and a Basic understanding of the point system for someone wanting to put in for Colorado ?

How does the state handle the big game draws and general hunts ?!?!
When is the Deadline for draws ?
What is the Point system like there ?

Just some General Info from someone in the know willing to help someone out that needs general info.

thanx in advance.......

 

[Oak]

I don't know...


Good question.

Oak

 

[DeerKing]

Deadline to have apps in is the first week of April, not sure of specific date.

Most hunts are on a draw system, although there are a few hunts you can get over the counter (most archery elk licenses and many rifle elk licenses). Colorado has a preference point system wherein the people with the most preference points will draw ahead of others with less points. Each unit or hunt usually takes a certain amount of points to draw, you know going into the draw how many points you will have to have. If you have 2 points and a hunt takes 4, don't bother applying. By studying the regs and stats you will see it doesn't necessarily take any points to have a good hunt, many big critters are dropped in 0 point units.

 

[KC]

Colorado Big Game Tags

Here's how it works in Colorado

Applications have to be received in early April. But I usually mail my applications much sooner. You can apply for a first choice and a second choice in the draw. You can even apply for a preference point as your first choice. If you do no get your first choice, you get a preference point. You can accumulate only one point per species per year. You have to pay the license fee when you submit your application for the draw. But if you are unsuccessful, all but $3 is returned along with your preference point notification. If you are successful in receiving a tag for your second choice, but not your first choice, you get a preference point (for your unsucessful first choice) and a tag (for your second choice). When you submit your application, you include the number of preference points that you have. People with the most points draw first.

There are about +/-200 game management units in Colorado, which are essentially the same for deer/elk/antelope/bear. In 2004 the dates were as follows;
- Archery Season: August 28 - September 26
- Muzzle Loading Season: September 11 - 19
- First Rifle Season (Elk only): October 9 - 13
- Second Rifle Season (Deer/Elk/Black bear): October 16 - 24
- Third Rifle Season (Deer/Elk/Black bear): October 30 - November 5
- Fourth Rifle Season (Deer/Elk/Black Bear): November 6 - 10)
Season dates will be essentially the same next year but they will start a couple of days earlier in 2005, and there will be a non-hunting break of several days between 3rd and 4th season.

Antlerless elk tags are issued through the drawing, except for a few game management units in the north-central part of the state, where they are available over-the-counter at most sporting goods stores. Bull elk tags can be purchased over-the-counter for about 3/4 of the game management units west of I25. For the most part, in those same units, there are more antlerless (cow) tags offered than are applied for and there are "leftover" tags available after the drawing that can be purchased at any Division of Wildlife (DOW) office, on a first come first served basis, and you can legally purchase both a cow elk tag and a bull elk tag. Most units require a bull elk to have at least 4 points on one antler but most people hold out for a 5x5 bull. In the remaining units, bull elk are managed for trophy potential. Most of those units require several preference points to draw a bull elk tag and some require as many as 14 points. Each year I apply for a preference point as my first choice elk application, and a cow tag as my second choice. Then I buy an over-the-counter bull tag. So I get a preference point for elk, a bull elk tag and a cow elk tag, each year. This is legal in many units where the elk populations are above management objectives.

All deer tags are issued by drawing only. Deer season dates in units west of I25 coincide with the elk seasons. In units east of I25, there is a separate early plains deer season (October 23 - November 2, 2004) and a separate late plains deer season (December 1 - 14, 2004). Deer populations are beginning to rebound and antlerless deer tags are being offered in a few game management units. There are even a few leftover tags available. In some units deer tags are very abundant. But these units are primarily where chronic wasting disease has been detected.

In many units, archery black bear tags are unlimited. In some game management units, black bear tags are issued by drawing only, including the archery season. There are many units where rifle black bears tags are issued for the month of September and those tags are issued by drawing only. In most units, black bear tags are sold over-the-counter for the same seasons as the deer/elk seasons. There is no spring bear season. You cannot use dogs or bait to hunt bears and traps must have padded jaws.

All antelope tags are issued by the drawing only. In most units, at least a couple of points are required to draw a tag. Many units require a lot more points. Antelope season starts on the first Saturday in October and lasts for five days.

Mountain Goats, Rocky Mountain Bighorns, Desert Bighorns, Moose and Cougar have separate game management units and separate seasons for each species.

Cougar tags are issued at the DOW offices, only in certain management units. You have to report your kills to that office and when the quota for a unit is filled, hunting is closed in that unit. Most quotas are never met. Most outfitters use hounds to hunt cougars.

Tags for goats and big horns are issued only through the draw. You must accumulate three preference points to get into the draw. Then you get a weighted preference point for each year that you are unsuccessful. When you apply, you get one chance for each weighted preference point. On average, it takes at least 8 years to get a tag. But it's possible to get a tag on your fourth try (3 points + 1 weighted point). If you get a tag, you have to wait five years to start the process again.

The drawing for moose works the same as goats and bighorns except you only get one tag in your lifetime.

KC

 

[DeerKing]

Colorado season dates for rifle hunters will be about a week later this year, which means the 4th season should see some good rut action and the 3rd season will likely even see some prerut activity. It is basically where the 4th season was last year.
1st season - Oct. 15-19
2nd season - Oct. 22-23rd
3rd season - Nov. 5th-11th
4th season - Nov. 16-20th

Peak of the deer rut is around Thanksgiving with heavy prerut activy about 2 weeks before then. You will see a lot of big bucks hammered this year...

 

[OSOK]

I see that you posted this up at 1:10 am an all. But I just thought I'd point out that 2nd season actually goes till the 29th, I believe, in lieu of the 2 day season of the 23rd.

 

[DeerKing]

Ooops sorry, you are right...but its never taken me longer than 2 days so I was confused....

 

[Moosie]

Thanx OSOK, I was Wondering how good a 2 day season was

Thanx for all the Help KC, DeerKing and Osok.

and Oak, thanx ....

 

[A-con]

Colorado question
Do ALL of the tags go to the people with the most points, are any distributed by random draw, or bonus piont draw ?

 

[Oak]

All limited tags go to those with the most points first (except sheep, goat and moose).

Oak

 

[KC]

There's more to the preference points and drawing in limited units, than was mentioned.

The question was "Do all the tags go to people with the most points?" The answer to that is no, not all of them.

The question also asked "are any distibuted by random draw or bonus point draw?" The answer to that is yes.

People with the most points are issued tags first. Then if there are still tags remaining in that unit, they are distributed by random draw. This happens in many units. Then if there are still more tag remaining after the draw, the "left over" tags are offered for purchase at DOW offices. The first morning that this occurs is pretty busy in those offices. But there are still lots of antlerless (cow) elk tags after that, and they can still be purchased at any DOW office until the day before opening day for that particular season.

In those units where bull elk tags are by drawing only, it takes points to draw those licenses and then those with the most points get the license first. But don't forget that there are bull elk tags offered over the counter that are valid in about 3/4 of the units west of I25.

In Colorado "bonus points" are called "weighted preference points." They apply only to goats, sheep and moose.

All deer and antelope tags are by drawing only. People with the most points get the first licenses. There are usually a few left over deer and antelope tags too. But they go within the first minutes after purchase is offered at DOW offices. You have to be waiting in line before dawn to get one of them.

I have eight preference points for elk. This is enough to ensure me a license in most of the units where bull elk are offered by drawing only. In fact 3 or 4 will get you a tag in most of them. But the unit where I want a tag, required 14 points last year. So I still have some collecting to do.

In about a month, I will submit my applications for licenses for 2005. My first choice for elk will be a preference point, so I will have 9 after the draw. My second choice for elk will be for an antlerless tag in a unit where there were left over licenses last year. Then I will buy a bull elk tag over the counter. So I will get a point, a bull tag and a cow tag. This is legal in many units where elk populations are above management objectives.

I have four points for antelope. But the unit where I want a tag required five last year. My first choice for antelope will be in the same unit as last year and I will probably be unssuccessful, so I will get another preference point and have five after the draw. My second choice for antelope will be for a buck in a unit which had left over tags last year. But so will others. I will be in the random drawing and who knows, I might get lucky.

I have no deer preference points because, in the unit where I hunt deer, there is a better than 50% chance that you can draw tag without any points. So for four years in a row, I have gotten a deer tag without any points. I will apply in the same unit this year. We shall see if I can keep the streak going. hump

KC

 

[A-con]

Thanks OAK & KC

 

[Oak]

Hey KC, that unit that required 14 points last year will probably require about 26 by the time you have 14.

What will my 15 points get me this year?

Oak

 

[KC]

Oak:

Yeah I know the number of points needed to draw a tag in one of those premium units keeps going up. So I may never get a chance. Or if I do, it may take so long that I will be too old to do the hunt.

Last year 14 points would have gotten you a tag in any unit you chose. So with 15 points, you ought to be able to take your pick.

Good luck.

KC

 

[Desert Sheep]

Oak,

A friend of mine with 15 elk points applied for a RFW bull tag on the Hill ranch last year and did not draw.

So as long as you don't want to hunt there, you should have your pick.

 

[Oak]

Yeah, I pretty well know where I stand. I wouldn't be able to draw 201 this year, as 20 residents with 15 points LAST year didn't draw. Eleven of those 20 will presumably draw this year with 16 points, unless some of the people that put in for a preference point only last year apply for 201 this year. There are 26 people with 16 or more points that just applied for a point last year.

I don't think I'll be going the RFW route.

Oak

 

[Oak]

FWIW, I think we'll see some kind of change to the PP system in the next couple of years. The way it's set up now, someone like KC would never be able to hunt a unit like 201. Just for grins, I looked at how many people applied for 201 last year that had MORE points than KC and didn't draw (so they're still ahead of him). The number was 268, vying for 11 resident tags every year. That means KC could MAYBE draw will 32 points in the year 2029. I bet the CDOW goes to a weighted system for premium units one of these years.

Oak

 

[DeerKing]

Would be nice to see them go to a 75/25 split with 75% of the tags going to those with the most points and 25% just luck of the draw. Either way nothing will change for a while. In the mean time its nice we can still get OTC elk tags for many units and premium muzz tags only take 0-2 points...

 

[Oak]

I think the 75/25 split would be a good idea. A weighted system would be better, but there's the issue of how to phase out the pp's that are already accrued. I agree with you that it's not worth the wait any more, because there's just too much good hunting available for a couple points or less.

 

[Moosie]

Bump... git er done folks.......