Colorado hunting changes.

[Cory]

Hey guys for anyone who was thinking of going out for a hunt this year they have  implemented some new license rules they may have priced me out of my yearly trip out west. 

 The price of a deer buck or doe is $396.75, cow elk &496.75 bull elk $661.75. All non resident fees. $10 habitat stamp plus a $9 non resident processing fee that is new. If you are denied your license application all but the $10 habitat stamp , $9 processing fee plus an additional $15 return processing fee. But wait that’s not the kick in the balls. You now have to purchase a qualifying license to even apply for a license that is non refundable. The qualifying license are a spring turkey license for non resident is $151.75, or a non resident small game license for $81.75 

you do not have to buy a qualifying license if you only pick up an over the counter bull tag. So if you were or are thinking of heading out some info to pass on. Add your plane fare plus lodging food car. Etc. I don’t have to pay for any car lodging or food due to hunting with family and friends it’s the license cost that maybe getting me. I might just finally give it up heading to Colorado and just start heading to Tennessee to deer hunt. My buddy moved from Florida and bought a couple hundred acres on the Alabama Tennessee border that he keeps asking me to come down. 

[BizCT]

Wow


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[dmandoes]

how much more is it going to cost u from last year?  cory, it looks like u r going to let somewhere around $125 stop u from hunting co.  biz, if u where just buying elk points its going to at least double.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Cory,

Some of the units out there are over the counter or bull or cow. I think it's 80 and 81. Do you go with a guide or do you go DIY?

[BizCT]

how much more is it going to cost u from last year?  cory, it looks like u r going to let somewhere around $125 stop u from hunting co.  biz, if u where just buying elk points its going to at least double.

I only buy PP’s in WY, not CO


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[Pygmy]

I quit my elk pps this year in Colorado....I have 14, but don't expect I'll be going back there again....Not enough $$$$ anymore, plus not enough legs....Beautiful place to hunt, and I have taken two awesome mulie bucks there plus my only bull elk, a 6x6, but I guess my days of hunting the mountains are over..

I have been to Alaska 7 times,  Colorado 4 times, New Mexico 3 times, northern Quebec 3 times,,Wyoming 3 times,  New Brunswick twice,  Newfoundland once and Northwest Territories once, plus numerous trips for lesser critters , like whitetails, turkeys, waterfowl and hogs, throughout the east, south and Midwest...

It's been a great ride, but I'll probably be doing the rest of my hunting close to home..<<sigh>>...

Edited February 18, 2019 by Pygmy

[dmandoes]

pigmy, thats one hell of run! if i started another thread titled "an intrerview with pygmy" would u play along?

[Steuben Jerry]

2 hours ago, Pygmy said:

I quit my elk pps this year in Colorado....I have 14, but don't expect I'll be going back there again....Not enough $$$$ anymore, plus not enough legs....Beautiful place to hunt, and I have taken two awesome mulie bucks there plus my only bull elk, a 6x6, but I guess my days of hunting the mountains are over..

I have been to Alaska 7 times,  Colorado 4 times, New Mexico 3 times, northern Quebec 3 times,,Wyoming 3 times,  New Brunswick twice,  Newfoundland once and Northwest Territories once, plus numerous trips for lesser critters , like whitetails, turkeys, waterfowl and hogs, throughout the east, south and Midwest...

It's been a great ride, but I'll probably be doing the rest of my hunting close to home..<<sigh>>...

That's a whole lot of good memories to reflect when you're passing the time in your comfy deer stand here in NY! I've learned to like being comfy..

[BizCT]

I quit my elk pps this year in Colorado....I have 14, but don't expect I'll be going back there again....Not enough $$$$ anymore, plus not enough legs....Beautiful place to hunt, and I have taken two awesome mulie bucks there plus my only bull elk, a 6x6, but I guess my days of hunting the mountains are over..
I have been to Alaska 7 times,  Colorado 4 times, New Mexico 3 times, northern Quebec 3 times,,Wyoming 3 times,  New Brunswick twice,  Newfoundland once and Northwest Territories once, plus numerous trips for lesser critters , like whitetails, turkeys, waterfowl and hogs, throughout the east, south and Midwest...
It's been a great ride, but I'll probably be doing the rest of my hunting close to home..>...

Maybe you can “sell” your CO PP’s by applying with someone with less points so they can draw a tag?


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[dmandoes]

biz, co doesn't work that way.  they don't average. u go into group at the lowest point holder.

[BizCT]

biz, co doesn't work that way.  they don't average. u go into group at the lowest point holder.

Damn. So Pygmy’s points are worthless?


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[dmandoes]

yup

[Cory]

6 hours ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Cory,

Some of the units out there are over the counter or bull or cow. I think it's 80 and 81. Do you go with a guide or do you go DIY?

We hunt 25-26 and 34 up north outside of eagle. No guide all public lands!

[Pygmy]

37 minutes ago, dmandoes said:

yup

That's a fact....Not a huge amount of money invested....I paid a relatively small  application fee and most of the money was refunded...  And HEY !!...They aren't wasted yet...They are still valid for a period of time.. Perhaps I'll hit the lottery or some rich aunt of mine whom I don't know exists will leave me some money....Hehehe....

[Pygmy]

18 minutes ago, Cory said:

We hunt 25-26 and 34 up north outside of eagle. No guide all public lands!

Last I knew there were still lots of OTC units in Colorado...However in many of them, expect to see plenty of orange vests....

On my last hunt in unit 76, near Creede,  ( MZ season)  three of us took two big bulls and passed several others,unguided  .. We were staying in a comfortable ranch cabin and driving about ten minutes each morning on National Forest Service roads to get to our hunting areas...During the appx. 10 day season we saw one other MZ hunter and a couple of bowhunters.. That's the difference between hunting a quality high preference point unit and an OTC unit..

[LetEmGrow]

Here is a list of the price changes
https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/Our-Story-2019-Changes.aspx#ParkFees

Elk and deer did not go up a penny for non-residents unless you plan on entering a draw.  It is the same price as last year.  

Most of the increases were for Residents.  

The Qualifying license means that you must buy a Turkey license or a Small Game license in order to apply for the big game draw.  If you are hunting over the counter then you don't  need to worry about it.  "Qualifying License" is a really bad way to describe it.  But they're all on dope now anyway, eh.

You can read some at the first link but it is best explained in the second link (page 6).
https://cpw.state.co.us/qualifyinglicenses
https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Brochure/BigGame/biggame.pdf

The small games license for non-res is $81.75. If you enter a draw then you could say the price went up $81.75.  Salty but probably not the difference between going and not going.  But it would burn my ass to buy it, not get drawn, and never use it.  Hell, would you end up using it anyway?  It's like Cuomo thought of it.  He's probably jealous.

Instead of just saying, "we are raising our rates", they force you to buy something you will likely never use - drawn or not - unless you live close to Colorado.  This has to be the worst example of marketing I have ever seen in my life.   

By the way, I believe I read that this is the first time licenses have increased (in some fashion) for non-residents since 2006.  Don't quote me on it but I am pretty sure I read that.

So if you are hunting OTC (over-the-counter) not much has changed.  But it does really stink you have to buy the turkey license or small gamed license to apply for a big game draw.  Doesn't make much sense but..... toke toke.

Edited February 19, 2019 by LetEmGrow

[LetEmGrow]

1 hour ago, Pygmy said:

Last I knew there were still lots of OTC units in Colorado...However in many of them, expect to see plenty of orange vests....

On my last hunt in unit 76, near Creede,  ( MZ season)  three of us took two big bulls and passed several others,unguided  .. We were staying in a comfortable ranch cabin and driving about ten minutes each morning on National Forest Service roads to get to our hunting areas...During the appx. 10 day season we saw one other MZ hunter and a couple of bowhunters.. That's the difference between hunting a quality high preference point unit and an OTC unit..

Agreed.  Big think to pay attention to are restricted ATV units or portions of units where they are not allowed.  I hunted in a non-ATV area one time with my rifle near Meeker.  Very few people. I got a raggy.  I hunted another time with my bow around Gunnison.  It was so loaded with people that it wasn't even funny.  And don't forget - there is a muzzleloader season right during the middle of bow season.  I dealt with that too.   Needless to say - tag soup.

[dmandoes]

iirc, co tag prices change almost every year.  they r tied to the cpi.  as for making u buy a license, its their way of getting money from gov.  they don't care if u use it. they r trying to get bigger share of tax money paid by hunters and fishermen.   

[Pygmy]

17 hours ago, dmandoes said:

pigmy, thats one hell of run! if i started another thread titled "an intrerview with pygmy" would u play along?

Yeah, I'm a legend in my own mind....Hehehe...

My Mom told me to do it...My Dad worked his butt off all his life and denied himself many pleasures...Then a month after he retired, he had a stroke and was crippled for the rest of his life... My Mom told me that if there was anything I wanted to do, I should do it while I was able...

I went on my first out of state big game hunt at age 39, a 2 week DIY float trip in Alaska...Over the next 25 years or so I was working and had the cash flow, I  made  a trip every couple of years...Sometimes two years in a row..Most of my hunts were DIY because I never could afford the high priced guided hunts

After I retired,  my income  was reduced..Then  I went through a divorce and my income was FURTHER reduced...

Now I'm almost 70  and although my health is still relatively good, I can't climb the mountains or pack the meat the way I used to( in more ways than one, lol )….  Prices on hunts, airfare, etc. etc have gone up in the meantime...

So here I am...I have my memories and hundreds of photos and some videos, but my days of traveling around the continent hunting are over..I feel blessed and very fortunate that I got to do what I did... I'm very glad that that I am not sitting here today WISHING  that I had gone hunting instead of reminiscing about the wonderful places I have hunted and the incredible things that I have seen and experienced..

 

[Merlot]

1 hour ago, Pygmy said:

Yeah, I'm a legend in my own mind....Hehehe...

My Mom told me to do it...My Dad worked his butt off all his life and denied himself many pleasures...Then a month after he retired, he had a stroke and was crippled for the rest of his life... My Mom told me that if there was anything I wanted to do, I should do it while I was able...

I went on my first out of state big game hunt at age 39, a 2 week DIY float trip in Alaska...Over the next 25 years or so I was working and had the cash flow, I  made  a trip every couple of years...Sometimes two years in a row..Most of my hunts were DIY because I never could afford the high priced guided hunts

After I retired,  my income  was reduced..Then  I went through a divorce and my income was FURTHER reduced...

Now I'm almost 70  and although my health is still relatively good, I can't climb the mountains or pack the meat the way I used to( in more ways than one, lol )….  Prices on hunts, airfare, etc. etc have gone up in the meantime...

So here I am...I have my memories and hundreds of photos and some videos, but my days of traveling around the continent hunting are over..I feel blessed and very fortunate that I got to do what I did... I'm very glad that that I am not sitting here today WISHING  that I had gone hunting instead of reminiscing about the wonderful places I have hunted and the incredible things that I have seen and experienced..

 

Memories are forever. Congrats on doing what you did...More memories still to come, I'm sure.

[Cory]

19 hours ago, Pygmy said:

Last I knew there were still lots of OTC units in Colorado...However in many of them, expect to see plenty of orange vests....

On my last hunt in unit 76, near Creede,  ( MZ season)  three of us took two big bulls and passed several others,unguided  .. We were staying in a comfortable ranch cabin and driving about ten minutes each morning on National Forest Service roads to get to our hunting areas...During the appx. 10 day season we saw one other MZ hunter and a couple of bowhunters.. That's the difference between hunting a quality high preference point unit and an OTC unit..

All bull tags are over the counter and good for any area!

[moog5050]

On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 4:21 PM, Pygmy said:

I quit my elk pps this year in Colorado....I have 14, but don't expect I'll be going back there again....Not enough $$$$ anymore, plus not enough legs....Beautiful place to hunt, and I have taken two awesome mulie bucks there plus my only bull elk, a 6x6, but I guess my days of hunting the mountains are over..

I have been to Alaska 7 times,  Colorado 4 times, New Mexico 3 times, northern Quebec 3 times,,Wyoming 3 times,  New Brunswick twice,  Newfoundland once and Northwest Territories once, plus numerous trips for lesser critters , like whitetails, turkeys, waterfowl and hogs, throughout the east, south and Midwest...

It's been a great ride, but I'll probably be doing the rest of my hunting close to home..<<sigh>>...

Mendon is free and pretty darn exotic too but don't let the deer know they are a lesser critter!  lol

[Pygmy]

38 minutes ago, Cory said:

All bull tags are over the counter and good for any area!

??????...I guess I don't understand what you are saying, Cory....Sounds like you are saying I could get an OTC bull tag and use it in any unit in CO...I don't think so...

[Cory]

20 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

??????...I guess I don't understand what you are saying, Cory....Sounds like you are saying I could get an OTC bull tag and use it in any unit in CO...I don't think so...

https://www.backcountrychronicles.com/colorado-otc-elk-tags/

.... 

[Pygmy]

Yes.....You can use OTC  elk tags in MANY units, but not ANY unit...…

Quite a few of the best units in CO do not issue OTC tags....Perhaps OTC tags can be used in any unit that ISSUES OTC tags, but some units , like  1,  201 76, and good number of others do not ISSUE OTC tags...

Try putting an OTC tag on a bull from unit 201, and then see what happens when Officer Ferndip checks your tag...