CO just posted '16 harvest data

[cnelk]

Im not sure why Colorado doesnt have Telecheck [phone in registration like Nebraska] for successful hunters.
You would really think they would want to get more accurate info.
And its not as if the infrastructure isnt in place to do it.

The reward outweighs the risk

 

[5MilesBack]

If harvest was much lower than reported and there is mild winterkill, we can expect license #s to go up for '17 in all units that are @ or above target population. Correct?

No. They generally operate on a 5 year plan. So every five years they adjust what they need to for each DAU or specific units. Not sure which year we're in with their current 5 year plan.

NM has mandatory reporting and you can't even apply the next year if you haven't done that for the previous year.

It was a weird year for sure in Colorado, but I still got on plenty of elk.

 

[njdoxie]

I haven't heard of many people at all that filled elk tags last year through any of the seasons. All the people I've talked to don't know many at all that took an elk home last year. My buddy works with about a dozen guys that archery hunt, and he keeps reminding me that I'm the only guy he's heard of that got a bull last year.

I was fortunate/lucky enough to get a bull last year, but it seems that I heard more than the usual complaining about hot weather and no elk. It was the fewest elk I've seen in quite some time and was very grateful to get one.

 

[njdoxie]

I thought it was crowded back then....

Tell me about it....I've switched units a few times, but in the unit I've hunted for the last 7 years or so, I've seen a gradual uptick in hunters, sometimes more than an uptick....I stopped hunting one part of the unit when it was flooded with new hunters and my good spots turned to crap.

 

[5MilesBack]

I was fortunate/lucky enough to get a bull last year, but it seems that I heard more than the usual complaining about hot weather and no elk.

I know the rifle seasons were warm, but I kept hearing how much hotter it was this past archery season than past years. And if anything, this past season was the coolest I've hunted in some time. I even had water freezing solid in camp the second week of the season, which I've rarely ever had. I prefer it warmer.....both for me and for hunting purposes.

 

[rokclmb]

If I were researching units to hunt this coming 2017 season either for a new unit or as a new hunter, I wouldn't select the unit I currently hunt as a place to go (based on the 2016 Harvest Data). It has a couple hundred more hunters and the number of kills has stayed about the same, lowering the success percentage. Plus the population estimates are trending lower as well.

Just a thought, but perhaps the DOW intends to use this data as a way to redistribute hunting pressure to different units, knowing a lot of new hunters will use it to pick a unit. It was certainly a consideration for us when we first chose a unit.

 

[5MilesBack]

If I were researching units to hunt this coming 2017 season either for a new unit or as a new hunter, I wouldn't select the unit I currently hunt as a place to go (based on the 2016 Harvest Data). It has a couple hundred more hunters and the number of kills has stayed about the same, lowering the success percentage. Plus the population estimates are trending lower as well.

I tend to go the opposite direction with this at times. I see a unit with a 75% success rate (just an example) and think "anybody can kill an elk in there". My main OTC unit has a single digit success rate during archery according to the charts, yet I've been very successful in there. As much as I love the kill, the challenge draws me more than anything these days.

This last year I hunted a unit I'd never hunted or scouted before.......it was a blast. Just the challenge of showing up and figuring stuff out on the fly was a lot of fun. Hiking and hunting all new terrain and unknown areas........arrowing a nice bull was just icing on the cake. I might do the same this year.......just pick a new area and go.

 

[Bambikiller]

Tagged for later


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[chindits]

Does anyone know what % of license holders they send an after the season survey to?

I have been called once, and I assumed it was a CPW sponsored phone survey. However, for all I know it could of been a CSU grad student working on their thesis. In addition to harvest, they asked questions about number of animals seen, hunters seen, and personal perception of the number of hunters in the field. I don't remember if they were asking me about my muley or elk tag. I think they only cared about one tag and ironically I think it wasn't the tag I was focused on since I can get an elk tag every year. I'm a poor survey sample since I will pass up animals in an effort to never get the one buck or bull I want that year.

 

[oldgoat]

Oohh man, sometimes I get the feeling I'm overly pessimistic about stuff, then I come on here and read some of y'alls posts to reassure myself that I'm ok!

 

[Coveyleader]

I shot 2, and passed up on a few sub 20 yards i.e a real pass. Elk in my area were in the same places at times, and different areas later. It was weird, but we still killed them.

Sooooooo the bigger question is when will they post the MTN Goat info?

PS........ since when do hunters give a straight answer about units or success? Ha!

 

[cnelk]

Some 'Fake Data' right here folks...

For instance, last summer the Beaver Creek Fire up in Northern Colorado closed that unit in July all the way thru early October.

Yet, if you look up GMU 161, the estimated harvest for Archery is 24 bulls, 10 cows.
For ML season is shows 12 bulls and 2 cows.

NO EFFIN' WAY.

That unit was CLOSED IN SEPTEMBER

C'MON MAN...

 

[orionthehunter1]

Yep not the first time they have done that. Also I grew up in Colorado and have hunted here my whole life and have only been called once for a survey

 

[Ftguides]

Some 'Fake Data' right here folks...

For instance, last summer the Beaver Creek Fire up in Northern Colorado closed that unit in July all the way thru early October.

Yet, if you look up GMU 161, the estimated harvest for Archery is 24 bulls, 10 cows.
For ML season is shows 12 bulls and 2 cows.

NO EFFIN' WAY.

That unit was CLOSED IN SEPTEMBER

C'MON MAN...

BWHWHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHA.......let me catch my breath........BWHHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

 

[Ftguides]

that's called getting caught with your pants down

 

[Ftguides]

In all seriousness, this is a significant issue. I am in the process, with the help of several well respected ungulate biologists, putting a letter together to the Colorado Game Commission. If any of you are willing to share your observations, particularly if you have hard evidence like the cnelk post above, please PM me the details and include your full name. Unfortunately, anonymous observations/evidence are useless.

There is some humor in this but it's to the point that it has to be seriously pursued with the commission.

 

[cnelk]

Go get 'em.
Hold their feet to the fire.

 

[cnelk]

I'll look for more discrepancies

 

[tradarchery]

Ftguides, PM inbound

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[Coveyleader]

161.....private land was closed down too? If not, I can believe those numbers.