Colorado - 2021 Big Game Tag Allocations

Vandy321

WKR
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Feb 5, 2019
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Where do you see that? Elk population went up and is above target. The bull/cow ratio is certainly below target
NW quadrant numbers....the largest (and what i thought was the healthiest) herd in the state. same place they want to put wolf.

2019: 139,150
2020: 129,010
2021 est: 122,360
 

el_jefe_pescado

Lil-Rokslider
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Montana
First a call out of "Thanks!" to cnelk! You are constantly making a positive impact for us all on this site,

Archery elk Licenses doubled from 2019 to 2020! No wonder there were bow hunters behind every tree!

Yeah, there was definitely a huge jump in the number of limited archery licenses sold. I’m really surprised to see the 10% decline in OTC licenses for 2020. Anecdotally—it seemed like a zoo out there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

longtail

FNG
Joined
Feb 17, 2021
Messages
93
I have an idea on the answer but wondering if others with more knowledge can explain why the units with fire damage/closures have the same # of elk tags allocated for this year as they did last year. For example DAU 8 has unit 18 in it that is almost entirely closed due to the troublesome fire. Do they anticipate opening up 18 before the hunting seasons?
 
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Wapiti16

FNG
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May 27, 2020
Messages
99
According to this chart, for the unit clump I hunt elk in (70, 71, 711, 72, 73), the licenses for 2020 were 3460 and for 2021 were 2250; -35.6% decrease. Is that a decrease in total tags awarded or in total applicants? If it's a total tags awarded, that is a HUGE decrease.

Last year, 2020, those units went from being OTC either sex archery units to limited archery units for the first time ever. Is this decrease in tags based off of unit application numbers from last year? No doubt those units need some help boosting populations and MAINLY regulating hunting pressure, just curious what this will mean for my family and I for future hunts. We have a cabin up there, so we can't just switch to a different area.
 
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cnelk

cnelk

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According to this chart, for the unit clump I hunt elk in (70, 71, 711, 72, 73), the licenses for 2020 were 3460 and for 2021 were 2250; -35.6% decrease. Is that a decrease in total tags awarded or in total applicants? If it's a total tags awarded, that is a HUGE decrease.

You are referring to Limited Archery Elk for DAU 31.

Welcome to the CPWs war on bowhunters when the same units are OTC bull tags for 2nd & 3rd Season Rifle
 
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cnelk

cnelk

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I have an idea on the answer but wondering if others with more knowledge can explain why the units with fire damage/closures have the same # of elk tags allocated for this year as they did last year. For example DAU 9 has unit 18 in it that is almost entirely closed due to the troublesome fire. Do they anticipate opening up 18 before the hunting seasons?

Do you think the tag allotment should be more or less?

Nobody knows if the area will be open.
 

Wapiti16

FNG
Joined
May 27, 2020
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You are referring to Limited Archery Elk for DAU 31.

Welcome to the CPWs war on bowhunters when the same units are OTC bull tags for 2nd & 3rd Season Rifle
So why the big change between '20 and '21? They already went from OTC either sex archery tags in '19 to a "supposedly capped" limited archery lottery in '20 in those units and other units in the region.

The only thing I can think of is they waited to set their license allocation number based on applicant numbers from 2020...?
 
Joined
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Littleton, CO
They have this under the elk portion at the top synopsis.
"However, 3,200 of this reduction is the result of fine-tuning archery quotas in DAUs E-24
(Disappointment), E-30 (Hermosa), and E-31 (San Juan). These were new limited units for 2020 and quotas were initially set high, recommended 2021 quotas set licenses to numbers actually sold in 2020."


So they issued a lot more tags than they needed to is 2020 therefore the amount was adjusted. They used the amount sold as the baseline.
 

Wapiti16

FNG
Joined
May 27, 2020
Messages
99
They have this under the elk portion at the top synopsis.
"However, 3,200 of this reduction is the result of fine-tuning archery quotas in DAUs E-24
(Disappointment), E-30 (Hermosa), and E-31 (San Juan). These were new limited units for 2020 and quotas were initially set high, recommended 2021 quotas set licenses to numbers actually sold in 2020."


So they issued a lot more tags than they needed to is 2020 therefore the amount was adjusted. They used the amount sold as the baseline.
Got it. Now that we're talking about it, I do remember there being quite a few leftover tags last year. Thanks.
 
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cnelk

cnelk

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If anyone ever wonders where a good place to start elk hunting, the ‘Over Objective’ units would be a good place to start.
 

bz_711

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May 7, 2012
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If anyone ever wonders where a good place to start elk hunting, the ‘Over Objective’ units would be a good place to start.

It's hard for me to believe that 3 of the 4 units are over target objective (elk).

What is your observation of CO elk herds comparing 2010 to 2020? Basically your eyes on the ground elk encounters from time in the woods 2010 to same in 2020?
I appreciate such opinions of those with way more time in the mountains than myself.

Thanks!
 
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cnelk

cnelk

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It's hard for me to believe that 3 of the 4 units are over target objective (elk).

What is your observation of CO elk herds comparing 2010 to 2020? Basically your eyes on the ground elk encounters from time in the woods 2010 to same in 2020?
I appreciate such opinions of those with way more time in the mountains than myself.

Thanks!

I counted 22 units that are considered Over Objective [Relative to Population Obj]

Re: Elk Herds - I would have to say probably about the same.
If anything in the OTC areas I hunt, we see less cow elk than we did 10 years ago.

I do know elk have changed their patterns somewhat - mostly due to pressure and some due to beetle kill
 
Joined
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Oklahoma
I have hunted Colorado SW Quadrant since 1997. I don’t know diddly about statistics but I can tell you that we have not seen near the elk numbers we used to see before 2005.

We used to see literally herds of animals. First rifle hunt in 1999, all three of us tagged out in two days, and two of the bulls were really nice. Now it’s slim pickings where you pop the first legal bull.

Last year in muzzleloader I literally saw zero animals in 6 days. Of course it snowed big time shortly before opening day. And I walked a lot of miles and glassed a lot of terrain. Just bizarre and disappointing.
 
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Oct 13, 2017
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Rockies
Wow! 2207% increase in antlerless rifle tags in DAU 7 (greater Meeker area)
541% increase in antlerless rifle tags in DAU 22 (greater east of Gunnison area)
2021 will be interesting!
 
Joined
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So in a phone discussion with Colorado DOW it was stated that the Quantity of licensees sold last year and the amount of licenses they had "LEFT-OVER "(in a particular GMU) that were unfilled, had a large impact on the reduction in the amount of licenses available this year. The reduction was not based on data on the herd numbers. They eliminated the overage from what last year weren't filled. You would think the amount of licenses sold would be a projection of potential animal harvest rates based upon historical success rates and the size of the represented elk herd in a particular GMU. Nope! It's all about generating revenue.
 
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