Navigating the Colorado draws and regulations

[Ryan Pent]

Hey everyone-
I am coming from the Midwest and heading out for an archery OTC hunt in sept. Last year I put in for a Point for the first time last minute. I plan to apply for another point this year but ultimately going to do an over the counter hunt this year. I just got the 2019 big game guide in the mail and I’m a bit overwhelmed. I am not asking for units, or best draw odds, but if someone is willing to help an out of stater i would appreciate a few minutes of time.

The OTC part seems fairly painless, and i have a few potential areas picked out for ‘19 but i would like to work toward a draw hunt at some point.

Thanks for any help anyone is willing to give.


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[Newtosavage]

Have you read the new requirements for obtaining a preference point? Sounds like you'll have to pony up for a $81 small game license just to apply (plus fees) so expect to add another $90 to the price of that OTC tag.

Having said that, I'm not sure what your question is.

 

[Ryan Pent]

Have you read the new requirements for obtaining a preference point? Sounds like you'll have to pony up for a $81 small game license just to apply (plus fees) so expect to add another $90 to the price of that OTC tag.

Having said that, I'm not sure what your question is.

More or less looking for someone to help me get a Better understanding of the regulations in Colorado. It’s whole different ball game out there compared to buying whitetail tags. But it seems like there’s a lot of confusion going on for most folks right now.




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[Newtosavage]

I'm sure there are plenty here who would be glad to help. If you have a specific question, we could start there.

 

[Ryan Pent]

I'm sure there are plenty here who would be glad to help. If you have a specific question, we could start there.

Well let’s start here... if I plan to go OTC then there is no need for a qualifying license other than my actual elk license? So I would not have to pony up that additional 90$ correct? The only scenario that would apply to is if I would like to get another Preference point?


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[Newtosavage]

That is my current understanding, yes.

 

[cnelk]

I would suggest watch/reading thru these links - and then ask specific questions

https://gdoc.pub/doc/e/2PACX-1vQZ9c...1N5UyvCpwJaOIQ1D-Pqd7aTftgdSiIg8geGNnCuqoMYsj

https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/Our-Story-2019-Changes.aspx#BigGameLicenseFees

 

[Ryan Pent]

I would suggest watch/reading thru these links - and then ask specific questions

https://gdoc.pub/doc/e/2PACX-1vQZ9c...1N5UyvCpwJaOIQ1D-Pqd7aTftgdSiIg8geGNnCuqoMYsj

https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/Our-Story-2019-Changes.aspx#BigGameLicenseFees

I will do that. Thanks for directing me to these pages. I’ll be sure to be more specific in the future.


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[gobears870]

You may want to consider a 2nd choice draw as well. I'm in a similar position as you, looking for my first hunt and already holding onto a preference point for both deer and elk. What I'm planning to do this year is find a unit I'm familiar with that has good (>50%) draw odds for a 2nd choice application. That way I can apply for another PP as my first choice and still give myself some chance of hunting a limited draw unit instead of just going to an OTC unit. You can find the draw odds in the elk statistics page - it's complicated with the hunt codes but makes sense once you know what you're looking at. GoHunt Insider does all the legwork for you on this for a chunk of change but it's simple enough to find on your own IF you already know what units interest you.

 

[Ryan Pent]

You may want to consider a 2nd choice draw as well. I'm in a similar position as you, looking for my first hunt and already holding onto a preference point for both deer and elk. What I'm planning to do this year is find a unit I'm familiar with that has good (>50%) draw odds for a 2nd choice application. That way I can apply for another PP as my first choice and still give myself some chance of hunting a limited draw unit instead of just going to an OTC unit. You can find the draw odds in the elk statistics page - it's complicated with the hunt codes but makes sense once you know what you're looking at. GoHunt Insider does all the legwork for you on this for a chunk of change but it's simple enough to find on your own IF you already know what units interest you.

So in your scenario your hoping to pay the qualifying fee license with the likelihood that you will get a limited tag? And worst case you end up with 2 points going into next year and just go OTC this up coming season? I don’t mind that strategy, just got some more reading up to do on the draw units. I didn’t anticipate trying for one of those tags on my first hunt.

Thanks for the suggestion


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[browning2480]

I think you only have to pay the small game fee, if you didn't purchase a hunting license/elk/deer tag last year. So going forward, as long as you are hunting over the counter, your preference point won't cost you anything.

 

[ericF]

I think you only have to pay the small game fee, if you didn't purchase a hunting license/elk/deer tag last year. So going forward, as long as you are hunting over the counter, your preference point won't cost you anything.

This is incorrect and this is exactly what is changing this year. In order to apply for anything including a preference point, you first have to buy a qualifying license. Not ifs, ands, or buts.

 

[Ryan Pent]

This is incorrect and this is exactly what is changing this year. In order to apply for anything including a preference point, you first have to buy a qualifying license. Not ifs, ands, or buts.

This is how I understood it as well. Thanks for the clarification.


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[gobears870]

So in your scenario your hoping to pay the qualifying fee license with the likelihood that you will get a limited tag? And worst case you end up with 2 points going into next year and just go OTC this up coming season? I don’t mind that strategy, just got some more reading up to do on the draw units. I didn’t anticipate trying for one of those tags on my first hunt.

Thanks for the suggestion


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That's correct. There aren't a lot of tags with a realistic shot at second choice but they exist, so it's a simple way of getting to hunt a limited unit without burning points.

There was a surge in preference point purchases last year because they dropped the requirement to float the entire tag fee, so I guess adding the qualifying license requirement is their way of raising the barrier of entry.

 

[Sharpspur]

Try buy the insider membership to gohunt. I did, and it makes understanding all western states so much easier.

 

[OXN939]

That's correct. There aren't a lot of tags with a realistic shot at second choice but they exist, so it's a simple way of getting to hunt a limited unit without burning points.

There was a surge in preference point purchases last year because they dropped the requirement to float the entire tag fee, so I guess adding the qualifying license requirement is their way of raising the barrier of entry.

So here's a question: considering that now, if you don't hunt in Colorado the previous year, purchasing a single preference point costs almost $100... what will be the net effect of this change? Overall, will there be more or less competition for limited entry units?

 

[vanish]

if you don't hunt in Colorado the previous year, purchasing a single preference point costs almost $100

Whether you hunted in CO the previous year or not is no longer relevant to the cost to get a PP.

 

[OXN939]

Check, I was under the impression that if you still held a license now, which would be the case if you purchased one from last year, it would allow you to buy a Preference Point. In any case, the cost for a nonresident to apply for an elk and a deer preference point comes out to $109. Pretty steep.

 

[Fatcamp]

Not really. $54.50 apiece.

Spoke with a lady at CPW yesterday. She says the biggest reason for the change was that after last year they lost money from massive numbers of people who returned tags they only drew because it was cheap. Once they realized how much the tag and travel cost were they sent them back, according to her.

I was voicing my opinion the fishing license should be a qualifying license. She said you get one free with the big game tag. I said I don't care. She said, OK.

 

[OXN939]

Not really. $54.50 apiece.

I guess my thinking is that if I apply for just an elk point in Wyoming, it's $52. In Colorado, it's now an even $100. I only purchased the deer point because it'd be economically silly not to do so once you've already got the license.

Who knows, though. Maybe it'll thin out competition for limited entry units some.