Separating Muzzy and Archery in Colo..

[Crowmangler]

The price reduction is because bear populations have blown up and are having a significant impact on fawns and calves, this made it an incentive as bear is usually not high on most people's lists for a $400 tag.

This is true...I bought the OTC bear tag because it was only $100 & harvested a nice bear. Would I have paid $400 for it? probably not

 

[Felix40]

Bear rifle is still limited bet there’s maybe 100-200 tags in your unit vs 1,000’s of archery hunters. The price reduction is because bear populations have blown up and are having a significant impact on fawns and calves, this made it an incentive as bear is usually not high on most peoples lists for a $400 tag.

Yeah they lowered the price and added more tags every year. I get that they need to be managed but you can only add so many rifle hunters to a unit without effecting archery season.

Here’s an example I found in 2 minutes of a hunt code with 500 extra rifle hunters added to bow season in the last 5 years. Not to mention a lot of bear units didn’t sell out until they reduced the price to $100.

 

[tdhanses]

This is true...I bought the OTC bear tag because it was only $100 & harvested a nice bear. Would I have paid $400 for it? probably not

With no spring season and a high tag price they had to do what they could to manage the bear population.

 

[tdhanses]

Yeah they lowered the price and added more tags every year. I get that they need to be managed but you can only add so many rifle hunters to a unit without effecting archery season.

Here’s an example I found in 2 minutes of a hunt code with 500 extra rifle hunters added to bow season in the last 5 years. Not to mention a lot of bear units didn’t sell out until they reduced the price to $100.

Of course they did, how else will they reduce the population without a spring season? You do realize that the more fawns and calves that survive the healthier elk and deer herds will be, right? And that archery guys aren’t killing animals in large enough quantities to manage wildlife.

Also outside of a spring season the best time to manage bear populations is in Sep during the feeding frenzy.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Yeah they lowered the price and added more tags every year. I get that they need to be managed but you can only add so many rifle hunters to a unit without effecting archery season.

Here’s an example I found in 2 minutes of a hunt code with 500 extra rifle hunters added to bow season in the last 5 years. Not to mention a lot of bear units didn’t sell out until they reduced the price to $100.

That hunt code is for units 62, 64 and 65, not just unit 62. So was the increase because it now encompasses three units where the year before it was just unit 62? I don't know the answer for sure, I'd have to go look. Unfortunately I don't have a 2020 big game brochure anymore to look.

EDIT: point taken though... CPW is issuing more bear tags for rifle hunters than before.

 

[Felix40]

Of course they did, how else will they reduce the population without a spring season? You do realize that the more fawns and calves that survive the healthier elk and deer herds will be, right?

That’s not what we are discussing here. We are talking about keeping bowhunters from getting shot by gun hunters. Rather than adding more rules or shortening bow season…we could just stop adding more gun hunters to bow season.

 

[tdhanses]

That’s not what we are discussing here. We are talking about keeping bowhunters from getting shot by gun hunters. Rather than adding more rules or shortening bow season…we could just stop adding more gun hunters to bow season.

Exactly and the best way to do that is reduce archery season to 2 or maybe 3 weeks if it goes back into Aug so that it’s archery only. In units way over population for bear maybe archery should be reduced to only a 2 week season to extend bear rifle seasons until objectives are met.

Seasons are designed for wildlife management or they should be, not selfish individual reasons. It’s also silly to think it’s archery season, it is rifle and ML season as much as archery. If archery hunters want no rifles or ml, they need to make a scrafice and reduce the season they get. Also the reason rifle and ml tags keep increasing is because archery hunters aren’t getting the job done and rifle/ml are better management tools.

 

[LongWayAround]

This is retarded.

Nothing needs to change. What we have is too many whiners bitching.

If crowding is the source of the tensions, reduce tags. Easy solution, no polls, no bullshit.

 

[Felix40]

Exactly and the best way to do that is reduce archery season to 2 or maybe 3 weeks if it goes back into Aug so that it’s archery only. In units way over population for bear maybe archery should be reduced to only a 2 week season to extend bear rifle seasons until objectives are met.

Seasons are designed for wildlife management or they should be, not selfish individual reasons. It’s also silly to think it’s archery season, it is rifle and ML season as much as archery. If archery hunters want no rifles or ml, they need to make a scrafice and reduce the season they get.Exactly and the best way to do that is reduce archery season to 2 or maybe 3 weeks if it goes back into Aug so that it’s archery only. In units way over population for bear maybe archery should be reduced to only a 2 week season to extend bear rifle seasons until objectives are met.

Seasons are designed for wildlife management or they should be, not selfish individual reasons. It’s also silly to think it’s archery season, it is rifle and ML season as much as archery. If archery hunters want no rifles or ml, they need to make a scrafice and reduce the season they get. Also the reason rifle and ml tags keep increasing is because archery hunters aren’t getting the job done and rifle/ml are better management tools.

Thats a fair opinion but I disagree 100%. Archers haven’t had a designated archery only season in Colorado for years. And it has gotten worse because they added more gun tags lately. Every other western state is able to come up with some way to make an actual archery season and still manage wildlife effectively.

I don’t think archers should continue to be the ones sacrificing every time discussions come up.

 

[tdhanses]

This is retarded.

Nothing needs to change. What we have is too many whiners bitching.

If crowding is the source of the tensions, reduce tags. Easy solution, no polls, no bullshit.

Exactly

 

[tdhanses]

If anyone should be footing the bill and giving up days it should be one of the rifle hunts.

Thats a fair opinion but I disagree 100%. Archers haven’t had a designated archery only season in Colorado for years. And it has gotten worse because they added more gun tags lately. Every other western state is able to come up with some way to make an actual archery season and still manage wildlife effectively.

And they also have longer seasons and tags good for any weapon, if CO went to that model you would see a huge reduction in tags.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Thats a fair opinion but I disagree 100%. Archers haven’t had a designated archery only season in Colorado for years.

How many years? Do you know? I’d be interested to know how many years Colorado actually had an “archery only” season in September for elk & deer that didn’t have any concurrent firearms seasons.

 

[Rob5589]

I'm sure this will be a hugely unpopular opinion but I think muzzleloader, rifle, and maybe even archery tags should require a signficantly higher level of certification than just a hunters safety course, including the addition of a proficiency test with your chosen weapon. Splitting seasons or adding orange requirements doesn't address the underlying issue that you have negligently stupid people going out onto public land and shooting at movement.

Do I have any confidence that a state agency in a state like Colorado could come up with a certification and test that meant anything and wasn't just a money making scheme? Absolutely not. But one can dream.

No matter what proficiency someone exhibits, it doesn't eliminate the moron in them.

 

[tdhanses]

How many years? Do you know? I’d be interested to know how many years Colorado actually had an “archery only” season that didn’t have any concurrent firearms seasons.

Which came first the chicken or the egg?

 

[Felix40]

How many years? Do you know? I’d be interested to know how many years Colorado actually had an “archery only” season that didn’t have any concurrent firearms seasons.

I don’t know. We have been getting the shaft as long as I have been hunting Colorado. It has just gotten way worse lately. Which to me, is even more reason they shouldn’t be adding more rules and crap to archery hunters.

 

[tdhanses]

I don’t know. We have been getting the shaft as long as I have been hunting Colorado. It has just gotten way worse lately. Which to me, is even more reason they shouldn’t be adding more rules and crap to archery hunters.

Only way you’ll get archery only is a reduction in season length, it just isn’t the management tool you like to believe it is or maybe the last week of Aug and first of Sep will be archery only but then archery will extend into rifle/ml season the remainder of Sep.

 

[Felix40]

Just keep in mind that my argument was to leave it alone. If you are dead set on “fixing” something, I think it needs to come at a cost to all the gun hunters in archery season rather than the archers.

 

[tdhanses]

Just keep in mind that my argument was to leave it alone. If you are dead set on “fixing” something, I think it needs to come at a cost to all the gun hunters in archery season rather than the archers.

I agree with leaving it alone but as long as management objectives aren’t met you’ll see tag increases across the board and price reductions. Why should rifle/ml be reduced vs archery? Can you guarantee if something had to be fixed that archery hunters will become more successful?

Hunting is about wildlife management, not a hobby, if wildlife populations are low I’d say rifle/ml should be reduced in tags before archery.

It’ll also crack me up if they make archery hunters wear orange only during ml but not for bear rifle. Of if they take away archery season during ml yet keep bear rifle.

 

[Coveyleader]

Just keep in mind that my argument was to leave it alone. If you are dead set on “fixing” something, I think it needs to come at a cost to all the gun hunters in archery season rather than the archers.

Yeap, end of discussion.

 

[Pro953]

I appreciate the argument everyone is making against archery as an effective management tool, but game and fish departments are not looking at seasons purely for management, they do also consider recreational opportunity and user feedback. If it was a pure management decision primitive weapons would not even be a consideration and more hunting would take place during rut seasons to increase harvest rates. Season dates and weapon choice are managed to balance harvest and opportunity levels.


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