Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Point Creep and CO GMU

Application time is just around the corner. I have been trying to get enough points for one of the "better" GMUs but the number of required points to draw continues to creep up. I am not getting any younger and I want to go. I have 12 preference points and need a non resident tag. Any suggestions. Thanks backflush

Rifle? Muzzleloader? Archery?

Rifle or muzzleloader will do.

I'm in the same boat, sitting on 12 points. I'm just starting the research on which unit to put in for. Looking at first rifle season.

I had built up 6 points (I think...) last year, and then decided to screw it and simply hunt an area I knew, even though I could draw with 1 or even 0 points. In my experience, it would not be worth it to save points and then use them to hunt an area I was not familiar with. Seems to take me a season or two to get to know an area. Now, if I lived closer and could scout, or planned to use a guide that knew the area, that might change things.

What to do is hunt that unfamiliar area by drawing a cow tag that might not require any points and may be had with a 2nd choice. Or scout /research the area while building points.Doesn't have to be in elk season.

I know how you feel. Years ago I had either 5 or 6 points and was pretty much expecting to draw into Area 76 the next year. The next thing you know, they changed the ratio of resident to non-resident percentages and it bumped up another point. Then I think it changed again the following year or possibly the second year and it seemed like they just kept moving the goalposts. I finally drew with 10 points a few years ago and shot a nice 6X6.

Remember too, that if you have 12 points and draw a tag that requires less than 12, you still use up all your points and end up with zero again.

backflush:

You're in "no man's land", same as me. There are several pretty good units that can be drawn with 8 points or less and the really good premium units take 20 or more. But there's nothing in between.

I'm 65 and I have 15 points. When point creep is taken into consideratiuon, I may die before I get to draw in one of those premium units.

But that doesn't mean I don't hunt elk. Each year I get a preference point, a cow tag and an OTC bull tag. I hunt in a unit where I know I can find elk, and some have been representative bulls, just not any B&C bulls.

KC

You could draw unit 61 next year. Lots of good bulls in there.

I had my fingers crossed for 61, then I just looked it up and......

Looking at 76 first or second season at this point. My other option would be going with a muzzleloader, more opportunity that route(for drawing that is).

Muzzleloader season is a good one.

smokey:

That illustrates my point well. It only takes 6 points to draw a resident bull tag in unit 61 and they would take all 15 of my points. I have taken several big 5x5 bulls and small 6x6 bulls where I hunt every year. So I'm not going to spend 15 points to get a tag in a unit where the chances of getting a big 6x6 bull are no better than where I already hunt.

KC

KC,

I too have 15 preference points and am in between units. My partner and I have hunted 76 before and were holding out for a muzzleloader hunt there. It seems that were always one point behind the draw. Considered applying for unit 66 or 67 but we are real reluctant to blow all of our points on a unit we've never hunted. Not a practical thing to do. We've been hunting a unit for cow only to learn the area before we use our Wyoming points. unless you really know an area or can scout it thoroughly its better to apply for a ccow tag on a second choice, learn the unit, then apply for a bull tag and blow your points.

If we HAD realized that this point creep would have occured, we would have put in for units requiring less points and hunted elk several times.

When they cancelled ranching for wildife for non-residents it screwed the whole thing up! We hope to draw Wyoming this year and MAYBE next year we can draw a CO tag before we get too old.

25-30 years ago, I sat in public meetings when Colorado DOW told us that eventually so many preference points will be required that it'll take a lifetime to draw some hunts.

I don't think any of us believed them--because we all insisted on a PP system anyway.


Casey

I was talking early season, archery or ML, when the bulls are bugling. That's the only time I'd want to hunt a premium unit. What does first rifle season take? Can't be only 6 points.

I looked yesterday and thought it was 12 for resident and 15 for non-resident in unit 61.

That's more in line with what I was thinking, it took 11 for a resident archery tag a few years ago.

Yep. You're right that it takes more points to get a tag in unit 61 in the early seasons. I am waiting to get a rifle tag in one of the units that offers them during the rut.

KC

muzzleloader is always a good idea. Or as others have said, cow hunt for a couple years and get to know the area while still building points.


ddj

Yep, you are in No Mans land with 12.

The problem with holding out for U2 or U10 is the point creep will kill you. They just dont give out enough tags to put a dent in the total applicants. Every year those go up [for non res archery] I think its up to 21 or so now. Even if you only have 40 guys ahead of you sitting with 21 it still could take over 20 more years to draw out. Not sure how it is for residents.

Then you wait all of those years and the state- like Az- decides they need the revenue. They added 200 tags to unit 1 archery [350 now, from 150 a few years back]

FWIW,I decided to draw out for archery bull in 76 years ago and glad I did.