The Elk Thread

[RdRdrFan]

I would say that my unit is better than decent but not the valle V lol


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Everyone has a different definition of decent. I'd. bet a cold beer that it falls into my definition of decent. Not a knock on the unit. Just my opinion.

[RdRdrFan]

RdRdrFan, good luck on your Valle Vidal hunt. I can't wait to hear about your experience. That is a dream hunt for sure!

I don't think 1 or 2 more apps causes any problems. I just think there are many more folks across the country searching for little tid bits and unit #'s that pop up on forum conversations. Things can snowball if you aren't careful. <1% is still <1% so posting those unit numbers doesn't make a big difference. It is the lesser known units that sometimes get some pub and can change for the worse over a few years of talking about them.

Should be a fun hunt. I'll post up the details.

I guess to me, in this day and age, the cat is out of the bag on good units. There aren't any unknown top quality units. And I guess that may be the difference. I don't think that someone killing a 380" bull in a unit that produces 300" bulls on average makes the unit an unknown honey hole. It has to consistently produce. And those units aren't a secret. 10+ years ago.....maybe. But not now. You can't turn back the tide.

[LWC]

Everyone has a different definition of decent. I'd. bet a cold beer that it falls into my definition of decent. Not a knock on the unit. Just my opinion.

Call it "Mid Tier" lol. More PC than decent

[RdRdrFan]

Call it "Mid Tier" lol. More PC than decent

I can roll with that. Lol

[LWC]

Should be a fun hunt. I'll post up the details.

I guess to me, in this day and age, the cat is out of the bag on good units. There aren't any unknown top quality units. And I guess that may be the difference. I don't think that someone killing a 380" bull in a unit that produces 300" bulls on average makes the unit an unknown honey hole. It has to consistently produce. And those units aren't a secret. 10+ years ago.....maybe. But not now. You can't turn back the tide.

I agree on the top units. There are definitely no secrets there. I think we were talking more of the mid tier/decent units that you still have decent odds of drawing. Those are getting harder and harder to find as well.

[Etxnoodler]

First of all a 1 % decrease in drawing odds is still an decrease that was unesisary. Then there's the fact that I can guarantee if you post a picture of a good bull and post unit there will be far more than one or two additional entrees. You underestimate the internet. It's ruining public land hunting. They don't even have to apply the next year but all you have to do is put it on their radar and the next time they apply in that state they will remember it.

[Still Hunter]

Tag Soup is Tag Soup! Taste the same!

Thank God for Colorado and OTC tags! So " Financially Challenged" can scratch up enough to make a DIY tag. Even in a "Mid to Low " Tier Unit.

[RdRdrFan]

First of all a 1 % decrease in drawing odds is still an decrease that was unesisary. Then there's the fact that I can guarantee if you post a picture of a good bull and post unit there will be far more than one or two additional entrees. You underestimate the internet. It's ruining public land hunting. They don't even have to apply the next year but all you have to do is put it on their radar and the next time they apply in that state they will remember it.

A 1% fluctuation isn't unusual no matter what happens on the internet. This isn't a Western states hunting forum. People don't come here mining for data on where we hunt. And if they do.....and they want to search through thousands of posts in this thread to find out where some decent bulls were killed......so be it. But that is an insanely low number. You guys need to take off the tin foil hat and calm down a bit. Nobody is out to get you.

If you want to be mad at someone for the difficulty in drawing tags then get mad at the Fish and Game departments in all of the western states that severely limit non-resident tag allocations. Look at the number of acres of national vs state lands that are available for hunting. Basically, we (non-residents) pay to maintain alot of the areas that the residents hunt. Tag allocations (resident vs non-resident) should be based on the percentage of federal lands in the state. Now THAT is where we are all getting hosed. It's not the random guy that says "hey, I saw that some guy on TBH killed a decent bull in unit 16D so I think maybe I'll apply there without doing any other research." It's the states that screw non-residents and draw odds....not the internet.

[popup_menace]

Thank God for Colorado and OTC tags! So " Financially Challenged" can scratch up enough to make a DIY tag. Even in a "Mid to Low " Tier Unit.

Amen

[LWC]

Thank God for Colorado and OTC tags! So " Financially Challenged" can scratch up enough to make a DIY tag. Even in a "Mid to Low " Tier Unit.

Post the mid tier OTC unit numbers please. I'm looking for a good fall back on the years I don't draw a limited tag

[TWarren]

A 1% fluctuation isn't unusual no matter what happens on the internet. This isn't a Western states hunting forum. People don't come here mining for data on where we hunt. And if they do.....and they want to search through thousands of posts in this thread to find out where some decent bulls were killed......so be it. But that is an insanely low number. You guys need to take off the tin foil hat and calm down a bit. Nobody is out to get you.

If you want to be mad at someone for the difficulty in drawing tags then get mad at the Fish and Game departments in all of the western states that severely limit non-resident tag allocations. Look at the number of acres of national vs state lands that are available for hunting. Basically, we (non-residents) pay to maintain alot of the areas that the residents hunt. Tag allocations (resident vs non-resident) should be based on the percentage of federal lands in the state. Now THAT is where we are all getting hosed. It's not the random guy that says "hey, I saw that some guy on TBH killed a decent bull in unit 16D so I think maybe I'll apply there without doing any other research." It's the states that screw non-residents and draw odds....not the internet.

This "we nonresidents deserve more tags because of federal land" argument is so old and flat out wrong. While it certainly is frustrating as a non-resident that drawing a tag can be so difficult, the fact remains that regardless of who owns the land, the wildlife is held in trust and managed for the residents of that state.

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[RdRdrFan]

This "we nonresidents deserve more tags because of federal land" argument is so old and flat out wrong. While it certainly is frustrating as a non-resident that drawing a tag can be so difficult, the fact remains that regardless of who owns the land, the wildlife is held in trust and managed for the residents of that state.

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Then let them do what they want on state owned land. Federally owned lands and access to activities on them is prejudicial against non-residents.


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[old killer]

US outfitters won a law suit against the new mexico fish and game over ten years ago.
In appeal they lost. 2 years later outfitter tags dropped from 12% to 10% and nonresident tags went from 10% to 6%. I would hate to see more drop. Soon the state will take over BLM land and there may be no tags if they open it to mining.

[old killer]

All that being said I'm leaving at 4:30 tomorrow am. I have had a bad two weeks and may shoot the first animal of the proper color.

[tbeak]

I understand the troubles of being a non resident. The pure cost of a tag and then all the crap to go with it kept me from pursuing Elk. So before I was 32 I only dreamed of it. It happen to work out two years ago that my family was able to move to Colorado. There's issues here too. It isn't that every resident gets a tag. That's why I am going solo this year. My buddy didn't draw a tag and my texas friends can't afford the vacation or cost. Usually archery is the exception but even that in some cases can be hard to come by.
I'm not saying you have to move or anything but I see A LOT A LOT of TX tags on both fishing and hunting. Hiking I'm sure as well. So people are getting to hunt. But if you're a non resident then sorry but residents get the majority of the tags. You cannot convince me that if texas had a similar set up, with big draws not the tpwd ones. But large chunks of the state, that Texas residents wouldn't get the majority of the tags Instead you have to be on a lease or have property to hunt. That sucks. There were many years I didn't hunt for those reasons. Leases ain't cheap, right.
Sorry I guess but that's how I see it now, maybe cause it only cost me $46 for and Elk tag
Anyways I'm packed and ready. I borrowed a cooler from a buddy and I opened it up tonight. **** thing smells like citronella. Who the hell keeps citronella in a cooler, dumb CO people do.