what unit in colorado bow with 7 points
Elk
I will have 7 pref points next year. Changes in my own life and changes in Colorado s pref point system have made me decide to "cash in " the points and go archery elk hunting next year. My partner and I are in very good shape and not afraid of hard work. We are hunting for bulls but by no means trophy hunting. My life dream is to get a legal bull with the bow. We have hunted wilderness areas twice before, flattops and uncompahgre both of these are otc units we saw few elk but tons of hunters we did pack in very deep to "get away" but everyone must have that idea. So with all that said, what unit would you recommend that we are sure to draw with 7 points for archery elk. We are from Wisconsin so scouting is not an option. Thanks for any info
Ok knowing about half doz guys from Colorado all big hunters. 1 thing they all agree on is that the best unit in Colorado for elk and big elk is unit 40. It's putting out some of the biggest elk in the state but it's about 90% private and you will have to pay a trespass fee to hunt it.. Being that it's almost all private you can draw it with only 7 or 8 points. As for the number of points for sure look into that as I have not looked this year at the real number of points it took..
As for a unit with mostly all public, look into unit 76. Again now sure of the points it takes you maybe a few short on it.. But I'm not 100% sure. I look at so many units in so many state I don't remember them all.. eD
I would start at the link I embedded. Look for hunts that end in A as a starting point (refers to archery hunt)
Off the top of my head and at the top end of your range is Unit 40. Do a search. From what I know, public land is meh, private is fantastic. Trespass/access costs also reflect this. ($5-$10K hunts)
I am unfamiliar with units lower than that.
EDIT: Teeton beat me to it. I didn't mention 76 because you are too far out. For this year, you would have needed 11-12 PP's. As you know, that doesn't mean you wait 4 more years and you are in.
Other than unit 40 as described above you are in no mans land. You wont be able to draw 76 or higher and have more than enough points for the 1-4 point units. Not that those units can't be good.
If you pour over the draw stats as Z suggests you can find the units you could draw. From there it will take some research. Private land, access etc.
Having points is good as it opens up a few more units, but I would include all the OTC areas in your list of possible areas. 7 points doesn't really get you in to any areas that are known for being a big step up from an OTC tag (unit 40 is good but probably want some private land as stated above).
I live in a draw area but I drive 3 hours to an OTC area even though I'm not saving elk points for anything and could draw close to home every year.
what changes in the preference point system are there? I'm unaware of any?
As far as units the guys above pretty much sum it up in my opinion
I'm not trying to hijack this thread but I'm new to applying in CO. What's the difference in some of the units you can draw with 5 or less points compared to OTC? Is there less hunters in these units?
Hoot, always the chance for point banking again, maybe some new draw units etc. You never know.
Hoot, for example, it was either unit 2 or 201 that when we started applying, took something like 15 years to apply, now we've been applying for 7 and we're it takes 23 to get it. We are losing ground. Those are changes.
By "changes to preference point system", I figured he was referring to the fact that NR who are just starting to collect points no longer have much hope of drawing elk tags in units 2,10,201,61,76 during their lifetimes. The "change" would therefore be the advent of severe point creep and point leap.
Additional limited units, especially those getting continued publicity like GMU 49, will slowly join those ranks. As long as there are ample OTC units for all of us point hoarders to hunt elk every year in the meantime, as well as a multitude of high profile entities like HF, EHJ, this site and many others, telling all of us to "apply apply apply", we as NR will continue to price ourselves out of the highest-demand limited hunts.
The good news....it's not that difficult to find good elk hunting in Colorado outside of the highest-demand units. As a NR, you'll only be hunting one of the aforementioned units once in a lifetime anyway....then what? Best to figure it out ASAP and start enjoying good hunts as often as you want. A good start would be reading through the western slope regional Hunting Guides published on the CPW website.
0-2 point draws can be killer as can some OTC areas. Either way, some local advice is quite valuable. Unfortunately, without some quality Intel you are probably better off in MT or WY on a general tag. What are your goals \expectations?
There are some 'low point' draw units that have no antler point restrictions. That can tip the success odds in your favor too.
Gotcha, point creep is a bummer, I know there's enough talk about point creep that eventually CPW will at least make an attempt to change it up a bit...
otcWill. My goal is to get any legal bull with my bow. And my expectations are to get into some elk/close encounters
Link - Areas get limited for different reasons. Sometimes its to limit hunters for high quality experience, sometimes its to limit harvest, sometimes its due to its proximity to a large human population area, sometimes to manage pressure and elk movement so rifle seasons have a good hunt, etc.
The flexibility of an OTC tag can be a big plus. We struck out on finding elk in a new spot one year so we packed up after a few days and drove 5 hours to another OTC unit and had heavy action our last two days.
WOW - you are getting terrific advice. I was a nonresident rookie and in your shoes 4 seasons ago and I decided to save my points and go OTC - as recommended by several bowsiters above as then can go every year to same location - you learn it better and can hunt every year.
Z barebow gave you a great link. Here's what I did. I called the CPW hotline (many times) and then called the gamewardens (many times). They gave me great advice on where to hunt (especially if you are willing to backpack in a few miles). I did it in 2011 and 2012. I was in bugling bulls both years. I missed 3 times in 2011 (severe buck fever - one miss at 15 yards!) and connected in 2012.
There is good hunting in the OTC units - look at the success rates. If you willing to go anywhere in the state, pick a good success unit. I choose one way across the state near Utah. On the Utah side, their units are draw units, so some of those big UT bulls surely wander into Colorado. Don't be afraid to ask gamewardens. As one told me, "It's my JOB to help you find elk. I may not return your call asap, but I will call."
Cnelk's advice on no point restrictions is interesting, never thought about that -especially since I like to shoot whatever I can get close to. There may be less hunting pressure in a low point unit as well.
If you have 7 pps but just want any legal bull, I would keep banking points and start hunting otc units. All I have ever hunted is otc units and not only do I have plenty of encounters with legal elk, I usually see a few that anyone in any unit would call a trophy. I don't know how much elk hunting you have done, but if you are waiting to draw a good unit for your first bow hunt, you might be wasting a good tag. Hunt otc units every year you can and learn to bow hunt elk. Then when you draw a good tag you will be able to take advantage of it. Even the best draw units can be difficult to hunt. People get skunked in the best units too. There are a ton of bowhunters in CO but they are still seriously out numbered by rifle hunters. No matter where you hunt, it will feel like you have the place to yourself compared to 2nd or 3rd season rifle.
With all that said, if you really want to cash in your points, I would check out 40 but hold out for a good bull. If you don't get one there are always otc units you can hunt the following years.
"It's my JOB to help you find elk. I may not return your call asap, but I will call."
Some COs are very helpful, but not all of them. A CO friend of mine said he knows another CO that throws a dart at a map of his GMU and tells guys to hunt there.
