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Landowner tags?

Anyone use landowners tags for NR Elk? Pros vs cons?

Sounds similar to leasing property but not sure. Any info or opinions welcome.

Thanks

In Colorado, landowner tags always come with access to the property but that can be great or terrible. Some property may only hold animals in the winter or not enough during season to be useful. Other times the tag is tied to great property.

Some guys buy the tag to specifically get on a certain property and some buy them to hunt somewhere else in the unit.

Some landowner tags are only good on the property owned by whomever you buy it from. Others are good unit wide. Make sure you know which one you are getting. As Glunt said, some of the private is not in a viable spot in the unit, other properties can be fantastic. Even if it's a unit wide tag, the landowner is required to let you hunt on their land. Obviously the unit wide are generally better as it gives you more options, but the right private only can be excellent too.

Not completely accurate, Brun. PLO vouchers are good on any private land in the unit where the hunter has obtained permission, not just the land for which the voucher was issued. I think you probably meant it that way.

Had a big ranch all picked out if I won the powerball. Had 132 LO tags. I was going to have annual Bowsite shoots, brats and beer and a little elk hunting too. But alas.

Terry

Have used landowner tags in NM with great success. Can be very difficult to draw

Thanks for the clarification CO Oak. You are correct, and while I did actually know that, I didn't word my response properly.

Thanks for the clarification CO Oak. You are correct, and while I did actually know that, I didn't word my response properly.

I'm lukewarm to the idea of landowner tags at best. I have no use for them being transferrable or sold, nor used on public land. If the land that allows you to get the tag in the first place is good enough habitat to support wildlife why should you have a need to hunt public ground with said tag.

In states with a preference point system does this allow you to basically hunt a unit even though you don't have the required points?

md5252, yes, landowner tags do allow you to bypass the preference point issue. However, generally speaking, the more points the tag requires the more $ you will spend on a landowner tag for the same unit.

"I'm lukewarm to the idea of landowner tags at best. I have no use for them being transferrable or sold, nor used on public land. If the land that allows you to get the tag in the first place is good enough habitat to support wildlife why should you have a need to hunt public ground with said tag.".............................................................

In a lot of cases here the animals use the private land as winter habitat so they are not present on the landowners land during hunting season, but the landowner still provides a very important resource to the animal. As far as being transferable, I am a landowner and don't believe they should be able to be sold or used by anyone other than the land owner.

Like wyelkhunter said is it a landowners fault that 200 elk summer or winter on his crops but aren't there for hunting season. That's how this started in NM. The state says the elk are the states and the landowners can't kill them on their crops. Without the land owner voucher the elk can make it pretty tough for a farmer or rancher to make it. The system is not perfect but if the state won't allow the property owner to manage elk on his property the compensation is necessary. Without it there would be a lot of animals poached and thrown into a pit.

Elk can be a pest and a burden to ranches but often they are a precious resource that enables them to lease the hunting rights for thousands each year and when it comes time to sell, the wildlife and hunting opportunities can add millions to the value.

It definitely drives land prices and I get your point for the landowner that has 1500+ acres. In the NM unit I like to hunt I know a few locals that have parcels of land that are less than 200 acres. The elk will move in and hammer their crops but not be there for the season. Whose going to lease ground like that? Without being given a tag or two it's hard to make money off their ground. Another guy I know chose to have the state put a high fence around 1 of his small acreages. Cost the state 50 grand over 20 years ago. Without these LO tags most would want their small parcels high fenced and that would cost the state a fortune. Again it's not perfect but I feel for the little guy that owns small parcels. I guess these land owners that don't want elk could be given 10-20 cow depredation tags but who likes that idea, its a lot better to give them 2 bull tags they can sell for 5 grand than let them take a bunch of producing cows out of the herd.

Personally, I don't think a landowner should be permitted to sell a tag for any more than the state sells the same tag. The animals are property of the state/public. Now if the landowner wants to charge a fee for access to hunt on this property, that is another matter.

Ollie that would be nice as maybe then I could afford a bull tag. If the state is trying to compensate the landowner for their elk grazing private ground and only allow them 750$ a tag they would have to hand out a lot more tags and landowners would then do cash deals for extra money. Personally I love the idea of cheap land owner tags with my name on them but that's goes against the reasoning of a land owner voucher.

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