ML elk and deer, Sept 14 to Sept. 22. This still allows the last week for bow hunters.
Should be a good later season. Full moon Sept 14th. leaving the last 9 days with little of no moon.
Sucks for mule deer hunting.
Zenith Level Bow 's Link
Heck, there were several good bucks still in velvet the last weekend of archery where I was hunting last year which I found kind of weird.
My boy killed one with his bow last year in that area the last weekend of muzzle loader in full velvet so, maybe they are just late bloomers?
In all reality, you're playing with fire, and something may have been started that many ain't going to like. By writing letters and sending petitions, you might see archery either start earlier and end mid September, or see our seasons end the third week of September. And if you it won't happen, pay attention to what's going on in New Mexico...
Side note: I was told in the late 80's that the quiet period was essential to allow the elk to rut in piece to ensure herd growth. In the 2000's when we were over population objective I was told the quiet period was essential to ensure that 1st rifle season hunters had a quality experience and rifle harvest would be high enough to meet the goals of reducing the herd. Now the answer is back to ensuring successful breeding.
Bottom line is that nothing to enhance archery or muzzleloader hunting will be a reason to move tags into the quiet period.
CPW is about to do another big collared elk study in N. Central CO. This will be interesting because the area has large expanses of rugged NF and some nearby wilderness, but not the giant ranches until across on the WY side of the line. I know the biologist leading it and plan to keep tabs on the results.
Go check out the elk rutting activity during the 'Quiet Time' and you'll think that mid-late Sept is probably the pre-rut
And I remember buying otc deer tags to chase deer in January. People started complaining about crowds, and now I've yet to draw a mule deer tag for January since 2005. If it weren't for land owner vouchers, I'd never get to chase deer in January. Sometimes it's best to enjoy what you got, cause you could end up with less days.
Wanting archery and black powder seperate do sounds great on paper, but what ten days are you, as a bowhunter, willing to give up? As is now, archery hunters get roughly 30 days to chase elk and deer, bring allowed to archery hunt during the black powder season. If seperated, are you happy having 20 days to archery hunt?
It seems,matter for the longest time,mother seasons were great the way they were. Almost everyone was happy. Elk hunting became very popular, and now bowhunters want more and more, better and better. The older generation is fine the way the seasons are, just unhappy with the higher numbers of non resident hunters. But on the polls and threads done on Facebook, you get a lot of younger non resident hunters wanting longer and later seasons now for elk.
None! Why should archery have to give up anything for a rifle hunt. Move ML after archery. In the past the MLs had no problem with that. Then, after whatever they decide is appropriate for a "quiet time" have the first rifle. Historically there was NO early rifle elk. When they decided to start one, it should have been for ML right from the beginning. Archers would have been happy and MLs would have been happy. And they are the two methods of take growing the fastest, especially if you also change non-resident OTC from the default hunt if they don't draw somewhere they'd rather hunt.
Historically, gun season started the middle of October and ran for thirty days until the middle if November. There was no split season. Do the math, you have four seasons now totally around thirty days, ending the middle of November, just like it used yo in the 80's. There was no lengthen gun seasons, they weren't given longer seasons. Again, why do we, as bowhunters, need a full 30 days? Because we want them and deserve them? Bowhunters in New Mexico thought they needed longer seasons to...
As of how, bowhunters want the entire month of September and part of October to hunt rutting elk cause they insist the rutting period is getting later and later and they deserve to hunt elk in the rut. As for non residents and otc tags, they have to be limited. No ifs ands or buts. But the problem is, residents will end up being draw also. So, as much as you hate to admit, soon, you're going to be lucky to hunt elk every other year or every two years. Most guys that rifle hunt will apply for archery tags first and rifle as their second choice. You're not going to have just archery hunters applying for archery tags.
Are you referring to the Colorado?
Where do you see that bowhunters want to extend the archery season into Oct.?
Actually, here in Colorado, one of the leading CPW Commissioners brought up the subject and stated he would support the Sept season. The CBA is just following up on that suggestion and placed it on the BGSS agenda.
my best, Paul
Elk herds have gone up and down, below and above objectives and bow season isn't the reason for any of it.
Expanding bow season days isn't being asked for and wouldn't have chance at the moment but its actually not a bad idea. The CPW has a couple major issues it is always dealing with: revenue and how to distribute a limited amount of resource to a growing demand.
Bowhunting produces more license revenue per harvested animal and more recreation days. When you have a limited supply, maybe expanding access to a user method that is willing to pay more and take less should be considered. Bowhunting is growing steadily in Colorado. Many states would love to have that problem. We aren't the solution when a big harvest to knock down populations is needed but we are a great tool if you are trying to come up with maximum opportunity from a limited supply.
If you have one pie to sell and one group will pay $5.00 for a full slice while another group will gladly pay $5.00 for 1/2 a slice, maybe the group willing to take less should be looked at as an asset instead of a pain in the rear even if that group isn't big enough to buy all the pie.
The CPW is revenue focused (and will continue to be for the foreseeable future) and this approach may get their attention. Of course, then we will be referred to as low revenue customers (residents) or high revenue customers (non-residents).
I don't think that is accurate. I may be wrong in my recollection and can't find any information on earlier seasons, but I was rifle hunting in Colorado from the mid '70s into the early '80s. What I recall is a 3 year season structure. Approximately 30 days, the first half was rifle deer, the second half was rifle elk. Nine to 14 days for each species? After one 3 year period the order was reversed to elk before deer. When they started adding rifle seasons, they didn't split existing seasons into shorter periods, they just ADDED more rifle hunts.
Ziek, when archery season started, you hunted mule deer for two weeks before elk season started. It was the same way with rifle. We gun hunted deer and then elk. We hunted elk till second week of November, I remember cause we hunted elk after my birthday in November. Gun season was a 30 day affair. Sorry you feel they added gun seasons when all they did was seperate and make four seasons from one. I've been hunting Colorado since the 80's, and did talk to the CPW over the season structure. I also know of the group of guys that again petitioned the CPW that wants a seperate traditional only season. All these different seperate groups that have their our agenda is doing nothing but hurting us. I saw what the DOW did to New Mexico, and know how hard it is yo now draw tags. They raised the non resident costs, and I see Colorado going to a draw for everyone, raising costs, and making things harder for us to draw tags,
Based on my experiences, Facebook isnt exactly the best informed group....
I listened to the Broncos-Packers famous "snow bowl" MNF game on my little radio in the tent, with 3' of snow on the ground outside.
Yes, and if you killed a deer in rifle season you could go to town and get another tag for $5.
I always hung onto my tags until after January because it was not uncommon for DOW to declare a post season hunt and the tags were still good for those.
That was back when Colorado had more deer than ski condos.
