Colorado If You had 13 preferance points what unit would you go to?

[hormoan]

I have been building preferance points and will have 13 after this year. I want to use them in 2008. When I start this I had unit 201 in mind. And not with a bow, now I'm pretty sure it will be with a bow. And now I'm not sure just where. What in your opnions are the best units for bow hunting.

I also will have 7 for deer.

                        Brent

[Jack Shanks]

I have thirteen now and I'm thinking about going in 08 also. I've always heard that unit ten was the best bet for taking a big bull.

[joel smith]

39

[Whip]

If I remember right, the highest demand units require max. points to draw.  Check the CO Game & Fish website - all the previous years draw odds are listed.  Just because a unit took 13 points to draw last year won't mean you can do it next year.  There are so many people in the pool that the minimum number of points required to draw keeps moving up by one almost every year.  So pick units that require less points to gaurantee a tag than what you currently have.

Without looking at the website to be sure, my guess is that unit 61 will stand out as the one that will provide a guaranteed tag and go for that.
CO changed the way they allocate tags last year, and it substatially cut down on the non resident tags that will be available in the tough draw units.  It is not going to get any easier to draw in the future, and in fact the number of points required in many units is likely to go up even faster than one per year.
I had seven points in 2006 and decided to cash them in for unit 76.  My original goal had been to save enough for 61, but with the changes in tag allocations, I doubted I would draw while I was still physically able to hunt the mountains.

[ironbow]

Go for unit 10 you will see more big bulls there than in any other unit. I hunt unit 10 with landowner cow tags every year. Right now it takes 17 to 18 points to get a nonresident Bull tag.

[bowdude]

They have elk coming out their ears and still tighten the draw strings.  Sounds like political money grabbing to me.

 

[kadbow]

Bowdude, less tags means less money.  The money grabbing takes place in the OTC units.

[Jack Shanks]

ironbow,

 Are you talking 17 or 18 points for an archery tag? I thought it was much less. Maybe I won't be going next year.

[Jack Shanks]

Never mind, I just looked up the stats and it looks like it took 13 for a nonresident in unit ten last year.

[SMA]

Unit 10 is mostly private, National Monument, or roadless on Moosehead. I would consider 201 if they were my points.

[Whip]

If it was 13 points in 2006, you can pretty much plan on 14 this year, and 15 next.  You will have to wait until all those with more points draw out ahead of you.  Somewhere in my research last year I found a listing of the breakdown of the number of people with each level of preference points.  Find that information, and compare it to how many tags are given out each year, and how many people would be applying for them.  Sure, some people may not apply for tags even though they have enough points, but I wouldn't imagine very many would pass up a chance to hunt after waiting so long.  For me the math worked out to where I could have been well into my 60's before hoping to draw a tag in 61.  Units 2, 10, 201, etc. were completely out of reach.

One somewhat good thing CO did in 2006 was to only take as many points from you as were needed to guarantee a tag.  So if you had your 13 points, and applied for a unit that only needed 10, they would leave you with 3 "in the bank" for future use.  Not sure if they are doing that again or not.  Sounded like it might have been a one year thing, but may have been extended.

[Jack Shanks]

Thanks Whip,

 I also saw a similar list and if I remember right there weren't a lot of people with 14 or 15 points. I'm only putting in for a point again this year as I have other trips planned during the Colorado archery season. If and when I do draw that tag I want to be able to spend the entire season trying for a big bull.

[Whip]

I think you're right.  There aren't too many people with maximum points anymore.  The big gob of applicants in the pool started with three or four less than max.  So you might not have that long of wait, and being so close, would be worth an extra year or two if that's what it takes.

[Trout Guide]

I hunted 61 last year. I've been lucky enough to hunt elk for many years and it's one of the best hunts I've been on. Last year as a resident it took 8 points to draw and for non-residents 11 points. This year could take more if the trend is like in the other top units. I've never hunted 10, 2, or 201 but if you decide on 61 I would be glad share what I've learned of the unit.
Rick

[rtherber]

Whip, how was your hunt in Unit#76? My first archery elk hunt was out of Creede in 1981. I never played the PP game and changed locations where I could go OTC. But I sure enjoyed hunting those 2 yrs(81-82) in that unit. BTW, Colorado posted their '07-08 Regulations Brochure online and it looks like archery cow elk tags are going to be available again this year despite the severe snowstorms. And they DIDN'T continue the preference point policy from last year.