HighDesertSage
Well-known member
Please explain?
CO deer points. What would you do?
- Thread starter Southern Elk
- Start date
Please explain?
HighDesertSage
Well-known member
This ^
7Remmy
Member
And there in lies the explanation. A preference point regulated feeding frenzy. Pure cash cow. Driven by the notion that just because you bought points for 15 years there is a 200 inch buck tied to the end of them. I know it isn't so. You know it isn't so. But thousands of dream chasers keep praying it is so. No one can deny its a revenue generating machine. Hey, I have my pile.
Why does the notion persist? Any time someone asks me whether a hunt is "worth it" when they are contemplating using more than about 5 points, I shake my head. The only time I think it might be worth collecting points is if you are a NR and absolutely will only be making 1 trip to CO to hunt deer. Otherwise you have a much better chance of killing a big buck by hunting a 3 point hunt 5 times rather than a 15 point hunt once. There is just not that much difference in units for NR. The point values for most units is ridiculously inflated. To say they are "worth it" is subjective at best and absurd at worst.
Good info Oak....btw, going into 2016 with 3 points.
You'll have to skip SD one year if you want to get serious in CO.
I agree with Oak. There are so many factors involved with successful vs unsuccessful hunts...weather, migration, snow depth, hunting pressure, winterkill, moisture/antler growth, crunchy snow, full moon, etc. The more factors you can pull in your favor the better chance for success. There are fantastic bucks harvested in so many different units scattered throughout Colo that it would make your head spin. Obviously if you are one of the lucky few to draw a quality tag that is known to produce whoppers in a year with no moon, deep snow to drive critters out of their hidden haunts, later season dates with cold temps to swell rutty bucks necks, etc you are stacking things in your favor for a great hunt! This may only happen 1 out of 15 years....but if you happen to have a tag the 1 year.....you are one lucky dog!
7Remmy
Member
I agree whole heartedly. The problem for me is the moon. We hunted unit 67 twice for elk. Both trips we had a big moon. our camp took 4 bulls those 2 trips,and I passed on a herd bull due to a cow in the way. Second is snow in the high country. Our first trip was hot and dry. We were lucky to get the bull we did. The second trip it snowed like a bitch,and we took 3 bulls out of there that season. A friend of mine guided elk and deer hunters in Colorado for 13 years. My hat goes off to these guys. Honestly, a NR should seriously consider at the very least a semi guided hunt. Especially if they are burning 10 years of points. Everything Oak and Jim's said is true. Getting it all lined up in the same year is akin to winning the lottery. An outfitter can do a lot to smooth out the bumps. Yes units with a history of trophy bucks help. Fishing in an empty hole is still fishing. The catching sucks though. Most units in Colorado hold bucks that would make most folks happy. Eating tag soup with 2 points is easier to swallow than with 12.
I'm looking to burn my points in 2016 or 2017, and have contacted 3 outfitters so far. A first for me. DIY is great,but sometimes you have to be a little humble. Tag soup ain't very filling.
Other factors I just thought of that I didn't list above is how many cow and doe tags are issued? That can also add a big twist. Even though you may hunt a unit that takes years to draw and offer limited buck/bull tags may offer a bunch of cow and doe tags that add to frustration. If I was interested in a guided hunt in Colo I would seriously consider a hunt on well managed private land. Deer and elk are hunted in most Western Colo units from August through mid Nov. That is a heck of a lot of time for bucks and bulls to be spooked off public and onto private land. Elk and deer that have made it through 1 or more hunting season tend to know exactly where the boundary fences lie!
Pretty sure i knew that. Thus the search for a new unit.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Dink, does not delusion sell sheep raffle chances?
Dinkshooter
Well-known member
That's healthy delusion. Waiting 20 years to hunt deer in Colorado is over the top insanity.
JohnCushman
Well-known member
I have a buddy of mine who saved up like 18 points for antelope to hunt a buck in unit 2 and ended up shooting a dink. I hunt archery OTC and have shot a better buck just about each year I've done it, except for a year I struck out and a year I shot a doe. Saving tons of points does not always mean some magical Booner is behind every tree or piece of sagebrush.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Sanity's a moving target.
Bambistew
Well-known member
I can barely contain the thought of what will get killed when I finally pull the point trigger.
I need more time. I would have burned my points long ago.
I need more time. I would have burned my points long ago.
Southern Elk
Well-known member
I never intended to accumulate 9 deer points, but elk hunting got in the way. I see no reason to keep accumulating them, which is why I want to burn them this year. I think the reason that you see people with so many deer points is because it takes forever to draw a decent elk tag. Most people, like me, buy a deer point every year while buying an elk point.
The Hedgehog
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2000
- Messages
- 11,603
I have a bunch of points, but only want to apply for a hunt where I can show up for a weekend hunt, and pass up about 20 bucks in the 170-180s, before finding a 200" deer, and preferably by a road. Where do I apply?
^^^^^^^ this is what happened to me. But according to dinkshooter it must mean im crazy.
Dinkshooter
Well-known member
Will some Colorado deer pictures help loosen the overly tight hair buns around here?
