EF441W7R - anyone else have this RFW tag?

[COEngineer]

My son drew this tag and I am hoping I didn't miss a letter from the ranch or something. I called one of the phone numbers on the CPW's page for this ranch several weeks ago, but have not received a call back.

The season is about a month away, so not panicking yet, just trying to get our ducks in a row.

 

[cedahm]

Since they're new to the program this year, might be they are not very crisp with their paperwork yet, I'd keep calling (and might not be a bad idea to call the CPW in Meeker as well). Also, looking at the regs - there are a lot of hunts on that ranch so probably pretty busy yet. You'll have to fill out waivers and whatnot and that should all be in the packet (which would be hard to miss even for someone like me who throws away 90+% of their snail mail).

 

[HighDesertSage]

HAve you seen this stuff?

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. CPW issues hunting and fishing...

cpw.state.co.us

Check out the ranch rules at the bottom of the page.

 

[COEngineer]

I am normally pretty well organized, but I moved this year, thus my apprehension at possibly having misplaced the info packet.

HighDesertSage, yes, I have read the ranch rules, but that's where the concern comes from. It says that the hunter has to be there on the assigned date, but I don't know what that date is...because I can't find the packet (assuming they sent it out already). Thus the reason for this thread...if no one has received a packet, I can stop worrying and just wait.

 

[dallsheep]

I've received calls back fairly close to the start of the season in the past. Since they're new they're probably a bit disorganized. Your son will have a blast on the hunt.

 

[Oak]

Did you try this?

 

[COEngineer]

Oak, thanks, I had not seen that before, but that is basically the same information that was provided on the RFW page. The season is Jan 8-12, but we will be assigned only one of those days (more if my son doesn't fill the tag on the first day), since all hunts on this particular ranch are guided.

Feb 2020 edit: we weren't assigned anything and it is not guided.

 

[archerfish]

Call CPW , they should have mailed or emailed a packet for the ranch, get ahold of em.

 

[porkypine]

Oak, thanks, I had not seen that before, but that is basically the same information that was provided on the RFW page. The season is Jan 8-12, but we will be assigned only one of those days (more if my son doesn't fill the tag on the first day), since all hunts on this particular ranch are guided.

COEngineer, how'd the hunt go? I've been reading through the Big Game guide and that hunt seems interesting but I can't find any experiential info online about that ranch.

 

[COEngineer]

It was a huge disappointment. All of the material online and what they mailed to us said, "This is a guided hunt...you will meet your guide...etc" I tried to call (left messages) and e-mail them starting about a month out from the season to get more details/clarification and they never responded. When we got there the night before the season opened, we stood in line for about an hour to find out every tag holder for that season was going to one of two areas of the ranch (the others had deep snow or were over-hunted) and there was one "guide" for all 30+ hunters. Opening morning the properties were surrounded and no elk were in either of the areas. When we left two days later, there had been two successful hunters on the "over-hunted" section, which apparently had been re-opened to select few.

The "guide" said she would meet anyone that was interested at the hardware store at a particular time and then never showed up. When I got hold of her on the phone, she said, "I just got busy."

We talked to several of the other hunters and several of them said they had been scouting the property for weeks, which is of course prohibited by the ranch rules because they don't want people out there constantly spooking the elk.

So, the ranch managers lied to everyone (they later said something about the "guided hunt" paperwork was only supposed to go to the few RFW bull tag holders), were non-communicative, were unreliable, and generally seemed to be burned out by that point in the season - I think they had been dealing with hunters (paying customers and RFW tagholders) for what, 4+ months (late Aug to Jan).

I would not recommend that hunt to anyone.

 

[vanish]

What was the name of the property? I know they broke up some of the previous enrollments out there this year.

 

[Oak]

It was a huge disappointment. All of the material online and what they mailed to us said, "This is a guided hunt...you will meet your guide...etc" I tried to call (left messages) and e-mail them starting about a month out from the season to get more details/clarification and they never responded. When we got there the night before the season opened, we stood in line for about an hour to find out every tag holder for that season was going to one of two areas of the ranch (the others had deep snow or were over-hunted) and there was one "guide" for all 30+ hunters. Opening morning the properties were surrounded and no elk were in either of the areas. When we left two days later, there had been two successful hunters on the "over-hunted" section, which apparently had been re-opened to select few.

The "guide" said she would meet anyone that was interested at the hardware store at a particular time and then never showed up. When I got hold of her on the phone, she said, "I just got busy."

We talked to several of the other hunters and several of them said they had been scouting the property for weeks, which is of course prohibited by the ranch rules because they don't want people out there constantly spooking the elk.

So, the ranch managers lied to everyone (they later said something about the "guided hunt" paperwork was only supposed to go to the few RFW bull tag holders), were non-communicative, were unreliable, and generally seemed to be burned out by that point in the season - I think they had been dealing with hunters (paying customers and RFW tagholders) for what, 4+ months (late Aug to Jan).

I would not recommend that hunt to anyone.

You should have received a hunter satisfaction survey from CPW. I hope that you expressed all of your concerns in that survey. If you didn't receive the survey, email your concerns to the RFW coordinator, Ken Morgan. (first.last at state.co.us)

 

[mdeerjunkie]

Interesting, I hunted that ranch back in 2018 (in early dec) before they changed their name or were bought out, I don’t know which and my three buddies and I all filled out tags within two days. Most of the hunters we talked too filled their tags pretty quickly. Unfortunately it sounds like they have gone down hill. But may have just been over worked. Like @Oak said I would send a review.

 

[cedahm]

Definitely send a review. The RFW program continues to get worse and the more data/reviews they have the better...there are a lot of these kinds of stories out there.

Note: not a grudge - I've done a few RFW turkey hunts and 1 RFW Buck hunt and had fantastic experiences, but the 'roll the dice' aspect on experiences and behavior from Ranch to Ranch is silly, especially on the cow hunts that should be a great management tool and especially good for youth. However, not sure I'd shed a tear if the program dissolved tomorrow.

 

[COEngineer]

You should have received a hunter satisfaction survey from CPW. I hope that you expressed all of your concerns in that survey. If you didn't receive the survey, email your concerns to the RFW coordinator, Ken Morgan. (first.last at state.co.us)

Yes, definitely filled that out, but I was a little disappointed in the questions on the survey - they didn't seem to address my concerns. I may e-mail Ken anyway since the ranch posted the exact same BS in their "Ranch Rules" for 2020.

 

[COEngineer]

What was the name of the property? I know they broke up some of the previous enrollments out there this year.

Agner Mountain Ranch. I have no idea about it being part of a break-up.

 

[COEngineer]

I emailed Ken and shared my grievances with him. He replied and said that they are aware of the issues and are working with the ranch to remedy them. I would have liked more specifics, but I understand that Ken cannot spend all his time explaining everything to every person that contacts him with a problem. I can only hope that it gets fixed so that the next guy has a better experience. As for me, I think I'm done with RFW. Of the 3 tags (all of which were for my kids) I have participated in, only one resulted in a cow in the freezer and even that was a goat rope (ranch manager's son 'guided' my 12-year-old daughter to a 350 yd shot that resulted in a wounded cow that we chased for hours until it hopped the boundary fence).

 

[bushman13]

Sucks to hear, I've been wondering if RFW hunts were a great advantage for the resident.

I emailed Ken and shared my grievances with him. He replied and said that they are aware of the issues and are working with the ranch to remedy them. I would have liked more specifics, but I understand that Ken cannot spend all his time explaining everything to every person that contacts him with a problem. I can only hope that it gets fixed so that the next guy has a better experience. As for me, I think I'm done with RFW. Of the 3 tags (all of which were for my kids) I have participated in, only one resulted in a cow in the freezer and even that was a goat rope (ranch manager's son 'guided' my 12-year-old daughter to a 350 yd shot that resulted in a wounded cow that we chased for hours until it hopped the boundary fence).

 

[Danger_Denver]

I drew an cow tag for 2021 on this ranch. Hoping for a better experience from what I read here.

 

[elkduds]

I drew an cow tag for 2021 on this ranch. Hoping for a better experience from what I read here.

Welcome. If you don't give the tag back and do the hunt, keep us posted.