Thoughts on GMU 71 Now that its a draw

[Appalachia]

I have a question regarding the new draw units for Colorado. I decided to try one of the units in the southwest corner of Colorado, more specifically, GMU 71 (I did use the search function and found no useful information via HuntTalk). My thought process behind this is that with it being a draw unit now, that it would limit the number of bowhunters in the area and was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this is? More specifically, do you think it's worth spending the money to hunt this unit, and if so, why? My only other option is OTC, and I believe these areas will probably be hit harder now due to SW Colorado being a draw.
Also, if you have any info on 71 and willing to past it on, that would be great! I will be hitting the unit with my wife opening week. This will be our first elk hunt together, and hopefully, we will see a few.

 

[brushcreek]

isn't 71 in Southwest CO?

 

[Appalachia]

My bad and yes, its on the southwest side of Colorado

 

[azelkhntr]

All the SW units of CO west of Durango are off the list this year for OTC archery including 71.

 

[Slm864]

I don’t know if you will see a reduced number of bow hunters just because it is limited now. I spoke to a CPW biologist earlier this year and he said they were planning to give an abundance of tags in those SW units. The main difference is the fact that they are no longer either sex tags. I think it’s fairly easy to tell that it’s going to be just as crowded as OTC since there are 1180 tags available for the secondary draw. I wouldn’t let any of that deter you from hunting it but I also wouldn’t expect to find solitude on the mountain. Just keep your expectations realistic and enjoy the hunt. I believe there are elk to be found in all the units weather it’s OTC or limited if your willing to put in the effort. Good luck.

 

[LuketheDog]

There are a ton of tags in the new draw units, it won't be that much different than before...

 

[TOGIE]

yeah, it will overall still be very crowded. i hesitate to say more crowded though.

it will be at least as crowded, though potentially slightly less crowded is my guess.

that said, i haven't analyzed 2019's hunter numbers down there and compared them to the tag offerings this year for the same unit grouping. that would be your best indicator

 

[isu22andy]

My hunch would say less crowded because there are alot of people too lazy to put in for a draw or left over license. Never know though as this unit crossed my mind as well .

 

[.270Rem]

It's not recent info, but I hunted it in 2014 during Muzzleloader season. We saw no other orange-vested hunters like us afield and the only bow hunters we saw were around camp or stopped to say hello.

 

[TOGIE]

okay here's a quick summary of numbers from cpw stats for units 71, 72, 73, 711

cpw is offering 2325 limited archery tags for that unit grouping for 2020 - 250 of which are private land only




the estimate on hunter numbers for the same group of units for 2019 was 2073:




just as has been discussed before on this forum, the limited license offering down there was designed to roughly keep the status quo on opportunity. i'm not sure if the hunter number estimates included private land hunters - i'm sure it did to some degree - but kick those guys out of the numbers on available tags and your looking at roughly status quo (2075 tags) on the level of public land crowding, perhaps less due to lack of people jumping around units on their otc tags

trying to fill in for @wllm1313 here on this info, wherever he is.... kinda exhausting. don't expect posts like this from me too often

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

okay here's a quick summary of numbers from cpw stats for units 71, 72, 73, 711

cpw is offering 2325 limited archery tags for that unit grouping for 2020 - 250 of which are private land only

View attachment 142908
View attachment 142909

the estimate on hunter numbers for the same group of units for 2019 was 2073:

View attachment 142913
View attachment 142911

just as has been discussed before on this forum, the limited license offering down there was designed to roughly keep the status quo on opportunity. i'm not sure if the hunter number estimates included private land hunters - i'm sure it did to some degree - but kick those guys out of the numbers on available tags and your looking at roughly status quo (2075 tags) on the level of public land crowding, perhaps less due to lack of people jumping around units on their otc tags

trying to fill in for @wllm1313 here on this info, wherever he is.... kinda exhausting. don't expect posts like this from me too often

Nice work!

 

[Appalachia]

Thank you all for your responses. I did put in for this unit, believing most people would be “lazy” and not enter. Initially, this seems true since there are still 1100 tags left. Also, I appreciate the insight everyone has offered. I plan to go ahead and hunt the unit. Building off of this, since I plan to hunt the first 10 days of the season, would it be beneficial to scout in early August? Or would the habits of the elk change dramatically within a month? If anything else, I would at least be somewhat familiar with the area.
I wonder what the count will be after the second draw?

@TOGIE thank you for the breakdown
@Slm864 thank you for the insight about the unit and talking with a CPW biologist. I thought about doing that myself.

 

[Bulldog0156]

I know nothing about the archery season there, but that is an awesome unit and I'm pretty confident I could find an elk to shoot. During third rifle we had a bull 200 yards from the truck but we only had deer tags.

 

[Jason73]

I have a question regarding the new draw units for Colorado. I decided to try one of the units in the southwest corner of Colorado, more specifically, GMU 71 (I did use the search function and found no useful information via HuntTalk). My thought process behind this is that with it being a draw unit now, that it would limit the number of bowhunters in the area and was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this is? More specifically, do you think it's worth spending the money to hunt this unit, and if so, why? My only other option is OTC, and I believe these areas will probably be hit harder now due to SW Colorado being a draw.
Also, if you have any info on 71 and willing to past it on, that would be great! I will be hitting the unit with my wife opening week. This will be our first elk hunt together, and hopefully, we will see a few.

I live and hunt in 70. Archery season was worse then when it was otc. I rarely ever see anyone where I hunt and I went to cross a valley to hunt a different mesa and there were people everywhere. I don't understand at all what the DOW is thinking. We have to deal with this decision for 5 years. Sick and tired of the front range idiots legislating the western slope.

 

[Browning55]

I live and hunt in 70. Archery season was worse then when it was otc. I rarely ever see anyone where I hunt and I went to cross a valley to hunt a different mesa and there were people everywhere. I don't understand at all what the DOW is thinking. We have to deal with this decision for 5 years. Sick and tired of the front range idiots legislating the western slope.

It won’t be like that in next year or two, I also hunt 70 every year. This year was a sh*t show. But keep in mind Cpw said they were going to over allocate tags in year one so they could get a true number of how many voters wanted to hunt the unit and two ease in the transition from otc. There were about 200-300 leftovers of total tag allocation. Cpw is on record saying that they would be reducing that tag quota by almost half for 2021. We’ll see if that happens but fingers crossed

 

[lbarkurn]

Does anyone have an idea of what the tag allocations will be for 1st rifle bull/cow?

 

[Bluffgruff]

Currently listed as 200 antlered and a blank for antlerless

 

[blaire458]

I ended up getting drawn for black bear in unit 71! Looking forward to it.
Never black bear hunted before so lots of learning to do between now and September!

 

[CAV67]

I ended up getting lucky and drawn for Rifle in GMU 71 this year (2021). This will be my first time hunting in CO, so open to all advise and suggestions. Not looking for secret squirrel info, just advise on area, terrain, good camp sites, OHV roads, rules, etc. Any comments provided are greatly appreciated.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

I ended up getting lucky and drawn for Rifle in GMU 71 this year (2021). This will be my first time hunting in CO, so open to all advise and suggestions. Not looking for secret squirrel info, just advise on area, terrain, good camp sites, OHV roads, rules, etc. Any comments provided are greatly appreciated.

CPW's website should have the resources you're looking for with MVU maps, migration maps, etc. If not the forest service will have them.