No over the counter antelope tags in Colorado. A few (literally) leftover tags will be had for one day in August. Very difficult to draw without preference points unless you apply for the eastern and southeastern units.

Deke.

Draw odds in Wyoming really depend on what part of the state you want to hunt. Western Wyoming has a lot more public land than the eastern part of the state (as a general rule), and those hunt areas tend to be more difficult to draw. The upside is that if you draw one of these areas, you've got access to many thousands of acres of public land with a lot of antelope. Before you go applying for an area with easier draw odds, do some research and make sure you'll have a place to hunt. There are several areas where there are leftover tags after the initial draw because of access issues. If you're going to go with an outfitter or want to hunt private land, get some kind of arrangements made before you put in for your license. There are a lot of people who apply for areas that are easy to draw and come here to find that there is little or no public access, and all the private lands and outfitters are booked. Then you've got everybody and their dog trying to hunt the same small sections of public land that are available, and you can pretty much forget about taking home a big buck. If you've got the money to pay trespass fees or book an outfitter, your best bet would be to apply for one of those areas. Otherwise, it would be better to apply for an area with more difficult draw odds but more public access. Game and Fish here lists draw odds on their website based on last year's drawings, so you might check that out also. Good luck!

Arts,

Not too far off the mark. There has been a bad drought over the last few years and while interest is up the animal numbers are not. Unless you hunt the eastern and southeastern most plains of Colorado where you might be able to draw a tag without waiting (note that there is not as much public ground out east), you will have to wait at least a year or two to hunt pronghorns in Colorado. If you want a buck in a more popular public area you will have to wait five or more years.

Deke.

Deke, even most of those areas require a preference point (or 2). Granted, 1 is enough for most of them, course there aren't a lot of goats. I never have tried to hunt way out there--how's the landowner response to permission requests, in general?

I agree that most of the areas require a pref pt or two. However if you study the Col brochure you will see that some areas (GMU117 buck, GMU115 doe, for example) were undersubscribed in 2003 meaning that after the draw there were tags left, which means you could have gotten a tag w/0 points. As far as land owners there are a wide variety for sure. Some will consider pronghorn a pest, others will view them as a valuable commodity, some hate hunters, some love youth hunters. Only way to know is to knock on doors and that is best done before everyone else does so.

Deke.

Deke--Where in CO you from? I was in Durango about 17 years, then Denver (Aurora) for the longest 5 years of my life!

Lakewood which is between Denver and Golden and Evergreen before that. Aurora, longest 5yrs, should I ask why?

Deke.

Location, primarily. I didn't adapt well at all to the big city. Partner at the time didn't help!

Can't say that I particularly like it here in the city either.

I went to Montana a few ago and the odds were 1:4. I thought this was quite good. We hunted a ranch that provides access to hunt. The Montana Fish and Wildlife have a book that gives you all the ranchers names that provide access under a program where the Gov. pays the landowner to provide access. I shoe an average 13 inch goat. I was quite pumped being from BC as there are no antelope up here.

Alex

My tags are Ranching for Wildlife tags that are obtained from the outfitter. No drawing. These tags are for an area near Craig. I will be hunting there is year. Seemed pretty easy to me.

Arts,
With Wyoming's current system, it is definitely possible to draw a license in an area where you won't have to pay for access without waiting, it's just more difficult. However, the Wyoming legislature just passed a preference point law for nonresident hunters who want to hunt elk, deer, and antelope. There was already a preference point system for moose and bighorn sheep. I don't think it will go into effect right away, but I would imagine that you could start getting points in 2006. Anyone have any thoughts on preference points?

A preferance point system on elk,deer and antelope is bullshit.A preferance point system makes it harder to pull a tag,unless you've built up your points. GF passed on the idea for years and now that they've seen the potential for selling points on moose and sheep,they've passed it on to other species. If they couldn't make extra money off of it,it wouldn't be implemented. They'll try to run the set aside outfitter tags through legislature again.

Leftover antelope tags,are usually the result of private property and a lack of access to hunting,so think twice before you apply for leftovers.

RMK,
Just consider yourself lucky that you live here and don't have to worry about the point system except for moose and sheep. For those "once in a lifetime" type hunts, the preference point system isn't a bad idea, as long as there is still some opportunity to draw without points. With the current system for moose and sheep, some of the tags are put into a random draw for those who haven't accumulated a bunch of points. That gives people who are new to hunting, especially kids, a chance at drawing a license. As for set aside outfitter licenses, everyone I've talked to at G&F thinks that's a bad idea. They have never supported it, although the outfitters have been pressing for those licenses for years. Set aside licenses wouldn't generate more money for G&F anyway, they would just guarantee outfitters a certain amount of money every year. I guess my philosopy comes from a business standpoint. If you can't make a living outfitting, improve your business to attract more clients or get out of the business and find something else to do. I see set aside licenses as outfitter welfare, a handout from the government to guarantee that they get paid. Not exactly a capitalist idea.

Luck has nothing to do with it. The majority of people who are actually from wyoming,are here because they want to be and have sacrificed in the form of income to stay here. I am lucky that I got to experience wyoming before all the transplant fucks showed up to build subdivisions and golfing communities.

Tag drawings should be the luck of the draw or random,not stacking odds against people. The way it should be,is once you draw a moose tag,you're done for 12 years. Sheep should be once in a lifetime and you should have to be at least 14yrs of age to enter on either species. All the GF did by lowering the hunting age,is increase the number of license fee's they sit on for the interest and make more sales on the high availibility tags like deer,elk and antelope. It had nothing to do with quality of hunting.

You need to talk to more people at GF,plenty of administration types thought the outfitter set aside was a great idea. The only thing that kept it from passing was a state rep. from Cody.

Outfitter set aside licenses would make more money for the GF. The GF could easily move to adopt another statute allowing the increase in cost of all set aside licenses.


They passed a bullshit statute,that allows for nonresident special draw tags,for elk,deer and antelope. This statute allows them to place up to 40% of all nonresident deer,elk,and antelope tags into a seperate special drawing and increase the price up to an additional $200 over the cost of regular priced nonresident tags. Hence the wonderful $880 nonresident special elk tag. I could care less if they raise nonresidnet fee's. The idea behind increased nonresident fee's, is done under the pretense that by increasing the cost of nonresident tags,you offset the need for increasing resident fee's. The problem is these fuckers constantly inrease both sides and the quality of big game is at its worst in 30 years. Money well spent.

Capitalist ideas have nothing to do with any of it. If they did the GF would have been out of business a long time ago.

RMK, tell us what you really feel about it!

RMK- "I am lucky that I got to experience wyoming before all the transplant fucks showed up to build subdivisions and golfing communities."

Why don't you move back to where you came from then?? Obviously you're fed up with Wyoming...then get the hell out of here. We don't need your type here.

MG

Geez goatchoker, if I left it would just leave more room for colorado buttfucks like you to move in. Nobody would want that.



By the way goatchoker,your hero dipshit dave the governor is proposing to give 1% of all methane revenue generated by the state to the GF. That must be another one of your examples of how the GF doesn't get money from the state only license sales supports them right?

RMK,

"colorado buttfucks". RMK, it does not matter what your opinion is, your language is causing you to lose a lot of respect. Clean up the language or the forum will no longer have you here. BTW, I don't think you could or would face off w/many Colorado folk (or others I imagine) and get away with your rude remarks without a good spanking, so why do you think your entitled to be so rude here?

Deke.

Deke,
We wouldn't want someone with RMK's intelligence out of the forum. He obviously has PHD's in wildlife management AND English. Every time I read one of his posts, I instantly feel smarter. Losing him would drop the collective IQ of the group by at leat 50 points.

I'm glad you feel smarter.Its just to bad you're still a fuckin' idiot. Why don't you go back to colorado and take your boyfriend deke with you.