We are looking for a source for honest good quality land owner tags in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico for elk, mule deer and pronghorn antelope.

Any thoughts would be good.

Good luck in Colorado. Most of the good ones are either locked up by outfitters that lease the hunting rights or by people the landowner already knows ie... family/friends/repeat hunters. If you do find them, be prepared to pay a fairly hefty sum for them. I'd be willing to bet they will cost you at least a grand apiece. The days of the free or cheap land owner vouchers is long gone.

The NM Game and Fish will post a list of landowners with vouchers for antelope and elk later in the year. Just keep watching the page. In past years I've simply blind called folks on the list and have been sucessful locating cow elk authorizations. I've had good dealings with half a dozen landowners that I hadn't even met before.

MOA - You can find LOTS of LO vouchers available in CO, NM and UT - the kicker is what do you want? Guided/unguided, private or public land, and what are you willing to pay?

Its very easy, just do a quick Google search and you will see several places that can be a big help. But, as Flags mentions - if you are looking for em on the cheap, don't expect much at all. At least nothing worth a darn!

Kind of budgeting on $2500 for elk or mule deer and $1000 for antelope.

If you want to hunt more than one state a year, and your preference point numbers are low, you have to know what to do.

For my money I want at least a 80-100% chance at a basic 6x6 bull elk (310 type bull), and a 24 inch 4x4 mule deer, and lastly a 14 inch antelope.

Unguided, trespass fee only. I'd expect to be able to camp if needed, and I want to be able to use my horses or a four wheeler. I don't need more than 7 or 8 days on the deer and elk.

As I am moving back to the United States after a long hiatus it will be nice to get going on the hunting again.

In the preference point only states of AZ, WY and UT I am just getting started on points.

quote:

Originally posted by MOA TACTICAL:
As I am moving back to the United States after a long hiatus it will be nice to get going on the hunting again.

In the preference point only states of AZ, WY and UT I am just getting started on points.

You didn't stock up on points when you were out of the country? Why not? I'm career Navy and have spent a lot of the last 23 years away. I used that time to build up points. Right now for Colorado I have 17 pts for elk, 11 pts for deer, 11 pts for bear, 10 pts for turkey, 7 pts for antelope, 3+10 weighted pts for sheep, 3+10 weighted points for moose and 5 pts for goat. I drew the goat tag in 2001 and filled it. Had to wait a few years before I could apply again.

I put in for preference points as my first choice and cow elk, doe deer and doe antelope as second choices. Many times I get the tags for the females and my point total continues to grow, It's a good system since I can also hunt in whatever state I happen to be homeported in. Right now I can hunt as a resident in VA and a resident in CO. VA is my duty station and CO is my official home of record.

I figure I can spread those points out over at least 5 or 6 yrs and enjoy really high quality hunts after I retire in 2013. Just because you were out of the country shouldn't have prevented you from doing the same thing I did.

I actually can't have a 2nd state of residence or I lose my Alaska residency.

Don't need preference points in Alaska.

The Utah and Arizona points programs are fairly new and cheap for points only. It's new to me anyway, I just didn't hear about it.

The Wyoming program is expensive, and I was in it for 4 or 5 years then missed the deadline when I was in Iraq when it was $10 for sheep and moose. So I lost those points and am starting over again.

So I restarted the Wyoming points program last year and I am starting new in Arizona and Utah this year.

It is kind of sad that I screwed up the points deal in Wyoming, but it happens.