2013 CO Preference Point Reports

[mtnmutt]

The 2013 CO Preference Point reports have been published

http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/Big ... stics.aspx

They are also published in Colorado Outdoors Magazine current issue.

Archery Elk GMU 49 is getting point creep. It went from 1 to 2 PP.

Now I know why I ran into hunters that could not draw 49. When the normally 0 or 1 Res PP GMUs start requiring more PP, the OTCs GMUs will suffer.

I need to learn how to get an elk, so I can burn my PPs on GMU 76.

[cnelk]

Thanks for that info Patricia - very helpful!

How many PP do you have?

It should be stated that the PP report is for MINIMUM Pref Points required.
What that means is if a unit takes 2 PP to draw, not everyone with 2 PP will draw.
Some did draw, some did not. But SOME with 2 PP drew.
All depends on how lucky you are sometimes...

A good way to determine if you CAN draw a unit based on the report, is if you have ONE more point than what is listed

[mtnmutt]

Thanks for that info Patricia - very helpful!

How many PP do you have?

6 for elk. I will have another one after this season since I will still do OTC this year. I got PPs in the years leading up to my "first" season, hence, the higher number of PP.

It should be stated that the PP report is for MINIMUM Pref Points required.
What that means is if a unit takes 2 PP to draw, not everyone with 2 PP will draw.
Some did draw, some did not. But SOME with 2 PP drew.
All depends on how lucky you are sometimes...

A good way to determine if you CAN draw a unit based on the report, is if you have ONE more point than what is listed

Very good point!

The Hunt Recap Summary report will give a more detailed table that lists the number of hunters and their number of PP used to draw that tag. It is a harder table to read, but it breaks it down into more detail.

[Jaquomo]

+1 on cnelks note. Point creep is becoming a killer in some units, and hard to tell from year to year. In Unit 2 where I hunted last year, the "minimum" has been going up one point each year. I drew with 18. Last year it shows the minimum needed to draw as a resident was 17. But only two people with 17 drew. I know several personally who didn't draw with 17 and a couple others going in with 18 this year, so the minimum will be 18, most likely . Next year that will jump by one more when they pull one from the resident pool for the "outfitter welfare" giveaway (no offense, Joe, you're not part of this fiasco here..)

Patricia, you should apply for the hybrid tag in 2 or 201. 6 points will get you into the pool, and if you don't draw, you still get a point.

[Trophyhill]

How does the hybrid pool work?

[mtnmutt]

Patricia, you should apply for the hybrid tag in 2 or 201. 6 points will get you into the pool, and if you don't draw, you still get a point.

Lou, thanks for the tip. I want more experience and actual successful hunts before I go for a premium unit. I did not read the latest 5 yr hunt structure. I wasn't sure if they were going to get rid of the hybrid draws or not.

This year, I may not have as many hunting days as 2013, so I am being conservative. I am doing the same elk (OTC) and deer (no PP 2nd choice) units as last year. In 2015, I will have more available vacation days for hunting.

[Elkduds]

Idiot's Guide to Reading the Colorado CPW Hunt Recap Summary: Start w the # of available licenses (A). If the total # of 1st choice applicants is LESS THAN (A), then everyone who applied w 1st choice drew, and the rest of tags went to 2nd choice, then 3rd if any were left after all the 2nd choices drew.

If the total # of 1st choice apps is MORE THAN (A): Subtract , in descending order, the # of apps w the highest # of pref points from (A). When you reach 0, that is the minimum # of points needed to draw. Example: GMU** had 100 tags available. 150 apps as 1st choice. 30 hunters had 3 pps. That left 120 tags. 50 apps had 2 pps, leaving 70 tags. 60 apps had 1 pp, leaving 10 tags among all those who applied w 0 pps, let's say 100. So 90 out of 100 w 0 pps DID NOT DRAW, but the minimum points necessary to draw will say 0 for GMU** because at least 1 person w 0 pps drew. Don't get fooled by the Minimum Preference Points Needed to Draw report, very misleading. Hunt Recap Summary is much more accurate.

Simple, right? Well... then you have to consider that resident pps are worth more than nonresident pps for arcane mathematical reasons. Then consider that the # of landowner tags gets subtracted from (A) right off the top, even before anyone with pps can draw. Then consider point creep.

Remember, pps are neither used nor earned by 2nd, 3rd or higher choice draws. You accumulate a point every year you fail to draw your 1st choice, or apply for pp as 1st choice.

[Jaquomo]

Trophyhill, the way it works now is that any unit requiring at least 10 resident points - based on a 3 year running average - sets aside 20% of the available licenses for a random draw for those who have at least 5 points but not enough to get into the PP drawing pool. That helped jack up the point creep in some units, but also gives people who would never draw a chance since it's all random.

For unit 2, for example, there's one hybrid tag, and someone with 5 points has the same chance of drawing as someone with 15. I heard last year that a guy with 16 PPs drew the one unit 2 tag, but I can't confirm that. Even so, with 16, he would likely never draw that tag as he'd never catch the creep until a bunch of people either die with their points (happening...) or give up and use them elsewhere. I know a guy who hunted Unit 2 and burned all his points, then 6 years later drew the hybrid tag.

I guess it makes it fair for those who will never catch the creep bunny, but not as fair for the people who were right at the cusp of drawing with PPs, then had the allotment of tags put into the random pool.

No word on how the new structure will work. This is our first experience with the BGSS with the new CPW Commission. They may turn things upside down. Everyone should join a state hunting organization that helps represent their interests. None are perfect all the time (ok, WW... I know...) but at least they provide a voice that us individual hunters do not.

[txhunter58]

I don't put a lot of stock in the PP required report. It is a general guideline, but definately has some errors. Has some units where it says that it takes less points for NR to get selected than residents. Can't happen. But it gets you in the ballpark, then you can look at the hunt summaries

[Jaquomo]

txhunter, actually that can happen (NRs requiring less points than residents for a specific unit). It all depends on the number of residents putting in for the available tags vs. NRs, as they are competing for completely separate pools. Sorta like the landowner tags. In some units, the odds of drawing a LO tag are less than in the general draw, though that may change with the new higher allocation for LOs and outfitters in many units.

In a straight PP draw (no weighted points) it's simple math. The highest point in the draw gets the first tag, then they progress down from there until all the tags are exhausted. The tricky part comes at the bottom. If there was only one tag left when they got to 5 PPs, for instance, one person with 5 points would draw that tag, and in the "min PP" reports it would say"5". That's true, but 100 people with 5 may not have drawn.

[Trophyhill]

txhunter, actually that can happen (NRs requiring less points than residents for a specific unit). It all depends on the number of residents putting in for the available tags vs. NRs, as they are competing for completely separate pools. Sorta like the landowner tags. In some units, the odds of drawing a LO tag are less than in the general draw, though that may change with the new higher allocation for LOs and outfitters in many units.

In a straight PP draw (no weighted points) it's simple math. The highest point in the draw gets the first tag, then they progress down from there until all the tags are exhausted. The tricky part comes at the bottom. If there was only one tag left when they got to 5 PPs, for instance, one person with 5 points would draw that tag, and in the "min PP" reports it would say"5". That's true, but 100 people with 5 may not have drawn.

That helps understand why I didn't draw last year in a unit that doesn't take a lot of PP's (supposedly) and have the points to draw it. folks are dumping points because they know they'll never catch the point creep in the premium units and want to hunt decent units before they die. I joined the CBA a couple years ago and never got so much as an email or newsletter from them so I really don't know what kind of voice I really had if any. Maybe it's because I am a nonres in CO?

[Jaquomo]

The CBA isn't perfect, as WW will eagerly attest, but I'm surprised you don't receive the bi-monthly magazine? Or member surveys? Sounds like your applcation wasn't processed. You should go to the website and send a couple emails. Your out-of-state Director is Gary Peters, good guy. I know him. His email is Arnwo3@hotmail.com

A high-ranking CDOW official once told me in a social setting when I was a Park Ranger (not knowing I was a bowhunter), "Bowhunters are a huge pain in our butt. We'd really like to lump bowhunting and muzzleloading into one 10-day season and be done with it. If it wasn't for the damned CBA, we could get that done. But those people are all over us so we have to give them their month to shut them up."

[AmericanBwana]

You may also want to join their group on Facebook, CBA Facebook Group

We usually see two or three people request to be added daily. Rose and crew monitor it pretty closely.

As of right now there are 797 people in this group.

AB