Preference Points

Hello! Here we are with one month already gone of 2020! It’s February 1st, and the application process for big game hunting in Colorado opens March 1st! ! Before you know it, it will be the eve of the application deadline of April 7th and there’s no better time than NOW to figure out what you’d like to apply for!

One really interesting publication to study is the Colorado Outdoors publication known as the Annual Preference Point Issue that comes out in January. We enjoy looking it over and I’ll bet you would, too!

Let’s look at some of the statistics for deer for archery found in the publication for 2020;

- GMU 66 had a quota of 45 tags with 144 first choice applicants. A resident could possibly draw with 2 pref points and a non-resident would need 8 pref points,.

- GMU 67 had a quota of 45 tags with 93 applicants. A resident could possibly draw with 2 pref points and a non-resident would need 3 pref points.

The buck below was taken by a non-resident client of ours last September in GMU 67. He hunted solo and harvested this stud on the second day of his hunt.

Now let’s look at some of the statistics for elk archery found in the 2020 publication;

- GMU 66 had a quota of 150 tags with 465 first choice applicants. A resident hunter could possibly draw with 1 pref point, a non-resident hunter would need 6 pref points.

- GMU 67 had a quota of 100 tags with 231 first choice applicants. A resident hunter could possibly draw with 1 point, a non-resident hunter would need 3 pref points.

Below is a bull taken in GMU 66 by a non-resident bow hunter from Virginia. A solo hunt and this was his first bull!

Now let’s check out some of the statistics for bull elk rifle hunting In GMU 66 found in the 2020 publication;

- GMU 66, 1st rifle, had a quota of 285 tags, with 505 first choice applicants, a resident could draw with 0 pref points, a non-res with 2 pref points.

​- GMU 66, 2nd rifle, had a quota of 235 tags, with 291 first choice applicants, a resident could draw with 0 pref points, a non-res with 0 pref points.

Here’s the info for GMU 67;

- GMU 67, 1st rifle, had a quota of 260 tags with 274 first choice applicants. A resident could draw with 0 pref points and a non resident with 0 pref points.

- GMU 67, 2nd rifle, had a quota of 250 tags with 192 first choice applicants. Looks like to us, that a resident AND a non-resident is nearly guaranteed a tag as a second choice! Go figure! If you don’t want to lose your points (Saving them for a limited draw in GMU 66) , you’re desperate to hunt elk and willing to put in the work, this is a good choice! We do have a drop camp available in 67!

Below is a picture of a 2019, 1st rifle season hunter and his FIRST BULL!
All hunters in his party tagged out.

So, there’s some food for thought. Land owner tags are getting harder and harder to come by. Doing your work each year to accumulate preference points is becoming more and more important if you want to hunt a limited draw unit.

​Keep us in mind!

Making Memories at Mineral Mountain,
Greg and Shannon Roy