The first assumption about leftover licenses is that these tags – 53,000 for elk, 37,800 for deer and 1,500 for pronghorn – represent something undesirable, like the remains of someone else’s lunch.
A more proper view would be to see this as an excellent opportunity to target a desirable limited license you can immediately hold in your hand. During the earlier license draw, hunters had to wait two months to know whether an application was successful.
Now, by gauging the Division of Wildlife list of leftovers and securing an early spot in line when the sale begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday, it’s still possible to snag a limited license in a prime area. The list is available at www.wildlife.state.co.us. Follow the links to hunting, then big game.
Leftover licenses first will be available at DOW offices statewide and all outlets where hunting and fishing licenses typically are available. Remaining tags then will be available on the Internet on Wednesday. Once the latter process begins, availability will be updated at 20-minute intervals.
Two licensing trends are worthy of note. One is that the elk list contains approximately 10 percent fewer cow tags than in previous years. Game managers generally have been successful in bringing numbers into balance, thus eliminating the need for elk herd reduction. Many of the remaining elk licenses are for private land only.
The other is that a continuing growth in deer numbers provided for approximately 20 percent more doe tags, many of which will be available in the leftover draw.
