2017 Hunting Season Review at Ivory & Antlers Outfitters
December 15, 2017 by Earl Oesterling
Happy Holidays!!! We hope everyone is looking forward to a safe and happy holiday season!! We are finally all closed for the season except for our Mountain Lion Hunting Clients, it was a great season and we hope our good fortune continues into March!
2017 Hunting Review
We would like to thank all of our clients from the 2017 hunting season, we entertained and guided 80 clients this fall and enjoyed a 82% success rate, and a 88.7% opportunity rate. We harvested more bulls over 300" than 2015 or 2016, and more cow elk than 2015 or 2016!
Thanks again to our returning clients, as well as, all the fresh faces we had in camp this year, we really appreciate your business and hope to see you all again soon. Also want to extend a special thanks to the team of guides, cook/cleaning staff, landowners, ranch managers, and good friends for all of their help and partnerships, without everyone mentioned above; we could not do what we love to do so much!!!!
The following is our final harvest count for the year:
Bull Elk - 2017: 14, 2016: 13, 2015: 11
Cow Elk - 2017: 37, 2016: 21, 2015: 33
Pronghorn - 2017: 1, 2016: 1, 2015: 5
Moose - 2017: 3, 2016: 1, 2015: 1
Bear - 2017: 1, 2016: 1, 2015: 0
You can also visit our photo gallery to see all harvest pictures as well as some of the trail cam pictures from the year.
Changes to DOW On-Line Applications/License Purchase
The Colorado Department of Wildlife is in the process of creating a new software system for purchasing hunting licenses and applying for limited licenses on-line. All hunters will need to create an online account and supply an email address to apply or purchase licenses on-line starting with the 2018 hunting season. We will be supplying specifics on these changes via email for all our 2018 clients. The system will be closed from Jan 1 – Jan 20 considering these changes.
2018 Spring Turkey Season
We have our turkey hunting leases back from 2017 and a couple new leases for 2018 bringing our total acreage to over 1,700 acres to hunt for Eastern Colorado Gobblers this spring. All tags can be purchased over the counter, and clients can kill 1 Tom. We have also partnered with a ranch in Western Nebraska offering our clients over 2,000 acres on the North Platt River. Clients wishing to hunt with us in Nebraska can harvest up to 3 Toms, bringing the opportunity for Toms between Colorado and Nebraska to 4 birds, and awesome opportunity. Give us a call to reserve your spot before were all booked up!
2018 Shed Hunting Changes
Shed Hunting will require a license to hunt sheds on any public property in Colorado and will have season dates as well. Apparently shed hunting has become so popular people are harassing herds of elk, pushing them with atv’s and on foot trying to force them to drop antlers in late winter and early spring when they are at their most vulnerable. We are glad for this change along with the changes to the wildlife harassment laws stopping people from chasing bulls and bucks trying to force them to drop!
Other Information
We are in the process of building a new website, should be completed by the end of February. Our site will not only have an all new design, it will be easier to use and easier to find information and see pictures. We are also investing more time in our Facebook Page and the use of Instagram. For everyone who does not use Facebook or Instagram, our website and Quarterly Newsletters will keep you informed on what is going on!
We want to wish you all an awesome 2018, if you have hunted with us in the past, please come back to hunt with us again THIS YEAR, if you have not hunted with us yet, come THIS YEAR!!! We have opening for this fall in all seasons, but spots are filling up fast, don’t wait, contact us today to reserve your spot for this fall!!!
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