I do not usually reply to any threads on here, but have enjoyed reading every blog out there. This is one that has been on my mind for quite some time now. I was born and raised (first 6 years at least) on the Platte River very near the Nebraska Cabelas. Some of my earliest memories were of hunting with my dad, uncles, etc. I remember being a teenage and really starting to get into hunting here in Colorado and remember my Dad talking with my Uncles about having to go out and shoot a doe out of season, and my Dad scaring my Uncle one day as he was out trying to shoot a doe on our place out of season. I remember asking my Mom about it, about the Nebraska Game and Fishing knowing that there were farmers that had shot deer out of season. Her response to me kind of shocked me. She explained to me that if my Dad had not come back with a doe that night, than we would not of had anything to eat the next morning. I then remember what a large amount of deer we use to eat, and how it would be deer sausage in the morning with eggs, with a deer hamburger at lunch and then some deer steak that night. Kids never really know how much they really don't have when they are young, and we were that family. I do remember how much the fall and hunting brought together a community though, and neighbors were not just guys you said hello to, they were partners in a lifestyle where everyone was struggling and everyone helped each other out. Unfortunately those days are over now.
Even after we moved away we were back constantly in the fall chasing deer or ducks/geese. Over the past 30 years I have watched what "money" has done to a place like that. Hunting back then was a chance to provide for your family and although the bucks shot during season were always checked in, they were never paraded through the valley like they are now. It was about going out and enjoying a sport and sharing that experience with your family/friends. Now you go back there and try to get onto one of your old neighbors place and you are greeted with "no hunters this year, have a guy that is leasing the place for 6 grand", or watching Cabelas buy up every river front lot that comes available and putting "hunting clubs" on them. Let this be a lesson to Colorado, with a trend of already large lots of land being sold to guys who are putting hunting clubs together, and land owners using guides against each other in driving up the price of how much they can get to access. Cabelas is moving in, another 2 locations are being built in Denver, its great for gear, but if you hunt within 2 hours of Denver on peoples land that have allowed you access for years, do not be surprised if you are soon not welcomed back.
With that being said, I am not against the governors tags, as to a lucky few out there, $250,000 to them is like $500 to me, and that is fine with me, as long as the money is not squandered. I wish they would put more regulations on it though, and not have an extended season, they should have to hunt when/where we hunt, using the same weapon method during that season as everyone else. A real negative trend I do see is that the DOW offices for each state are starting to see how much money is being spent out there on guided hunts, tag brokers etc. One negative thing about the US government in my opinion is that once the government starts to see large amounts of money being made on something, there is regulations/taxes put in place to make sure they get a good chunk of it. SO....the conclusion to this long winded story is that with these auction hunts as well as these guides/tag brokers/ etc, this is setting a precedent out there that WILL change future regulations and fees and costs for other hunts that very well may drive out the weekend DIY. I have 3 small sons, and getting out in the field is tough, and I sure do not have enough for a guided hunt, but do well enough to possibly afford a land owner tag in the future if I wanted to. But until then, I hunt exclusively public land and was lucky enough to connect on a nice 190? muley this year on public land, so yes, there are still good animals out there on public land if you put in the work. What I really worry about is when my sons are my age, will the public land be so limited and so many public hunters due to increased tags for revenue for the state, that the management of game is no longer there, and it is about how many tags and how much money can be made. The more the DOW's are hurting for money, the more drastic actions will be taken. Does anyone possibly think that large tracts of national forest or BLM at one day could be "leased" to the highest bidder for exclusive hunting rights to it......sure this sounds like an absurd thing, but 30 years ago, when you asked those farmers back in Nebraska if they thought a 1/2 mile of river front property would sell for a million dollars, just so some guy could come from the city a few times a year and shoot a few geese, they would of laughed you off the river.