85% Let-off and Colorado

[Dooger]

How am I seeing videos of high profile hunters bow hunting in CO with Hoyt bows that are only offered with 85% let-off?

CO has a let-off maximum of 80%.

 

[bullbugle307]

1. Game wardens are generally too busy to pay attention to t.v. or youtube stuff like that unless someone brings it to their attention. And I doubt your average warden could identify a model of bow and its let off specs off the top their head from watching a video.

2. A lot of "high profile hunters" hunt in so many places they probably don't take the time to learn all of the nitty gritty of the weapon restrictions in every state they hunt, or they don't care.

 

[Trial153]

Advertised let off and actual let off are two different animals. Furthermore you can adjust the let off on most bows through your tuning process. A g&f officer would need to carry a bow scale that showed both peak weight and holding weight and then do the math. Not insurmountable however I doubt very much you’d see that happen unless a there was a whole array of other Violations on the table.

 

[Dooger]

Ok, take the whole “high profile hunter” part out of it. How are people getting away with it?

I’ve always heard not to test it because the CO’s have bow/mod charts and write the ticket at every chance in most states with restrictions?

You know for a fact that an eastern hunter won’t return to attend court with their bow and say, “figure out my let-off”. Nor would it work as it would make the hunter appear to be making an issue out of a mole hill.

 

[WapitiBob]

I’d challenge the law as too vague to enforce; is letoff measured with or without hysteresis?

 

[Mudranger1]

I've hunted archery season for 10 years in Colorado and have yet to run into a warden. Probably the biggest how right there. Not to mention the previous posts

 

[JLS]

Ok, take the whole “high profile hunter” part out of it. How are people getting away with it?

I’ve always heard not to test it because the CO’s have bow/mod charts and write the ticket at every chance in most states with restrictions?

You know for a fact that an eastern hunter won’t return to attend court with their bow and say, “figure out my let-off”. Nor would it work as it would make the hunter appear to be making an issue out of a mole hill.

How much of this is fact vs what you heard?

A certified scale would likely be required to stand up in court.

 

[Dooger]

How much of this is fact vs what you heard?

A certified scale would likely be required to stand up in court.

Let’s just say I know it’s happened in MT. It wasn’t me though.

 

[JLS]

Let’s just say I know it’s happened in MT. It wasn’t me though.

That someone got a ticket? What kind of scale was used? How much was the let off% off by?

 

[Dooger]

That someone got a ticket? What kind of scale was used? How much was the let off% off by?

They got more than a ticket. They had a harvested animal with them. If they want to step forward, they can. They’re on this board.

 

[JLS]

They got more than a ticket. They had a harvested animal with them. If they want to step forward, they can. They’re on this board.

Genuinely curious, do you know the answers to the questions I asked?

Also curious why you think returning to fight the ticket would be viewed as making a mountain out of a molehill? I don’t understand the logic unless they know they are guilty to the extent they don’t feel they can argue it.

 

[bullbugle307]

Co's whole archery law seems very amiss to me. They let you shoot 35# draw weight at large animals like elk and moose. Then they say, well, holding 7 lbs at full draw is ok as long as your shooting 35# draw weight. That, combined with no restriction on arrow weight means you could legally hunt elk or moose with 35# draw weight and a super light arrow, which seems like a recipe for disaster to me.

But then they say you can't shoot a 70 lb draw weight with a 85% letoff and a holding weight of 10.5 lbs and a more responsible arrow weight. So holding 7 lbs with what I would deem an irresponsible setup for elk or moose is ok, but holding 10.5 at full draw with a much more responsible arrow weight setup at 70 lb draw weight isn't ok.

To me, the whole setup of the law is silly. It should probably be rewritten, especially considering it was modeled after P and Ys regulations which have since changed.

I'm a big proponent of following the law. But I also think the laws need to be sensible. And this one doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I'd hope any CO worth his salt would exercise good judgment and prioritize enforecement of serious crimes vs. enforcing a fairly arbitrary law that doesn't make a whole lot of sense and would be real hard to enforce anyways. If he lets you draw the bow to check weights, you could pull hard against the back end rather than relaxing with the letoff and make it look like your holding weight is higher than it actually is. If he draws it so you can't do that, he's going to potentially get a different measurement than what your actual holding weight at your draw length if his draw length is different than yours and he stops at a different part of the draw cycle.

 

[LuketheDog]

How am I seeing videos of high profile hunters bow hunting in CO with Hoyt bows that are only offered with 85% let-off?

CO has a let-off maximum of 80%.

You should be more specific, give details, I'd love to hear your facts...

 

[JLS]

Ok, take the whole “high profile hunter” part out of it. How are people getting away with it?

I’ve always heard not to test it because the CO’s have bow/mod charts and write the ticket at every chance in most states with restrictions?

You know for a fact that an eastern hunter won’t return to attend court with their bow and say, “figure out my let-off”. Nor would it work as it would make the hunter appear to be making an issue out of a mole hill.

Can you expand on the bow/mod charts? Are they writing tickets simply on the model of the bow?

 

[NYyotekiller]

How am I seeing videos of high profile hunters bow hunting in CO with Hoyt bows that are only offered with 85% let-off?

CO has a let-off maximum of 80%.

The Hoyt’s are all available with 80%, and 75% mods.

I’ve changed my Hoyt’s to 80% mods strictly because I don’t like the feel of the higher let off.