I am wanting to take my first trip out west next year after mule deer. Any advice for a first timer as far as the application process/points, etc?
Colorado Mule Deer
- Thread starter dhugc3
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Do a lot of research. All of CO is draw only for mule deer. Check out sites like https://huntscore.com/hunts/co/deer . You will have to pick a GMU that has a good chance of drawing with 0 points. Other option is to find a guide/landowner that has landowner tags for sale.
MidTennFisher
Well-Known Member
I'm curious how bad the pressure is out there. Unlike Southeast WMAs, seeing 10-20 trucks in a parking area wouldn't worry me because rather than those hunters sharing 1,000 acres, they could be sharing a few hundred thousand acres.
For a guy like me who's never hunted out West, doesn't care about a trophy mule deer buck, just wants to sneak around with my bow in that beautiful country and kill a doe mule deer, how hard is it on one of the high odds draw units?
Do I really have to hike 5-10 miles in the woods, camp in there, and spend a week out there? I figure that's necessary for a higher pressured unit to kill a mature buck, but for a doe? Not that I'd mind that sort of adventure but for safety reasons that's best done with some friends.
If I were to go alone and just set up camp on the side of a Forest Service road, and make daily trips a mile or 2 in the woods to glass and try to sneak up on a doe, is this doable?
Same question for a cow elk. Just to get some experience. I'll worry about bulls/bucks at a later time. Right now I want the bar set a little lower.
For a guy like me who's never hunted out West, doesn't care about a trophy mule deer buck, just wants to sneak around with my bow in that beautiful country and kill a doe mule deer, how hard is it on one of the high odds draw units?
Do I really have to hike 5-10 miles in the woods, camp in there, and spend a week out there? I figure that's necessary for a higher pressured unit to kill a mature buck, but for a doe? Not that I'd mind that sort of adventure but for safety reasons that's best done with some friends.
If I were to go alone and just set up camp on the side of a Forest Service road, and make daily trips a mile or 2 in the woods to glass and try to sneak up on a doe, is this doable?
Same question for a cow elk. Just to get some experience. I'll worry about bulls/bucks at a later time. Right now I want the bar set a little lower.
Dean Parisian
Well-Known Member
Go out this summer on vacation and check out some GMU's. Colorado has alot of everything if you put in the work. That is alot of miles to harvest a mule deer doe. What kind of country do you want to hunt? Wanting to pack in overnight? Bear issues? Fish too? Plains? High Country? In-between? Have you been on the CO COW website? How will you want to obtain a license? Lots of questions. Proper planning prevents alot of issues.
MidTennFisher
Well-Known Member
We did that in July and loved it. My sister lives there and we vacationed a whole week with them. Spent part in Woodland Park and some in Estes Park. We did a lot of hiking and exploring. In the RMNP we did a 3 mile hike up to a mountain lake where I caught my first Cutthroat Trout.
Couldn't believe how comfortable Summer weather could be as we're used to the humid awfulness of the Southeast for half the year, and for most of deer season. She's trying to convince us to move there and to be honest it doesn't take much convincing!
I've considered making the drive and buying an archery tag to hunt just West of the front slope. West of Colorado Springs, all that National Forest land. I don't really want to pack in an overnight camp for days several miles in. Reason being that I'd be alone so for safety reasons that kind of thing is best to do with friends.
If I just wanted to throw up my tent on the side of a forest service road and spend all day in the woods for a few days, do I have any reasonable chance at arrowing a mule deer doe in one of those high odds draws? Or for an OTC cow elk? Or does that stuff, on public land, always require overnight camps miles into the wilderness?
RMNP will spoil you on deer/elk sightings
To see some absolute monster mule deer, drive to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife refuge in Denver. No hunting, but some huge deer !there's quite a bit of public land all around Rampart Reservoir just south-east of woodland park. Lots of deer, but lots of hunters too. You will have thousands of acres to explore. Lots of deer, some elk, but they are smart and hunted hard from the front range hunters.
Next time you visit your sister, go up to 11 mile canyon (about 15 mins from WP) and fish. Some awesome fly fishing. If you are a good fly fisherman, head on up to the "Dream Stream" just on down Hwy 24, where the trophy trout are (but they are picky on presentation)
MidTennFisher
Well-Known Member
I've considered going there in May to chase turkeys in those mountains. I'm sure I'll bump deer and elk while doing so, and it'll give me a good gauge on the public land pressure. Western states continue to see an increase in hunting pressure but many people tell me the majority of the hunters don't venture far from a hiking trail.RMNP will spoil you on deer/elk sightings
there's quite a bit of public land all around Rampart Reservoir just south-east of woodland park. Lots of deer, but lots of hunters too. You will have thousands of acres to explore. Lots of deer, some elk, but they are smart and hunted hard from the front range hunters.
Next time you visit your sister, go up to 11 mile canyon (about 15 mins from WP) and fish. Some awesome fly fishing. If you are a good fly fisherman, head on up to the "Dream Stream" just on down Hwy 24, where the trophy trout are (but they are picky on presentation)
As for the mule deer thing, is my scenario feasible of driving out there to set up my tent along one of those forest service roads and plan to spend sunrise to sunset wandering around the public, high draw odds, woods in search of a doe? Just to really get a feel for whether I'd enjoy it as much as I think I would.
And that is not limited to killing a deer, mostly enjoying some peace and not running into hunters everywhere I walk when I'm well away from the trails. I can deal with the aggravation of too many hunters right here in South Carolina lol.
Backpacking several miles in for a week likely increases my odds but just isn't something I'd do alone.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
If you are just wanting to KILL a doe, id recommend finding a unit requiring zero points to draw in the western half of the state with a couple towns 5,000 to 10,000 population. Draw the tag and hit the outskirts of those towns and look for yards with hogwire around every fruit tree in their yard, preferably the yards close to a creek,,/river drainage. Knock on doors, ask for permission, then set up between their yard and the creek.
If you want a real hunt and not a kill, just pull a bow tag in the western slope in units with national forest and go HIGH in Sept. Have a blast, prob won't kill one, but you will have the time of your life.
If you want a real hunt and not a kill, just pull a bow tag in the western slope in units with national forest and go HIGH in Sept. Have a blast, prob won't kill one, but you will have the time of your life.
MidTennFisher
Well-Known Member
I don't necessarily have to kill a doe to feel like the effort was worth it. That isn't what I meant. I'm just trying to understand how things are there with regards to whether the backpacking camp 5 miles in is always necessary or if hunters still have a reasonable chance at success with road camps and spending first light to last light in the woods.
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I grew up hunting Mule Deer in New Mexico. I've been researching ways to get my dad back out there for one final mule deer hunt.
The easiest (almost guaranteed) way that I have found is to put in with an outfitter for an outfitter tag.
It's going to run you $2-3K, but it's a 90+% draw and success rate year 1.
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I saw a study not too long ago that involved radio collared deer AND hunters.
They wanted to see the movement of deer based on the intrusions of hunters.
It was super interesting, but one of the primary findings is that most people overestimate how far they are from the road.
The average hunter was something like 300 yards from the truck.
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
Off trail/road hunting pressure has greatly increased. I'm not going to say all places have too much pressure to have an enjoyable hunt but with modern gear, gps, and the new mountain hunter who trains year round, no basin is too far or too rugged anymore.
Also, in some places it takes just a tiny bit of pressure to blow deer out of an area. I'm talking one morning of a new pickup driving down a two track or someone skylined on a ridge can push the critters out…even on un-pressured private land this applies.
Also, in some places it takes just a tiny bit of pressure to blow deer out of an area. I'm talking one morning of a new pickup driving down a two track or someone skylined on a ridge can push the critters out…even on un-pressured private land this applies.
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
Couple things and don't take offense here. I'm just being honest and I want to give you a perspective on the state of mule deer.
Doe mule deer; I don't think a high country unit exist where anyone should kill a doe. Deer numbers are down and everything needs to be done to protect the females. End of debate.
Mule deer taste; they really aren't that good of table fare. Take a fly rod and go on an adventure in late August. Use that time to scout out an area to draw a tag in the future. Archery hunting in most any state can happen in 1-3 years. Use that 1-3 years to narrow down your gear and get a feel of how brutal some of these hunts can be. Brutal as in physical suck, mental suck, sucky roads, pressure, etc.
Cow elk; I think this is your best bet if you don't care about antlers and just want to hunt. They taste delicious and the tags are more attainable. Most hard to draw units for a bull have cow tags that can be drawn a lot easier. You can make it a backpack hunt or a mobile truck hunt. Which you almost certainly have to make a mobile truck hunt plan B.
Pick a state and research it on the game a fish site. Once you narrow down unit/area then do a deep dive. Just remember secrets don't exist anymore. Online material via chat forums are old news but will give an idea of the units popularity.
Go ahead and hunt now, because its not going to matter in 5-10 yrs anyway, because the wolves they are releasing will decimate the deer/elk/moose population.
I agree with everything AThiker said except the table fare. My family will turn down and steak for mule deer any day of the week.
I've had some mule deer killed up high that had an "off taste, but the mule deer I kill are good table fare as well. They eat the same thing the elk eat on this ranch, which is grass and acorns.
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
No, mule deer are terrible. Don't shoot them, waste of your tag/time/money.
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
Did you see that giant black wolf they released in CO?
He looked like something out of a horror movie.
Yes. Also saw the governors boyfriend there at the release, jumping up and down like a little girl
Another thing that came out, was that two of the 5 wolves turned loose in CO, had been captured from Idaho because they were repeat offenders at killing livestock (the rest of the Idaho pack was exterminated) . How stupid can our government get ? I cant imagine taking a couple of problem wolves, that repeatedly kill livestock, and move them to an area where ranching is prevalent.
Mark my words, its just a matter of time before wolves migrate to Estes Park and start decimating the herd there. Can you imagine tourists driving thru Moraine Park or beaver meadows, and watching elk being eaten alive, or just killed and left ?
Joe2Kool
Well-Known Member
Don't underestimate how many OTC elk hunters there are and how far they get off the trail. 3,4,5 miles isn't uncommon. And that's without horses of llamas.
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