Age class vs tag availability, what does it take now?

[Undrgrndprdcts]

I guess the easiest way to ask this is explain a situation. While looking at reports for units that can be drawn with 1 point, the info provided for the area often says most bucks taken are 2-4 years old. It seems like around 4.5 is where mule deer really start looking like mule deer, and maybe what some people consider the first year of maturity. So if you are looking for that decent 4x4, are these types of units likely going to be a bust? I'm concerned about the alternative which is point creep in better units. Is it still possible to shoot nice bucks with low points (potentially), or if you aren't invested in a tons of points you are screwed? Like what does it take in the current landscape to not shoot a forky?

 

[ianpadron]

Unit has far less to do with it than your hunting ability and patience to wait out a mature deer.

Sure, if you're looking for a 180+ your odds are better in high point units, but respectable deer can be killed regularly in every unit in the country that has mule deer.

 

[RockAndSage]

A lot of those statistics you're seeing depend on the priorities of the state wildlife management agencies - some states manage more for hunter opportunity, others more for quality of hunt.

Opportunity generally means more hunters or less restrictions on what they can shoot, quality means more/better bucks. If it's opportunity that's being prioritized, you'll tend to see more hunters in a given zone, which also tends to mean more hunters prioritizing meat or just being less focused on a trophy hunt, who will shoot smaller bucks. Statistics from those zones will be different from ones managed for big, mature animals.

All that said, I'm a firm believer that there is a big buck or two in every zone - but how hard they are to find depends on geography, hunter pressure, and genetics. You're more likely to find a bigger buck in a great Colorado zone with tons of other hunters, than you are in a place with few hunters but with spindly genetics.

My advice: do not play the point game. Jump in, get time making a good mule deer hunt out of any zone you can, and just make the best out of every tag. You will learn an immense amount with every hunt if you choose to - but you learn virtually nothing gathering points.

 

[Undrgrndprdcts]

A lot of those statistics you're seeing depend on the priorities of the state wildlife management agencies - some states manage more for hunter opportunity, others more for quality of hunt.

Opportunity generally means more hunters or less restrictions on what they can shoot, quality means more/better bucks. If it's opportunity that's being prioritized, you'll tend to see more hunters in a given zone, which also tends to mean more hunters prioritizing meat or just being less focused on a trophy hunt, who will shoot smaller bucks. Statistics from those zones will be different from ones managed for big, mature animals.

All that said, I'm a firm believer that there is a big buck or two in every zone - but how hard they are to find depends on geography, hunter pressure, and genetics. You're more likely to find a bigger buck in a great Colorado zone with tons of other hunters, than you are in a place with few hunters but with spindly genetics.

My advice: do not play the point game. Jump in, get time making a good mule deer hunt out of any zone you can, and just make the best out of every tag. You will learn an immense amount with every hunt if you choose to - but you learn virtually nothing gathering points.

Yea I don't necessarily want to just gather a bunch of points. I was more curious if there was a minimum at this point to get into anything decent, or if 1-2 point units can still produce animals worth shooting. Basically is it worth it to apply and end up going to those lower point units, or not even waste the time and resources.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Yea I don't necessarily want to just gather a bunch of points. I was more curious if there was a minimum at this point to get into anything decent, or if 1-2 point units can still produce animals worth shooting. Basically is it worth it to apply and end up going to those lower point units, or not even waste the time and resources.

It’s called “hunting”, right? So go hunting. If you don’t find an animal “worth shooting” you still went hunting. If “hunting” is a waste of time and resources, stop hunting.

If I cared about killing big deer, I’d be maximizing my opportunities to hunt big deer in as many areas and for as much time as possible.

 

[Undrgrndprdcts]

It’s called “hunting”, right? So go hunting. If you don’t find an animal “worth shooting” you still went hunting. If “hunting” is a waste of time and resources, stop hunting.

If I cared about killing big deer, I’d be maximizing my opportunities to hunt big deer in as many areas and for as much time as possible.

Some people hunt mature animals. Rest assured, the hunting will continue. Some people have a finite amount of time to do so. Maximizing use of resources is a thing.

 

[5MilesBack]

Like what does it take in the current landscape to not shoot a forky?

I'd turn that around and ask "what would it take TO shoot a forky"? Unless you just really like eating mule deer, I can't think of many reasons.