Colorado mule deer in OTC elk unit pressure

[Neckbone]

So all this obsessing over planning a Co mule deer hunt in 2026 got me thinking..

Just how big of a difference do you think there is in terms of dudes on the mountain when comparing deer hunting in a unit that has OTC resident tags for elk vs a unit that is draw only for elk?

With my point holding there is only 1 mule deer hunt code in the western half of the state that is not a resident only OTC elk unit.

what I don’t like about the units: it’s a 3rd rifle hunt and the majority of the public land is >8,000k ft. There are some smatterings of BLM and State trust land at lower elevations, but not the huge swaths I would like. How much would this worry you with it being a later, presumably migratory phase hunt? During 3 and 4 rifle do you spend any time focusing on high elevation stuff? Or stick to the migratory routes seen on the Colorado Atlas?

 

[Nickofthewoods]

My biggest concern would be the lack of access to low country on a late deer hunt rather than worrying about the otc elk hunters. Less people is always great but if weather and migration send the majority of deer low into private you could have a tough hunt trying to find any stragglers that haven't come down yet. Especially if you are holding out for a big buck.

 

[S.Clancy]

I killed my buck at 8400' in 4th this year, so it all depends on the weather. As far as OTC elk, it is pretty impressive to see how many dudes can drive the same road all day. My last opener of 3rd season the first vehicle passed my rig at 430am and was basically constant until 8am or so.

 

[il_cop]

I would not be concerned with the OTC guys for the reasons stated above. I'd be more concerned with being in a unit that had access to ample winter and/or transition range AND enough high country to access if we have a mild fall again.

In my unit, 4th this year was like mid October in terms of moisture and temp. Does hadn't even moved onto the ranches en masse yet, but access to the high country was still difficult. I talked to some dudes that dropped a fair amount of points on their hunt and they were felt somewhat stuck.

 

[Marble]

Deer and elk areas have some overlap, along with some food sources. Butthey generally eill not be totaly intermixed amongst each other in a way where hunters spook the species they are not after. Thats a very ventral statement, but holds true for the most part. There also are too many factors to really predict what the OP will run in to.

For me, I wouldn't worry about it. I would worry more about learning the area, which is the most important factor IME.

Hitting areas I've never hunted before ends up taking a lot of my time to learn areas instead of knowing where I should be going.

Sent from my SM-S938U using Tapatalk

 

[willfrye027]

Hunted a second season unit that was OTC elk, and a very popular one at that. There were quite a few dudes around, but it never screwed us up or had a negative effect. If we glassed up a guy on a ridge, or there was another truck pulled off somewhere, I’d always say “it’s just another elk hunter”. So basically we had the whole unit to ourselves for deer

Unless you really want to see minimal other folks out there as the highest priority, I’d not make OTC elk the deciding factor on choosing a hunt.

 

[justinspicher]

Where I live is an OTC elk GMU and there’s a ridiculous amount of hunters here from September to mid November, but it’s never made me have a single concern about deer hunting.

 

[sndmn11]

Why do people like hunting "the migration" or "the rut" for mule deer? The same help occurs when elk hunters galore get in there.

I wouldn't give this scenario a second thought.