First off, I just want to make it clear, I am in no way asking for unit recommendations. Going into this year, myself and my dad have 3 points a piece for mule deer. I looked hard into CO last year, pulled the stats from the states page and knew what units were available to us. We ended up just buying a preference pt and hunted Montana, big mistake. Hunting Montana last year was our second time in a row. Our first draw in 22 took all of our pts and we had a great hunt. 2023’s hunt was a luck draw on 0 pts and a terrible hunt. I am not saying terrible bc we were unsuccessful, I am saying terrible bc we saw very few mule deer.
This now leads me to my question, getting my dad to hunt out west was like pulling teeth, however when we were successful on our first hunt he was hooked. Now, with this last hunt it has made it a pretty heated conversation about heading west again. Just to be clear, we are not upset about being unsuccessful, it is the lack of game. We live in Virginia, so not the shortest drive. We know that not getting something is part of the game, that is fine but to hunt hard for 6 days and turn nothing up was a slap in the face.
My fear is, if I put us in for a Colorado draw on a 3pt or less unit and we see no game, I lose my hunting partner. Killing trophies would be great, but seeing game and having the opportunity at a decent one would be our goal. My dad is in his late 60’s in great shape but is also at that point where his interest in hunting is really not what it used to be and he is really concerned about getting used to the elevation. Me on the other hand, I am ready to hunt wherever, it’s more of the adventure and trip for me, but I get his point. I don’t want to burn 3 and hit the same wall we did last year but I have done a pile of research and feel pretty confident about some units for second season rifle. I am fully aware that nothing is a definite and stats from years past can change this year.
Really just looking for some advice from those that have made this trip and had around the same points as us. A lot of information that I have found says to pull the trigger when you have 3-5pts. I like the idea of Colorado this year bc we have pts in Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota, just not enough to do anything at this time. I also know that if we pull and it’s a bust that is probably it for my dad venturing out west again.
Just to clarify we hunted the Broadus, MT area, I knew going out what we were getting into but we were successful there last year, saw lots of game, probably just beginners luck. Each year we hunted the second week of rifle. My experience this time is that I would not recommend that area unless you are tied into an outfitter. We saw 1 set of other hunters and any locals we ran into just laughed at us. If you do choose that area, I can not emphasize enough, make sure you have 10 ply tires. Learned that lesson first hand this season.
This now leads me to my question, getting my dad to hunt out west was like pulling teeth, however when we were successful on our first hunt he was hooked. Now, with this last hunt it has made it a pretty heated conversation about heading west again. Just to be clear, we are not upset about being unsuccessful, it is the lack of game. We live in Virginia, so not the shortest drive. We know that not getting something is part of the game, that is fine but to hunt hard for 6 days and turn nothing up was a slap in the face.
My fear is, if I put us in for a Colorado draw on a 3pt or less unit and we see no game, I lose my hunting partner. Killing trophies would be great, but seeing game and having the opportunity at a decent one would be our goal. My dad is in his late 60’s in great shape but is also at that point where his interest in hunting is really not what it used to be and he is really concerned about getting used to the elevation. Me on the other hand, I am ready to hunt wherever, it’s more of the adventure and trip for me, but I get his point. I don’t want to burn 3 and hit the same wall we did last year but I have done a pile of research and feel pretty confident about some units for second season rifle. I am fully aware that nothing is a definite and stats from years past can change this year.
Really just looking for some advice from those that have made this trip and had around the same points as us. A lot of information that I have found says to pull the trigger when you have 3-5pts. I like the idea of Colorado this year bc we have pts in Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota, just not enough to do anything at this time. I also know that if we pull and it’s a bust that is probably it for my dad venturing out west again.
Just to clarify we hunted the Broadus, MT area, I knew going out what we were getting into but we were successful there last year, saw lots of game, probably just beginners luck. Each year we hunted the second week of rifle. My experience this time is that I would not recommend that area unless you are tied into an outfitter. We saw 1 set of other hunters and any locals we ran into just laughed at us. If you do choose that area, I can not emphasize enough, make sure you have 10 ply tires. Learned that lesson first hand this season.
