Colorado, the 9 Preference point question

[Shot]

Hey Guys, thinking about apply this coming season for mule deer in Colorado (with 9 points). Did a little research and this is what I narrowed it down too. All archery hunts, except unit 74.

Unit 61 - Read some great things about the Deer population, but my concerns are that it is too thick for my style of hunting (spot and stalk). Unfortunately don't have the time to scout until after the April draw. Anyone hunt there? How thick is it really? Another thing that concerns me is the simultaneous Elk hunters. Are crowds a concern?

Another is unit 21/30- Good potential, but again I think it gets crowded with elk hunters and not that much public land to accommodate.

Least favorite - Early rifle hunt in 74 (think I need 10 points for this). Really prefer archery but love spot and stalking hunting and this seems like a killer hunt with a rifle.

I wish I had the time to scout before the draw.

Anyone applying solo? maybe team up?

Greatly appreciate any input.
Thanks

 

[CoHiCntry]

Resident?

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you are a nonresident the 74 early rifle went up to 12 points this year so you can scratch that one off

 

[Shot]

Nonresident.

Didn't know that about 74, thanks.

 

[5MilesBack]

I'm no help........I'm sitting on 11 resident points and still can't decide where I want to use them. I just want to get rid of them so I can start drawing normal archery tags. But I don't want to just throw them away.......and expect at least a 180+ buck out of them. Especially after watching a 190 buck around my house every year.

 

[bowuntr]

Arbi... I'm in the same boat with 9 points. Don't know what to do... When you figure it out, let me know... Ed F

 

[Nick Muche]

A friend and I spent 3 days in 21 last August as he had drawn a tag, since I had to go out there anyhow to pick up a mount I figured why not help him out a little. In short, he has killed plenty of big mule deer and knows what he is doing... In the three days we scouted, we found one buck and a few doe's. I expected to see way more deer than that. It was very very thick, though there seemed to be plenty of public access. The oil (or gas.. not sure) workers were everywhere and becuase of them, there are roads everywhere. I hear good things about 21 but if you don't know the area very well (seemed to be our case), apply elsewhere.

He turned the tag back in.

If you could get in on a private ranch, I'd bet it would be a good hunt.

 

[orionthehunter1]

If your not in a hurry I would hold out for the 74 tag

 

[In God We Trust]

The good early rifle tags are a killer hunt. I hunt mulies during the smoke pole season every year and would love to have a .300 win mag in my hands during that time of year. Timberline with a rifle would be awesome!

 

[SDHNTR]

I was in your shoes two years ago. Hunted 21/30 and virtually hated it. Super super crowded, very thick, and small huntable area. No way to out hike the crowds. That said, we saw a lot of deer. In 8 days of hunting we saw two legit 180+ and lots in the 140-160 class. I was inside of 20 on the first morning with one of the 180s and couldn't get a shot through the oak brush. Then I had a chip shot at a book 3 pt that I passed and shouldn't have. Another guy killed him a couple days later and I helped him take pics of it. I was kicking myself. Then I missed a 40ish yd shot at a nice 155 class buck. In the end I screwed up bad and took a shot I shouldn't have (too dark), and killed a forked horn. I thought I was only seeing one fork on the side of a nice 4x4, when all he had was one fork. Ouch! Looking back, I should have drawn 61. The crowds just really took a lot away from the experience. And if you are ok with rifle, I'd think 74 early would be an even better choice.

 

[ckleeves]

I'll throw in my .02 since I'm very familiar with 61 and 74. I know nothing about 21/30.

61 is an interesting deer unit. There is some absolute Giants in there but bow hunting them is tough. You can go a week without seeing a halfway mature buck or a 200" can walk across the road in front of your truck. Honestly there is archery tags that take no points to draw that I would rather have than a 61 tag.

61 isn't really "thicker" than other units depending on where your at in it. I guess it all depends on what your comparing it to. It can be tough to glass making it tough to locate deer. if I had that tag I would probably use some off the wall technics and tree stand some water holes and trails along with spot and stalk.

IMO 74 isn't what is used to be. There is still good bucks but to kill a real good one you need to be able to devote some SERIOUS time into scouting. You have partial odds of drawing a MZ tag with one point so take that FWIW on unit quality. It is a great rifle hunt, just not 12 point great (what unit is?) again, JMO.

If I had a pile of deer points I honestly don't know what I would do with them. Hope for point banking to come back? If your looking to get the most for your points I would look at some of the harder to draw rifle tags. After you burn all your points then you could start drawing easy to get units for archery and more than likely having a better hunt then some of these units that take 6+ points to draw.

Best of luck in your decision. In a weird way, Im thankful I haven't ever accumulated many deer points because it's a tough decision when you wait that long.

 

[Chad44]

I agree with ckleeves. Archery deer is an easy draw in most units. Any wilderness hunt will have big bucks. Get away from the crowds and you'll see good deer. I'd go rifle then hunt next year with my bow with 0 points. My .02

 

[GRAYLIGHT]

The 76 archery deer hunt might be fun with those points... There are no landowners, so vouchers are not an option in that unit because it is wilderness mostly. Since it is wilderness, there are very few roads and I believe it takes at least 4-6 points to draw as a NR (not 100% on that) I think that would be a very cool high country hunt with solid potential for quality and spot n stalk opportunity. The San Juans have not rebounded well at all and neither has the Gunnison. 61 is about as miserable as 21 in regards to people and thick country and I wouldn't use a point let alone 9 years of points... Good luck and smoke a big one!

 

[fulldraw1972]

When I talked to a guy last year about 54 for my elk hunt he said that he seen some really nice bucks in there the year before. Last year on our elk hunt my partner and I seen a few nice bucks. We were not up very high either.
Don't know if I would burn 9 points on the unit though.

 

[TheHardWay]

I wouldn't say that 61 is that thick. Yeah, there are spots where spot and stalk isn't feasible, but there are places where you can sit and glass. I am friends with a well known outfitter in 61. Not sure if you were planning on doing it DIY or not, but if you have any interest in going guided, I can put you in touch with him.

I live and hunt here in 74. There are absolutely no deer here whatsoever, so I wouldn't even consider it. But all kidding aside, 74 is decent, especially if you go for the early rifle tag. As mentioned above, it isn't quite what it "used" to be, but there are some nice bucks running around. I was lucky enough to take a 185" and a 179" within the last 3 years. I also found a lion kill dead-head that went 195" (what a shame!) If it were me and my points as a NR, I'd keep building points to draw that tag.

 

[realunlucky]

I know someone that drew 61 last year and couldn't find a buck over 160 and had tag soup. I couldn't go so its so hearsay but he said he was surprised at how few deer he saw

 

[Coloradoboy]

I'd steer clear of of 54... Guided an archery deer hunt in the west elk and it was rather disappointing to say the least. Guided a muzzleloader hunt last year and things weren't much better.. I feel guilty about harvesting the only mature buck I could find after covering 6 different basins and spending from June until November in that country. 9 points is a hefty amount when it comes to archery tags.. I personally wouldn't bother with 21 durning the archery season, its better suited for road hunting with rifles. Can't speak for 61 or 74 though. I would look into units 2, 44, 49, 65, 66/67, 70, 851 (Bosque del Oso SWA)

 

[realunlucky]

I don't think you can touch 66 with ONLY 9 points. Sad when waiting that long and still having limited choices

 

[BruinPoint]

I agree with the comments about 21/30 not living up to the hype of its glory days. Sent you a PM.

 

[MesaHorseCo.]

You could do 66 archery, muzzle, or 2nd rifle with 9 non-res points, given there is no drastic change this year. Good diversity of terrain, plenty of access. There are still some good deer in there too. It's also on a draw for elk, they still give out plenty of tags, but at least there is a cap on the amount of people that will be hunting during any given season.