Colorado Unit 43

[Wgrobb]

Hi all

looking to plan a Mule Deer and maybe a bear hunt in unit 43.
I've never been to the west.
never seen a mule deer
anyone have any experience in this unit?

My only real goal this first trip is just to see animals and some great scenery. Looking for mountains and some good glassing peaks just for the scenery. from some e-scouting I've been looking at parking avalanche creek area. gonna try and stay away from east side of unit. fully plan on packing in for 5-6 days and get away from people.

can someone please tell me how i find where the trail heads are? can you search or find them on OnX. As well do you pay to park there and are vehicles safe?
does anyone know if offroad vehicles can access 43

just looking for some tips on how to find where to park or what to search terms to use.

thanks

 

[Northpark]

Well you’re new here. You might get made fun of for this one. Lots of guys jump on here with something along the lines of “ not looking for honey holes but where do I find animals in x unit”.

You’ll need to learn how to hunt plan. OnX, google earth, subscriptions to services like gohunt, and searching on individual states game and fish websites are all good resources. Learn how to use them and it won’t matter what unit or state and you’ll be able to plan a hunt. Like many others on here I spend hours using these resources to figure out hunts. It takes time and effort and most will not be into just giving you the easy way out.

 

[sndmn11]

There are oodles of bears there.

 

[Wgrobb]

Well you’re new here. You might get made fun of for this one. Lots of guys jump on here with something along the lines of “ not looking for honey holes but where do I find animals in x unit”.

You’ll need to learn how to hunt plan. OnX, google earth, subscriptions to services like gohunt, and searching on individual states game and fish websites are all good resources. Learn how to use them and it won’t matter what unit or state and you’ll be able to plan a hunt. Like many others on here I spend hours using these resources to figure out hunts. It takes time and effort and most will not be into just giving you the easy way out.

Thanks for your reply. However I never asked where to find deer. I really was just asking how to search for trail heads. Not sure the verbiage to use or even if they are safe to park in. plan on going to 43 either way. Mainly cause it looks rough and I like that. Really just wanna see the landscape and maybe see a deer or elk.

I realize I am new on this site. However I have to start somewhere though.

Sorry if I came off wrong

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[crich]

Ive hunted elk in 43 it is steep. See below...
Lots of bears in 43 (a few cats too) and in general I always use onx to find trail heads and earth to find parking as the resolution is better. Never had an issue with leaving a parked vehicle. I also don't leave anything of much value aside from coolers.

 

[Hunter1212]

I hunted the muzzleloader season this year, it was really tough because of the crazy snow storm but we found some great bucks, just never could make it happen.

 

[Marble]

Ive hunted elk in 43 it is steep. See below... View attachment 239957View attachment 239958
Lots of bears in 43 (a few cats too) and in general I always use onx to find trail heads and earth to find parking as the resolution is better. Never had an issue with leaving a parked vehicle. I also don't leave anything of much value aside from coolers.

I've killed good bucks and bulls in both those photos.

I have seen bears most years in 43, but I would not say there are a ton of bears. There are some. I live where there are lots of bears and its normal to see up to 6 daily. We leave animals overnight every year and have never had a bear get into them or mess with our camp.

All access I know of in 43 by foot or horse.

No I won't say where to go or hike in at. There are already too many people there. Its getting risciculous at times.

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[Wgrobb]

Ive hunted elk in 43 it is steep. See below... View attachment 239957View attachment 239958
Lots of bears in 43 (a few cats too) and in general I always use onx to find trail heads and earth to find parking as the resolution is better. Never had an issue with leaving a parked vehicle. I also don't leave anything of much value aside from coolers.

wow, great pics. Thats what i wanna see. I live in ontario, canada. nothing like that here. Just gorgeous

 

[Wgrobb]

I've killed good bucks and bulls in both those photos.

I have seen bears most years in 43, but I would not say there are a ton of bears. There are some. I live where there are lots of bears and its normal to see up to 6 daily. We leave animals overnight every year and have never had a bear get into them or mess with our camp.

All access I know of in 43 by foot or horse.

No I won't say where to go or hike in at. There are already too many people there. Its getting risciculous at times.

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will, getting back in 5 or 6 miles help me distance from most people?

Thank you for your insight

 

[Marble]

will, getting back in 5 or 6 miles help me distance from most people?

Thank you for your insight

In that area no. There are outfitters in every major drainage.

Especially Avalanche.

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[crich]

will, getting back in 5 or 6 miles help me distance from most people?

Thank you for your insight

It'll help but the horse outfitters as already stated will be back in deep in every drainage. Distance from the trailhead isnt as important as finding over looked tough to get to areas. Hike over a few ridges away from trails and you'll be good. Most people dont want to up, down and then up again knowing they need to return to where they came from. Try to have a few plans for potential camp sites. Flat ground thats not the same elevation as a cold creek can be tricky to find.

 

[GotDraw?]

Absolutely shocking number of hunters in that unit this year. All the units that have turned into draw units are pushing even more folks into 43. You cannot get back in far enough to not see a lot of folks. Like 18 in one drainage. Crazy. All the trailheads were completely parked up with trucks and trailers.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

Ur picking one of the toughest units in the state to chase mule deer in having never been out west or seen a mule deer. Avalanche creek is busy 2 outfitter camps up that drainage, recreational hiking was off the charges. And going in 5-6 miles up avalanche creek is gonna put you at about Dooley park, that’s one of the top camping areas in avalanche creek.


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[Marble]

Its definitely a Unit that takes a lot of physical effort and knowledge of the area to be successful.

Without horses its tough.

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[Wgrobb]

Ur picking one of the toughest units in the state to chase mule deer in having never been out west or seen a mule deer. Avalanche creek is busy 2 outfitter camps up that drainage, recreational hiking was off the charges. And going in 5-6 miles up avalanche creek is gonna put you at about Dooley park, that’s one of the top camping areas in avalanche creek.


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Is there somewhere took look at how many points for each unit?

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[BigAntlerGetter]

Cpw.state.co.us look up draw results


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[Northpark]

Thanks for your reply. However I never asked where to find deer. I really was just asking how to search for trail heads. Not sure the verbiage to use or even if they are safe to park in. plan on going to 43 either way. Mainly cause it looks rough and I like that. Really just wanna see the landscape and maybe see a deer or elk.

I realize I am new on this site. However I have to start somewhere though.

Sorry if I came off wrong

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No worries. I guess my point was spend some time just messing with OnX or the other resources. Heck that’s part of the fun of planning the hunt!

 

[Wgrobb]

No worries. I guess my point was spend some time just messing with OnX or the other resources. Heck that’s part of the fun of planning the hunt!

i've never had to e-scout before. Its hard to figure out. I live in Ontario, Canada. The company I work for has the headquarters in Denver. I was suppose to go down for training and was planning a few extra days to drive around and try and understand things a little better. Covid put the Kybosh on that trip. So back to square one.

 

[Deere83]

Don’t let them discourage you, lots of people from Utah get muzzleloader tags and do quite well here. They even make videos sometimes...

 

[Elkfitness]

Beautiful country, but busy with with hikers, mtb’ers, etc.....


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