First trip west

[ILrutaddict]

I’m not trying to push you away but as a northern front range resident, in all honesty, those units you’ve thrown out as possibilities are really hard hunting for the seasons you’ll most likely be able to draw at 0 points.

Our higher elevation here on the front range is incredibly thick dark timber. If you want to stick it out and give a go anyways, there’s always a chance you can get a buck with hard hunting but get expectations right. They don’t start moving out of that stuff until mid-late November and I’m pretty sure you can’t draw those with 0 as a NR.

Whatever you decide on, good luck! You’ll have an adventure regardless


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I appreciate the input. Nothing trumps experience so I am all ears. In your opinion, would it make sense to select a low odds/higher quality unit as my first choice to pick up a point and hunt a 2nd choice “low quality” unit? I’m super excited to get out and just hunt mule deer, but I do want to give myself a chance to at least see deer. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Bachto]

If you are hunting mid to late October an underrated tactic is to hunt mule deer like a whitetail, kind of. I am not familiar with the area you will be hunting but in the mid day 10:00am to 3:00pm I would still hunt the dark timber pockets and try and catch them moving beds. That is where the more mature bucks will be that time of year.

I would glass the mornings and evenings for sure to try and find deer but there is still overlap in how bucks act with mule deer and whitetails. Bucks in October will want to find seclusion no matter the species in my experience.

You can also find travel corridors and sit those, again all deer like to take the path of least resistance so you can sit funnel areas that deer move through similar to a whitetail.

 

[ILrutaddict]

If you are hunting mid to late October an underrated tactic is to hunt mule deer like a whitetail, kind of. I am not familiar with the area you will be hunting but in the mid day 10:00am to 3:00pm I would still hunt the dark timber pockets and try and catch them moving beds. That is where the more mature bucks will be that time of year.

I would glass the mornings and evenings for sure to try and find deer but there is still overlap in how bucks act with mule deer and whitetails. Bucks in October will want to find seclusion no matter the species in my experience.

You can also find travel corridors and sit those, again all deer like to take the path of least resistance so you can sit funnel areas that deer move through similar to a whitetail.

That’s some encouraging info. The more parallels I can draw between the two species the more comfortable I will feel. From what I understand they are still a feed to bed/ bed to feed animal with rut obviously changing some of those patterns. I think a big study point for me will also be scouting certain elevations for certain times of the year and how weather affects that, and their main food sources at those elevation zones and how to best identify where those will grow best. Much different than acorns and corn fields here in the Midwest lol. Thanks for the help!

 

[Hnthrdr]

Was going to say bow hunting the alpine in the front range/ northern frontrange is an exercise in futility. I grew up spending lots of time up and down it. I wouldn’t spend the time and effort on any units mentioned during archery or bring a fishing pole to fish so you can be entertained when the bucks aren’t there. The rifle seasons deer come out mid to late November often onto private in the lower country , you are also targeting ground 0 for cwd so keep that in mind.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I appreciate the input. Nothing trumps experience so I am all ears. In your opinion, would it make sense to select a low odds/higher quality unit as my first choice to pick up a point and hunt a 2nd choice “low quality” unit? I’m super excited to get out and just hunt mule deer, but I do want to give myself a chance to at least see deer. Thanks for the reply!

I would go for a hunt 3-4 hours from the front range. You will likely have a better hunt less recreationalists. Units you can draw second choice as a NR i wouldn’t bother with. I almost refuse to hunt a second choice unit as a resident for 40 dollars and a 30 min drive let alone 500 and a 16 hour drive…

 

[backwoods baw]

I stand corrected, there were a decent amount of 3rd - 4th season tags you could draw as a NR with 0 points last year. Not a guarantee that stays the same though for next year. I personally would choose either of those seasons. Be prepared for weather, we got a huge dumping of snow this year in 3rd.

I will say that the deer hunting is not the same up here since we had some massive wildfires, idk what it did but I didn’t see a single 4 pt this past season in 6 days. Tons of forkys

Since you’ve got Insider now, just spend plenty of time sorting through what you can and can’t draw/harvest stats/private land % and just send it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hnthrdr]

I stand corrected, there were a decent amount of 3rd - 4th season tags you could draw as a NR with 0 points last year. Not a guarantee that stays the same though for next year. I personally would choose either of those seasons. Be prepared for weather, we got a huge dumping of snow this year in 3rd.

I will say that the deer hunting is not the same up here since we had some massive wildfires, idk what it did but I didn’t see a single 4 pt this past season in 6 days. Tons of forkys

Since you’ve got Insider now, just spend plenty of time sorting through what you can and can’t draw/harvest stats/private land % and just send it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah same experience, bumping up to the private I found some better bucks but they were not on public land… that big snow seemed to empty a bunch of them out of anything over 8000 ft. Yeah guys come thinking the burn is wide open… it is very hard to hunt/ glass. That was incredibly thick timber and loads of standing dead

 

[ILrutaddict]

Was going to say bow hunting the alpine in the front range/ northern frontrange is an exercise in futility. I grew up spending lots of time up and down it. I wouldn’t spend the time and effort on any units mentioned during archery or bring a fishing pole to fish so you can be entertained when the bucks aren’t there. The rifle seasons deer come out mid to late November often onto private in the lower country , you are also targeting ground 0 for cwd so keep that in mind.

All great info! Thanks for the help!

 

[ILrutaddict]

I stand corrected, there were a decent amount of 3rd - 4th season tags you could draw as a NR with 0 points last year. Not a guarantee that stays the same though for next year. I personally would choose either of those seasons. Be prepared for weather, we got a huge dumping of snow this year in 3rd.

I will say that the deer hunting is not the same up here since we had some massive wildfires, idk what it did but I didn’t see a single 4 pt this past season in 6 days. Tons of forkys

Since you’ve got Insider now, just spend plenty of time sorting through what you can and can’t draw/harvest stats/private land % and just send it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Send it! That method works for me sometimes. Thanks for the help!

 

[UKwildcatfan]

Hello all. I’ve made the decision to follow a dream and start my western hunting career. I’ve grown up hunting whitetail in Illinois and the deer rut here is my Super Bowl, however I’ve always wanted to go west to chase mule deer and this is the year. Bought the GOHUNT insider subscription to start doing some research on units. I’m pretty much set on Colorado. It will be a solo hunt and I plan on camping from the truck in case I need to move and scout different areas. I’m starting my e-scouting journey but I think the hardest part so far is understanding where I’ll be able to park/camp and access different units. This will be a 0 point hunt just to get out there and get some experience. I have ZERO expectations of a monster buck or shooting a buck period. My main goal is to glass up some deer and watch their patterns and behaviors. So far I’m thinking units 9/19/191, 20, and 39/46. Trying to stay on the eastern side of the mountains for travel sake, and trying to avoid getting too close to big cities. So here’s the question/s, what tips would you go back and give yourself as a first time mule deer hunter? Am I on the right track? I know there’s a million things that I will learn on this first trip but that’s what I’m going for. Any tips/help would be awesome. Sincerely -another nonresident white tailer that’s excited to be a rookie again.

Don't wear rubber boots and learn to glass. Your 10x25 Simmons binos won't work out west.

 

[ILrutaddict]

Update: ended up deciding to go the muzzleloader route. Got lucky and drew a tag! First time shooting bullet to bore so I’ve been playing with some different bullets (Hornady boredriver is looking the best). Been trying to get in 3-4 runs per week to get the lungs as good as possible, and putting together a somewhat decent gear load. Oh, also been doing some summer scouting on the deer here at home, so I figured I’d add a pic to show you western fellas what “brow tines” actually look like . A lot to work ahead, but a lot to look forward to. Hope everybody is getting that tag they were after this year, best of luck!

 

[Hnthrdr]

Update: ended up deciding to go the muzzleloader route. Got lucky and drew a tag! First time shooting bullet to bore so I’ve been playing with some different bullets (Hornady boredriver is looking the best). Been trying to get in 3-4 runs per week to get the lungs as good as possible, and putting together a somewhat decent gear load. Oh, also been doing some summer scouting on the deer here at home, so I figured I’d add a pic to show you western fellas what “brow tines” actually look like . A lot to work ahead, but a lot to look forward to. Hope everybody is getting that tag they were after this year, best of luck! View attachment 893182

Nice eye guards on that deer

 

[Oregon]

10x42 bino. Important.
Spotting scope. Not important (unless you’re judging).
I go on a lot of mule deer hunts. I always have a spotter, but 95% of deer I find are with naked eye or binos.

 

[ILrutaddict]

10x42 bino. Important.
Spotting scope. Not important (unless you’re judging).
I go on a lot of mule deer hunts. I always have a spotter, but 95% of deer I find are with naked eye or binos.

So for now I’m deciding to go w/no spotter. I plan on taking my 10x50 Leupolds and I’m between a set of 15-18x56 binos or a set of the sig zulu6 hdx pro’s in 16 or 18x50. I feel like that’s the smart play for someone who isn’t used to looking through a spotter.

 

[Beagle001]

So for now I’m deciding to go w/no spotter. I plan on taking my 10x50 Leupolds and I’m between a set of 15-18x56 binos or a set of the sig zulu6 hdx pro’s in 16 or 18x50. I feel like that’s the smart play for someone who isn’t used to looking through a spotter.

I won’t tell you how to spend your money, and I like the attitude you’ve shown in this thread… I’d skip buying the extra binos this year, and work on putting the rest of your gear together. Even if you’re truck camping, you can test the gear you plan on using for backcountry hunts; find out what you like and don’t like- stoves, meals, bars, bags/quilts/pads, etc.
I would stick your 10x on a tripod and go from there.

 

[ILrutaddict]

I won’t tell you how to spend your money, and I like the attitude you’ve shown in this thread… I’d skip buying the extra binos this year, and work on putting the rest of your gear together. Even if you’re truck camping, you can test the gear you plan on using for backcountry hunts; find out what you like and don’t like- stoves, meals, bars, bags/quilts/pads, etc.
I would stick your 10x on a tripod and go from there.

I am all ears my man. I’m completely open to suggestions and recommendations. I think food prep is a big part that I need to do more studying on. I think my biggest fear is getting out there and realizing I need more power on my optics, or at least feeling like I need more. I guess it’s just one of those “you don’t know what you don’t know” situations. I’ve got a tripod and fluid head and have actually been having a really good time glassing timber bluffs and bottoms around home, really surprised me what a tripod does for a set of bino’s.

 

[Beagle001]

I’ve been all over on optics. I’ve got $300 10x42s on my chest, and I’ve had 15s that range from $250-900… some hunts I thought they were great and others I regretted packing them. Same for spotting scopes… got one because I thought it was a “must” and I was left underwhelmed. Then, took it on another hunt and had an amazing experience because of it.
So, that probably doesn’t actually help you at all lol.
Right now, I intend to upgrade my binos on my chest, pack the tripod and pick my spots with the spotter. I do like the idea of the SIGs, but I don’t know that the high magnification ones are the answer.
Obviously if you are truck camping, especially solo, bring creature comforts, all the extra clothes and gear you can dream of, but try and use that time as training to more extreme hunts.

 

[ILrutaddict]

I’ve been all over on optics. I’ve got $300 10x42s on my chest, and I’ve had 15s that range from $250-900… some hunts I thought they were great and others I regretted packing them. Same for spotting scopes… got one because I thought it was a “must” and I was left underwhelmed. Then, took it on another hunt and had an amazing experience because of it.
So, that probably doesn’t actually help you at all lol.
Right now, I intend to upgrade my binos on my chest, pack the tripod and pick my spots with the spotter. I do like the idea of the SIGs, but I don’t know that the high magnification ones are the answer.
Obviously if you are truck camping, especially solo, bring creature comforts, all the extra clothes and gear you can dream of, but try and use that time as training to more extreme hunts.

Yes indeed, I appreciate the knowledge! I know the list of shortcomings is probably going to be bigger than the list of successes after this hunt. But even if I only walk away with a good baseline for where I’m at and what I need to work on, I’ll consider it a net gain. Thanks man!

 

[willfrye027]

The gear is not super important other than binos and glassing off a tripod. That is 100% mandatory. I’ve hunted in rubber boots due to nasty weather and no budget for quality waterproof boots. Also brought an umbrella on that trip which was a lot cheaper than an $300 rain jacket! Other than a few blisters it didn’t hold me back.

Apply the same kind of problem solving and strategy that you use with whitetails, to learning a “new” game..you’ll be fine.

It’s a lot of fun and with realistic expectations and a mindset geared towards having an adventure, you will have a great time.

 

[ILrutaddict]

The gear is not super important other than binos and glassing off a tripod. That is 100% mandatory. I’ve hunted in rubber boots due to nasty weather and no budget for quality waterproof boots. Also brought an umbrella on that trip which was a lot cheaper than an $300 rain jacket! Other than a few blisters it didn’t hold me back.

Apply the same kind of problem solving and strategy that you use with whitetails, to learning a “new” game..you’ll be fine.

It’s a lot of fun and with realistic expectations and a mindset geared towards having an adventure, you will have a great time.

Thanks! I really appreciate this perspective. I think it’s a good thing to just be in the moment and enjoy it. I do worry that I’m going to be having those constant mind battles of “should I move” and those constant arguments with myself. Going to have to remind myself that I’m still on an awesome hunt and I just need to rely on my scouting plan and just stick with it. I do have a good pair of danner boots but I’ve even thought about tossing in my hip waders just in case I run into a spot that I really think I need to cross water. I’m going to be wishing there was much more room to pack gear! Thanks again!