Advice on CO units with 1 point

[bigcountry]

Hello there, I'm a CO resident looking for some input or advice on how to think about 2019 season and beyond. I have 1 mule deer point, and last season I hunted unit 28. Granted I wasn't able to get out a ton, but I didn't see a whole lot of deer or sign during the second season rifle. I know one big key to success is gaining familiarity with an area, so I'm inclined to get that unit again as my second choice and get another point to build upon what I learned last season. I'm guessing this past season I just didn't get deep and far enough away from other folks. I'm not looking to take some monster muley buck, although that would be awesome, just a chance at some good bucks. Any thoughts on if I should get to 2, 3 points before going to another unit and stick with 28 for now, or maybe there are some better units than 28 that I can still get as my second choice. Or are there way better units than 28 that I can get with 1 point and I should go that route? I've been researching options on Go Hunt, but any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

If you are a resident go hunting every year period. Perhaps apply for a harder unit to draw, gain a point, then get a leftover tag. Something to consider is that 2nd and 3rd seasons can be tough because deer are in the transition zones i.e. thick stuff. During muzzy, archery, and 1st rifle they are much easier to find in the high alpine and during 4th season are also easier to find as they are in the sage flats, ag fields, river bottoms, etc. This fact doesn't change no matter what unit you are hunting, therefore even if you had 15 points you aren't necessarily going to have better success, if you don't learn how to hunt those seasons. People tend to think that a high draw unit has monsters running all over the place and that it's going to be a gimme, when in reality it just means that unit just has a better age class and is not necessarily easier to hunt. I know a bunch of people who have gotten burned in 4th season in unit 52 for instance which is 6pt res/14 pt nonres, and come in thinking it's going to be a cake walk only to find most of the bucks are camped on private.

Bottom line, go hunting this fall.

 

[nrpate05]

Agreed, go hunting! The beauty in CO is that a really nice buck is a reality in basically any unit west of I-25. I am a CO resident and will probably not get into the point game for deer (or elk for that matter) because I don't really care about score and because you can get into a lot of good 3rd season hunt with no points. I hunted unit 28 with a friend who had a tag this past 2nd rifle and I wished I had had a tag! His priority was elk, but we got within 200 yards of a couple good bucks and were seeing deer regularly. I was practically begging him to shoot. I'm thinking I may go back to that spot this season for myself! We were not far from a paved road either. One strategy is to work boundaries between private and public land. They will feed onto the private at dusk and head back to public to bed during the day. If you want to gain points, a nice thing about 28 is that it can be drawn as a 2nd choice, although I don't think odds are 100%. In short, try not to overthink it. Good luck!

 

[Pelican]

The difference between a 0 pt unit and a 1 pt unit is miniscule. Some unit are harder to draw because they have easier access and terrain, not because they have more deer. The unit 28 tag gets you into unit 18, 37, and 371 I believe, so there is a lot more area to hunt. I wouldn’t give up on it after one year.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Their in there you just have to find them... July, 2018

 

[bigcountry]

Thank you all for the input. Super helpful. I'm definitely putting in for a tag this year and hoping to go hunting, I just didn't know if I should burn my 1 point and try for a better unit with 1 point, or go for 28 again as my second choice and still get another point, or find another unit I can draw with second choice. But I like the advice, don't over think it.

That's encouraging to hear nrpate05 that you were seeing bucks in 28. It was my first time in that area and mule deer hunting for that matter. I grew up whitetail hunting and have been primarily elk hunting out west, so the mule deer game was a new one for me and a lot to learn still. Been doing a bunch of reading in the offseason here to sharpen my mule deer knowledge, but all your advice above is very helpful.

 

[TOGIE]

If it helps, I'm burning a point this year on a unit I could draw at something in the range of 90% odds with 0 points - I was the unlucky 10% last year. I simply just want to hunt that unit. I don't anticipate ever having more than 1 point for deer in Co. I just want to hunt bucks every year in my home state and there are plenty of good places to do it.

 

[bigcountry]

Helpful, thanks for sharing TOGIEGOAT.

As a follow-up, what are your guys' thoughts on season 2 vs 3 for units like 28 with higher hunter pressure?

 

[Pelican]

As a follow-up, what are your guys' thoughts on season 2 vs 3 for units like 28 with higher hunter pressure?

3rd season over 2nd season. I’ve been hunting 2nd as I can’t draw 3rd in the unit I want to hunt every year. Deer don’t seem as prone to moving to private land to escape hunters as elk. In CO, the success rate is typically higher during 3rd season than 2nd. Weather will get them to move down though, so that can be issue in some units in the later seasons.