CO Unit 39 Archery: What's Wrong With It?

[NullPointerException]

I've been through a bunch of draw statistics and success rates for archery and unit 39 (the tag also lets you hunt unit 46) keeps baffling me.

It has relatively high success rates compared to surrounding units (I guess these are estimated by the state, but still) and you have a good (~75%) chance of being able to hunt it every year as a resident. Why don't more people put in for this unit? Is it the terrain or the amount of recreational activity?

I'm just trying to figure this riddle out. Thanks.

 

[Magnum Sherpa]

A good percentage of that harvest is made up of “yard bucks” that live on smaller private parcels.

 

[PeteTheBeat]

Yard bucks are a plenty here.

 

[NullPointerException]

A good percentage of that harvest is made up of “yard bucks” that live on smaller private parcels.

But wouldn't the other GMUs around the Denver metro be equally affected by this? Why does GMU 39 have about a 4 times greater reported success rate than GMU 38 (just to the north)?

 

[bushman13]

For 39 and 46 the public land is on the western sides of the units. On the eastern side it's all private with mainly houses and small ranches. Guess which side of the unit the deer and elk hang out in?

These 2 units remind me of back east, you really need to find local landowners and hunt private. I've been trying for 2 years, no luck yet. That being said I do scout the public, but I don't see elk or big deer, until I pull back back into my neighborhood.

But wouldn't the other GMUs around the Denver metro be equally affected by this? Why does GMU 39 have about a 4 times greater reported success rate than GMU 38 (just to the north)?