Colorado mule deer tags

spottedhawk36 · 02-10-2009, 08:52 PM

How long or how many points you have to have to draw a good mule deer tag in colorado? this is non resident im asking about anyone here hunt mulies in colorado?

Wheels · 02-10-2009, 09:01 PM

From what I remember looking at last years hunt numbers, it took 8-12 points for the top notch units but you could probably get drawn for a decent unit with 5-8 points. I would double check though. Wheels.

spottedhawk36 · 02-10-2009, 09:12 PM

Are all of there mule deer hunts draw only? i know the good units are at least. i plan on buying a point this year it would be my first point.

Wheels · 02-10-2009, 09:17 PM

I think they are.............at least the buck tags. I know some units have over the counter bull tags. Wheels.

nobrownline · 02-10-2009, 09:54 PM

All deer hunting is draw in Colorado. Where do you want to hunt? There are some units that you can draw with 0 points. It all depends on how you want to hunt. I will draw this year with 1 pt. and have a good chance at a nice one.

BuxnDux82 · 02-10-2009, 10:16 PM

We haven't gotten tags in 5 years so this year might be the year? It takes awhile to draw the hunt we put in for, but if you put in for the earlier hunts its fairly easy to draw.

rrust1 · 02-10-2009, 11:01 PM

I hunted SW Colorado in 2005 near Dolores (Unit 144?--I need to double check that). None of my party of 7 had preference points and we drew 4 buck tags and all had over the counter elk tags (4 point or better)

We killed 2 very nice bucks, and my 5 X 6 bull, all on public land. It was one of the greatest hunting trips of my life. I was able to share this with my Dad, my best friend, and several people I grew up hunting with.

forkhunter · 02-11-2009, 01:02 AM

Also important to note is that Colorado is 100% preference point. You have a very good idea whether or not you are getting the tag when you apply. I am not a big fan of pure preference points, but it is good for planning.
From what I know, the previous posts are all pretty accurate. I think there are some pretty good hunts for 2-3 points if you know the right ones. I have even heard of good hunting with 0 points from guys who know what they are doing. I have 4 points and plan on hunting sometime in the next 2-3 years.

mtn300 · 02-11-2009, 05:44 AM

There are some good units that a non resident can draw with 0 - 3 points. The unit that I hunted in 2007 you have a 92 percent chance to draw with no points. I would recomend a 3rd or 4th season tag. There are websites that have the draw odds for each unit. Do some research there is ome great hunting in colorado. We took three pretty decent bucks one was 27 wide, mine was 24 wide and then a 22 wide 3x4. You will see lots of people but most are just elk hunters. Most units in colorado will be better than the top units in oregon. Goodluck, oh one more recomendation get in shape and show up at least 3 to 4 days before the hunt so you get acclimated to the lack of oxygen. Our base camp was 8990 ft.

scoutdog5 · 02-12-2009, 12:29 AM

Be aware that there was a fairly serious winter kill last year in many units. From what I am hearing, there will be some significant reduction in buck tag numbers in some units.

Colorado is doing a good job of managing mule deer, and the herds will bounce back. As an example, they issued fewer buck tags on a herd estimated at 550,000 than Oregon did with our 200,000 mule deer. Prior to the winter kill, the statewide buck/doe ratio was around 35/100. No unit in Oregon comes close to that.

Anyone who wants a good mule deer hunt should be collecting points in Colorado. I have talked to a couple of contacts in Wyoming, and so far this is a mild winter, and they expect a tremendous year for antelope, so I would be looking at going antelope hunting in Wyoming, and building points for mule deer in Colorado while they build buck numbers back up.

Scoutdog

CW59 · 02-12-2009, 06:01 AM

I just started looking at Co. this year also. I was thinking of doing a back pack hunt, into unit's 751,75 . I have to do more research but this looks like a place I would like to try, I have looked at google earth and looked around the web, so I guess the next thing is I need to do a scouting trip and get a couple contacts. Does anyone know of a packer located around this unit, for a pack in and pack out? Also if anyone want to maybe give a few pointers or talk about this area shoot me a PM.
Good luck to everyone!

CW