Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Colorado mule deer hunt

Everyone's idea of hunting is different.I can see a paying client wanting to/have to kill a 200 point deer.It's not all a that important to me. I like to shoot bigger animals,but I'm not going to waste an entire season on one animal.Too many passes to go over, mountains to climb, sights to see and I realy don't think that is what the OP was really interested in.

I have probably spent 50 days or so in area 54 in the last few years and I don't even look at hunt statistics, tables and charts.It would be interseting to know if those giant bucks are seen on private or public land.If on private,that takes the entire discussion out of bounds.

Time and time again, the CO DOW has proven to me they don't know what the hell they are talking about and do not spend enough time in the field to back up thier office work. I make my decisions based on my boots ( or hoofs ) on the ground).

Actually, I have to confess though, I am not much into deer hunting.They are just long legged rats to me. However,I think I put enough time into areas that I can realistically determine if it has quality or the amounts of animals I am willing to chase.

I dont know where you boys are looking or what you're doing when your out scouting and/or hunting but in the past years in the Gunnison area I've seen many 200"+ deer including what would have been the world record typical with a bow and a 40" typical. Not bad for a "mediocre" unit

Thanks for all the replies and conversations. I still will more than likely hunt one of these units eventually. Maybe this fall or the next. My wife and daughters and I have vacationed in this area for 10 summers and I did an otc elk hunt once in '05.
I just really enjoy spending time in that area and am familiar with the area, though no doubt, have not been as far in to the wilderness as any that have added to this topic.
I do have to say that I have seen numerous large deer in that area dating back to my first visit in '96. 2 deer in paticular, seen in '05 elk hunt have left a burnt image in my mind. Both were in the national forest/public land, unit 54. They are surely dead now, either from a hunter or that terrible winter that I am well aware of. I believe that there is great potential in this area because of genetics, just like there is tremendous whitetail genetics in unit 14 where I live in Kansas.
I am actually contemplating an elk tag this year, and deer next. This would help me beings I will only get one chance with a deer tag. I totally understand, that I would not be hunting the same deer in '13 that I may or may not see this fall. It would just allow me to pick a basin or mountain and get more familiar with it, for the next year. Once again, thanks, I have been enjoying this discussion.
AB

I have been hunting the south ramparts of the Anthracites, up and over Swampy Pass. Further before they made Unit 53 .Then both sides of the Castles. Up towards Storm Mountain Pass, Castle Pass and SE of the Castles.
Huntsonora. Again,were the bucks you saw on public or private land?I don't need to know the local.

I have never hunted private ground in the Gunnison area. Every big buck I've ever seen up there was on public ground

I want to make it a point that I'm not trying to be a jerk, disagreeable for the sole fact of being disagreeable or trying to be a braggart. I go to that area for the sole purpose of looking for big mule deer just as I go to a lot of areas in the state of CO. It's my passion.

When I see somebody claim that a unit is "mediocre" based on stats on a sheet of paper it makes me laugh. I don't go with my family, I'm not sightseeing, I'm not looking for elk or anything else. I have a buddy that goes out and looks for arrowheads on my families ranch in TX, he finds more than anybody else because he knows where to look and what to look for. I stumble upon a few but I'm not really looking for em. Same principle

The eastern plains is certainly a sleeper area for big deer, but it is all private so pointless for the average Joe to even apply.

That being said, i agree that no unit in CO is worth waiting 5-10 years to hunt. There are big bucks in every unit...

Good for you. That's great. So, have at it then.

We saw 2 large bucks in unit 54 (close to where Vince hunts). We were elk hunting on public ground, they were bedded on private ground and never moved all day. Wish I had a good lens on the camera at that time.

That said, the entire week I spent elk hunting, I only saw a handful of deer, all does, on the public ground.

Heres a couple bucks from this "mediocre" area. I took both of these pictures after the winter kill of 07/08 and I'm not at liberty to post any more unless I crop or alter them

200" typical



40" typical


Nuts and bolts, anybody that calls a unit where a guy can consistently find deer of this caliber "MEDIOCRE" is either uninformed, ignorant, crazy, knows the best kept secret in CO or relies on a piece of paper to tell him what units are better than others

I've seen those snapshots before.

I took em

So? Like I said - go for it. That unit doesn't hold interest for me anymore. In any case, you guys should try to kill some of those deer over there, if you want.

We did

Same here, but not up there.

Huntsonora said: "I want to make it a point that I'm not trying to be a jerk, disagreeable for the sole fact of being disagreeable or trying to be a braggart."

I never figured that.Unlike another member here who is always bragging of the big animals and trophy he takes and most on land not accesible to Joe Blow. I'm just trading info as far as I'm concerned.It's always interesting to get someone else'e perspective.

Providing guiding for a client that pays a couple grand + for an exceptional mule deer is a lot differnt than me doing a hunt for the sheer enjoyment of it.

I have no doubt that if I wanted to expend the time and energy,I could find one of those bucks. However,I have arrived at a point in my hunitng career ( or maybe I'm just getting senile) that I don't need to kill another elk or deer or?, but if and when I do go hunting,I give it all that I am capable at my age.I don't figure I am just going on a camping trip and hike in the woods.

I do have a question though.You mentioned that a client shot a big deer on last day of the hunt,on the morning he was suppose to fly out. What happens after that.Do you take care of the meat,cape, etc,get it to a taxidemist or? Does the client usually not want the meat? I have always been curious when things like that happens.

Yeah, only a very few times have I ever hunted private land. For the most part, my personal hunts are DIY public land affairs. But, some guys like the private land stuff.

BTW, off topic, but the reason I am posting more is that there is 2 ft of snow on the ground and if not snow,it's ice. The gun range is snowed in or muddy.Except to go out and feed or shovel manure ,there isn't much on do around here. Too much crust on the snow to ride or pull a sliegh. My truck is going in the shop tommorrow to fix the hydraulic operator on the clutch. I have loaded about every piece of brass that I have powder or bullets for and I have no current gunstock projects.

2 feet? I have to go to 11,000ft to see that much. Not a good year for snow here.

For sure. Anymore, most killed big bucks have hours of scouting behind them, and even people flying with airplanes, hiring bounty hunters to locate them, using dozens of game cams, etc etc etc. For an average working stiff, with a family, who has time to scout all the time?

(I am not implying that is what Drummond does, but it is the norm anymore for people with fat wallets.)