Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting SW Colorado unit 741 deer

I live in unit 741 in SW Colorado at an elevation of 7630'. This morning I saw the first new fawn ( 7-10 days old ) so far this spring/summer. Usually see multiple does with fawns. Several with twins is common. This is also very late for a new fawn to be born. Noticed last year deer #'s on my place were down. This season they are dramatically down. Talking to a couple of land owners in my area they confirm low deer #'s also. We had an extremely mild winter. I have no idea what has caused this. It is a cycle that will I assume rebound over time. Another curious point is that I have to contend with wood peckers attacking the eves of my house every spring. This spring not even one wood pecker.???? You got me as to what is going on.

I'll be hunting south of Hesperus during the 3rd rifle season in the Redmesa area. My first year to hunt unit 741 was in 2009, hunted there until 2011 then started going every other year. We saw literally hundreds of deer in 2009 and there was about 8" of snow in most places when we got to our camp. However, the last few years have been warmer than what I saw in 2009. Hoping the cycle comes full circle and your area starts getting average weather patterns soon.

I have been reading the last few years about the decline of mule deer populations throughout the west. Some have associated it with the failure of the management system of the forest service.

Here's a report describing the mule deer numbers in Colorado done back in 1999: https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/gwhite/wp-content/uploads/sites/73/2017/06/mdreport.pdf

And here's another report:

http://www.deerfriendly.com/decline-of-deer-populations

I have always had an abundance of mule deer on my place. Always good numbers of large mature bucks. Last season was the first time I saw a decrease. No reason for it. Most years we only take one buck Once every two or three years we may take two, but always many more around. We for sure have not been over harvesting. Have always had a abundance of fawns. In 2016 there were fawns all over . Most does had twins. Then low numbers in 2017. Just doesn't make sense.

Could there be an increase in mountain lion kills? That was one of the reasons the land owner gave us a couple years ago for the decreased deer numbers on his property.

The last lion kill I observed on my place was about 4 years ago. That doesn't mean there were some I did not see. Talking to the local Durango Parks & Wildlife office ( about 20 miles from me ) they said the numbers of lions in my area ( unit 741 ) was so low that no lion hunting was allowed. A funny thing is that this past March , April I would have 23 to 25 does & fawns in the field below my house almost every day. After April they just disappeared & have not seen them again. The back boundary of my land is Ute Indian reservation. Every winter the snow drives the deer & elk thru my place & over the mountain behind me to lower elevation on the reservation for the winter. In late March they start coming back. Think about this,. Elk & deer hunting start in Sept. with archery then muzzle loader , then into Oct. rifle hunts up thru Nov.& Dec. Now the Utes start their hunts on their land in Jan. So for 5 months there are continuous hunts going on here. Maybe a bit to much pressure. Colorado's population has grown a fair amount over the years thus creating more demand for residents to hunt. Perhaps to much pressure. Deer are by drawing only so #'s can be controlled. . The demand to hunt in Colorado has increased dramatically over the years. I see far more non residents when I'm hunting than residents. Just some thoughts.

That's interesting on the lions. My father told me last year was the worse he has seen since he's been hunting 741 and he's been going every year since 1992. 2016 was my last hunt up there and while we saw deer the numbers weren't what they were in years before then. It's disappointing and confusing all at the same time.......looks like weather and hunting pressure may be the key reasons?

Hunted 71 & 711 about 20 years ago and saw mule deer every day and in just about every place we looked. Hunted there again in '16 and saw exactly 7 mule deer. No idea what happened between times.

As I type this, I'm sitting on the deck of the house we're renting in the hills just west of Durango at 205 Ridge Road. Since we arrived on Saturday, 07/28, we've seen a couple dozen does, one really nice buck, but no fawns, and also several coyotes pass through the yard or along CR-142. I had expected to see a lot more deer between Durango and Mesa Verde NP along US-160, but we've only seen a few, no more than a dozen, and maybe two dozen turkeys during our drive back and forth. Haven't seen a single elk, but have seen several feral horses on the Wetherill Mesa side of MVNP.

Well you are just about spitting distance from my house. In my area deer are few. Only one new fawn seen on my place this season . Should be several. As you travel west it is hotter & dryer. Elk are high this time of year . Very unlikely to see one at this elevation. I'm at 7630' & never see elk on my place until some where around the first to middle of Dec. depending on snow. Light or no snow means no elk.

This is supposed to be the monsoon season up there.......have you received any rain?

We have received some rain but only a small percentage of normal. Vegetation on my place is struggling . The Gamble oak brush is alive & leafed out . It is a tough brush. . Grass is absolutely crunchy dead . My pinon trees are making it because they have roots that go to China. Do wish I had better news. Have not been doing any out side work for fear of causing a spark & starting a fire.

Blue tongue?

Can hit hard in dry years. Deer concentrate at limited water sources and disease spreads quickly.

Got some rain last night. More forecast today/tonight ,Thunderstorms now forecast for Wed & Thur. Every little bit helps. Been waiting to see if more deer moved into my place. So far just a handful . I'm sure the deer are very concentrated where ever there is water.

These are typical types of bucks I 'have had regularly on my place every year until this year.

All good looking bucks, especially the one in the first picture.

You ought to come up & look now. I have two small in-mature bucks hanging around . A hand full of does & only spotted one new fawn this year. In all my years living here I have never seen it like this. One years bucks, next year nothing. I just don't understand. That buck in the first picture was never harvested.. Figured we would leave him as a seed buck for the future. Maybe in the years to come will will see his offspring????

Please post a picture this year of the same spots where those photos were taken...

This picture was taken last night. Sorry it's not super clear but was dealing with low evening light. What you see here is a doe with her twin fawns from last year. One is a doe & the other a small buck. This represents my big buck this year. Have not see any harvest size bucks. Just this little guy..
For perspective these horns only represent the last 10 seasons. This is the class of buck I harvest each year.. Never taking more than one buck each season to prevent over harvesting. This year has nothing to offer so far. Can only hope bucks will show up.

For those interested we had some rain here yesterday afternoon & last night.Low of 49 this morning . This is still August even if it is the last day.. For the last week & a half I have noticed that the leaves on the Gamble oak & Mountain mahogany have been turning color to yellow. A bit early for this to be happening. Perhaps fall could be a bit early this year???