Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 190" Col Mule Deer Hunt?

With the 2015 Colorado Draw hunts looming, I'm looking for a proven outfitter who hunts private land or remote public ground for big mule deer. I have 17 points for Colorado deer now, so I think I can draw into a good area.

Does anyone know or have personal experience with any outfitters who manage and hunt prime ranches that hold the potential for 190" or better bucks. A November 2015 rut hunt would be near perfect. I prefer rifle but would consider MZ.

I also own 14 points for Colorado elk, so a similar 2015 hunt for a big bull in the rut would be attractive also.

Not looking for a low ball, I'm quite willing to pay the going price for the right hunt. Thanks.

Scott Limmer, Comanche Wilderness Outfitters.
Good guy and takes a lot of nice bucks.

Even on property that he doesn't have permission on!!!

I would stay away from him.

I would start with Huntsonora right here on the Fire

Yep, and if cash werent a concern Id hunt in Mexico.

Huntsonora is from Colorado, and Colorado preference points are not going to work very well south of the border...

You got that right pard!

No they won't work in messico. But they will work in colo where huntsonora lives, and also guides AND hunts. win/win.....

Mexico maybe, Alberta for sure. Yes, yes I know tags can be a problem, but quality bucks, while never a slam dunk, are certainly a real possibility.

If cash werent a concern, I'd hunt UT or AZ, and still pick Colorado over mexico..I pm'd the OP with my thoughts.

Oddly enough, I feel my best chance at a 190" buck is staying close to home to hunt the W TX sandhills. Killed 3 there already since 2008. For truly top end bucks and tags you are guaranteed to get, I'd choose Sonora, MX. LO tags in Colorado would probably be a good bet if you know where/who to go with. That being said, 190 class bucks are few and far between no matter where you go.

^^^This^^^ X100

Yup, look him up. He'll give you the straight on CO and I would bank on his word.

Killing a 190-class mule deer is a daunting task.

A 180 will land you in the Honors role of B&C and a 190 will get you into the All Time records.When I started the insanity of chasing mule deer of this caliber the minimum was 195 for typical mule deer.Either are probably more attainable than making the "book" with a non-typical,which is such a long shot that you may as well use up the odds in hitting the lottery instead.You're probably more likely to be hit by lightning than you are of killing a B&C non typical mule deer.

I was looking at some stats on whitetails this evening(I could not find similar stats for mule deer);but for the top producing Boone and Crockett whitetail states,the number of whitetail bucks killed from 2009-2011 that qualified for B&C comprised less than 1% of the total deer harvest. Those were the TOP producing states. I recall seeing similar stats for Canada and recall that the "best" province was Alberta,and the odds of killing a B&C whitetail were a bit better there.......just a "bit".

I would not be shocked to discover that the same numbers for mule deer are even lower,because there are fewer of them continent wide.Which means that the total number of mule deer bucks killed that score 190 or better comprise less than 1% of the total harvest of mule deer bucks killed continent wide.Someone like Drummond might know more about these numbers than I do, but I suspect I am not far off.

Point being, if a guy is serious about killing a 190 class mule deer,he might want to consider that he likely won't do it on a single hunt. If he gets very lucky, he may....but he should consider that he may have to invest 2,3,4, or more seasons in an area known to produce that class of buck.

Unfortunately,this does not square up very well if the unit he hunts is a special draw unit for which he may get a license only once every 3-5 or more years apart;places like some units in Utah, Colorado, Nevada,New Mexico, Wyoming,etc.

Personally, and if I were to go guided(you may have no other choice in some places),I would try to find a situation that (a) grew deer of that caliber, and (b) provided an opportunity for a license every year for (say) 2,.3, or 4 years.

Why the same place? Because I have found over the years that the longer you hunt the same place, the same area,the more you know about it...the more intimate you become with the game and its' habits and the greater the likelihood you will encounter the buck of a lifetime,so long as he lives there in the first place.Deer dynamics being what they are, a "hot" area may decline due to hard winters, predation, or other factors. I'd want to squeeze as much time into a really good area as I could while it lasts.

If a guy can afford eastern Colorado for 2-4 or 5 years,I think he will kill a buck of that caliber. They are certainly there. But it isn't the only place.

Half the equation is finding a deer of this caliber. The other half is actually killing him...that's not always the same thing.

Just my view of the matter.

That was as good of a summation as I've ever heard Bob. Very, very well done.

I didn't want to downplay contacting Drum. He knows his stuff. I also forgot about the mule deer promised land....the Jicarilla. You better have a pocket full of money tough.

JG as you likely know I was not downplaying Drummond at all because he seems to me to be one of those rare guides/outfitters who truly savvy's mule deer of that caliber.....and they are VERY FEW! Point being that a guy like Drummond likely books up...they all do, or competition for tags may be such that it's hard to draw or otherwise get a license.

A guy needs a game plan if a mule deer of this caliber is the objective,which means having 2-3 options to pursue.He should have more than one place to go.


I'm simply trying to underscore the difficulty of killing a buck of that caliber.

I personally know and have hunted with exactly three people who have killed a handful of bucks that gross 190" or better; I have "met" a couple or three more on the Internet,you and Pat Sinclair being among them.Huntsman on here has posted some toads. They all have one thing in common and that is that they live in the country they hunt and are very hardcore and diligent mule deer hunters.

For a traveling hunter,who lives far from great (not just "good") mule deer country,only gets a few days with a tag in his hand, and cannot spend a lot of time scouting,the task of killing even one is very difficult for obvious reasons,among them being that he likely can't distinguish between a 180 and a 190 class buck...he needs a real pro familiar with the nuances of judging them on the hoof....he will kill a 180 every time he sees one and well he should....a 180 is a very big mule deer.

As well it takes a lot of time and effort in good country just to see one.In 40 odd years of hunting some of the best areas in the US and Canada, I figure I have seen maybe 8-9 of them,alive.

In the past 10-12 years, I have seen two....both jumped in heavy cover at 50 yards and about 30 feet while still hunting. I killed neither one. I went into deep depression,knowing that I had "blown it" and hit the booze for weeks after...

Of course none of this means that a guy should not get out there and try for one.

The Jicarilla is, far as I know today,one of the best places in the lower 48 to kill a buck like this, unless things have changed. That country has been an historic producer for decades....if a guy can afford it that is.

Aaron Neilson 100% for anything big in Colorado

He is a bona-fide giant slayer

I think being fixated on score is the wrong approach. the score IMO doesn't really tell the story of how large the buck is. I have seen bucks that score off the charts and you would never dream they scored that well. I like bucks that look BIG, I like wide bucks but they typically score less.

Bob,

Both very good posts, and match my experience.

I killed some good mule deer bucks in my 20's, but wasn't really interested in score. For a while in my late 30's and 40's I became more interested in score, but not obsessive, partly because I quickly came to the conclusion that an older buck is always more interesting to hunt than a young one that may score better, however we measure score.

Have killed two bucks grossing over 190, and helped companions kill a couple others. Mine were taken in Montana and Sonora, but also saw at least one that easily would have qualified in Alberta--and could have easily killed him. Unfortunately, it was in one of those areas where hunting is only allowed three days of the week, so you can only "scout" the other four. Had him bedded down at 400 on a scouting day, and at 150 yards the next day, when the shooting season opened--but by then he was 150 yards outside my tag's area.

Most people haven't seen enough 190+ mule deer on the ground to really be sure of what that means. A 190 buck in Sonora looks very different than a 190 buck in Alberta, because Alberta bucks probably average twice as large in body, but not near as wide in the ears. But generally you DON'T get a lot of time to decide anyway.

Have even seen people who claimed to know mule deer look at a 23" wide 4x4 on the ground and say he was was 27". Have seen others look at a photo of a 200" buck and say it was no more than 160". One of the bucks on my wall is 27 inches wide, with "crab-claw" forks, but so heavy it takes a very jaded hunter to not say "wow."

Got him in Wyoming, and also have killed a couple of good bucks in Colorado, but am just as confident of finding one in Montana. Have seen a couple of other bucks that would go at least 190 here. One was on public land in the Missouri Breaks, two miles away just at dusk, and never found him again. Another was on a private ranch near the North Dakota border, and he was never seen again either--and not just by me but anybody else I knew in the area. Maybe he crossed the border.

Saw three bucks that would have gone at least 190 the one time I hunted Sonora. Two were killed, the one I got and another a companion killed after that, while I hunted with him. That friend had hunted Sonora NINE times previously without killing a "muy grande." The third was a buck I saw an hour before killing my big one, and was so similar they could have been twins. This is apparently unusual, according to the guy who finally got one on his 10th trip. (I am sometimes lucky, which definitely helps.)

I used to feel pretty confident of killing a good buck on public land in Montana, but these days the mule deer population in most areas is down due to bad winters and, in some areas, over-hunting. I wouldn't bet on even seeing a good buck on public land except in a very hard-to-hunt areas, and would suggest to anybody who really wants one that the odds are best in Sonora or Alberta.

I'd never say anything crazy like "it's not about the size" or something like that, because everybody likes to kill a nice big critter. But, if you do come to Colorado to chase a buck, make sure you enjoy the hell out of your hunt, take a lot of photos, be thankful you're not at work, and don't make it all about a number of inches. It seems like a ton of people are so hell bent on a number they have in their head that they forget to do the other things....

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