CO Deer Advice

[bigsky2]

My dad and I have 9 points for mule deer and I am hoping to gather some info for us. We would like to find an area where it would be reasonable to take 180" bucks if we hunted hard. Are there any areas that fit this description that can be drawn with 9 points? If not, how many points would it take to draw one of these areas? My dad is 54 and in good shape, but I would rather draw a tag sooner rather than later. At the same time, we don't want to settle for a lesser unit though because we can usually find some 170's bucks every year where we live.

I was also wondering about what seasons are usually the best? I would think the later the better because of the rut, but maybe the weather can screw up these hunts.

How are the deer doing in the state? I know the winters took a toll on them a few years back. Have they rebounded or do you guys suggest we hold out a few more years? Feel free to PM me.

 

[In God We Trust]

Your two best seasons are the early rifle season or the 4th season. It depends on your ability to hunt rough terrain and what kind of terrain you would rather hunt. The early rifle seasons are going to be at or near timberline. You can get any archery tag in the state with the exception of 61 and 201. You also have enough points for a lot of the 4th season tags and most if not all of the early rifle tags. As far as burning your points or not there a lot of units you can keep saving for but the point creep is not your friend. The deer in Colorado overall are doing good as far as western deer herds go but Colorado isn't immune from declining deer numbers. You should be able to draw a great tag with 9 points or you can wait 9 more years and draw a tag that takes 18.