I'd like to use my 14 deer points on CO this year, preferably on a 4th season hunt. With that number of points, I'm concentrating on the units in the NW corner which is closest to Ogden, UT where I live. I'm looking at units 3, 4, 5, 11, and 12. If anyone has hunted these units during the 4th rifle, would you please let me know of your experience and any recommendations you might have. I'm looking for a 180+ buck (isn't everybody?) and have a 4wd and ATV and plan to spend a week hunting. I have always hunted DIY, public land but would consider a reasonable outfitter or trespass fee hunt. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Colorado 4th season rifle with 14 points
- Thread starter sptsman4
- Start date
CODAK
Active Member
It’s always tough to ask for a lot one your first post to a forum. Those areas get pounded with hunters, but there are always big deer in CO
180 in those units would be a tough proposition on public land. You may want to investigate winterkill in the NW corner the past few years. All of those units are OTC elk plus offer a gob of deer tags. The few older age class bucks that exist likely are found on private land. There is the chance that a 180 buck may wander onto public land if the rut kicks in but you'll have to be super lucky! I think you would be a lot better off using your pref pts elsewhere.
Thanks. With so few tags for the 4th season, I was hoping for the bigger buck that escaped the earlier seasons and migrated into the Winter range for the does during the rut. I photograph these bucks in WY on the Winter range after the season in Nov thru Jan and they are rarely seen during the hunt! Are there any areas similar to that that I might look at? Or just general info like "most of the deer in unit 5 migrate to Winter in WY by mid Nov" or "most of the deer in unit 4 have migrated into unit 3 by then, check the area around xyz".
Thanks. I was hoping there might be some larger bucks on the Winter range with the does during the rut. Did they have significant winterkill in that area? What other area would you suggest that I look at? Maybe 3rd season in unit 61? I'm not going to have 14 pts again so I need to get it right this time!
MuleyHunter
Active Member
The only way to do well in 61 during 3rd season would be on private. Unit 61 has not been good for big bucks for some time now. The only way I'd do 61 for a big buck would be archery before the velvet comes off....
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minn elk chaser
Active Member
- Jan 6, 2014
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I agree with Muley Hunter that unit 61 is over rated for quality of bucks. Have spent much time in that unit and not seeing allot of deer that would meet your 180 range. Sure there are good bucks in 61 but may be hard to find in 3rd season without some snow. Unit 35 may have better deer in it.
JimP
Administrator
35 quite possibly does have better deer in it and possibly better deer than a lot of the state. But the problem with 35 is all the private in it. The deer like to stay up high until the snows push them out and if next year is like this year the deer will still be up high on the private in January.
Thanks. I was also looking at 66 and 67 but it looks like those units had significant winter-kill and the number of tags is reduced 60-65%. Right now, I'm just going by the number of points it takes to draw and assuming that if it takes a lot of points, it must be pretty good. Doesn't look like that is necessarily true though. Another couple of units that popped up were 53 3rd and 21 2nd season. Looks like 21 has lots of tags though and I'm not sure 2nd season would be very good and I don't have enough to draw 3rd. Another that's still on my list is unit 1. I've hunted it before and it's a tough hunt and not many big bucks--but they're there. Very few tags for both 2nd and 3rd, in fact, of the 4 tags for 3rd, no NR were drawn even with lots of points.
Thanks. I hadn't looked at 35. But if it takes snow to push them off private, I'm not sure I'd gamble on that for next year. Here in UT we haven't had much snow and the temps are like springtime and I'm thinking it may stay that way for awhile. Never know but I'm hoping for a solid unit without the weather gamble.
Thanks. Yeah, I'd like to avoid a lot of private if possible. And I wouldn't bet on any more snow next year. Any other suggestions?
MuleyHunter
Active Member
Unit 53 can be very good if you get some weather up higher before or during season. I would not hunt unit 21 during 2nd season for mule deer with your points.
JimP
Administrator
Right now we need to do a reality check.
Looking for a 180+ buck deer is going to be a hard job even in the best units in the state of Colorado. I have live in unit 44 for over 35 years and in all those years I have perhaps seen only 4 or 5 bucks that I would say go over 180, and that was even during the winter after all of the hunts were over with.
I know a doctor from Utah that came over here last November and he hunted the whole 4th season in 44 and on the last day they ran into a 218" buck which he shot. Other than that he didn't see one over 180.
Looking for a 180+ buck deer is going to be a hard job even in the best units in the state of Colorado. I have live in unit 44 for over 35 years and in all those years I have perhaps seen only 4 or 5 bucks that I would say go over 180, and that was even during the winter after all of the hunts were over with.
I know a doctor from Utah that came over here last November and he hunted the whole 4th season in 44 and on the last day they ran into a 218" buck which he shot. Other than that he didn't see one over 180.
4 or 5 over 180"? In the past THIRTY.....FIVE.... years? in 44? On winter range? Seriously?
JimP
Administrator
Alright so I exaggerated on the low side. But you will see a lot more that are under 180 than you will see over it and a lot of them in the 160-170 range.
minn elk chaser
Active Member
- Jan 6, 2014
- 332
- 72
It doesn't matter what unit you choose you still need to be lucky and having weather is so important. I know guys with mid twenties preference points and still go through the same what unit to apply for. Pick a unit and learn all you can about it, but more important is how everything lines up for your hunt. Most of the people on this forum are hard working hunters but sometimes things just don't work out the way you may want. GOOD LUCK..
Thanks. I know the genetics in the Gunnison basin units are impressive but I'm concerned about the winterkill and # of tags being cut. Plus, it looks like some pretty steep country for a 70 yr old! I was also directed to unit 22 for 3rd and 6 and 15 for 4th. Unit 21 has better success than 22 but actually unit 6 looks pretty good based on Google and statistics. Does anybody have any info on unit 6 4th? Meeker CWD suggested that unit 11 4th would be the best of their units. It only has 13 tags which sounded great until I discoved that there are also 1000 elk tags at the same time!
Yes, I would expect there to be quite a few more 160-170 bucks than 180's. That seems to be the line that separates the men from the boys. Any winterkill info for the Gunnison Basin units as a whole this year and last? Seems like I heard that the tags may be cut pretty drastically this year. Any other units you could suggest? Right now, I'm looking at 22 3rd, 11 4th and 6 4th as the best units with my points. If you have any info on those units I would appreciate it.
hoshour
Veteran member
It's not the NW corner, but I would take a serious look at Unit 70 in 4th season and hunt the sage and lower slopes above the sage.
hoshour
Veteran member
I'm with JimP on the reality check, especially if by a 180 buck you mean typical. Colorado puts about 16 typical bucks a year into B&C with a 180" minimum score. If you want to say that half the B&C-eligible bucks don't get entered, that's 32 bucks a year from over 28,000 deer harvested each year. Lots of big bucks came out of units that took less than 14 points.
Having 14 points doesn't buy a 180" typical buck for the average hunter. It takes a lot of work, usually in a unit you know well and not a little luck.
If you are able to hire an outfitter and buy that local knowledge and lots of previous hard work, it will up your odds exponentially.
Having 14 points doesn't buy a 180" typical buck for the average hunter. It takes a lot of work, usually in a unit you know well and not a little luck.
If you are able to hire an outfitter and buy that local knowledge and lots of previous hard work, it will up your odds exponentially.