General Western Mule Deer questions

[buckchaser]

Greetings. The elk hunt I was planning for late September is looking uncertain due to changing circumstances. All is not lost however - a window of opportunity in mid November to early December has emerged. I know that many states have open rifle seasons during this time period, but I'm pretty ignorant about the details at this point. Any input on the following questions would be appreciated.

My criteria for the hunt is pretty simple. I would much prefer to backpack in a more "wilderness" setting, would like access to lots of public land where pressure isn't going to be too heavy, and trophy size isn't really that important to me. I will have at least one hunting partner with me, maximum of two.

Which states should I target to meet the criteria above? Any input appreciated.

 

[BleuBijou]

All you are going to get now are left overs or Pay for land owner voucher here in Colorado. However, I know there may be some o.k. places that will be left over. We will just have to wait and see.

 

[Boehunter]

Depending on where your from or if you have any preference points saved i would say colorado or a cow tag in another state say wyoming.

 

[trkytrack2]

What are you actually wanting to hunt? Elk or deer? The post title says mule deer but in your post you say elk? In Colorado the 3rd. rifle season is Nov.1-9. The 4th. rifle season is Nov. 12-16. I know you can buy over-the-counter antlered elk tags for the 3rd. season and hunt the over-the-counter units but I'm not sure about the 4th. season. Tags for the fourth season may be all draw.
All deer tags are draw only but there may be some left over tags. If so, most of them are either private land or doe only. Draw deadline was April 1st.
Look on the CPW website for information: cpw.state.co.us or call 303-297-1192 for information.
Wyoming, Montana and Idaho might be worth looking into.

 

[Musket Man]

I dont know of many places with leftover or otc tags for anything mid November to early December. That would also not be a good time to backpack into alot of wilderness areas. Montana should have some tags left over and that goes into late nov. Arizona has otc archery deer tags in dec/jan. Nebraska has otc muzzleloader tags in dec.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

Nevada can meet this for you but you better hurry the apps will close soon. Also ID has OTC tags you can get on line and pack into some beautiful country.

 

[Hilltop]

I know Nebraska isn't considered part of the West for this forum's purposes but non-residents can purchase muzzleloader tags over the counter. The season runs December 1st through December 31st. The tag is good state wide and there are some great hunts to be had for Mule Deer and Whitetail Deer. Western Nebraska has some good pieces of public to hunt as well in the western part of the state. If you get out and hike, you will be a minority. Most guys road hunt or hunt fairly close to the roads.

 

[BleuBijou]

i know nebraska isn't considered part of the west for this forum's purposes but non-residents can purchase muzzleloader tags over the counter. The season runs december 1st through december 31st. The tag is good state wide and there are some great hunts to be had for mule deer and whitetail deer. Western nebraska has some good pieces of public to hunt as well in the western part of the state. If you get out and hike, you will be a minority. Most guys road hunt or hunt fairly close to the roads.

sssshhhhhhhh!!!!!!

 

[Hilltop]

sssshhhhhhhh!!!!!!

lol... sorry. I have a bunch of private to hunt so it doesn't bug me if people come hunt the public.

 

[MWScott72]

If you're after elk, you could apply for a cow hunt in Utah. Application period doesn't start till May, and some of the hunts run from early October all the way to the end of January. Won't get any horns for the wall, but the meat sure is good...

 

[Boehunter]

like musket man said montana hasnt sold out of there big game combo tags thats an option.

 

[Boehunter]

so how much does a nebraska muzzleloader tag cost? my wife has family around north platte much public around there?

 

[Musket Man]

so how much does a nebraska muzzleloader tag cost? my wife has family around north platte much public around there?

I want to say $200something. pretty reasonable as far as NR deer tags go anyways. I been thinking about trying it some year.

 

[Boehunter]

i wonder if you can use a scope or open sights only i know north dakota its either 1 power scope or open sights. I will have to go read up.

 

[Musket Man]

As I understand it you can use any scope and you can even use smokeless powder. Its a bit different from WA where you cant even use a 209. lol

 

[Alabama]

$20 habitat stamp and $209 deer permit. Scopes, in-lines and smokeless are all legal if I remember correctly.

 

[trkytrack2]

so how much does a nebraska muzzleloader tag cost? my wife has family around north platte much public around there?

Non-resident statewide buck---$521; November Firearm---$209; Muzzleloader---$209; Habitat Stamp---$20
Info at: Nebraska Game and Parks website.

 

[trkytrack2]

As I understand it you can use any scope and you can even use smokeless powder. Its a bit different from WA where you cant even use a 209. lol

Legal means: scopes; 209 primers; any type of powder; sabots.
Public land hunting areas are available. You can download a copy of the Big Game Regs. with maps and info online.

 

[Musket Man]

So basically anything you stuff a bullet in the front of is legal? $209 is pretty cheap for a NR tag anywhere!

 

[AT Hiker]

The issue with NE is the deer are not as big, the public parcels are not as big (so you have deer right across the line on private most of the time), its not "Western" style hunting, and the Nov rifle hunt is a crazy circus.

Top that with a major blue tongue, EHD or whatever it was outbreak and now they have lost 1/2 their herd in some places and the fire a couple years ago drove some animals off public.

Im headed out there the first of May to turkey hunt so I am anxious to see what the fire aftermath looks like.