Need some advice 16 pts for Muleys in Colorado.

[TonyZ]

Hello everyone, I'm a new member and this is my first post. First I would just like to say how great it is to read all the posts and admire all the people that have the same love of being on a mountain somewhere and chasing after a big ol' muley! There's nothing better! With that being said I have 16 pp in Colorado for mule deer and I have been putting in for the latest area 10 rifle hunt all this time. After talking to the cdw and with the small amount of tags they give to out of state residents( I think there was only 1 tag for nr for that period this season) I was wondering is it worth it to keep putting in for that hunt or should I I look somewhere else in the state? I am a die hard trophy hunter and I won't pull the trigger unless it's a true giant. Killed multiple 28-29 inch bucks but never a 30+ so obviously that something I'm really looking for. Never been to 10 myself but have buddies that have a couple times and killed some great bucks. Any info that you could offer me would be greatly appreciated. I'm 47 years old in good shape so I figure this is probably the last time I will physically be able to go anywhere rugged, as next time I have this many points I'll probably be too old to hike til I drop... Lol! Thanks, Tony

 

[packmule]

30" bucks will be where you find them....some will be impressive and feel like points well spent, some won't. I don't know if you can narrow down units and have any kind of certainty that you'll find one. However, can compare tag allocation to estimated deer population (with good buck:doe estimates) to get a feel for an area that could produce more.

 

[hoshour]

You'll get a lot more help if you participate in the forum for awhile. There are a lot of great, knowledgeable guys here, but a 1 and done post is not likely to get much advice. Look forward to having you join us.

 

[Ridn9high]

I'd look at the Colorado statistics and see which areas taking 15+ points to draw. There are quite a few great 3rd and 4th season tags you can draw. Couple in the gunnison area and a few in the Eagle area. There are also some great early rifle tags where I think a monster would be easier to find while he's still in velvet. It would be a lot tougher hunt above timberline, but very rewarding.

 

[TonyZ]

Thanks to all for the input. I will do some extensive research in those areas and try and make an educated guess. I realize that it's extremely difficult to find a true giant these days but obviously after 16 years of waiting I don't want to make a bad choice. Has anyone out there ever hunted in area 10 and if so what did you think? Thanks again for taking the time to help out!