I spent last year in Colorado's units 18 and 37 2nd rifle season trying to learn to hunt mule deer. I.ve never been there before and didn't know where to start. I got boots on the ground and found what i thought was a good buck and took him home on the second day. My original plan was to backpack way back and spend time glassing but after i located my buck near my camp i couldn't be persuaded to go further back. I now have ?'s. What is a mule deers preferred habitat ? Should i spend time in the "High country" for 2nd rifle ? Should i be looking more in the dark timber ? Is a 4th rifle season a better opportunity ? for GMU 18 37.
Newbie questions.
- Thread starter DDGOOSE676
- Start date
Bonecollector
Veteran member
Mike Eastman's book on Mule Deer would be a good resource to assist you with your questions. Congrats on the mulie!
I've been hunting them all my life and have found their habitat is wherever they decide they want it to be.
high mountains , desert, to farmlands . heavy timber or wide open country. have even see them in the city. was driving through denver several years ago, on the stretch of I-70 known as "the mousetrap", and had six or seven cross the interstate right near the old airport.
congrats on your buck!
pics man, pics!
I'm having alot of trouble loading pics. I get an error 500 message. I'm getting my wife to try and figure it out.
Also how far do most people go back when they backpack ? I've found several off the road spots that are 7 or more miles back. How likely will it be to run into another hunter there ?
Bonecollector
Veteran member
IMHO: After 3 miles, you'll leave 90% of the hunting population behind you. After 5 miles, 99%
If I had a good spot, I would not hesitate to go 10-12 miles for a mulie. Now elk, that's a different story.
If I had a good spot, I would not hesitate to go 10-12 miles for a mulie. Now elk, that's a different story.
D_Dubya
Active Member
In my experience in Colorado “up” is more important than overall miles. Three miles in an easy trail you will still have a bunch of hunters taking their rifles for a hike. If you go 1500 - 2000’ up a side ridge you will leave most of the hunters behind and find game that has not been as disturbed.
RICMIC
Veteran member
I agree that it isn't so much the distance that you travel, but more the terrain that is traversed while doing so. Use an established trail to get you started if necessary, but once you do some bush-wacking or travel thru country where horses can't go you will leave most everyone else including outfitters behind. Do keep in mind that you have to come back out, and hopefully while packing out the remnants of the critter that you shot. Do your due diligence to ensure that there isn't some other easy way into the spot that you are accessing the hard way, or it may just be wasted effort on your part.
ha. been there ,done that a couple times.
nothing worse then hiking up a steep arse hill and finding a fourwheeler at the top
'Your Buck' was where he was for a reason. It would probably be a good idea to analyze that area and see what type of habitat /vegetation / cover was there. Also, there is a fair chance that there may have been other bucks in that area that you may not have seen, or another buck may begin using that area.
