What hunt would you burn your points on in Colorado?

[wheatie69]

I personally wouldn't burn 17 points on unit 21.

Well it is that time of year again and wanting to pick all of your brains while this is all fresh in your minds, I will be sitting on 17 points as a resident after the 2017 draw going into 2018 application process. I have been dreaming of a great mule deer hunt for well 17 years. My goal would be to kill a 180" or better buck. I will be to busy this year to apply but I am planning for 2018.

There are so many options out there, I would really love to archery hunt but having that many points tends to create a lot of pressure to be successful so may burn points on a rifle hunt then start over for archery after that. Honestly I have dreamed of killing a giant typical buck since I was a kid and due to such a busy hunt schedule helping friends and family over the years I have found myself with so many points. I wanted to ask others on here with the vast base of knowledge what you would all do if you were in my shoes? I am 36 yrs old and fully capable of getting it done in any terrain. My work schedule gives me quite a bit of free time in September but super busy the rest of the summer before that. I also have time in November as well. This sets me up for either an early or late hunt opportunity.

With that being said I have heard good things about late rifle 21 and 44, but have not been to either unit. Helped my dad kill a great buck in unit 2 a couple of years ago but numbers were down and I was not super impressed with the unit at that time, but still could be a good choice now. Also heard 61 can be great but hard to hunt, I will be there helping my dad elk muzzy hunt this year so I will be getting a feel for what it has to offer. I know there are some great early rifle opportunities up high in the wilderness areas as well (74, 36 and 43). Typically I am extremely busy all summer working in the agriculture industry which eats up most of what would be the good scouting time of the year. Any other areas I should be considering or learning in preparation for what I hope to be a hunt of a lifetime for me!

Thanks for any input and help and good luck to all of you in this year's draw and your hunting adventures!

I personally wouldn't burn 17 resident points in 21. Unless you have some private property to hunt on. The best buck I saw last year 4th season was around 160" and I honestly walked about 30 miles during 4th season. Not impressed.

 

[MountainHigh]

I appreciate the feedback, thanks I have heard similar reports from some others who have hunted that unit.

 

[jimss]

As noted in several posts above 44 is an OTC elk unit. Unfortunately for serious deer hunters the sea of orange OTC elk hunters are a pain in the rear dealing with in that unit! It's obviously a great idea to scout things out with an OTC elk tag but unfortunately all those elk hunters definitely push smart bucks back into the dark timber that 44 is reknown for! A lot of bucks don't even show up in 44 until deep snow and the rut drives them into that unit. In years with decent snow and several years without winterkill 44 can be a magical place. Years with decent snow during the late hunts are so few and far between it's a gamble.

 

[gypsumreaper]

44 has big bucks in it year round, they don't migrate into the unit with hunting pressure. The thing is where they hang out is secret to many locals who have put in many years of scouting. I've hunted 44 for over 18 years and have found the big bucks in every season. Including summer the big bucks are there but not around every tree as many have made it sound over the years, personally without several weeks of scouting under my belt I would not put in for a 44 buck tag. Minnelkchaser put in a lot of work last year and did harvest a great buck, that unit is so different each year that you cannot tell anyone where to go or even give suggestions without having bucks pinpointed for weeks before the hunt. When a friend of mine harvested his 215" buck we had eyes on him for 3 weeks and would trade off daily watching him and learning his patterns, 2 days before 4th season he disappeared on us but we were lucky enough to track him down, he migrated 8 miles from where he was all the other seasons. If we didn't have eyes on him that entire time we never would have found him 4th season. 44 is not a season of can walk into for a weekend and pull a 180" buck without a ton of luck, it had been done but is very rare, even a few locals get skunked every year. If you are seriously going to burn that many points on a unit I'd personally take off the week of the season and probably at least the entire week before.

 

[JimP]

Gypsumreaper, you forgot to add that extra factor. The other hunter that is going to screw up all of your plans that you had been making for a couple of years.

A few years ago I had a real nice buck spotted that would of gone around 200" +- some. I saw him the Tuesday morning before 4th season opened up on Wednesday. I quietly backed out and figured that he should still be in the area the next morning.

Come Wednesday I saw where a truck and a couple of wheelers had driven into the area and taken a old road that is hardly ever used right into where that buck had been courting his herd of does. I never did see that buck or his does again. I don't know if he was poached the night before the hunt started or if he was scared off into the deeper canyon to the north.

I then went looking for my secondary buck. The same thing had happened to him. You just never know.

Then there were the hunters that were waiting south of the Eagle County Airport for a big buck to come out of the timber. They were almost heart broken when I told them that the buck was now down on the golf course in Gypsum chasing does.

 

[gypsumreaper]

That's one of the worst things, especially when people use the roads that are shut off or make their own. Roads in 44 have started getting worse and worse which is one reason I have stopped hunting it for the most part. I will hike in a long ways only to have someone bushwacking in on a 4 wheeler. I now prefer my horseback hunts in wilderness.

 

[MountainHigh]

gypsumreaper, I have the time to go in there and do some serious looking this fall. I will have a better feel for the unit then, I am not exactly excited about hunting a unit crawling with OTC elk hunters either. Time to put some boots on the ground and check the area out. Thanks for all the info and opinions on the unit, it really helps.

 

[MountainHigh]

JimP, That really sucks when you have put in the time and then have that happen. I understand it is the nature of hunting public lands but dang would sure be nice if everyone followed the rules on roads and such.