Best State to Bowhunt Muleys

A

aiduane

Guest
Eastern whitetail bowhunter here looking for the best state to bow hunt Mule Deer.

Which state do you get the most oppertunity at a P&Y or better Mule Deer?

Which state has the best draw odds or over the counter archery tags?

What state had the greatest number of deer?

Which state has the biggest bucks?

I plan on hunting with an outfitter. Any advice you can lend will be appreciated. I am just starting my research for a 2009 hunt.
 
Colorado would be the answer to most of your questions. Arizona has OTC tags, Idaho has deer tags that are OTC with a cap.


Ransom
 
CO, no doubt. AZ does have nice bucks in the Southern desert units that are OTC, but the numbers do not even come close to comparing to CO. How good of shape are you in? Are you willing to do a pack in trip? Many of the early season alpine bow hunts are easy to draw. If you go with an outfitter you should have even more opportunity. I'm not discounting AZ as I hunt there every year, but there just isn't the deer density that exists in most of Colorado.

http://www.wildernessathlete.org/ because the most important piece of equipment you own is YOU!
 
yeah utah sucks i would stay away escpecially the northern area arizona colrado wyoming and idaho now thats where id go lol
 
Colorado is with out a doubt the best place to do archery mule deer hunt. I would reccomend Wyoming but in order to wyoming's wilderness areas as a non resident you must either have an outfitter or a local resident with to accompany you. But in my opininon archery hunting muleys is one of the hardest hunts you can possibly do in the west if not any where. Primarly because you can't call them in like elk and most of the big bucks get way up high in late august throught september so making a stalk in an above timberline enviorment is a rather challenging thing.
 
I sure see a lot CO folks hunting deer down here in AZ.

I have heard you can shoot some big bucks in Kansas,Nebraska and SD and you aint gotta do some elaborate pack in trip.I'm thinkin on maybe hunting these states as well as AZ.
 
No brainer-Colorado.

Take a quick look at the record books and it becomes obvious pretty fast.

Next best, I'd say Nevada.
 
No brainer- AZ =rut
CO- no rut
3 seasons as compared to CO- no brainer
look at all the people talkin about CO- to many hunters for me!
but ride a mule and walk 7 miles a day for a 150 thats fine
I will sit and glass any day and get an OTC tag every year!
Ever here of the Kiabab? It is not in CO!
You don't even have to worry about snow here. Don't even have to ride a broke down trail mule. The rut OTC with good temps- now that is all she wrote!
BIG RUTTING BUCKS
BEAUTIFUL WEATHER
no stock or pack trips
AZ all the way
CO guys-- show me your pics-- I got mine!
www.southwesthuntingadventures.com
 
Too funny.

Almost as funny as the highjacking of the "Huntin Fool" thread but not quite.

Third choice would be Wyoming...:)
 
If you wanna pack in and die from oxygen deprivation along with severe blisters on your feet or your an Olympic Triathelete contender,CO is the place for you.

The AZ desert rut has beautiful weather and gentle country to hunt in DEC & JAN. The tag is OTC and elv is around 2000'

The bucks are as good as Mexico same gene pool.Its all the Sonoran dersert gene pool.

AZ also offers a archery hunt in Aug into Sept if you don't kill on that hunt you can use the same tag in Dec.But in Jan you have to buy a new tag for the next year if you dont kill in Jan you can hunt the AUG thru SEPT on the same tag.And to boot you can hunt Javalina in Jan on the same hunt so you get two tags for one hunting trip. I'm not sure if CO has the same offer
 
mesquitehunter

Okay you talked me into it. I'm leaving this thursday for a 10 day Arizona archery deer hunt.


Ransom
 
Very amusing. Dude, pick a county anywhere in So AZ. Now pick a county anywhere in western CO. Stick to public land and OTC or easy to draw units in both states. Take the average hunting experience and you will see way more bucks in CO.

I'm not knocking AZ, I'll be there in a few days. It is a great place to be in Jan and it's a ton of fun to chase bucks during the rut. The bucks are definitely there and some nice ones too, but it's the freaking desert. Deer densities are low, even in Sonora that is the case. It's nothing like the numbers of deer found in CO, especially book class deer. There is no comparison. Don't make me pull out my P&Y record book and compare the number of book bucks coming out of AZ versus CO.


http://www.wildernessathlete.org/ because the most important piece of equipment you own is YOU!
 
I have hunted CO and saw twice as many bucks up there because of the lack of oxygen to the brain.I swear have never seen so many twins in my life.

Who cares if you see 200 deer a day in CO.You can only kill one,besides In the AZ desert water is always an option,and if you spot&stalk you can only stalk one deer at a time.Not like yourself out chasing them.

In Co. on the summer hunt what is the big buck little buck ratio? I know in the "FREAKING DESERT"during the rut it's about 5 to 1 and we'll still see on the average of 60 or more a deer a day.So what do you consider "LOW DENSITY".

Besides the way I hunt is the same way Maddglasser hunts
WE GLASS LIKE MADD and if you don't you'll always think the "DEER DENSITY IS LOW." It's not how you glass but where you glass and it's not where you glass but how you glass.
 
Oregon is the best...

Here is my P&Y achery buck. Public land, buy over the counter...He had only one piece of velvet left on the right side. 8X9

muleyman

477ba5c3148ccadc.jpg
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-02-08 AT 08:13AM (MST)[p]I've bow hunted them all over the years. Arizona has been a stable part of my hunts for the last 25+ years.....both early Northern hunts and late desert hunts. Although it's a fun hunt this time of year and I've arrowed some good bucks there, I couldn't compare it my CO hunts the last two years. Far more trophy bucks seen in CO.....no hunters......in one of the most beautiful high country locations around.

The deer numbers are down in Arizona. Sure you'll see bucks during the rut.....as you would anywhere else during the rut....but they're not even close (numbers) to other mule deer states.

Kiabab? Well, I've arrowed my best buck there, so that place holds a personal favorite for me. But it's NOTHING like it was in the mid-80's in terms of trophy bucks seen/taken. Last year was one of the worst they've seen in years......especially for trophy bucks taken. (archery hunt)

If you want an unbiased answer for the best state to bowhunt for trophy P&Y bucks, look at the record books and see which state is producing the most record class bucks NOW......it's Colorado. Don't discard New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada, and yes.....Utah. Arizona is near the bottom of the list for entries received. It is what it is.

BOHNTR )))---------->
 
Laugh all you want, but if a guy is willing to work, doesn't mind the cold, and likes spot-and-stalk then Utah has great archery opportunity, chasing 180-200 inch bucks during the rut. I have been in CO during the archery hunt and those High Country bucks in Aug-Sept can be a hard trick, especially with the OTC elk hunters, early muzz, early rifle. WY is the same way. That is my limited archery experience.... 3 states. I'd like to try AZ one day, maybe Kansas next year.

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www.sagebasin.com
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I would say Utah, the archery tag for the most part is over the counter, but it is limited in numbers. You can hunt archery from Aug-to the end of Dec. You get to hunt areas that are holding outstanding deer. You get to hunt these bucks in velvet and all the way through the rut. I am sorry but for pure archery fun, Utah is number one in my books.
 
Next year (if I read the proposed regs right) will be the first year NR's can bowhunt muleys in Ks. And they still have to draw a "stamp" that allows either species to be taken. There is walk-in land available but the tracts are tiny compared to what western hunters are used to (most tracts are under 600 acres). I think you guys from out west will be very dissapointed when you see what your up against here in Ks. It's very typical for your deer to move on and off of walk-in areas while your hunting them. The deer jumps a fence onto an adjacent property and your done with that deer for the day. The terrain also makes spot and stalk more like spot and "crawl" or "drag" to get into position. Also very few bucks over 170 the last few years although the age structure improved a bit this past year. I'm going to give Co. a try next year and So. Az. too if the wife doesn't threaten to kill me.
 
all i will say is check out my p&y burro buck from the freakin desert! no it not the monster buck we have down here but a big buck,
 
I agree with Packout and utfireman. Utah offers a three and a half month archery hunt OTC and has some absolute monsters that get taken every year. It costs a resident $35.00 for this tag. Hard to get any better than that.

PRO

Define, develop, and sustain BOTH trophy and opportunity hunts throughout the state of Utah.
 
I don't know why you Co. guys are arguing with the Az. guys.

Just node your head and agree and tell everyone about the hugh bucks that are running all over the Az. desert and pretty soon those OTC tags will be draw tags.
 
Seriously, AZ is where I have hunted all my life and it's pretty much all I know. It's not much, but it's all I've got. I can't wait to hunt the high country of Colorado some day for a real archery mule deer adventure. AZ is below average for deer and if you guys keep saying it's so great, what little we have will be a flippin draw soon, so shut the heck up!

RockyMtnOyster
 
i want the draw here n az, it will only make the hunt better in the future so that way people will have to choose either a rifle or a bow. sorry guys just how i feel.
 
I have hunted just about every western state out the with my bow.I have many bucks over 160 all the way up to 222.This time of yesr it N.M. or Az and if you hunt hard you will find a buck over 160.Colo is great but unless you hike or pack in you will be in a lot of out state hunters as well.Why does the P&Y book have to define the best state.how many texas plates have you seen in colo while hunting
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-05-08 AT 02:04PM (MST)[p]If you plan on hunting with an outfitter I hear there are always big muleys coming out of eastern Colorado, too.
 
OK so do any of you Pro CO folks hunt the Fryingpan Wilderness?? I have been eyeballing that place some.
 
I agree if you go with a outfitter, eastern Colorado produces alot of big mulies. Or have access to private.
Pretty good whitetails too.
Alberta also has big bucks, but you have to have a outfiter.
Both are easy to hunt, farmland and CRP.
 
I dont mind the NM bow season, I dont care how many deer I see-I'm just looking for one. The units are big, hunting pressure and hunter numbers are low and if you work hard you can kill a brute! I'm sure I lost alot of you guys at "work hard"

Son
 
Just got back from se NM and let me tell you we had a ball. Lots of deer and saw maybe 30 shooters. Blew two stalks on 180 class deer. Only problem was wind was blowing 35-50 last three days. Will be back next year.
 
Definitely not Utah cause that 204 1/8 Utah archery buck on the cover of EBJ was really from another state.............

No matter what some of the Utards say, there are some bruisers running around there.

Good luck and hunt hard!

WP
 
That is a beautiful buck, almost as good as that 250 class bow buck from COLORADO in the same EBJ.:)
 
CAN ANYONE TELL MY MADGLASSERS POST WAS TAKEN OFF THIS THREAD WITH ALL THE DESERT BUCKS THEY HAVE TAKEN,
 

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