Colorado unit 41, 41, and 421

[archer22]

Drew a tag for the the third rifle season for mule deer. Would love to hear from anyone who has hunted this before. What to expect and maybe where you've had success? Thanks!

 

[hunter1975]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-09-10 AT 10:15AM (MST)[p]You been out there to look around?

 

[Ed]

I hunted third season 421 south of Colbran in 2008. I never saw a single buck.

 

[bonedaddy]

as long as you get away from the roads you might find some good ones. A lot of it is extremely thick oak brush. Oh and TONS of people

 

[88man]

recent years have been lots of hunters and deer numbers way down.

 

[archer22]

Not much at all. I have a buddy that lives out there and will be doing alot of scouting, just wondering what I'm in for. Hearing alot about crowds and numbers that are down. Hope we aren't in for a major let down. Historically, it looks like harvests are pretty good, but I wonder how realistic that is.

 

[NickJ1980]

I haven't checked the aerial survey count numbers, but from what I've seen the numbers are probably down some. There are a lot of hunters, but a lot of them are hunting elk. There can be decent bucks but it's not a gimme by any stretch of the imagination.

A lot of the stuff I'd want to hunt is private, but there are pieces here and there that are public. Spend some time with a good map and hunt it a section at a time if that's what it takes.
Ask around and see if you can get on some of the hay fields around Colbran, Rifle, and Silt. Most will turn you down, but I've had some fair success getting on for doe hunts at least.