Colorado GMUs 22 or 30, 3rd Season

LAST EDITED ON Jan-05-18 AT 02:27PM (MST)[p]My 72 year old dad has accumulated 9 NR preference points for deer. I posted in the Mule Deer forum but thought I might get more useful info here as well. He usually just goes on a cow elk hunt with me every year, but his knee has started acting up and I think it's time to cash in his points before something happens that keeps him from really enjoying the experience. I did some research on GoHunt and got narrowed down to GMU 22, 3rd season as a likely suitable tag for his situation. I've personally hunted units 10, 18, 20, 21, 28, 30, and 38 at one time or another, but never unit 22. I've driven through unit 22 quite a few times and it looks like excellent deer habitat. Looking at it on Google Earth and OnX though, it looks riddled with roads and I suspect gets hammered with truck and ATV traffic tied to OTC elk hunters. I hunted unit 30 for first season elk this year, didn't see many deer or elk, but loved the unit. He might be able to draw a 3rd season tag in unit 30 this year, though it'll be a near thing. Does anyone here have any recent experience or input on either unit? Feel free to PM me. Thank you!

Like I said in my previous post 18 or 28 4th season can be a really quality tag to have. I would have shared some good intel on the hunt but you have no intention of burning his points on this hunt. Good luck hunting 22 or 30. Been there done that. Let me know how that works for you. Good luck.

I have no doubt a unit 18 or 28 fourth season tag can be a good tag to have. I also know that tag takes 1 to 2 NR preference points to draw. If my dad?s knee holds up, he might be able to draw that tag in a few years after using his current points. But he will never have 9 points again. I just can't see spending that many points on an otherwise easy to draw tag. Beyond that, so much of 18 and 28 is relatively high altitude and heavily timbered. I love hunting those units, but they have proven tough on my dad at his age and coming from basically sea level. He got altitude sickness hunting in the Indian Peaks Wilderness with me a few years ago. I would love to hear about your experiences hunting units 22 and 30. And if he's still doing this in a few years, I would happily pick your brain regarding units 18 and 28 fourth season.