Colorado High Country Mule Deer Question.

Since adulthood took me away from my childhood home of northern Colorado, I have been building 11 non-resident points and I am looking to burn these points soon (next year or in the next few years).

I have chosen to hunt an early rifle high country deer. I have
narrowed it down to these hunt codes.

I was hoping to get some insight on quality of these hunts. I am not new to colorado rugged terrrain hunting. I would be happy with a 170+ buck. I plan on bivy hunting. no horses.

Only 1 unit will take me another few years to draw (74) is it worth the wait?

I probably wont be able to get into the area and be able to scout much before the season. If anything I would get there a few days earlier to scout.

If you were in my shoes what unit would you choose?


Unit: 36 (Eagles Nest Wilderness)
Unit: 471
Unit: 65 (Above 11,000 ft)
Unit: 74 (Above Timberline)
Unit: 43 (Maroon Bells Wilderness)
Units: 44, 45, 444 (Holy Cross Wilderness)
Units: 47 (Hunter-Frying Pan Wilderness)
Units: 48, 56,481, 561 (Above Timberline
Units: 82, 86, 861 (Above Timberline)
Unit: 12, 231, 24, 25, 26 (Flattop Wilderness)


Thanks

A scouting trip is going to make any of these hunts much easier. High country deer hunts are not "show up and hunt" deer hunts. There may be NO deer above timber in your entire basin. I know this from experience. You may be wasting 11 pts if you don't scout. Scouting in August will allow you to have a much better hunt. Any of them will have small numbers of adult bucks scattered around timberline.

Unless I'm not understanding your post you are a non res. Which means you can't draw 82 either.

I'm kind of in the same boat and plan to hunt one of those next year. I had a plan to get an archery voucher for one of the units this year and if I liked what I saw I would use my points on it in 2019. But I drew a muzzy tag second choice that I wasn?t planning on drawing so that threw a wrench into my plans.

I have hunted 43, and know a guy that hunted 48. I wouldn't use your points on 47, 471, 36. 44 early has always intrigued me but not sure it's the best use of 11 points. 43 gets hunted pretty hard from archery hunters and has 35 early rifle tags. 12 has very few tags. 48 and 65 are in the middle.

I'm sure there are nice bucks in all of the units. Probably just more in some units then others.

I fully understand the signifance of scouting. I am struggling with the fact that i live 14 hours away and am limited on time off.

You may want to contact a service like AntlerQuest.com to do some scouting for you. The owner is Jeff Coldwell and he offers to do the scouting for you for a specified fee. He also knows the high country like the back of his hand and can steer you in the right direction.

Dave
300Wtby

DeerKing... despite what transpired I liked the Guy.

>You may want to contact a
>service like AntlerQuest.com to do
>some scouting for you.
> The owner is Jeff
>Coldwell and he offers to
>do the scouting for you
>for a specified fee.
> He also knows the
>high country like the back
>of his hand and can
>steer you in the right
>direction.
>
>Dave
>300Wtby


Hasbean

How can anyone recommend a serial poachers with a straight face. Like this guy or not, he is not someone who deserve any place in hunting.


>You may want to contact a
>service like AntlerQuest.com to do
>some scouting for you.
> The owner is Jeff
>Coldwell and he offers to
>do the scouting for you
>for a specified fee.
> He also knows the
>high country like the back
>of his hand and can
>steer you in the right
>direction.
>
>Dave
>300Wtby

Stand by for all the Deerking sympathizers to come crying. Can't believe the ethics of some people. Guess you're either born with it or not.

Back on topic... I've hunted 47 and 471 HCB and it's a fun hunt with good deer numbers but you'll be hard pressed to find something in the 170 or bigger range. Best of luck to you.

LAST EDITED ON Dec-17-18 AT 07:21PM (MST)[p]I can't believe guys are recommending jeff Coldwell. Seriously look up his charges not only is he a poacher he also faked having cancer to get his bear points reinstated. Anyone who would stoop to that level for some bear points there is no telling what they would do. I guarantee he only got caught on a fraction of what he exactly did.

3/6/2007
Division of Wildlife
Antler fever drove Colorado resident to poaching

Jeff Coldwell, 43, of Firestone, Colorado recently pled guilty to poaching charges

In May of 2006, Jeff Coldwell pleaded guilty to illegal possession of three or more deer in Weld County. In addition to the loss of the illegally taken wildlife, he forfeited his muzzleloader and the court fined him $7,500 with 36 months probation. Coldwell also pled guilty to abuse of public records in Adams County and received a 2 year deferred sentence for false statements made regarding a bear license. The courts donated a portion of his fine to Operation Game Thief.

The abuses also led the Colorado Wildlife Commission to suspend Coldwell's privilege of applying for, purchasing, or exercising the benefits conferred by all DOW licenses for 20 years. His license privileges are also suspended in 22 Wildlife Violator Compact states.

It all began with a hunch. Wildlife Officer Windi Padia contacted Jeff Coldwell while on ATV patrol in Game Management Unit 20 during the 2005 muzzleloader season. Coldwell had a muzzleloader, but no hunting license in his possession. Noticing a clump of deer hair near his truck, Padia inquired further, but Coldwell denied taking a deer. Coldwell was visibly nervous throughout the contact and told Padia he had been hunting with a family member who had a deer license for GMU 18, about seven miles to the west and over the Continental Divide. After checking the records for Coldwell�s license, Officer Padia found that it was valid for GMU 20 only.

Additional Wildlife Officers, Aimee Ryel and John Koehler, were engaged to conduct interviews in Coldwell's hometown, whereupon he admitted he had taken a large mule deer buck illegally in GMU 18 and had already transported the cape out of the unit by backpack. Another deer was shot by the licensed family member and both animals were left to rot. Officers hiked to the kill site and located the trophy-quality skinned buck, as well as a quartered buck. The meat was only salvageable on one of the animals.

Now, the full arm of the law reached in--a search warrant was obtained for Coldwell's residence yielding evidence that Coldwell used another family member's license to tag a buck in 2000. Padia seized Coldwell�s computer and found further evidence of a wildlife violation--emails from Coldwell showed that he had gone bear hunting in 2005 and finding that people were camped near his hunting spot, promptly told a representative from the DOW that he was not able to go on his bear hunt due to medical issues. Six bear preference points were reinstated to Coldwell based on his statements. This fraudulent activity led Officer Padia to charge him with abuse of public records. After disposition of the case in Adams County, his bear preference points were revoked.

In connection with the case, two members of Jeff Coldwell's family have received citations for wildlife violations and have chosen to pay their fines.

One poaching leads to proof of another

Evidence also seized from Coldwell's computer revealed information from a 2003 Trophy Hunter magazine article depicting Coldwell in Fox Park, also in GMU 18, with a harvested buck. This evidence prompted Officer Padia to obtain another search warrant for his residence. The buck in question was seized and it was determined that Coldwell poached it in 2003 in GMU 18 during muzzleloader season. He did not have a license for GMU 18 that year.

"Transferring licenses, a form of 'party hunting', has severely negative impacts on our wildlife," said Officer Windi Padia. "Hunting opportunities are regulated for a reason: any additional opportunity created by a poacher is one less opportunity for an ethical hunter. Everyone who values our wildlife should know that poaching doesn't pay."

You can help stop poaching. If you see a poaching incident, report it. Poaching is a crime against you, your neighbor, and everyone else in the state of Colorado. Call 1-877-COLO-OGT toll-free or Verizon cell phone users can just dial #OGT. If you'd like, you can e-mail us at [email protected].

I probably shouldn't respond and this will be my last post. I offered some advice and now the post has gotten highjacked.

My response to your accusations about Ethics, Coloradoram and Orionhunter is this; how can you question my ethics, when you don't even know me. All I was doing was responding to a question that muleyslayer posed?

I believe Jeff Coldwell absolutely did some bad things, I don't condone his past actions. I do think he offers a service that some people may want to enlist his help. Does he deserve to operate this business, I think he does and you don't. That doesn't make me a bad guy or an unethical guy. It really does touch a nerve with me and that will be my last word on this post.

Have a Great Day!

Dave

Muleyslayer, I have hunted HCB 2 times in CO. I have hunted successfully in 471 and unsuccessfully in 43 and 444. The unsuccessful hunts could have been successful with a harvest but was holding out for something bigger. 43 is a tough hunt. I found that there were quite a few hunters in the area and a guide with lots of elk hunters. 43 is beautiful country and if I was going back I would try to have a bear tag with me. I saw 6 bears in my week in 43. I have also muzzleloader hunted 74 and it also is an incredibly beautiful place. We did not see many deer and there were far to many mt bikers, hikers, hiking the Colorado Trail and climbing Engineer Mtn for my liking. Personally with as many points as you have I would consider 43.

And that there lies the problem. Who cares what the guy did as long he gives me info so I can kill a big buck.

My current situation precludes me from caring about your opinion but go ahead and give voice to it anyway...

Buck basins were buck basins ten years ago and will be buck basins ten years from now. Scout or you will not know which ones they are.

If it was me I would hunt archery there as a second choice or find a way to do it a year or a summer ahead of your hunt. Most try to do exactly as you layed it out, showing up a couple days early, and it is very often a formula for failure.

Russian roulette with extra chambers.

I hunted 74 for elk a few years back above timberline and the bucks we say were amazing. I saw no less than three bucks that would be 190 or better.

We went back in to a drop camp about 10 miles in and when we woke up on opening morning there were about 100 deer in our camp. This was the second hunt and then by the end of it all the deer had moved to lower elevations as it snowed all week. I can't remember the guys name but he advertises in Grand Junction area and he does drop camps.

>I hunted 74 for elk a
>few years back above timberline
>and the bucks we say
>were amazing. I saw no
>less than three bucks that
>would be 190 or better.
>
>
>We went back in to a
>drop camp about 10 miles
>in and when we woke
>up on opening morning there
>were about 100 deer in
>our camp. This was the
>second hunt and then by
>the end of it all
>the deer had moved to
>lower elevations as it snowed
>all week. I can't remember
>the guys name but he
>advertises in Grand Junction area
>and he does drop camps.
>

Obviously I wasn?t there, but I'm guessing you were seeing the start of the deer migration. The deer in that unit usually migrate out that time of year regardless of snow. (Obviously snow gets them moving quicker, but they'll start heading down the mountain without it.) ... I'm only mentioning this in case the OP does end up in that unit, and doesn't see the same thing you saw. Not trying to detract from your experience.

... to the original question... I would take major hiking trails, the amount of high country, and accessibility into consideration. The Colorado Trail gets pounded with recreationalists, which can complicate things. If you don't have time to scout, a unit with a lot of high country and a lot of access (allowing you to glass) is going to work to your benefit, as you can waste a lot of time hiking to look at a basin that could be void of game.....not to mention a couple days of putting on the miles in that CO high country takes its toll on most people.

I've spent 15 days in 74 the last 2 years. I've only seen 1 buck over 170? above timber line.

Notice it was past tense. Once I learned all he had been charged with he is not someone I would associate with in any fashion. I am sure he didn much more than he was nailed for.

>DeerKing... despite what transpired I liked
>the Guy.
>
>>You may want to contact a
>>service like AntlerQuest.com to do
>>some scouting for you.
>> The owner is Jeff
>>Coldwell and he offers to
>>do the scouting for you
>>for a specified fee.
>> He also knows the
>>high country like the back
>>of his hand and can
>>steer you in the right
>>direction.
>>
>>Dave
>>300Wtby
>
>
>Hasbean


Hasbean

High country hunts aren't what they used to be that's for sure. Especially with a lot of the units pushing the season dates back from what they used to be. I kind of lost interest in them once CPW started putting early rifle hunters in with muzzy hunters at the same time. The high country can get really busy when you have archery, muzzy, early rifle, and goat hunters stacked up on each other. The last one I participated in was a 471 hunt. Between yuppie looky-Lou?s, goat hunters, bow hunters, muzzy hunters, and other rifle hunters all condensed into a tiny unit the place was a zoo. We ended up killing the best buck we could find on day 1. A low 170ish typical and got the hell out of there. Done a couple in 43 and it's been a similar story.

Coloradoboy

Forget 36.....

So now that results are out did you end up getting a tag and if so what did you decide to do. Im got the second season 74 tag. Im pretty stoked to finally hunt in Colorado.

>And that there lies the problem.
>Who cares what the guy
>did as long he gives
>me info so I can
>kill a big buck.


Yes, that is a problem......commercialization of wildlife and hunting, and what people will do for a big buck.

I would say that I am bias in my suggestion but I'd wait for 74 IMO. I do think it took 15 or 16 points this year for a NR to guarantee the tag. Took me 14 points in '17.
I was obviously lucky in harvesting this guy seeming that I had a very limited time to scout. They are there, just have to find them. It is NOT an easy hunt. I drew a unit 74 archery tag this year and am gonna hunt above timberline if I can. I hope this helps.

>I would say that I am
>bias in my suggestion but
>I'd wait for 74 IMO.
>I do think it took
>15 or 16 points this
>year for a NR to
>guarantee the tag. Took me
>14 points in '17.
>I was obviously lucky in harvesting
>this guy seeming that I
>had a very limited time
>to scout. They are there,
>just have to find them.
>It is NOT an easy
>hunt. I drew a unit
>74 archery tag this year
>and am gonna hunt above
>timberline if I can. I
>hope this helps.
>
>
>https://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos_2019

Nice buck. Attaching the unit to it on this site will probably make the point creep jump to 18 points before the dust settles haha

Coloradoboy

I've hunted the high country rifle hunts twice. First time I killed a great buck opening morning. Second time I got a returned tag in a different unit on short notice so I couldn't scout. I hunted 5 days and couldn't find anything over 170? and never pulled the trigger. I've switched to archery and just hunt every year, though I will be trying to get my kids returned tags in the future. Send me a message with what unit you went with if you drew and I can see if I can help you out.

2014 buck

I second what Kenny said. I've spent 12 days in 2 years in 74 and never did turn up a 180 deer. The high country is definitely not what it used to be. I'm looking elsewhere