co. unit 22 3rd rifle

[Pills]

Hi, I'm kinda new here and was wondering if anyone had any words of wisdom for this hunt. I drew a third rifle tag in 22 and this will be my first mule deer hunt so any advice is appreciated.

My son (13) and I finished a DIY Wyoming antelope hunt early and I was able to get down and scout this unit for a couple days at the end of sept. Obviously there were not any deer around yet but I wanted to get a lay of the land and scout out some camp spots. This trip will be 3 buddies and myself, 3 of us have deer tags and one guy has the elk tag. We will be camping the whole season. The area I concentrated on was north central cr122, 88, 20 23 etc.. trying to stay away from the private land and set up in a good area. I have been looking at some of the maps and talked to a few prior hunters. Most say there are a good amount of deer but the area is real crowded with elk hunters. Like I said this is my first MD hunt and I don't expect a giant but will work hard to get away from the crowds and try and tag a solid buck.

 

[oldmossback]

we have hunted 22 for about 8 years. It has gone way down hill. Tons of gas wells going in and tons of traffic and roads all over the place. If I were you i would concentrate on the south end of the unit almost on the boarder on the east side. I saw some nice bucks in there during archery. it is thick brush but you can get up high and glass. There are tons of hunters where ever you go. I feel there are much better units out there.

 

[bowhuntinnut]

Pm sent!

 

[Pills]

Thanks pm returned

 

[Camper_A1]

Hey Pills,

Some buddies and I also have a 3rd season tag. I went out over the weekend of the 5th and looked over some of those areas. Saw some deer. Because of the fresh snow we had a hard time looking too high and couldn't get around as much as we would've liked. Did see one shooter. Good luck on your hunt.

 

[Pills]

How much snow was there? Are you guys camping?

 

[bowhuntinnut]

Hardly any snow now, looks like maybe some snow coming on monday night!

 

[Camper_A1]

At the time there was about 10" along 103 that boarders 21/22. We are staying in Meeker. We did check out most all the areas that you mentioned and some further east. Hope the snow got some of the animals moving. We are looking forward to a fun hunt.

 

[foulshot]

Take some chains...

 

[nk84]

How was your hunt?

 

[Pills]

Just got back. We camped in the center of the unit and hunted hard all week. Spent the first few days driving around scouting the whole unit , then we got off the road in areas we liked. We passed some smaller bucks but didn't see the numbers that we thought we would. By the end of the week we were all able to tag bucks. No monsters but what we felt were solid deer for our first muleys.
We rough scored mine at 176" (without deductions) and we thought the other 2 were around 150" and 160".

Thanks to all those on here who helped and sent PMs. The gas workers were also full of good info.

 

[Camper_A1]

Pills,

Congrats on some great bucks. I had to laugh a little when I saw your pictures a friend and I helped your buddy from Texas load up his deer. Then later that same night we ran into him while he was talking to the gas guy. He was telling us about some deer that were back up the road a mile. We had both already switched over to our reserve tanks and were about out of gas and told them we didn't have enough gas to even go look. Your friend then offered us some gas back at your camp. We really do appreciate his help. It got us back to our truck. Glad you had a good hunt. We hunted some of the same areas and went 5/5 on deer. No monsters just good bucks. I'll post some pictures when I get some more time. Congrats again and tell your friend thanks again for the gas.

Alan

 

[Pills]

Yeah, he told me about that. Always glad to help out others in the mountains. He said the "Utah guys" had helped him with his buck. Glad to hear you guys did well. Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

 

[Camper_A1]

Pills,

Check out Colorado 3rd season fun for pictures of our deer. We parked at the crossroads everyday and hunted from there.

 

[Pills]

You guys shot some nice bucks. We had a great time there....can't wait to go back....In ten years

 

[Stubaby]

Nice bucks. Looks like a blast. A buddy of mine lives in meeker. I want that tag in the future and look forward to going.

How many points did it take to pull the tags? What rifles were you packing? Would ATVs help or are trucks sufficient? With the terrain, how far we're the average shots?

Thanks in advance.



"That's a special feeling, Lloyd"

 

[Pills]

We drew with 5 points as NR.
I shoot a 6.5x284, the other guys shot 300 Win Mag and a 270WSM.
Atvs can help, there are a lot of 4x4 roads that I wouldn't take my truck. most people were road hunting. I only saw a couple other guys off the road all week. Get in on foot and you will see good deer.

our shots were from 100-325yrds but there were spots where your could see farther than you can shoot. This was just how ours happened to work out.

Good luck
PILLS

 

[Stubaby]

Sweet. Thanks for the info. Can't wait for my turn in Colorado.

"That's a special feeling, Lloyd"

 

[WABULLSnBUCKS]

Congrats on the bucks!! Had that tag last year and it was dry as a bone and dusty as all get out. Saw lots of deer, but the big boys were hard to find. You did well. Congrats again.

 

[Hiker]

You fellas killed some good ones.

Hiker

Proverbs 3:5-6

 

[Pills]

Thanks guys we had a lot of fun in Co. First 2 days were real dusty before the snow. The cold and snow were a welcome change even In a tent. It really got things going.