I am from southern Colorado and there are alot of good deer around here. The only bad thing is that most of them reside on private land. Are you planning on hunting private land or public? There is no over the counter deer tags in CO anymore. The only way to get a tag without drawing is to get a private land voucher through a outfitter or land owner. Just to let you know if you are going with your friends you can all apply as a group. This way you can all get tags and nobody is left out. The down side is that it may take longer then drawing by yourself. Where I live there is a lot of public land, but maily there is a lot of elk. I think the hunting pressure pushes them into private land most of the time. I spend a lot of time scouting and I can see good bucks before season, but when season comes around they disappear. I do know alot about the drawing system and my area, if you have any more questions just let me know. I hope this helps you out. Good Luck