Unit 61 solo archery muley adventure

[badgerman]

I'm a former CO resident and I've been itch'n to get back into the mountain scene. So I did a little research and decided the best place for my points was 61. I've never hunted it before but manged to take a couple of rifle bucks with my Dad kicking around in unit 49.
I'm going solo 'cuz my buddies can't make it and I won't be able to do any scouting. I Really don't want to eat the cost of turning in the tag, but reading all the posts my odds seem to be going down.
I thought maybe I could set camp near some of the elk guys and compare notes at the end of the day or something - you know I'll spot a beastly bull and they'll be crawling in bucks, just the way it works right?
Anybody have any ideas to improve my chances? I don't need a 200" buck, just looking to find realistic opportunities at stalking a mature buck or two.
Thanks!

 

[FullDraw84]

As you probably already know, the deer herds on the Unc are not that impressive. That being said, there are always good deer that come off the Unc and out of 61. I glassed it a week ago and saw a very nice 160ish buck. One this size won't be a problem for you. In reality you have a good chance at a 170"-180"+ buck. You could very well kill one quite larger. It just depends.

I have always found good deer numbers around Hanks Valley, especially the upper slopes that have large aspen stands. The small drainages under Spruce Mountain and Windy Point hold good deer also. 61 offers lots of good glassing vantage points. Makes it easy to cover lots of country with the eye balls and saves the feet for when you need them.

My family has 3 tags in 61 for later hunts. My brother and I have cameras set up and will be scouting there 7-10 days a month. Keep touching base with me if you are interested in what I am seeing for deer.

Good luck! You will have a blast.

 

[badgerman]

Outstanding! Thanks for the positive outlook FullDraw! I'm looking forward to a nice challenging hunt. I plan on walking back in away from the 4-wheeler trails to glass the first couple days. Going to be pouring over the maps planning for the next month. I'm only going to be on the ground for 6-7 days right in the middle of Sept. ML season will be going too so I won't wait long to move if I spot something stalkable.
What kind of tags do your family have this year? I'm going to see if I can rig up a camera on my scope. I'd be happy to pass on anything of interest to you if I see it.

 

[FullDraw84]

Sounds like you have a great plan in place. Stick to the canyons and aspens, and you will find deer. My brother and I have 1st season bull tags and my mother has a 2nd season buck tag.

 

[reeb]

I have a archery deer tag this year also. Hunted it once many years ago. I have only made one scouting trip. I will be up their from the opening until Labor Day. I will let you know what I find.

 

[nocwalker]

Bagerman, Good luck to you. I was going to try and draw tag same tag this year, I decided not to. Its a good thing too as I drew a L E elk tag in Utah. But anyway, I researched unit 61 and got the same answers as Full draw gave you. It still sounds good to me though, I'm like you-- I don't need a 200" deer, I'd be happy with 160 to 170. I had spoken to the terestrial biologist and one of the game officers in that unit. They're really nice guys and I got the impression they were straight shooters.

If your interested, I have thier names and number, just ask. I asked what they like to eat, I was told Snowberry bush in the aspens.

Areas I wrote down that they told me was: Cambell point, the tongue, The north end.

Hanks valley road, blue and mesa creeks.

If you look at my profile you'll notice I'm from Pa. I've never been there(unit 61), just know what I've been told


After talking to the biologist I decided to wait a few year due to the die off during those bad winter $ yrs ago or so. I will be putting in for that tag in a couple more yrs.

Let us know how you make out and Good Luck to all of you.

Nocwalker

 

[badgerman]

I really appreciate the help everybody has given me. Really starting to get pumped up ! I was going over the maps looking at the terrain people suggested. A couple areas make perfect sense with cover and access both being considered.
I can't get a good feel for access around Campell Point though. The cover looks ideal and access for your everyday couch potato seems pretty limited. Looks like a deer could make a living in there w/o getting bothered too often. Am I seeing that right? Anybody have any personal knowledge?