GMU 21 2nd Season

C

COHunter

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Well... What did everyone think of GMU 21 during 2nd season this year?

It definately wasnt the same hunt I had back in 2004 which was way earlier in the month back then, season started mid-Oct that year. In 2004 we averaged seeing 30-40 Bucks a day and countless Does. This year I didnt see the same quality or quantity that I saw back then. Even the deer brought into Laura's Corner were mostly dinks with a couple exceptions.

I had a good time, but dont ever plan on returning to hunt myself, but that has more to do with me being out of the Pref Point game.

Just would like to hear folks thoughts, especially from those that have hunted there before

2228deerhunt2010_027.jpg
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-03-10 AT 09:48AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Nov-03-10 AT 09:47?AM (MST)

Nice buck, Jason!

I wonder why those GMU 21 bucks never seem to have decent brow tines???
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-03-10 AT 07:45PM (MST)[p]I'm glad somebody asked.

We had a great time, and shot a couple decent bucks. BUT...it was nothing like what I had expected. We worked pretty hard and didn't see that many deer, especially bucks. And the ones we did see were all mostly spikes and forks. We did shoot the two biggest deer we saw. A couple 5x5's, but not monsters. We weren't the only ones either. With only a few exceptions most everyone we talked to was disappointed with the quantity and quality of bucks they were seeing. Even Laura commented that it was the slowest she had probably ever seen it for the 2nd season.

Too damn many elk hunters too...man, they were everywhere. the funny thing is I never saw an elk either. But I did see a bunch of wild horses though!

Would I go again...I don't think so. We burned 9 NR points and I don't think it was worth it. 4/5 maybe, but not 7/8 which is what I think the minimum was.

Personally I think reputation is usually a few years behind reality. And I think this unit's reputation is much better than reality. A couple more years of this so-so performance, and all the internet bable will slow down and it won't get the attention it has lately...it certainly isn't worth it in my opinion.

My 0.02 anyway.

On the plus side though...I met some great people. Shared a camp with some MM'ers, talked to bunch of 'em also while doing my internet scouting. All good people. We did have a great time. Gotta love Colorado in October. I envy every one of you that lives out West.

GrizlyHunter
 
Glad to see this post...Summary: 13 days scouting and 8 days hunting, never saw anthing over 165. Came home empty handed.

I scouted 13 days in this unit. 2 weekends in Sept. and 1 in October. Then went 4 days early just to make sure I could find a big deer. Hunted the entire hunt except the last day and never saw a buck over 165. The country and unit looked great, had alot of folks recommend it to me. It also came highly recommended by my network of big buck gurus. I invested all the time and money I could find this year for this trip. In fact, I called it my Once in Lifetime Mule Deer hunt. I was very dissapointed. Every deer hunter I spoke with out there said the same thing. If they are in 21 they must of been nocturnal or I just plain looked past them. We'll see what 3rd season produces...but I am not aware of 2nd season 21 giants. If you know of them please post. It will help me feel better about the unit for the future.
 
>LAST EDITED ON Nov-03-10
>AT 09:48?AM (MST)
>
>LAST EDITED ON Nov-03-10
>AT 09:47?AM (MST)
>
>Nice buck, Jason!
>
>I wonder why those GMU 21
>bucks never seem to have
>decent brow tines???

How do these rate?
1073538364_xWZZ3-L.jpg
 
Did see a few 170's bucks, but very few and far between. I missed an uphill 275yd shot on a pretty decent buck, but he was the only 1 close enough for a shot.

I'll tell you what, those Texas boys that dropped 5k on a voucher just bought some really expensive venison.
 
>Who are the Texas boys that
>dropped $5k on a voucher?
> I'm from Texas, didn't
>buy any vouchers, and I
>don't get the joke.

He's not joking, there was a group of them and they made sure we all knew they were from Texas, and they sure were proud of "Daddy". In fact everybody that ate at Betty's heard about Daddy LOL!!!
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-04-10 AT 08:07PM (MST)[p]All in all, I'm happy with my hunt in 21. I will say the area is probably over-hyped. Another thing I observed was a fairly large number of 3x4 bucks. I saw a 28" buck I almost shot, but held off because he was a 3x4. I agree that those who bought the highly inflated vouchers didn't get a lot of value for their money.
5758img_0567.jpg
 
They blow that much every year. They have money runnin out their ears. Only one of em got a good buck. The rest were just bucks
 
>21 is overrated.. made the mistakes
>of wasting my points on
>a 2nd season tag last
>year

I agree.

With regards to the Texans. Were there three of 'em, on the younger side? If so then we ran into them at Laura's. I guess one of 'em shot a real nice one, but we didn't see it. They were pretty proud of how tough the pack-out job was. Supposedly so much that they passed on another nice one. (Sounds a little like BS to me.) If I see nice one then I shoot first and worry about the pack-out 2nd. But that's just me. Nice guys though.

GrizlyHunter
 
>LAST EDITED ON Nov-04-10
>AT 08:07?PM (MST)
>
5758img_0567.jpg


Dave,

Again, that's a beauty of a buck...especially for such a short hunt! Congratulations. Sorry I screwed up the directions to our camp and we didn't get to meet. Maybe next time. Me and my hunting buddy are stockpiling points in WY for deer and elk. Maybe we can talk in the future about that.

Take care,

GrizlyHunter
 
Did anybody get a picture of it? It would be nice to see it.

GrizlyHunter
 
I seen someone bring in a big nontypical 4x3 to laura's. Is this the buck you are referencing. Really heavy horned with extra stickers all over the place. Best buck I have seen all season.
 
I might have seen that one...sitting in the corner at Laura's, very white with mass all the way to the tips and lots of little bumps and stickers. If that's it I didn't know it was taken by the Texas boys. That was a huge rack though!

GrizlyHunter
 
Bonedaddy,

That was a sweet rack.

Did you receive that 'pile of bone' I emailed you?

GrizlyHunter
 
21 is not over-hyped--you just hunted it the wrong season. Wait until the boys who hunt third season get done and then judge it. I hunted it last year and took a respectable buck--grossed at 171 but we sure saw some bigger but couldn't get them killed. This was a third season hunt and i was done by Sunday--should have held out for longer but had an itchy trigger finger.

21 is a huge unit with lots of areas to cover and hunt. There are bucks in there that will blow your mind but you really have to be patient and work for them--or get lucky and shoot one from all of the oil and gas roads. I'm saving my points again for this hunt but it will be a few years as a resident. Good luck to all the third season hunters and make sure to post up those big 21 bucks. By the way, since when is a 190" non-typical buck not a good buck? That's awesome right there and I too would like to see the pic.

Bldr
 
If you hunted it last year and killed on Sunday that would have been nov 1st and second season this year ended oct 31st, I know later is better, but I cant see one day making that much of a difference. I would like to have been there 3rd season and I am sure there are some monsters in this unit but knowing people who elk hunt it every year I cant help but think that the numbers are down. As a nonresident I dont see myself using the kind of points it takes to draw this hunt ever going back. To me there is just too much luck envolved in this unit and I am not very lucky.
 
>21 is not over-hyped--you just hunted
>it the wrong season.
>Wait until the boys who
>hunt third season get done
>and then judge it.
>I hunted it last year
>and took a respectable buck--grossed
>at 171 but we sure
>saw some bigger but couldn't
>get them killed. This
>was a third season hunt
>and i was done by
>Sunday--should have held out for
>longer but had an itchy
>trigger finger.
>
>21 is a huge unit with
>lots of areas to cover
>and hunt. There are
>bucks in there that will
>blow your mind but you
>really have to be patient
>and work for them--or get
>lucky and shoot one from
>all of the oil and
>gas roads. I'm saving
>my points again for this
>hunt but it will be
>a few years as a
>resident. Good luck to
>all the third season hunters
>and make sure to post
>up those big 21 bucks.
> By the way, since
>when is a 190" non-typical
>buck not a good buck?
> That's awesome right there
>and I too would like
>to see the pic.
>
>Bldr


I agree. The second season is the wrong season to hunt due to majority of the deer in the unit migrate into the unit with the snow and the rut. The third season is where the biggest bucks are always killed. But IMO Colorado has multiple other units through out the state that produces just as good or better bucks and take less PP's to draw.
 
I agree with you, Colorado. I live along the front range and archery hunt a unit that produces some huge bucks every year--no pref. points to draw either. I love to get away from this area though and go and hunt that broken country. Now if i could just draw my elk tag for unit 10!! Couple of more years.
 
>I agree with you, Colorado.
>I live along the front
>range and archery hunt a
>unit that produces some huge
>bucks every year--no pref. points
>to draw either. I
>love to get away from
>this area though and go
>and hunt that broken country.
> Now if i could
>just draw my elk tag
>for unit 10!! Couple
>of more years.


How many elk PP's do you have? I know areas 2, 10, 201 extremely well and I could help point you in the right direction.
 
We took a ride in unit 21 the day before the first elk season around texas mountain and cut across some blm roads to rabbit mountain and ended up on CR 23 that took us back to Rangely and only saw 10 deer. I dont see how rode hunting would be very pruductive because we covered a lot of ground to see 10 deer and none of those were bucks. We did see a lot of horse manure on the rodes though.
 
Do wild horses all poo in the same spot or do they come back to the same spot or are there wild horses twice the size of elephants running around western colorado?
 
Wild Stallions use it piles of crap to make territory.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
 
Thanks Gator. I googled it and found some information. So - those huge piles you see are one stallion? They seem to cover a lot of ground...I am surprised they would come back to the same pile, some of them are like 10 dumps big. If you take a step in unit 21 you have a 50 50 chance of stepping in horse crap.
 
Yeah sure there are a few big bucks in 21, and they will be more visible during the 3rd season or later. Its no mystery that the rut brings the bucks out. With that being said, EVERY unit in Colorado has a few big bucks. I dont think 21 is all that special anymore. I cant help but think there are other units that would produce as big or bigger bucks.

What is funny is that everyone thinks they are a little better hunter than the next guy and by gosh they are going to hit it hard and hunt away from the roads. Running into a bigger buck out there is just luck, plain and simple. Its about being in the right place at the right time. I love the Book Cliffs, but its sad to see the downturn in overall buck quality on both the Utah and Colorado sides of the area. Its good so many people think it is still the best unit going, just makes my odds better elsewhere!
 
I'll throw my two cents in and it is probably worth half that. 21 is a good unit and it is a fun hunt. Lots of deer, cool country and its probably a little different than most of your other hunts.

After talking to a bunch of people that have hunted it in the past, I would say I did not see as many bucks 2nd season as anticipated. Seems like that is the general consensus. If you look at huntin fools comments (for instance)....its not like they raved about 2nd season. Not sure why 2nd season got so hyped? Dates probably...

Was 2nd season worth the points? I think for a resident yes. For a non resident maybe not, but where else is a non res going to put in with those points? Talked to a bunch of non res guys that used a bunch of points and most of them were very disappointed. But - look at the number of tags given...not everyone is going to shoot a giant.

Perception is reality. If you hunted the whole season and did not see a buck over 165...the unit sucks. If you were in the right place at the right time and killed a 200 inch plus non typical...its the greatest unit ever.

3rh season is obviously better, imo more because of the rut and less because of the weather. Those big bucks are there during 2nd season...bedded in the pj, bitter brush, etc. Luck is part of any successful hunt...but, hunt hard, hunt smart and put in the time and your luck improves. I did not kill a giant, but was happy with my buck and had a fun hunt.
 
Ramtagless,

That's a great buck! Nice job.

Thanx for posting pics.

GrizlyHunter
 
Here's mine:

47872010_-_co_mule_deer_hunt_025.jpg


Like I said before...he's not huge, but he's my largest to date.

GH
 
All the photos are of very nice bucks, which is what hunting is all about. Seeing deer and shooting mature bucks: well done to all of you.
 
Great bucks for sure...I think it's also a good representation of the bucks you'll see out there. Great job to all hunters.
 
Scottie,

Beautiful pic of your family...and of course her buck. It was a pleasure meeting all of you in CO.

Do me a favor and PM me your email address. I'll send you some pics. Send Andy's address too.

GrizlyHunter
 
6396colorado_unit_21_hunt_2010_082.jpg


This good buck came from unit 21 2nd season this year. We did a ton of preseason scouting as well as got there early to find a big buck, but we were extremely disappointed in the overall hunt. This buck is 29" wide and scores in the high 180s, but he was 30" bigger than the next biggest buck we got our eyes on. I was super happy that we were able to get this great buck for my dad, but I for sure wouldn't spend any points to hunt this unit in the near future. 260 tags for 2nd season as well as 900 1st season elk hunters and unlimited 2nd and 3rd season elk tags makes this a difficult place to kill big bucks. There is a road on every ridge and every canyon except on the oil spring mountain wilderness area and I know if very well now as well as the rest of the unit. We talked to as many locals as we could find and I have stayed in touch with most of them. They said the 3rd season hasn't delivered anything better as far as they know. I'm sure that there are a few good bucks around, but I would just like to get more sightings of descent bucks when you hunt as hard as we did. Many other units as well as other states can provide that every year without burning up points. When it is posted on huntin fool or other places, it is more than likely a year or two past its prime in my opinion.
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-16-10 AT 04:58PM (MST)[p]WOW!!! That is one beast of a buck. His rack is huge, and his body looks mighty big as well. Good job!

I agree with your assessment of the hunt also. I think this unit/hunt is well past it's prime. And the number of elk hunters in there certainly takes away from the quality of the mule deer hunt. Not that I have anything against elk hunters...just sayin.

GrizlyHunter
 
First of all, awesome buck man! It's very rewarding leading another hunter (especially family) to a great buck; you did it for sure.

I agree on some aspects that 21 is down a little, however, name 1 other unit where you can see as many deer and bucks that doesn't require at least 4 pref. points for a resident. Just about every unit has some incredible bucks; unit 21 has them too (just like your father shot), and a whole bunch of other decent bucks.

It's called hunting (and it sounds like you hunted!) because that's what it takes to kill big bucks. Otherwise, it'd just be called killing.

Excellent buck.
 
I know a few units that people I know killed bucks in that take less than 4 points to draw as a nonresident, dont even think they take any points as a resident and they killed alot of big bucks this year. I wont name the units out of respect for them but I think there hunts were better than my 21 2nd season hunt. I dont think 21 is a bad hunt just not near as good as the points it takes to draw. IMO it is not worth 4 to 5 point tops as a nonresident. I dont think I will ever be back, but I will be back to Colorado again. Next time I will draw a unit that isnt as popular as 21.
 
I do too and I hunt them as a resident. However, you misread my last post. I go to unit 21 to see the shear number of deer and some big bucks. I'll gladly wait to draw that unit again to experience that.

Like I said, almost all units in CO have big bucks--just have to find them or get lucky or both!
 
I didn't see the number of deer that you were talking about. We spent a couple of days where we didn't even see a deer. When we went down closer to Rangely, we saw a lot more deer for sure and quite a few smaller bucks (120-150), but nothing worth shooting. I'm going to drive over there on the Thanksgiving weekend to see what type of deer I get to see in full rut and will give feedback and photos.
 
MuleyHntr - I will be looking forward to your Thanksgiving report.

Mark
muledeer.jpg


My hunting spot is so secret, not even the elk have found it yet.
 
By the way MuleyHntr, I sent private message in your inbox.

Mark
muledeer.jpg


My hunting spot is so secret, not even the elk have found it yet.
 
Looking forward to hearing about what you see. If you want a couple of extra places to look, pm me and i'll fix you up.
 
Nice Buck MuleyHntr and congrats to you guys.

Question if you want to answer, were you guys hauling that deer back to your camp on a Quad? Saw one about the size of yours that got mine and my buddies attention.
 
here are some pictures of my buddy's buck from unit 21 3rd season.he had 17 n.r. points and almost turned his tag in on Friday but became another victim of Garth Carter. after scouting all week (I started helping him on thur.before season) and hunting another week every day from day lite to dark we never saw any bucks much better than this one and no one else did that we talked to(numerous other deer & elk hunters, locals & oil& gas workers).everybody was thinking the same way that they were hunting harder than the next guy and by holding out sooner or later they would see the big one.we did hear of one taken from the game warden and he said that was the only one knew of and said there were a lot of hunters pissed off at Garth Carter for falsely pumping up the unit.he said last year after the season guys were calling him up demanding there points back because Carter said there were big deer in the unit! rumor has that Garth has land leased in unit 21 and got land owner tags then sold them for inflated prices by pumping up the unit in his mailings there for stearing hunters to the unit for his own personal gain. anybody have any info on this?












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823img_5233.jpg

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2971img_5200.jpg

9877img_5192.jpg

8053img_5193.jpg
 
People need to remember Garth Carter is in marketing. I have heard the same thing from more than one person about his tactics for marketing.
 
Garth can buy any landowner tag he wants with all you folks who send him your $100 each year. And does and multiple tags each year. Draw odds are the same for him. But he has your $$$ buying his tags and guides.
He has ruined a lot of units in all western states,
Created a big points jump in a lot of units. He can make a 3 point unit into a 6 point unit over night.
stop sending him your $$$.
There are no secret units. Look at all the game and fish statistics your self. there on line.
Ask your fellow hunter for a little info. if someone draws a unit that takes 10 points, chances are he won't be back soon.
Howdy
 

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