CO resident 44 vs 10 vs ?

[COLOelkman]

I'm kinda wanting to burn my 20 deer points just because I'm not optimistic that things will be much better in the next few years. fyi, to be honest I'm not a "serious" deer hunter and mostly have focused on elk in the past and get a token deer tag just to get out. I'd love to have a chance at a 180+ buck but I'd realistically hold out for that or bigger if I had elk meat (from bow season) and eat my tag if I had other meat. Otherwise I'd end up shooting any buck on the last day. Hate to do that but I'd opt for meat in the end. I also have a couple friends with similar points that may go in with me. I tagged along last year on a unit 44, 4th season hunt so I'm familiar with several areas but we really didn't see many "good" bucks...lots of bucks but only a few OK 4 pts. The pro's to me is I know several area and know a few people that likely would help scout at least part time but not a guarantee. This year, 4th season was warm which made roads REALLY muddy so an enclosed side by side was invaluable just to make things bearable mud-wise. I might have access to one but not enclosed and you'd be covered in mud if weather was similar. I have ATV's and 4WD with chains but many areas would have been tough to access this year considering the mud. My takeaway is to be mobile as you need to go to several different spots daily and scouters are a huge benefit for finding bigger deer. So not sure if 3rd or 4th would be better (7 days vs 5 days and 20 buck tags each season). One of my friends is leaning towards unit 10 which would be 3rd season or possibly 2nd but we've only scouted that last summer for a weekend so not much knowledge there. I'm not sure if any other areas would be a quality hunt, like a RFW tag and I've not looked into those much yet but plan to in the next couple months. I realize weather can really make or break a hunt sometimes so that's a wildcard. Anyone have any experience or opinions or input that they'd like to share with is greatly appreciated.

 

[Jd259]

Another unit to look at with your points would be 66 4th season I hunted that unit this year but not 4th and the potential is there to kill a very good buck and the country is very huntable that time of year via SxS or truck if the weather cooperates and there aren’t that many tags for the unit. I’d see how the winter plays out the rest of the year and make sure there isn’t a big winter kill the gunny basin tends to get wiped out every few years now a days it seems like so keep that in mind but as of this year the herd looks to be in pretty good shape...

 

[COLOelkman]

Another unit to look at with your points would be 66 4th season I hunted that unit this year but not 4th and the potential is there to kill a very good buck and the country is very huntable that time of year via SxS or truck if the weather cooperates and there aren’t that many tags for the unit. I’d see how the winter plays out the rest of the year and make sure there isn’t a big winter kill the gunny basin tends to get wiped out every few years now a days it seems like so keep that in mind but as of this year the herd looks to be in pretty good shape...

Did you do 3rd season and how'd you do? Would love to hear how things went and if you saw some decent bucks.

 

[Jd259]

Did you do 3rd season and how'd you do? Would love to hear how things went and if you saw some decent bucks.

Pm sent

 

[ColoradoV]

My 77 yr old father was in the exact same position as you and cashed his points in 2019.. His uncle or my great uncle was the game warden up in the nw for a long time so he wanted to hunt 10 as he saw that as a kid or 44 one more time as he grew up in glenwood.. Shoot me a pm and I will tell ya my thoughts on them.

Fun choice to have for sure .

 

[street]

Hey elkman, I know we've chatted before but if you decide on a 44 tag let me know and I can help you out.

 

[COLOelkman]

Thanks Street. Hope to be talking with you after the draw!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Gadjet]

My 77 yr old father was in the exact same position as you and cashed his points in 2019.. His uncle or my great uncle was the game warden up in the nw for a long time so he wanted to hunt 10 as he saw that as a kid or 44 one more time as he grew up in glenwood.. Shoot me a pm and I will tell ya my thoughts on them.

Fun choice to have for sure .

My father in law is 77 and grew up in Glenwood too. I bet they know each other. 44 fourth is going to be epic this year.

 

[COLOelkman]

I heard a nasty rumor that I'm going to followup on. Heard they were cutting 44 tags by 25%!!!! Gonna try to talk to the guy today but if that's true, my odds will be worse for sure.

 

[COLOelkman]

So I talked to my friend and he talked to the warden in 44 and was told they had recommended cutting the total for both 3rd and 4th from 20 to 15. So, he hadn't heard whether the game commission accepted this proposal or stayed at 20. Guess time will tell!