Otc mulie hunt

lungpuncher1

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I'm an eastern guy looking to venture West and mulies really call to me. What would be the best way to get my feet wet on mule deer?

I'm really looking for a rifle hunt, something a little better odds but im also not looking for a giant. Just a good hunt and a way to get started out west.
 
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
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682
Location
Gypsum, CO
Not much for OTC in Colorado, unless you can pick up a leftover draw when they come out. Some decent units do end up with leftovers here other units aren't nearly as great.
 
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lungpuncher1

lungpuncher1

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Not much for OTC in Colorado, unless you can pick up a leftover draw when they come out. Some decent units do end up with leftovers here other units aren't nearly as great.
What's the best way to find out what units are good and what units are not so good per state?
 
Joined
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Location
Gypsum, CO
Just research, these forums are a great asset, the Colorado parks and wildlife website has information on their site that breaks down the regions of the state and units that are in those regions, as well as herd numbers.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife -
Plan Your Hunt

This has a ton of info for you to learn.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife -
Big Game ​​Regional​​ Hunt Guides

These are the Colorado regional hunt guides.

All this is for Colorado other states I'd be in the same boat as you are with no idea of the state or animals. Other resources are calling the regional biologists and asking them questions. And as you have done asking for info on the forums. Some will point you in the right direction, many want you to do some research yourself. The best thing to do is narrow down a state, then a region within the state then a specific GMU or 5. Waiting for Colorados leftover lists for 2017 will put you way behind on the game so if you plan to hunt CO I'd plan for 2018. I'm not sure about OTC in other states though if you want to hunt 2017.
 
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lungpuncher1

lungpuncher1

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I'm looking for 2018 an 2019 so this isnt a half a$$ attempt, I'm really in the early stages of planning.

Thank you for your advice, you've been vey helpful.
 

wildcat33

WKR
Joined
Feb 17, 2015
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Location
CO
The unit i deer hunt every year always has a bunch of leftover tags. Good deer numbers and nice terrain. I chase a good time more than rack score so its always satisfied me. Seen a few bruisers during archery and my buddy knocked out a decent buck a few years back, so they are in there.

Point is, just because its a leftover tag doesn't mean its a bad unit. For a man with modest expectations its pretty easy to get into the game and be successful on deer. I'd encourage you to pick a tag from the list and head out this year just to get a feel for whats shakin.
 
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Aug 10, 2015
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Nebraska has OTC deer rifle tags. I think the South Dakota draw is pretty easy too. Kansas is probably your closest option but it's also a NR draw. I'm sure there's some opportunity in Oklahoma too. It might be worth applying now this year for a few points. Montana is easy to get a tag. Idaho has OTC options. I haven't deer hunted any of those states, just browsed the regulations a little.

Last fall I killed a nice little buck on a leftover in Colorado.
 
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lungpuncher1

lungpuncher1

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I think I'm about set on se Montana. Not really looking for a giant. Just a good experience to get my feet wet.
 

bricketts

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Jan 14, 2016
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Location
Washinton
I'm gonna suggest something that may get me mocked, but here in Washington, while we aren't known for our mule deer, do have some good areas that produce decent to good mule deer every year, and you, as a nonresident, can buy an OTC tag. PM me for more info if you're interested, personally I have done great here in Washington, even getting a B&C buck this last season. PM me if you'd like more details on some good areas, and I'll help you with what I can!:)
 

Reeltime

FNG
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Mar 30, 2017
Messages
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Montana gives the hard working, hard scouting hunter so many options. Avoid popular areas that are mentioned a lot. Be willing to cover a lot of ground, glass when it makes sense and move on. My favorite areas are not visible from public roads, have private feed within a few miles and low deer densities. The low deer numbers equal low hunter numbers which I love. One of my favorite places to hunt mule deer only turned up 13 deer in the first 3 days we hunted it, but 7 were bucks. Of those 7 bucks 4 were mature deer and 2 got a free ride west. Good luck.
 
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lungpuncher1

lungpuncher1

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Montana gives the hard working, hard scouting hunter so many options. Avoid popular areas that are mentioned a lot. Be willing to cover a lot of ground, glass when it makes sense and move on. My favorite areas are not visible from public roads, have private feed within a few miles and low deer dinsities. The low deer numbers equal low hunter numbers which I love. One of my favorite places to hunt mule deer only turned of 13 deer in the first 3 days we hunted it, but 7 were bucks. Of those 7 bucks 4 were mature deer and 2 got a free ride west. Good luck.
There's going to be a learning curve for me figuring out what mule deer like. Im a big whitetail guy, i literally spend all year scouting. But montana is 1500 miles from me so anything past aerial scouting is going to be hard.
 

Lowe43

FNG
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May 1, 2017
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Check into south west idaho lots of OTC hunts lots of big mule deer some units with over 50% success
 
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I think if a guy were looking at SE Montana you might jump south into Wyoming instead, I was thinking of doing Montana in a couple of years but their tags are outrageous these days($600), region A in Wyoming is 100% draw, the tag and conservation stamp is less than $400 and there are a lot of deer in that part of the country both whitetail and muley. Idaho is pretty much OTC mule deer statewide(a few exceptions) and the license and tag will run you $450. Another thing about Montana is this is the first year in quite a few their deer combos were not a guaranteed draw meaning you would likely have a good shot in '18 but may have to go in '19 instead after tying up $600 for a couple of months if you don't draw in '18


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lungpuncher1

lungpuncher1

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I think if a guy were looking at SE Montana you might jump south into Wyoming instead, I was thinking of doing Montana in a couple of years but their tags are outrageous these days($600), region A in Wyoming is 100% draw, the tag and conservation stamp is less than $400 and there are a lot of deer in that part of the country both whitetail and muley. Idaho is pretty much OTC mule deer statewide(a few exceptions) and the license and tag will run you $450. Another thing about Montana is this is the first year in quite a few their deer combos were not a guaranteed draw meaning you would likely have a good shot in '18 but may have to go in '19 instead after tying up $600 for a couple of months if you don't draw in '18


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If i bought a point in july when (if) they come available will that pretty much guarantee me general tag?

Ill definitely look into Wyoming.
 
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Montana doesn't sell points if I remember correctly? You have to apply. Wyoming does sell points, a deer point is $40 and you could buy a point this year, pick region A as second choice next year and retain points while doing a hunt in the fall of '18 and go into '19 with 2 points so you can continue building toward a better "trophy area" in the future


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lungpuncher1

lungpuncher1

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I thought i read on the Montana dnr site july 1st points become available for 50$ IF you didn't apply for a tag at all.
 

530Chukar

WKR
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Jun 27, 2016
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Out West
Don't pass up Colorado yet. There are quite a few units that you can draw with 0 points. One of the nice things about Colorado is that there can be very big mule deer in any unit. I've hunted one of the units that you have 90% chance of drawing the third season tag with 0 points and have seen 30 inchers each of the years that I was there. Third season deer lines up with elk as well which can be OTC.
 
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