Colorado areas?

[nimrod67]

I am looking to try to get my 70 year old dad a mule deer tag, hopefully next year. He has been hunting since he was 14 and never got the buck of his dreams and has been putting in for the quality tag for many years and has not been drawn. Now with the lack of deer populations I’m worried if he does get drawn he may still not get what he is after. So my question is has anybody hunted Colorado and if so any tips on public land with a good chance at a decent buck that I should put in for would be greatly appreciated. Would also be willing to try Montana or Idaho. Just trying to get him the deer of his dreams before he can’t make the hike anymore.

[Mtnwalker]

Assuming your dad has 0 points in CO?

[CamoDup]

The Colorado draw has already happened BUT the secondary draw is open right now for some of leftover tags. I believe you have until June 28th. You will need to buy a "qualifying license" in order to apply. The cheapest route is the annual small game license.

Colorado has a lot of 0-2 point units but I don't know if they are any good or not. The one and only time I've been to Colorado we went to a 1 point unit for deer...I was VERY disappointed so now we are building points for a better unit.

You may want to look into hiring an outfitter that has access to private if you don't want to wait 5+ years for a decent tag.   

[nimrod67]

Assuming your dad has 0 points in CO?

Correct 0 points for Colorado

[Mtnwalker]

Like was stated 0 point units for the most part are going to be a tough go. Definitely doable with some work, but typically either lots of pressure, limited public land or not a lot of deer, which is why they're zero points. It's still CO though and big bucks are killed in 0 point units every year. There is no random draw so having even 1 or 2 points opens up quite a few more options for some decent hunts.

Another option would be landowner tags, but they are getting pretty spendy these days. These don't require a guide if you buy a unit-wide one