Ok, Colorado is out of the question. I'm calling Idaho today. Colorado seems like a great state and all but I can't miss a week of school. Idaho has some summertime hunts I can go on more than likely. We'll find out in about an hour or so.

If you decide on Colorado later. Give me a PM. I'll do what I can to help.

Muley tells it like it is.
An old rimrocker mule deer buck is a lot harder to get than a bull elk. Personally, I'd rather
hunt the mule deer. Just as fun and less work to pack out. That gets more important the older and (hopefully) wiser you get.

I agree completely about the pack out.

Have elk got heavier?

LOL, that would have been good to know from the beginning. By for the most hunting seasons are in the fall during school. You might consider checking during Christmas break as there might be some late seasons for cow elk. But be prepared for hiking in the snow if you did that.

That said, you might want to consider just going on a pack in camping trip in the summer and hike and fish and scout for future hunting seasons after you get out of school in a few years. I go camping every summer and hunting every fall, and I always have a blast in the summer. There is no "season" to worry about so it is a lot more laid back and can be scheduled around your life. And I make it a point to explore a new area that I haven't hunted each year.

Haha, Idaho has some summer bear hunting seasons. I called and the lady gave it to me straight. Go to Idaho, buy a license and hunt. She said dang near everything is public hunting land, and I'll get an envelope in a few weeks helping me out. I figure with my luck we'll get there and it'll look like west texas. I think it said you can use dogs, but if you need to use dogs to catch a bear then I might be in trouble. An I don't think my bloodhound would be up for that haha. If anyone has information on public hunting land in Utah that'd be amazing. Thank y'all for y'all's help!

Yes, as my legs have gotten older the elk have gotten heavier. Perception is reality on a snowy mountainside at 9000 feet.

Nope. I'm a 50 year old Navy Chief that can ...Deleted by CalHunter... My current command is Coastal Riverine Squadron 4 and right now I'm deployed to the Middle East. Ever been there? Kind of hot and dusty most the time.

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I'd like to point out that you have admitted that all you hunt is mulies and elk in CO. So just exactly what do you base the view point that they are the hardest when you haven't branched out? Have you hunted Blacktails? How about Couse Deer? Roosevelt Elk? Mountain Goat? Bighorn Sheep? Have you hunted mulies and elk in other states? Been to WY? How about MT? Hunted ID? NE? KS? TX? FL? NH? PA? AL? CA? H!? What about Canada and all the game they have? Or what about Mexico? They hunt mulies there. Nope, according to you all your experience is in one place for limited species. You undoubtedly have a lot of experience with those animals and I'm sure you know how to hunt them, but the world is a heck of a big place and if you haven't seen it then your claim is automatically voided.

Are elk and mulies difficult to hunt? Yep. Never claimed they weren't. Are they the hardest to hunt? In my experience no.

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You need to go back, and read the posts again. Not just this thread, but the others about the mule deer.

I said more than one time. Mule deer were hard in my area, the way that I hunt them. That's a simple statement that's not hard to understand. When i first brought this up on another thread. Someone mentioned they could get tags for 10-12 deer, and had months to get it done. I said that sounds kind of easy. At least it sounded easy to me, but i was only comparing it to what I face here. I struggle to a tag for one deer, and normally can't do it every year. As you know. Once you get the tag here they take all your points. Elk is much easier.

So, i'll say it one more time slowly. FOR ME....mule deer are harder to hunt here than elk. They are also harder to hunt than deer were in Mass, and all of New England when I lived there. Also harder than in California that I lived and hunted for 30 years. This is not just my opinion. All my hunting buddies agree. I hunt elk for meat. I hunt muley bucks for the challenge. I can call in elk. I can't call in mule deer. I can hunt elk in the timber where I do best. Muley bucks in muzzy season are above timberline. Elk are in the rut. Deer are not. My shots are close for elk in the timber. My shots are long for deer, and i'm using open sights. My vision is so bad that I have a license to use a scope in muzzy season, but I consider it unfair to other hunters, and won't use it. So, the long shots I have on bucks aren't taken. I have to get close, but i'm trying to do it in open country.

Altitude is also a challenge. No matter what shape I get into. 12,000ft will beat me up. I would be much happier hunting whitetails at lower altitudes in the timber. I've done both, and the whitetails were easier.

I repeat so there's no misunderstanding again. They're harder FOR ME!

You keep ragging on me for reading comprehension. Try to slow down, and read what i'm saying. I've also said so many times that I can't even count them. I don't push my methods on anybody else.