Deer hunting in Colorado with 3 points
 

There are some good areas north of Rifle CO north of Rifle Gap Reservoir up on Coulter Mesa that you can probably draw with 3 points. Used to hunt that area with my father. Lots of nice 3x3 and 4x4s up there but I'll admit I never saw a really huge buck just good solid mulies. Most of that country is aspens, scrub oak and sagebrush so it is pretty easy to get around in. A plus is with the scrub oaks there is always a decent chance on a bear and CO non-res bear tags are only $100.

We always had good luck in south central Colorado area 83.

Good, solid mulies look huge to us Ohio guys.

-Jake

How many points does it take for unit 83? Wait, it looks like 83 is private land only?

Very true!

Flags I'm looking into it. When was the last time you hunted there?

7 maybe 8 years ago. Dad died so I hunt elsewhere now. Wish I had more current info but I just don't. Looking at the GMU map for CO that is Unit 33 and according to the drawn out recaps it took 2 points for a buck tag for the 3rd and 4th rifle season last year.

I saw that and it's close enough to Rifle I could just stay their vs setting up a camp.

Yes 83 is private and where Rob, Dave and I hunted for over a decade. We all hunted mostly elk but did draw deer at least once. When I hunted deer it took 3 points but know it now takes 5 or more. We also hunted area 85 and 861 which is nearby and has a lot of public land. I havent looked lately but there was quite a bit of data put out by co dow that tells all the statistics and draw results of every wmu. Good luck.

After looking a little closer I'm finding out that a lot of the units I can deer hunt with 3 points has OTC elk tags. I've looked at some outfitters that offer a combo hunt that's really not too bad in price so more than likely I'll go that route.

I think that is a great choice. There are some really good Colorado OTC public lands elk hunts. Going with an outfitter should improve success. Colorado hunting is really fun.

Unit 83 is all private and takes 6-7 points to draw now. Some good bucks there.

After taking my first bull last year and seeing how big and the amount of work that goes into it, I don't want to attempt to do a DIY hunt by myself.

We always had a team to help with extraction of an elk. Most times it was 3 of us, but occasionally 4-5. Made it so we could do the pack out in one trip.

And what a team it was. Our first year all 3 of us scored on the same day and had them all quartered and out to the truck by mid afternoon.

Im sure some guys have yet to hunt elk/deer in CO. so this might help

I grew up hunting elk DIY. It is a different ball game than hunting whitetails in the local woodlot. Getting a big bull (or even a little bull or cow) out of the woods is a lot different than simply grabbing an antler and dragging them to the road. Learn to use the gutless method and always carry a packframe. I once killed a big 5 pt that was 12 miles from the trailhead. Took 4 trips to get him out, 2 for me and 2 for my cousin I was hunting with. 24 miles per trip. That one was hard on me and I was a whole lot younger back then. I wouldn't shoot an elk that far back in now but I did pack a quartered down 6 pt buck 3.2 miles last year. Growing old sucks.

Yes it is harder than people can imagine. One year one of our group killed a 7X6 about 5 miles back in area 861. Our whole camp of 5 or 6 guys spent the next day going in to get him out. We started out at 9000 ft trailhead and had to climb over an 11500 ridge to get back into a bowl at around 9500 ft. On the way in we killed another smaller bull and took care of it then left it for the next day. Lucky for Rob and I the guy that got the big bull was really fit as was the guy who shot the smaller bull. They were like Jack rabbits and came back to help us after they got their loads back to the trucks. I carried the head and rack which was lighter than a quarter but at times I thought I wasn't going to get back over the ridge. Sadly my knees couldn't take that kind of hunt now. Yup getting old sucks.

I agree with all of you about getting older. I'm still in pretty good share and always end up doing more than I should for my age, but hey, that's what keeps me going! I have to admit, when I get over 9000 ft it kicks my but. I live at 1000 ft.