New to Deer Hunting - Please help!
 

Hi guys,
I am a beginner deer hunter and this year will be my first time deer hunting. I drew a tag in CO for a GMU and I have been in this location before scouting for Turkey. I scouted this location in March and found some deer trails and lots and lots of poop! But they seemed a bit old looking at their freshness. Now my question is, what should I focus on for deer hunting in this particular location? I'll be targeting mule deer in this location. I really don't know much about where to begin after I've found all these signs. I do plan on scouting this area before deer season opens. Will most likely be hunting during the evening also. Please let me know if you guys need more details. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

You might want to check your GMU on Colorado's website. A lot of times the state websites will have good general information on a unit.

CO has a link to interactive maps for all GMUs. You can add whatever filters you want and customize it. This means you can put in things like deer summer range and deer winter range. You can put in roads, camping spots, public lands etc... and the maps can be downloaded. That's the first thing I would do and the second thing is get in touch with the wildlife biologist for that area and pick his/her brain for hunting info. I have found the biologists to be a very good source of info. Take what they tell you and put that info onto the map you made.

You should have put this thread in the Big Game forum. Unless you drew an eastern unit you'll be hunting for mule deer.

What unit and season are you talking about?

Not necessarily. I killed a 3x3 whitetail along the CO River by Kremmling when I was 17 years old and I have seen a lot of whitetails in hay meadows between Rand and Gould in the winter. Granted the vast majority of the deer in the high country are mulies but there are whitetails there. Teddy Roosevelt wrote about killing a whitetail around Gore Pass more than 100 years ago.

Most are down near the Arkansas on private land around here. At least that's the only place i've seen them but I don't hunt the whole state. Still, he would be better off using mule deer tactics if he wants success in mule deer units.

Hi Muley,

I apologize if this was in the wrong section. I'll be hunting GMU 19 and second rifle season (Oct 20-28). That GMU is for mule deer, where I'll be going, I've seen lots of mule deer does in the non hunting portion of the park. I think I've found the perfect location too but not really sure how to target that location. Thanks!

No problem at all. I just think you'd get a bigger response in the big game forum for a western hunt. Maybe post it again there and see id someone who has hunted unit 19 can give you some help. It sounds like you live close enough to scout 19. That's a big advantage. I hunt a bit different than most, but most who hunt muley's will glass for them in a high ridge. Then either take a long shot if you have the skill or sneak in closer. Your hunt is in the last part of Oct. Your best scouting will be in early-mid Oct.

Appreciate your answer! Will post this in the other forum as well. Thanks for the tip!