Mule Deer ???

I have a archery license for unit 85 in southern colorado. I have killed 1 elk there with a bow. Last year hunting elk i ran into a huge buck but didn't have a license.

This year i have one. I was wondering how really to hunt mule deer bucks. This is not on flat open land. This is public land and has a lot of oak scrub, pine tree's, few aspen's, water hole's, water tanks. I just don't know how to hunt them. With or without treestand or what???
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a3dhunter
Get there and do some hiking. You will find trails they are using in the scrub oak and you will find hillsides that have a lot more sign than others. When you find these, take a look around and notice what is special about them, it may be the proximity to water, or a steep hillside, something that the other slopes don't have. Know where the water is and you can spend mid day checking streams or water tanks to see what kind of sign they have, if they are getting hit hard thend spend an evening watching that water hole. When you find a well used trail, backtrack to see where they are coming from or what they were doing. Find a high point and watch for movement during the first hour of daylight. Don't be afraid to sit and glass for hours, you may not see the buck within a hundred yards of you until they decide to move. Be patient.
Good luck, anyone else have a thought.
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Default Avatar
Glassing a lot is the best way for mule deer. Also, when you get into whatever town is close to there, ask locals for tips. I did that on a hunt in Colorado and this local explained that every night the big bucks would come out of the hills (like you described: lots of brush and trees, some water holes) and would go down to the river to feed and drink. Sure enough, it was like a migration every evening. We ended up takin a great big old 11x13 nontypical that weighed about 250 lbs field dressed, as well as a nice 160 class 4x4. I'd trust the advice of a local over anything else you might hear.
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killerbee
good point, i acually have a buddy that when he draws for a new area he goes in to the local pub, buys the house a round to make freinds , then startes talking to people about the area. obviosly you have to find the ones that are not trashed and dont throw you a bunch o B.S.. but there is usually a couple with great info to get you started.
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NONYA
I have seen out of state hunters attempt that around here and more often than not they get sent on a wild goose chase,not that many locals in my area are going to give up thier honey hole to some guy that just bought them a beer,I would do some reasearch using the F&G stats and harvest surveys,people who really know the area arnt going to send you to the best spots.
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killerbee
i agree you wouldn't have any luck trying to hound someone for their honey hole, but you can usually get a starting point and from there it's about hunting. any normal person would give you a "general" area even if it's in the complete opposite dirrection of where they hunt. in the end you still have to do the hunting for yourself.
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