Unit 711 and 71 in Colorado

Hey fellas,

I know it's early, but we're planning a trip to unit 711 and 71 in Colorado in 2014. I've had some buddies that have been there in the past and said the deer population there is really good. My cousin killed one with a 29"+ spread there about 5 years ago. Anybody have any good, recent, information about those units; particularly 711? I think we're planning to hunt north-northeast of Egnar somehwhere south and southeast of Slick Rock around the Delores River. By the looks of the map it's in the southern ridges of Disappointmen Valley. Anyway, any info on this are would be a great help. It may also be a source of anticipation and/or reluctancy for the next year and a half. Thanks a lot.
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TexasHunter83
To be more clear, one of the guys going with us has said we're supposed to hunt somewhere down Disappointment Road south of CR 141.
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dahlmer
I'd be happy to help if I knew anything about that area, but I have not hunted that part of Colorado.

We did consider hunting 70 which is just north of you a couple of years ago which has a more liberal tag allotment than 71. From what I was able to gather deer densities are pretty good and the terrain is not terribly challenging. Beyond that I can't help much. I've always found the Colorado biologists to be helpful and have gotten some decent info out of the Forest Service and BLM as well.
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TexasHunter83
"dahlmer" wrote:I'd be happy to help if I knew anything about that area, but I have not hunted that part of Colorado.

We did consider hunting 70 which is just north of you a couple of years ago which has a more liberal tag allotment than 71. From what I was able to gather deer densities are pretty good and the terrain is not terribly challenging. Beyond that I can't help much. I've always found the Colorado biologists to be helpful and have gotten some decent info out of the Forest Service and BLM as well.
 That's alright man, thanks for the reply. I've looks at the 2011 population statistics after the hunting season and 70,71, and 711 have a pretty large herd. I think the total was over 22,000 mule deer in those three units; estimates of course. The success rates for 711 are around 54%. About 5 years ago my father and 12 other guys hunted 711 and all of them harvested a mule deer; one of them being a trophy buck. My dad's was a nice one. His was really symetrical and almost looked like it had some whitetail in him. Had 12 points all together. He was really tall but but not terribly wide. I'm just trying to get some more info on the area. I think my father and his group actually had some private land access in the area but the man that owned it died so we won't have the same access. Anyway, thanks again for the reply. You ever need any info about Texas let me know. I may not have the answer but I could certainly find out!
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TexasHunter83
Bump...? Anyone with any knowledge of these units? I may be taking a scouting trip this October. Would like any advice on some areas to check out. I'm not expecting anyone to give away their "honey hole" but maybe a push in the right direction as far as some good areas. Thanks
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711 great area but you have to know were you are. if you want some information

send me a PM

V/R
Mike
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The Disapointment area you are talking about is best hunted in November. These tags are the best and hardest to draw. I am a resident and have been working on drawing for the past three years. I have heard it takes four to five years for a resident to draw the late season tag. Unless you can get some landowner, general tags (pricey).
That said, it is a phenomenal place to hunt big bucks, especially if the mountains get alot of snow. Hunt the ridges and fingers running to Disapointment Creek. Make sure you stay on the right side of the creek, it is the unit boundary. If you have the people, slow deer drives work great.
Earlier season tags, the bucks are still on the mountains. Hunt the quakie thickets.
I'm not sure of the rest of the unit(s), but where I live in 711 the deer population is way down. We didn't have a hard winter, but we sure don't have the deer we have had the past few years. Maybe too many lions?
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TexasHunter83
Thanks for the info. It really helps out.
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Don't know about anyone else, but we shed hunted the ridges above disappointment creek two years ago and found tons of sheds. When we went higher up the hill looking for the bigger sheds, we started finding lots of winter killed bucks. You could tell they were bucks by the pedicles on the skulls.
My opinion is, its not how harsh the winter is, but when the heavy snow falls in the spring that kills off the big bucks. The snow fall late that spring was heavy, and I think it caught the deer midway between the summer and winter range, as evidenced by all the carcasses we found in their normal transition zone. The bigger bucks are already ran ragged from the rut, then when the heavy snow hits at middle elevations, they don't have the fat reserves to survive a heavy snow in the spring migration season.
I normally hit the winter range in disappointment every weekend filming, but after five or six trips last year, I gave up. The deer population overall was in great condition. The only problem was the rut was in full swing and the biggest bucks we seen weren't big enough to even get out the camera gear. I think biggest one we saw down there last winter was maybe 180" four point when usually I won't turn on the camera unless he's that size.
Maybe put in for the fourth season and by the time you get the tag (roughly six years), things will be back to normal. If you have your mind set though, you are looking in the right direction for a good buck. Best of luck :thumb
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TexasHunter83
Thanks for the information man. I have 3 points for Mulees. Next year will be my fourth for putting in. We're probably going to put in for the 2nd season hunt. I think it's the end of October. I've been told you can draw that hunt in 3 years. A guy we're going with used to draw a nonresident tag for that season every other year.
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good luck on a tag next year. My advice would be to get to a good vantge point, and glass down into the pinyon- pushdown areas. Once you actually see how thick the trees and brush are from ground level, you'll rule out a drive working. You may push out some small bucks, but the ones you drove all this way to hunt will double back on you in the thick trees, or just lay still while you walk right past them. Get a topo map of the area, figure out where your best glassing points would be, this area is full of ditches ten to fifteen feet deep where a monster buck could lay all day while hunters walk right by him and never know. Your main advantage is your optics. Get good binos, a good spotting scope, and find a high spot to glass from. Watch for the best angle to see through the trees, at one angle you can't ten feet, but go a few hundred feet one way or the other, the terrain opens up an you can see forever. With good optics, you can see forever, but won't have to walk far.
Also, practice for shots of 250-350 yards. Once you are up on these glassing spots and see a shooter, you likely won't get any closer. If you try to sneak in, the trees are thick enough you'll probably never see him again. Take the first good shot you have! :thumb
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TexasHunter83
Will do! Definitely a big help! A few years back a cousin of mine killed a good one in that unit near Disappointment Valley. I'm not sure exactly where, but my dad said it was near some little cemetery on top of a hill. (Not sure if you know where this is)

As far as hunting goes I probably won't do a whole lot of hiking. I'm not the type to ride around on an ATV to "hunt" them either. I'll probably find a "finger" going down into the valley to sit in. I'm not sure about mule deer but I know whitetail tend to follow the same paths in and out of their feeding and bedding areas. Do Muleys move around at certain times or do they just move around sporatically all day?
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Sounds like you're on the right track. As for your stragety of not hiking around a lot, in my opinion this is the best method for the country you're going to hunt. Without an army of foot soldiers, going into that chain timber with hopes of getting off a shot is amusing. When you see it you'll know what I mean. When you get into the deer, which usually isn't hard to do, the last thing you want do is lose patience, and go bumbling through the bedding areas and chase them to someone else who was sitting up high watching. Once you find a buck you like, he won't go far. Just remember, he has to get lucky for a week not to get shot, you just have to be lucky once to get a shot and good enough not to miss. As for thier movement patterns, I've sat on a buck all day and watched him get up and change beds three or four times a day. This is where being comfortable sitting behind your binos or spotting scope comes into play. They will lay down shortly after sunup, unless the rut's cranking, but will generally get up to feed for a while and change beds around ten in the morning. This period won't last for long, but could be just the opportunity you need. Things will get slow mid day, then again aboy one or two in the afternoon, they'll get up for a stretch, som food and find another place in the shade to lay down.
As for your other question, yes mulies are very predictiable in thier daily movements. If the rut is on, all bets are off though. You'll see a buck five miles from where you seen him the day before if the hot doe he's after wants to play hard to get. Your stragety of finding a high ridge a wait to see what happens is your best chance of success in my opinion.
I'm pretty sure I know what cemetary you're talking on the hill. If it's the same one, that would be in unit 70, on the north side of the creek. The terrain over there is a lot more open with some real nice high ridges to get on and see into several different drainages. Check out some areial photos. Might look into this unit as a second choice. Just in case.
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Moyersj
TexasHunter83:

Send me a PM and I will help you out. My dad and his buddies have been hunting 711 for 26 yrs. I have been hunting this unit for 4 years. Trophy Mule deer and Elk killed every year.
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TexasHunter83
Not to drag up a dead horse, but after talking to a buddy of mine and looking up the 5-year season structure, I think I was wrong about the dates we're planning to hunt next year. I was under the impression we'd be hunting the 2nd rifle season at the end of October. Instead, we'll be hunting Nov. 1st- Nov. 9th. It's the 3rd rifle season (only 2nd for Muleys: I think the first rifle season is limited elk). Anyway, any info on this time of year would be helpful. There's a group of friends actually leaving this Thursday to hunt the unit. Most for mule deer and a few for Elk. I'll try to find out any info I can after next week and share it. Thanks again!
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I'm coming into this thread a little late, but my family has been hunting 71/711 for 40+ years. There are good years and bad years, but we've taken a few nice deer out of there, as well as elk up a little higher.

You will draw for 3rd season with 3 points for sure, usually it only takes 1 or 2 points. Our group of 5 drew with only 1 last year.

As far as the hunting, like has already been said it is thick country so try to get up high and glass. We've had some success over the years pushing when we had bigger groups. Alot depends on the weather. If there has been early snow to get them migrating down it can be great, but if it's been dry and warm there isn't alot of movement. I've also seen it get warm the day the season opened and all movement just stop. If that happens, go higher up into the trees.

Glad you aren't a road hunter, there seem to be lots of them up there and I even saw a true Texas porcupine one year. There is usually a fair amount of hunting pressure in the unit too. 4 years ago we had a group from Texas camped below us with 14 guys, but only 5 had tags and the rest were just along for the fun. Well of course when I saw them 2 years later one bragged about the 8 deer they got 2 years earlier.

Looking at the draw results from this year we should draw with one point next year, so I'll be in the area as well.
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TexasHunter83
Cool deal! Maybe we'll run into one another up there. Sorry to hear about the Texas folk up there. Not everyone is like that I assure you. A lot of Texans, though, are used to hunting private land. 97% of the state is private land so they get used to screwing up their own hunting rather than someone else's. I hope it's not the same group that I know. They camp around Disappointment Creek in 711. I'm a pretty quiet hunter. I hunted a lease for 3 years and only fired my gun twice. Thanks for the tips. I will definitely take them into account.
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"TexasHunter83" wrote:Cool deal! Maybe we'll run into one another up there. Sorry to hear about the Texas folk up there. Not everyone is like that I assure you. A lot of Texans, though, are used to hunting private land. 97% of the state is private land so they get used to screwing up their own hunting rather than someone else's. I hope it's not the same group that I know. They camp around Disappointment Creek in 711. I'm a pretty quiet hunter. I hunted a lease for 3 years and only fired my gun twice. Thanks for the tips. I will definitely take them into account.
 No worries, just having a little fun with you. I'm sure Californians have just as bad of a reputation!

I got a PM from another member who is hunting up there this year. I gave him some tips and I'm looking forward to hearing how his hunt went. With the cold weather so early this year it probably helped that area quite a bit.
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TexasHunter83
"bh107" wrote:
TexasHunter83 wrote:Cool deal! Maybe we'll run into one another up there. Sorry to hear about the Texas folk up there. Not everyone is like that I assure you. A lot of Texans, though, are used to hunting private land. 97% of the state is private land so they get used to screwing up their own hunting rather than someone else's. I hope it's not the same group that I know. They camp around Disappointment Creek in 711. I'm a pretty quiet hunter. I hunted a lease for 3 years and only fired my gun twice. Thanks for the tips. I will definitely take them into account.
 No worries, just having a little fun with you. I'm sure Californians have just as bad of a reputation!

I got a PM from another member who is hunting up there this year. I gave him some tips and I'm looking forward to hearing how his hunt went. With the cold weather so early this year it probably helped that area quite a bit.
 LOL. We went to WY and hunted antelope last year and we stopped in Eastern CO for the night. We went to this little steak house in this small town for something to eat. Our waitress was really nice and asked where we were from. When we told her "Texas" she made a funny (humorous) face and said "Ah he**, here we go..." We all laughed about it and said, "It can't be that bad huh?" I can't remember the whole conversation but I thought it was pretty funny that we apparently had a reputation even though we'd never been there...

That's great, let me know how they do. I've been thinking the same thing about the early cold weather. Hopefully this will be the pattern for next year. I'm hoping there won't be a too terribly cold winter though; I need those big bucks to hang around for next year.
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TexasHunter83
Talked to a friend of mine who hunted with a group of guys in 711 and 70 a couple of weeks ago. They camped in the same spot but hunted two different units. I get the feeling they had a slow year. In 711 they saw a lot of does and a lot of small bucks. They killed six deer from what I was told. The largest being a 27" wide 5x5. It was a 4x4 with two drop tines. The second largest was 4x4 that was 26" wide. He said it should have been a 30" deer but one of the antlers grew inward more than the other. He said if it had grown normally it would have been close to 30". My friend was hunting cow elk in 70 and said they came up empty handed. He said they ended up seeing all of the elk south of Disappointment Creek in unit 711 (which they couldn't hunt.) I'll see if I can't get my hands on some pictures.
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How did this hunt go?

I'm thinking of trying these units for the bow hunts next year. I live in NM and haven't drawn an elk tag in 6 years. Starting to get a little pissed off about that.

If I read it correctly, 71 and 711 have either sex deer tags if you can draw it and over the counter either sex elk tags. I am a pure bowhunter and am not a trophy hunter by any means. I'll be just fine with a doe and a cow. May even consider a bear tag to make it a safari.
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"TheFist" wrote:How did this hunt go?

I'm thinking of trying these units for the bow hunts next year. I live in NM and haven't drawn an elk tag in 6 years. Starting to get a little pissed off about that.

If I read it correctly, 71 and 711 have either sex deer tags if you can draw it and over the counter either sex elk tags. I am a pure bowhunter and am not a trophy hunter by any means. I'll be just fine with a doe and a cow. May even consider a bear tag to make it a safari.
 Deer archery tags for this unit usually will require at least 1 preference point, and based on the number of tags this year it will probably be 2 points next year.

Archery elk tags are either sex for a good number of zones, and are available over the counter.
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TexasHunter83
They did pretty well from what I understand. They said they saw a lot of deer. Not too many elk where they hunt. I think you'd have to head to the eastern side of the unit to really get into the good elk areas. They've hunted disappointment creek (in unit 711) southeast of Slick Rock for several years. They've killed a few cow elk there but say they don't see many legal bulls. They guys killed 6 or seven muley bucks this year. 3 of which were really good ones (in my opinion). They said they saw plenty of bucks but many of them were young or small; so they let them go. I've got some pictures but I'm working on editing and cropping the guys' faces out because they're not my photos and I don't know how I feel about posting someone else's picture on the internet. I'm thinking of cropping the guys out of them and just showing the deer.
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