I would highly recommend putting in for Unit 52 for a DIY hunt between my uncle and cousin they have killed 5 or 6 190+ in the last 7yrs up there its rough country but the big ones live there my uncle has pic of several in the 36-40" scouting. My dad killed a 228" in there 10yrs ago.

Just moved to TX from CO...will help if I can.

All deer hunts in CO are by draw only. Premium units will take many years to draw particularly as a Non-res. As mentioned previously there is a landowner voucher program that is pretty well out of whack at this point. The "voucher brokers" have swooped in and the prices are getting out of control in my humble opinion. In addition, it is possible to buy a landowner voucher for a unit and then have that landowner subsequently withhold permission to hunt their land. DOW is currently reviewing/revising this program to get things under control.

I like to hunt every year so I quit playing the points game. The CO DOW publishes a wealth of drawing and harvest stats on their website. Using this data I used to look for units that were easy to draw with few or no points and then started looking at harvest stats by season.

PM me to chat or if you want more info or help wading through all of the data but here are some suggestions:

Units 18/37 (I think???) I believe fall within the same hunt code and there are usually leftovers for these units...this is steep and deep country and you'll need to push yourself physically and mentally but there are a lot of deer in those big basins. A buddy hunted it archery this year and saw alot of animals before having to pull out for a family emergency. Bonus is these units are over the counter elk tags. 90 minutes west of Denver on I-70.

Unit 20 is a front range unit up I-25 N of Denver. Locals will poo-poo this unit but if your dad wants a milder hunt there's an outfit that offers 2-3 day private land hunts for like $850. I'll have to find the link to their site. They won't be monsters but they have some solid 4x4s in there. Easy access from DIA.


In CO the seasons work a bit differently as you get a month for archery, and then approximately a week for each rifle season 1-4. 1st rifle is antlered only, 2-4 will vary on sex by unit and management regime. You get approximately a 1 week hunt per season, 1 animal only, with second rifle being the most popular as it spans 2 weekends. The earlier it is, the higher up you'll need to go.

I'll dig out my old stuff from past hunts and post a few links here for you. Happy to help any way I can.

Brian

Yep, location and weather are huge factors, then add hunting pressure after 2nd season. Private land, especially with alfalfa fields, or other AG, are hot spots when the migration happens. Biggest concentration of mature bucks I would see, that where more accessible, was usually late season near rut in November. Early season usually will keep you hunting in higher rougher terrain, but a higher amount of public land opportunity IMO

Pre-2007, I found one bowl that was holding 500 deer with about half being bucks...after 08 it's been a steady build to where it's back to over 200. Starts building before 2nd and deer move off and new ones move in all the way to Jan.

Just moved to TX from CO...will help if I can.

All deer hunts in CO are by draw only. Premium units will take many years to draw particularly as a Non-res. As mentioned previously there is a landowner voucher program that is pretty well out of whack at this point. The "voucher brokers" have swooped in and the prices are getting out of control in my humble opinion. In addition, it is possible to buy a landowner voucher for a unit and then have that landowner subsequently withhold permission to hunt their land. DOW is currently reviewing/revising this program to get things under control.

I like to hunt every year so I quit playing the points game. The CO DOW publishes a wealth of drawing and harvest stats on their website. Using this data I used to look for units that were easy to draw with few or no points and then started looking at harvest stats by season.

PM me to chat or if you want more info or help wading through all of the data but here are some suggestions:

Units 18/37 (I think???) I believe fall within the same hunt code and there are usually leftovers for these units...this is steep and deep country and you'll need to push yourself physically and mentally but there are a lot of deer in those big basins. A buddy hunted it archery this year and saw alot of animals before having to pull out for a family emergency. Bonus is these units are over the counter elk tags. 90 minutes west of Denver on I-70.

Unit 20 is a front range unit up I-25 N of Denver. Locals will poo-poo this unit but if your dad wants a milder hunt there's an outfit that offers 2-3 day private land hunts for like $850. I'll have to find the link to their site. They won't be monsters but they have some solid 4x4s in there. Easy access from DIA.


In CO the seasons work a bit differently as you get a month for archery, and then approximately a week for each rifle season 1-4. 1st rifle is antlered only, 2-4 will vary on sex by unit and management regime. You get approximately a 1 week hunt per season, 1 animal only, with second rifle being the most popular as it spans 2 weekends. The earlier it is, the higher up you'll need to go.

I'll dig out my old stuff from past hunts and post a few links here for you. Happy to help any way I can.

Brian

I can sure relate to that. Fellas that didn't hunt Colorado in the 70's,80's, may never know how wonderful it was back then, I still understand they aren't sure why the decline. i am glad the tags are harder to get in a way, there is still damn nice bucks, but nothing like 15+ years ago IMO.

I didn't hunt it in the 70s & 80s, but dang sure got to see the Gunnison Basin when it was sitting at roughly 60-70:100. 3rd & 4th seasons you just didn't spend much time stopping to look at 180" deer.