LCH Colorado 2020 Deer Hunt
Dec 28, 2020 11:13:35 GMT -5
Woody Williams, hornzilla, and 11 more like this
Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 28, 2020 11:13:35 GMT -5
2020 was the second year in a row that I was able to snag a Colorado mule deer tag off of their online leftover list. Colorado allows hunters to return tags obtained through the draw process for a refund under certain conditions, and those tags are then posted for sale first come/first served. Although each tag I've grabbed has been a 2 or 3 point tag, you keep your points if you pick it up off of the leftover list. This makes Colorado an attractive option to be able to hunt every year while still building points to be used at a future time. The only downside, if you could consider it one, is that you've got to be flexible with your hunt dates and hunt areas. When a decent tag is posted, it is usually purchased within seconds, so if you want the tag you've got to be fast.
My tag this year was an early rifle season in an area I'd never been to, beginning 10/1. My dad rode along for this hunt, and we had to detour on the drive in due to a large fire burning nearby. We would have the privilege of watching planes and helicopters battle the blaze for the duration of our stay.
We arrived in the hunt area a couple days prior to opener to get the lay of the land. I was so surprised by the lack of people that I kept checking my GPS to make sure we were really on public ground. Although we were early for my hunt, it was still OTC archery elk and archery deer on a draw, and bear, moose, and pronghorn were either already open or about to begin 10/1 as well. We found out later that nearly all of the other camps were clustered on a different road closer to town, and we didn't have anyone else camped within several miles of us.
I take my Kodiak Canvas tent on most of my cool season hunts, unless I'm going solo and sleeping in the car. With a good cot and a propane heater, it's about as comfortable as a camp can be. I usually do my cooking right in the tent in the evenings. I normally eat quick and easy stuff for breakfast and lunch, then prepare a hot meal for supper. This trip we had deer tacos, store-bought bratwursts, elk burgers, and pizza I had precooked at home.
I did a bit of hiking during the two scouting days and first hunting day, but it soon became apparent that glassing from the roads was the ticket for seeing lots of deer. A good portion of the hunt area had burned just a few years prior, which made for good ground level feed and good glassing opportunities. My dad, who rode along with me for the hunt, kept a rough count of the daily deer sightings. I don't remember the exact numbers, but we were in the vicinity of 100 deer each day with probably 30 to 40 being bucks. Conditions weren't great for deer hunting with warm temps and a nearly full moon, but they still seemed to be moving fairly well.
I never do a very good job with pictures, but I was able to snap a few photos of some deer that were fairly close. Most were just too far away for my camera to capture though. On the two scouting days we saw a big, heavy 3 point, several good 4 points, and a 5x7 buck, all glassed from the road.
We saw a few moose also. Moose rut in this area in late September/early October, so bulls were on the move.
The evening before opener, we started to see a few more vehicles cruising the roads. By opening day, vehicle traffic had picked up quite a bit, but we were still seeing deer. All the big bruisers we saw on the scouting days had disappeared though. By the end of opening day I had looked over quite a few bucks, but none of the big ones we had seen prior.
The fire, as seen from camp:
I was starting to become concerned about both the fires and the increasing vehicular traffic. Day two of season was a Friday, and I felt that it was likely that hunting pressure would continue to increase as we progressed into the weekend. The wind had been mostly blowing the smoke away from us, but a day or two of easterly winds would put our area right into the danger zone and risk the closure and evacuation of the hunt area.
I try to make it a rule to not pass on the first day what I would be happy with on the last day of the hunt. I had already broken this rule, so on day two I decided to take the next decent buck I found.
A couple hours into that mornings' glassing, I spotted 5 or 6 bucks. The first several were not shooters, but then I saw a 4 point a little further up the hill from them. He was probably 400-500 yards from the road, and probably 500' higher than us. We drove around up above them and out of sight, and I got out and started back down in their direction. I was able to use the topography of the hillside to get to within about 100 yards of where I'd seen them, then I settled into position and waited. It didn't take long before a smaller buck fed into view, followed by the 4 point, quartering away. I aimed at the back of the ribs, and at the shot he took off sprinting straight downhill out of sight. Within a few seconds I heard a crashing noise.
Although not nearly as big as some of the bucks we had seen on the scouting days, I was very glad to take him. He is pretty much exactly what I had in mind when imagining how this trip would play out.
As far as seeing what I consider quality bucks, this was by far the best deer hunt I've been on. The neat thing about it is that I've got enough points that I'd be likely to get the tag again, but through the draw this time around. I'm not sure it will align with my schedule in 2021 though, but possibly the year after.
My tag this year was an early rifle season in an area I'd never been to, beginning 10/1. My dad rode along for this hunt, and we had to detour on the drive in due to a large fire burning nearby. We would have the privilege of watching planes and helicopters battle the blaze for the duration of our stay.
We arrived in the hunt area a couple days prior to opener to get the lay of the land. I was so surprised by the lack of people that I kept checking my GPS to make sure we were really on public ground. Although we were early for my hunt, it was still OTC archery elk and archery deer on a draw, and bear, moose, and pronghorn were either already open or about to begin 10/1 as well. We found out later that nearly all of the other camps were clustered on a different road closer to town, and we didn't have anyone else camped within several miles of us.
I take my Kodiak Canvas tent on most of my cool season hunts, unless I'm going solo and sleeping in the car. With a good cot and a propane heater, it's about as comfortable as a camp can be. I usually do my cooking right in the tent in the evenings. I normally eat quick and easy stuff for breakfast and lunch, then prepare a hot meal for supper. This trip we had deer tacos, store-bought bratwursts, elk burgers, and pizza I had precooked at home.
I did a bit of hiking during the two scouting days and first hunting day, but it soon became apparent that glassing from the roads was the ticket for seeing lots of deer. A good portion of the hunt area had burned just a few years prior, which made for good ground level feed and good glassing opportunities. My dad, who rode along with me for the hunt, kept a rough count of the daily deer sightings. I don't remember the exact numbers, but we were in the vicinity of 100 deer each day with probably 30 to 40 being bucks. Conditions weren't great for deer hunting with warm temps and a nearly full moon, but they still seemed to be moving fairly well.
I never do a very good job with pictures, but I was able to snap a few photos of some deer that were fairly close. Most were just too far away for my camera to capture though. On the two scouting days we saw a big, heavy 3 point, several good 4 points, and a 5x7 buck, all glassed from the road.
We saw a few moose also. Moose rut in this area in late September/early October, so bulls were on the move.
The evening before opener, we started to see a few more vehicles cruising the roads. By opening day, vehicle traffic had picked up quite a bit, but we were still seeing deer. All the big bruisers we saw on the scouting days had disappeared though. By the end of opening day I had looked over quite a few bucks, but none of the big ones we had seen prior.
The fire, as seen from camp:
I was starting to become concerned about both the fires and the increasing vehicular traffic. Day two of season was a Friday, and I felt that it was likely that hunting pressure would continue to increase as we progressed into the weekend. The wind had been mostly blowing the smoke away from us, but a day or two of easterly winds would put our area right into the danger zone and risk the closure and evacuation of the hunt area.
I try to make it a rule to not pass on the first day what I would be happy with on the last day of the hunt. I had already broken this rule, so on day two I decided to take the next decent buck I found.
A couple hours into that mornings' glassing, I spotted 5 or 6 bucks. The first several were not shooters, but then I saw a 4 point a little further up the hill from them. He was probably 400-500 yards from the road, and probably 500' higher than us. We drove around up above them and out of sight, and I got out and started back down in their direction. I was able to use the topography of the hillside to get to within about 100 yards of where I'd seen them, then I settled into position and waited. It didn't take long before a smaller buck fed into view, followed by the 4 point, quartering away. I aimed at the back of the ribs, and at the shot he took off sprinting straight downhill out of sight. Within a few seconds I heard a crashing noise.
Although not nearly as big as some of the bucks we had seen on the scouting days, I was very glad to take him. He is pretty much exactly what I had in mind when imagining how this trip would play out.
As far as seeing what I consider quality bucks, this was by far the best deer hunt I've been on. The neat thing about it is that I've got enough points that I'd be likely to get the tag again, but through the draw this time around. I'm not sure it will align with my schedule in 2021 though, but possibly the year after.
