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I was hoping to get a little information about Mule Deer in Unit 20. Does Unit 20 require many preference points to hunt Mule Deer? Are there good Mule Deer numbers? What are the best dates to see and harvest Mule Deer? We are exploring the option since we have family that lives in Berthoud.
Thanks
Start with the statistics on the CPW website. They have good draw statistics that will help you figure out the point requirements to draw. The population and harvest statistics can be deceptive, but can give a general idea of what is going on in that area.
There are typically two times that mule deer bucks are more vulnerable - before they shed their velvet and during the rut. We typically have about a week or two in archery season west of I-25 to hunt bucks in velvet, then they strip out, hold tighter to the trees and get much harder to find. The rut hunts are typically all "any weapon" (rifle) hunts and require a lot of points.
Good luck!
I drew 20 last year on my second choice so you should be able to get on your first choice. There are 7100 deer in this unit according to the CPW. I believe the deer are spread out at both low and high elevations. Their is quite a bit of private land in the area so get some good maps. Good Luck!
To guarantee an archery tag you need to put in 1st choice. A few guys drew as second choice. Muley numbers are not high. You will find deer but its nothing great. Success estimate for archery was 11% last year.
The only other tag without points you might look at is a unit 19 elk tag. Its nothing special but you could hunt it from Berthoud. Decent draw odds and parts of 19 aren't that far away if you are day hunting. Like unit 20, it wouldn't be my first choice without some other factor like convenience.
Plenty of ground but many spots require being careful about boundaries as there is quite a bit of patchwork private land in parts.
I would go at the beginning of archery season. As Treeline stated, they are generally more predictable and visible in velvet and all the rifle tags are hard to draw without points. I live in 20 and usually hunt somewhere else. When I have hunted here its due to convenience.
Well, It is sounding like there should be much better options than Unit 20. In general, do you find landowners to be receptive to hunters in Colorado? Thanks for the helpful information guys.
In general, land owners are receptive to hunting here but they are individuals and like a box of chocolates. Some want no hunting, some only let relatives or close friends hunt, many (most?) with quality hunting are fine with it as long as the check clears, and some you could get on with a door knock and a conversation. I would not plan a hunt expecting to find decent private land during season. It needs to be set up ahead of time and theres a decent chance you won't find a decent place even then. Most good spots are locked up by relatives, friends, or leases. The good news is that there is ample public land for muleys and elk.
I've walked up to within 20 yards of mulies in GMU 20 at around 8000' They just chewed and stared. Not once but multiple times. I'm figuring its gonna be a fairly easy hunt but then I am just after meat not horns. I expect to draw resident tag with 1 pt.
Last year they issued 500 archery deer tags in unit 20. Personal opinion, it is to many tags. For elk they only issue 100 archery tags. When you draw the elk tag, there are a lot of deer hunters to contend with.
My buddy took a 33 inch wide 3x3 off public land just outside of estes.
