Colorado 61 vs 66
Contributors to this thread:Mule Deer
From: tkjwonta
11-Dec-20
Any thoughts on these two archery mule deer units, 61 and 66 in CO? I had been saving points for an early rifle hunt, but I'm wondering about one of these two hunts instead.
I know there's archery hunts in CO for 0-1 points that can produce great bucks, but the archery hunt might be my only opportunity to hunt one of these two renowned units as I have no interest in saving decades of points for later rifle hunts. I know the terrain will be quite different between these two units as 66 has much more high country, but how would you compare trophy quality in these two units. PMs welcome if you'd rather not share publicly.
From: brettpsu
11-Dec-20
PM sent
From: Sivart
11-Dec-20
I'm equally interested.
From: wildwilderness
12-Dec-20
Don’t know about 66, but I do know 61 has been bad. Buddy had a tag and access to some private. Didn’t see a buck worth shooting. Far cry from what it was 10 years ago. Too many lions there
From: lineman21
12-Dec-20
I have elk hunted both and would suggest 66 for an archery deer hunt over 61. I’m basing this off of my sightings and what I feel is better terrain for archery deer hunting. Keep in mind I’ve only spent a week or two in each unit so my opinion shouldn’t hold the weight of others who have much greater experience than I do in those units.
From: GrantK
15-Dec-20
I'd not waste any points for a 61 deer tag of any kind, especially archery, there's a handful of big bucks in there for sure but reliably finding one is pretty much a crapshoot, most 1 point units are better...
From: Quinn @work
15-Dec-20
I've elk hunted 61 3 times and agree with GrantK above. I wouldn't use any points to hunt 61 archery. If you're looking for a trophy archery muley hunt go to the eastern plains units. You can hunt during the rut.
From: YZF-88
15-Dec-20
I have 10 deer points in CO. Maybe my research is flawed but I’m not finding archery hunts that are really stand out as far as quality between a 0-1 unit... for a DIY archery hunt at least. I actually skipped buying a point last year.
From: Sivart
15-Dec-20
Isn't the eastern plains mainly private?
From: sticksender
15-Dec-20
There are plenty mountain units in Colorado where quality bucks live but the archery season dates make it a challenging hunt. That's why it takes 25 NR points to draw the best rifle unit in the state, but one point gets you in that same unit for bow season. Hopefully tkjwonta you'll get some PM's, because several guys here have hunted the units you cited.
From: wildwilderness
15-Dec-20
Don't skip a point, your best bet for a mountain hunt is to draw a 3rd or 4th season rut tag and hunt with your bow.
Eastern plains has very limited public, hard to draw those units.
From: Quinn @work
15-Dec-20
Sivart, Eastern Plains is mostly private but tkjwonta didn't say he would only do public land hunts. If he wants the best archery mule deer hunt in CO for his points and hunt during archery season he should be looking at the Eastern Plains units.
I see better bucks in 0-1 point mountain units than in 61.
