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Colorado 61 tag...should I also buy a muley voucher?

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Dorsey

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I'll be in 61 for 2nd season rifle. Should I buy a deer tag as well? In other words, do you find that the bucks and bulls hang in similar areas, where spending hard earned (wife UNapproved) cash on a deer voucher would be worth it?

I've hunted and backpacked in 61 but it's been a while. It just seems that every time I'm on an elk hunt, I see a huge buck, and vice versa. So it would be cool to have a tag for both, for sort of a once in a lifetime trip.

What say you?
 
Depends on if you want to kill a Mule Deer as well or not. If you buy a voucher, you'll most likely get one. Personally the $5000k Price tag they want is ridiculous, and I feel 61 is over hyped for mule deer. I just haven't seen the quality it's supposed to have. 62 is probably just as good if not better and vouchers are less than half. I would focus on that bull tag. That's a good tag.

Either way good luck I a few years out from my 61 bull tag. Make sure you post up your hunt.
 
Looks like you've snagged some good tags the last couple years...any stories to share?

As per the interrogative, I'd focus on maximizing success with the 61 bull paper.
 
x2 ishootdasmallones. Trophy quality IMO doesn't match the price tag for unit 61 deer tags, especially for 2nd season. If you were going 3rd season it would be a tougher call but it's hard to find the big bucks before the rut kicks in. Stick to filling the bull tag and go get that lifetime bull.
 
61 can be a bit discouraging for deer. You see ton's of elk, and can go days without seeing a mature buck.

However, I opine 61 is a great unit for big mule deer. It's a frustrating hunt due to the heavy cover that makes glassing so difficult. That heavy cover allows bucks to grow old and big.

I can't see paying that kind of $ though.

If you like bear hunting, the unit has a lot of bears. It might be worth picking up a bear tag.
 
I helped my brother during 1st rifle last year (elk). We saw a handful of deer while scouting and during the season. Nothing big enough to spend voucher money on.
 
It is your choice, obviously. If $5K is small peanuts for you, then I would buy the voucher. If $5K is not small peanuts, then I wouldn't. If it were me, I would focus on the bull tag. 61 is more famous for elk, then they are for deer. I'd focus at one animal at a time. On the contrary, if it helps to put your mind at ease to get a deer voucher in case you see a big deer, then do it.
 
If $5K is hobby money then grab a voucher. I define hobby money as an amount that if you lost it by dropping it on the ground one evening while walking around a strange city then the next day that loss of money would not alter any of your spending decisions.

My brother hunted Colorado a very long time ago for the first time. Could still get deer tags OTC. 1975 or so. He was on this out-of-state hunting trip for elk with my grandfather as a high school graduation present. Grandfather loved elk meat but not deer meat so was not pleased about seeing my brother buying a deer tag there at the sporting goods store as they crossed into CO. Not sure of the cost but am positive involved many cases of beer worth of money. That is generally how we measured cost as teenagers.

One critter was killed by the hunting party that year. A mule deer. By my brother. Biggest mule deer any of us have harvested.

So, you never know. Personally, I would focus on the elk hunt but I am old enough have been known to take a day off during a hunt so packing out two critters in the same week is not as much fun as once was.
 
You should concentrate on your bull tag. 61 will likely make you happy with a bull tag but disapointed with a buck tag that you paid too much for. I enjoyed my bull hunt there three years ago and we spend a lot of time camping up there until the mosquitoes quiet down on the Grand Mesa.
 
wannakillabigbull said:
61 is draw only for bears, and the draw is over. Assuming the OP is talking about going this year then bear hunting isn't an option.
Click to expand...

Look under "Expanded Bear Rifle Season" in the regulations. In 61 and other units, you get the deer or elk tag, and later can choose to add a bear tag that is valid during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th rifle seasons.

True Story.
 
T Bone said:
Look under "Expanded Bear Rifle Season" in the regulations. In 61 and other units, you get the deer or elk tag, and later can choose to add a bear tag that is valid during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th rifle seasons.

True Story.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. Thanks for educating me T Bone!
 
noharleyyet said:
Looks like you've snagged some good tags the last couple years...any stories to share?

As per the interrogative, I'd focus on maximizing success with the 61 bull paper.
Click to expand...

My Utah hunt was a bust. No elk movement during daylight hours, so I hunted timber and jumped a few, passed on a some young 5x5s while hunting the entire season. The biologist said it was the worst year he's ever seen on the unit. My Nevada deer tag was a similar story last year. Unfortunately I've cashed in some PPs and have nothing to show for it on those hunts.
 
ishootdasmallones said:
Depends on if you want to kill a Mule Deer as well or not. If you buy a voucher, you'll most likely get one. Personally the $5000k Price tag they want is ridiculous, and I feel 61 is over hyped for mule deer. I just haven't seen the quality it's supposed to have. 62 is probably just as good if not better and vouchers are less than half. I would focus on that bull tag. That's a good tag.

Either way good luck I a few years out from my 61 bull tag. Make sure you post up your hunt.
Click to expand...

Well, here's where I'm a bit unique. I prefer muleys over everything, even elk. Part of that preference is because of scarcity. Elk are flourishing out west, and deer are struggling. I hunt good bulls every year, either in Oregon or on a draw tag elsewhere. I have two bulls around 320, and I'm pretty sure I'll get the big one one day.

But muleys are my true passion, and I have no confidence whatsoever that I'll get a trophy wall like I want. I don't go on guided hunts or chase ranch deer; there's just something so magnetic about public land mountain muleys. And since I lost a monster in Region G fifteen years ago, I've not had a chance to tag another trophy muley. A couple of 24 inchers are all I have to show after 15 or 20 seasons of passing on young bucks.

61 is a great tag for Colorado elk, but if I get in there and see a good muley but don't have a tag in my pocket, I'll want to shoot myself. So I guess my answer is yes, I'd willingly spend the cash, even though it's overpriced, but what I don't know is if the bucks and bulls are likely to be in the same elevations/terrain in 2nd season. I'm not sure how to hunt it because I like to get out and climb and glass, but the Unc seems pretty thick in my limited experience. I'm guessing road hunters have a heyday there.

I'm half tempted to go locate a good buck during archery season, then find the elk nearby once rifle season opens. It sure looks like elk are everywhere, while bucks are fewer and farther between. Just not sure what someone with experience there would advize.

I plan to retire to Gunnison eventually. I just love Western Colorado, from backpacking to hunting to photography.

I have muley fever bad. But I also know what the cure is ;)
 
Last edited:
If you are able to swing an archery deer trip & the tag cost is no issue then I'd go during archery season. The deer will more focused on the oak brush crop at that time. From my experience there during archery I've seen several 170 - 180 bucks from the road in the oak brush, very accessible.
And definitely return for elk! Good luck and post up a report!
 
if the money is no big deal....do it....I drew a 1st season elk and 3rd deer the same year, if I had a deer and elk tag for the 2nd season that year I could have smoked multiple pig muleys. at least where I hunted the pig muleys were in the same area as the elk I hunted.
 
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