Mule Deer Fanatic

A Craig Colorado man named Darwin Vesely has killed a 203 inch monster buck. According to the Craig Daily Press, the current mule deer record for Moffat County is 197. The monster buck was killed on Nov 3, 2007 in unit 2, Douglas mountains.

According to Rick Kahn, Colorado’s Big Game Manager, 2007 is going to be a good year for killing a large Mule Deer Buck. He is estimating a deer population of over 600,000 in 55 separate herds.  I think he must be counting whitetails as well as mule deer, since he says there are 70,000 more deer than ten years ago.

Kahn estimates that the buck/doe ratio is 31/100.  He says that hunter success for 2006 was 46% and that 33,885 bucks were harvested.  The number of hunters has dropped by two thirds since the early 1990’s  The number of deer hunters went from 250,000 in 1993 to 160,000 in 1997 to  90,000 from 1999 forward.

Kahn says the DOW is having a hard time recruiting doe hunters ( and that is good – I hope no one is killing does ), and that there are still 15,000 unfilled doe tags available.

Kahn cannot figure out why Mule Deer Hunters are after trophy racks instead of just venison.  He doesn’t realize that the scarcity created by the DOW causes trophy Mule Deer to be in much higher demand, relatively speaking.

So, if you are fortunate enough to have drawn a Mule Deer tag in Colorado, get out there and see for yourself.

According to a recent Denver Post article, Colorado Mule Deer are on the rebound. Some sources are saying that the Colorado mule deer population is up to 650,000 animals. Other sources say that Colorado once boasted 1.2 million mule deer.  In 1988,  Colorado claimed 750,000 mulies.

The Mule Deer Foundation was right there claiming credit for the increase in animals, with minor projects to their credit, such as fencing out cows, chopping down trees, and blocking oil and gas development.  I did not notice any predator elimination projects, which could have really made a difference. 

According to Colorado DOW representatives, the drastic decrease in hunting pressure since 1999 and a series of mild winters are the main factors in increased mule deer numbers in the state. What do you think the chances are that Colorado will go back to over-the-counter tags? 

This map will give you a good start if you are looking to hunt Mule Deer in Colorado.

CLICK: COLORADO MAP

CLICK: COLORADO MAP

Well folks,

I got busy and missed the deadline for applying for a mule deer hunt in Colorado. That hasn’t happend to me much, and I regret to say that I missed the opportunity. Nevertheless, I will run a series of posts to inform and entertain you would-be Colorado Mule Deer Fanatics.

Once upon a time, Colorado had a real good thing going with unlimited over-the-counter mule deer tags. The deer hunt was practically a holiday, and the deer herd was large. So was the harvest.

Today, other than certain private land situations, all Colorado mule deer hunting is by draw only, and the number of hunters has been severely limited. Getting enough brownie points to draw a tag in one of the better areas is a time consuming activity.

Happy hunting and may the Force be with you