No big bucks/ all big bucks being killed

Bookhead

Bookhead

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So I've been reading allot of posts on here that the old mature bucks are just not in Colorado anymore but also that no one is killing them soooo where are they going then? ?
 
They don’t last forever. The 2017 winter killed a lot of deer and since then CPW has issued so many more tags in an effort to slow the spread of cwd. They don’t reach maturity with those odds.
 
I think a lot died of old age and a lot of younger ones were killed a long the way getting us to where we are at. Still some good ones out there and I think Colorado still produces more big bucks than any other state.
 
Colorado’s deer population declined by 28% between 2006 and 2018 (CPW data).

With the recent focus on killing mature bucks, I think it’s safe to say that their demographic has declined at least that much.

Care to guess how much the licenses have declined in the same timeframe?
 
What’s a “chiyetanka”? I saw a chupacabra once, but he was flying across the road in the headlights. Yes, they fly.
 
Bluehair said:
What’s a “chiyetanka”? I saw a chupacabra once, but he was flying across the road in the headlights. Yes, they fly.
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Lakota Sioux for Sasquatch. Lots get shot and never get posted on the internet. Same……. as big mule deer.

You know it’s true.
 
2lumpy said:
Lakota Sioux for Sasquatch. Lots get shot and never get posted on the internet. Same……. as big mule deer.

You know it’s true.
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I actually didn’t know there were Native American legends about squatch’s. :oops: I vaguely understand the “two spirit” origin story which proves the existence of homosexuality outside of the democrat party. I can only conclude that bigfoots are real based on chiyetonka’s.:oops:
 
2lumpy said:
So to with big chiyetanka, dragons, unicorns. They’re there, you just need to get off the road, away from the slob hunters.
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If you can't find any dragons your not trying that hard or putting in any effort. Now unicorns are another story. Ever since they they doubled the amount of tags given out its really hard to find any unicorns in the 4.5 year old or older age class. The summer of 2019 didn't help at all when it got really hot and alot of the unicorn eggs hatched early and they didn't make it.
 
After spending 16 FULL days in Gunnison this year scouting and then hunting I got a good feel for the area. Not just showing up on Friday and running four side by sides in a train one after another wondering where the deer/elk are and then shooting the first thing with horns in sight, sorry for the rant. I think it is a combination of the 16/17 winter and then increasing tags to quickly, it was trimmed back a little this year on numbers but still higher than it should be. The age structure is out of whack and may recover some with another 2 or 3 normal to light winters, but if there is another bad winter soon it will be a disaster. I did find two bucks that were shooters (180 plus) I kept the bar high, this was out of approximately 118 bucks found in seven full days of scouting, I wrote down bucks/doe numbers daily and kept a tally. I was not able to turn them back up after the hoards showed up Friday morning and did their "scouting" Friday afternoon. I ate my tag and was totally ok with it, I was able to get some great pics and watch deer and sometimes elk daily ( hint they are not on the road ) and pronghorn, moose sometimes. I found Bighorns one day which was a treat.
 
I spent the entire 3rd season hunting out of Gunnison from daylight until dark. when talking to hunters in the field, at the motel and restaurants hunting all the Gunnison units nobody was seeing big bucks dead or alive.

I'm sure there were bucks over 180 taken but I didn't see or hear about them. saying lots of big bucks were taken but carefully hidden and kept secret is nonsense. very few were taken I'd bet on that.

Some guys on here have been saying the Colorado glory days are over for a few years and I didn't believe them. I do now.
 
No doubt a few were. but I bet I talked to 25% of the 66 3rd hunters and none of us had seen a good buck or knew of any taken. so I think the proper way to put it is a " few " good bucks were killed.

And what is " good " ? I waited 25 years so something 180 + is what I consider good . if you just want a 4 point then yes good bucks are being taken still.
 
There are still mega bucks in western Colo especially in units that offer fewer tags and where mature bucks can age in rough, remote country and/or private land. the cpw position is late rut season dates plus more tags to harvest older age bucks that supposedly will magically decrease the spread and occurance of cwd. Everyone that’s spent time around cwd knows that’s a bunch of crock.

Yep, every year the cpw offers the deadly late rifle season dates plus high tag #’s the fewer and fewer old age class bucks that will be available.

It really is a shame that hunters wait upwards of 20+ years for tags with younger and younger age class bucks available each coming year.

If you have a gob of pref pts I would lobby the cpw to curtail the late season dates plus additional tags in the next 5 year plan or you will likely be sadly disappointed!

Yep, the conditions for late season hunts were perfect this year and there still were some monster bucks harvested. My guess is the trend will continue downward unless something changes. If there is a bad winter it could even more severely impact mule deer in Colo!
 
hey jims!

You Got Any Pics Of All Them Monster Bucks You Think Go Killed?

Preferably The Bucks that came off Public Land!
 
I'd like to see some pictures as well. and not just a buck or two but proof CO is still producing a decent quantity of big bucks. I'm not buying it.

Yeah, I shot a sasquatch . but I like to keep things on the down low so I'm not going to let anyone see.
 
I have hunted CO for quite awhile and talk to lots of folks who do the same. Spent 2nd season and 3rd season there this year. Here are my thoughts. 17/18 was a bad winter and that age class is missing in the herd. The addition of tags to the units has played out just as expected. More younger bucks being shot reducing the age class even more. I don’t expect it to get better as DOW is hell bent on reducing the prevalence of CWD by killing more mature bucks.

I did see more yearling bucks and fawns this year compared to past years. Unfortunately with the poor age class I saw more forkies on the back of wheelers than I have ever seen in CO. So who knows how that will turn out with all the extra tags and young bucks being on the menu.

I don’t see it getting better. Will there be some studs killed in CO, yep, but the frequency will continue to be greatly reduced. Points won’t mean as much as they used to and having 15-20 years invested will not bring the hunt of a lifetime thad so many folks invested in.
 
Here’s a pretty good one
1F0DAF18-1EA2-4F07-B9E9-33AB8DFC8B0E.jpeg
 
Anybody ever Notice?

No Matter How Bad The Hunting Is!

Most Will Kill The Best They Can!

They Shot alot of PISSCUTTERS This Year!

Guess They Needed The BRAGGING Rights/IG Pictures?

Oh!

And THEY NEEDED THE MEAT!
 
NW Colorado and guess how may big bucks seen killed or reported killed or rumored killed? Local and nonresident. I'll let you fill in the blank. _______. No braggers in town this season.
 
Here's your chance to submit your comments to the CPW:

cpw.state.co.us

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. CPW issues hunting and fishing...
cpw.state.co.us


Take a few minutes and email brad at the email below. Hopefully he gets inundated with gobs of constructive comments in regard to your concerns!

[email protected]
 
If you know Polis then you will know comments mean ZERO!!! NO GUFF!! Comment away buy know it is in vain while he is in charge.
 
A few good bucks, no doubt there are some. but Colorado is the undisputed mule deer producer in the world and always has been, we shouldn't have to search that hard to find a lot of good bucks taken especially given the dates and weather this year.

I'm not bashing CO I had a great time and I could have killed a buck most deer hunters would consider a trophy any day I wanted. my point is if you're sitting on a pile of points you have some tough choices to make. burn them now on a 160 hunt or wait and see if it gets better or worse. with the low number of 3 year old bucks I saw surviving 3rd season I see no reason to be optimistic.

Another observation , and maybe it's normal for 66 I don't know. even the better bucks are mostly 3x3's or 3x4's. other guys were commenting on this too, and many of the younger 4 points I saw were dead by the end of the season. this has nothing to do with the lacking age class of course but might the slaughter of anything with 4 points on both sides year after year be affecting the genetics more than what's heathy?
 
My wife shot an older 3 point in 66 this year. No eye guards. We have the handicap of having managed whitetails in Kentucky so we like older age class bucks regardless of size. I can tell most people who look at it are very unimpressed. But it was the buck that was going to be doing some breeding for sure.
 
I don’t know if many remember what Colo was like when all deer units were OTC? It really wasn’t that long ago. Back in the OTC days there were mostly forked-horn bucks running around. Take a look at how many B&C bucks are in the books before and after OTC was eliminated. Now take a look at how few B&C bucks are in the books the past couple years.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the CPW at least offered a few scattered high quality mule deer units across Colorado that have the potential for high quality bucks with older age class bucks and a higher quality experience? Those of you that have been waiting years for a quality hunt and are concerned about where the quality of bucks and experience are headed be sure to take a few minutes and email the CPW at the following address where they are accepting comments:

[email protected].
 
Sparks Shooter said:
Lots of people getting smarter about what they blabber about on the internet.

Social media hype has probably done more to harm herds and hunting opportunity than weather, predators, poachers, EHD, CWD, BFD, or any other ‘natural’ enemy.

I guarantee that big stuff is still getting shot.—SS
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Hunters will continually be a subpar mechanism to moderate deer herds to achieve desired population dynamics. Your social media hypothesis is incorrect. If I sent cords to the exact location of a 200” deer that had been living n that area one day prior to any season, I’d bet that deer may be seen for a second or less By a single hunter or not at all. However, I do sincerely agree “the big stuff is still getting shot”.
 
More tags generally = more mature bucks being harvested = lower age class bucks in unit!

More tags + rut hunting dates = <<<<< fewer mature bucks.

This is true especially in high demand units where it takes 15 to 20 years to draw tags and just about every hunter is searching for the biggest buck on the mountain.

Keep praying that Colo doesn't have any tough winters or it could be super thin pickings for a long time!
 
Here are a few that I know of. I know of more but many times don't post any of it because I don't want where I hunt ruined by the thought that there are tons of bucks like this. They are becoming harder and harder to find in Colorado. 5-6 years ago they were easier to find. I did write the CDOW and told them all the doe killing is taking a huge toll. I don't agree with the extra late seasons and it will NEVER get rid of CWD. Will it change? I dont know. I hope it does. Its getting much harder to turn up big bucks.
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