CO Unit 33 3rd Season

Paul_Crawford · Feb 23, 2012

Am going to put in for this as a second choice. Third season deer. Anyone have some help? Looks like a lot of public land. Don't even care about a trophy. The wife and I consider venison a delicacy. Anyway, places to stay near the hunt? Grocery stores? Bars? PC

ShowThemToMe · Feb 23, 2012

I'll let Nicky Clue you in on it!

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fuzzyvelvet · Feb 23, 2012

I hunted it a few years back and you are lucky to see a few does a day, let alone a buck. Its a tough hunt. I don't understand why they give so many tags for that unit.

ishootaRUM300 · Feb 23, 2012

I was out there for nine days a few years ago also. I also only saw a few handful of deer. I have not been back since.

completesportsman · Feb 23, 2012

Oh come on fuzzyvelvet, if I remember right you posted a buck you took on your hunt there, it was a buck I would have been happy with!

kykiller · Feb 23, 2012

I have hunted it many of years,unless you have some sweet private land to hunt don't waste your time,a forkie would be a good kill in that unit,go anyplace else !!!!!

fuzzyvelvet · Feb 24, 2012

Complete, ya you are right I have killed some average bucks in there but they weren't on the 3rd season. The 3rd season was horrible. 2nd is definitely better in my opinion but it has taken a few years of hunting it to get to that point and learn it a little. Plus, I usually kill the only buck I see so you can't expect many bucks or deer for that matter. Maybe I just got lucky, I don't know. It drawable on a second choice for a reason.

Fuzzy

monttoco · Feb 24, 2012

I agree with all the other post. I live in the area will drive elsewhere to hunt. There is a reason that it can be drawn on a second choice. I wouldn't wast my money there, If I were you I would not either.

Paul_Crawford · Feb 26, 2012

Oh, well. Hunting a bad second choice CO unit beats stayin' home in CA!!!!! Thanks guys!! pc

kilowatt · Feb 26, 2012

Hunted it first time back in 1978 and again in 1986 and never have gone back there. Got a small 5x3 back in '78 and nada in 1986...hell we never seen a buck at all in '86.

Brian
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theox · Feb 26, 2012

what happened to every unit in CO has the potential for the next monster?

UtahMountainMan · Feb 26, 2012

If this Unit is so bad why is there a 34% buck harvest success rate average for the last 3 years? In 2010 there was a 46% buck harvest rate, 183 bucks for 400 tags issues and there is a lot of public land there.

Seems like a pretty good unit on paper, I am surprised to hear that guys see zero deer there when 183 hunters out of 400 killed a buck in 2010 during 3rd season.

HillbillyNnevada · Feb 26, 2012

>If this Unit is so bad
>why is there a 34%
>buck harvest success rate average
>for the last 3 years?
>In 2010 there was a
>46% buck harvest rate, 183
>bucks for 400 tags issues
>and there is a lot
>of public land there.
>
>Seems like a pretty good unit
>on paper, I am surprised
>to hear that guys see
>zero deer there when 183
>hunters out of 400 killed
>a buck in 2010 during
>3rd season.

Maybe those guys are running interference so they can continue to draw this unit on second choice LOL.

UtahMountainMan · Feb 26, 2012

Thats what I was thinking....

Gator · Feb 27, 2012

You never know if one is leading you away from their honey hole or toward it, you still have make a choice.

I would call and talk to Bio and GW in the area and see what they can add to the mix.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
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fuzzyvelvet · Feb 27, 2012

Success is considered killing an animal. You always have to make sure you are looking at overall % success vs. buck success. They do post both. Also, everyone could be killing spikes and 2 points and it would show the same success rate as everyone killing 30 inch 4 points. I am not steering anyone away from the unit. If you want to go hunt 3rd season, go for it and let me know how it goes. I can promise you, it is a tough hunt! Just trying to help a guy out. I don't think any unit in Colorado is as good now as it was 5 years ago. Its all going down hill. Good luck.

Fuzzy

6x7 · Feb 27, 2012

I hunted it 3 years ago during the muzzy season with my dad, we scratched out 2 bucks but it was tuff,we found a pocket that held some deer near private land,but before that a doe a day was the average.

oakbrush · Feb 27, 2012

Also a lot of the success could be coming from private land. The stats dont reflect private vs public land success, just shows overall success.

oakbrush

fuzzyvelvet · Feb 27, 2012

Good point oakbrush. There is a fair amount of private land down in the lower country.

Kayak_to_hunt · Feb 27, 2012

Here is my take and if you do a search it will not be hard to see that it is the same on all of these 33 threads.

I hunt 33 every year for cow elk on private land and have good sucess. With that said I do not even put in for the 2nd choice deer tag in 33 and I have access to some of the private folks talk about... The worst part about 33 is that you a will see literally more hunters you have ever seen and they all will pop the first forkey they find.

UT mtn man I have talked to you about other units that actually hold good bucks and my advice would be to look at other units.

Wish the CPW would cut the tags a bit in 33 as the potential is there but with a hunter literally on every ridge it is very hard for bucks to get any age.

Like others have said there is a reason there are leftover tags for 33. There are a few good bucks (180+) in 33 but they are few and far between.