Which Unit?

chasewild

Active Member
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143
Happy Holidays everyone.

Getting close to application time and I'm looking for some insight. I have 15 points for CO antelope and need to narrow it down. I'm hunting archery. I'm open to the idea of a lease. I'll have a good amount of time off.

It would be great to get some general intel on unit and style of hunt if you're willing to share with a hard and humble hunter.

Best,

Chasewild
 
Holy smokes that is a lot of antelope pts! Unfortunately Colo is not known for monster antelope. If you take a look at the B&C books there aren't a whole lot of antelope that make the all time list. Historically the NW corner produced some great bucks that can be hunted on public land but it has been in recovery phase for the past 10 years. Drought and severe winters have dramatically set back antelope numbers in that corner of Colo. I drive that area several times a year for work and you are lucky to see many antelope other than a 10 mile circumference around Craig (that is mostly private).

South Park, North Park, the San Luis Valley, and scattered units in the Eastern Plains also have decent bucks. I drive through North Park a lot and where I used to see several hundred antelope I may see 0 to 5 total driving completely through the entire area.

It sounds like you archery hunt so that will make it even tougher. I would recommend waterhole hunting during dry spells. The trick is to find a small water source with little other water around for miles. If possible set your blind up well in advance of the season. If it rains you are more or less screwed because smart bucks tend to drink out of puddles elsewhere. Most antelope bucks start rutting around the first week in Sept and a decoy may work.

I know you've been waiting a long time for the tag so I'm not quite sure what to recommend? If you are looking for 82"+ bucks or nothing I hate to tell you this but you'll have a tough time right now in any Colo unit. If you want a great hunt with a quality experience I would probably recommend hunting somewhere in the NW corner because there is a lot of public land. You may not see many antelope but you likely won't see many hunters..especially during the archery season. I hate to paint a poor picture but Colo just isn't known to be an antelope mecca.
 
Thanks for your help Jims.

I let my point differential get out of control with antelope -- I was focused on Unit 10 elk and some other tags.

I hunted unit 2 with my dad and we saw a lot of goats but your analysis was spot on. Numbers were lower than expected and the quality was much lower than we had anticipated. He ended up shooting a 74" goat. It was a great hunt though.

Thanks again.
 
Chasewild,

Are you a resident or non-res? I'd have to agree w/ jims on his assessment of CO antelope. I'm sitting on 19 pref pts and am no closer to making a decision today than I was 10 years ago on where to burn my antelope pts. Too many years of drought and bad winters have taken their toll on the range and antelope numbers but somehow a few really good bucks show up each year.

You might want to look at how many points it takes for resident hunters to draw in certain units. The more points and the more people that apply for some areas is an indication that a certain unit has some promise for big bucks. Just my 2 cents worth... Best of luck to ya in your research and in the antelope drawing.
 

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