Colorado Mule Deer Hunting Tips & Tricks

The Centennial State is a mule deer kingpin. While numbers fluctuate across the state due to severe weather, predation and other factors, Colorado is the land of giants. Currently, the state has more than 850 Boone & Crockett entries for typical mule deer, which leads the nation, and make no mistake, there are plenty of non-typical bucks roaming the landscape, too.

Colorado's mule deer population is widespread. From north to south to east to west, the state harbors impressive populations. While mountainous areas draw most hunting attention, don't forget about the state's cedar-choaked canyon countryside and sage-dotted prairies that hug up next to agriculture.

I'm not trying to send you on a wild-goose chase regarding the state's 180-plus game management units. You're doing your research and have a few ideas of where to go. My goal is to help you kill a respectable mule deer when you get there.

SEPTEMBER ARCHERY & MUZZLELOADER

When you think of Colorado mule deer, chances are you picture unsullied alpine basins dotted with buckbrush, maybe a slow-rolling stream trickling down their middle. I love it, and you will too if you head into the high country in September to chase mule deer above timberline. During September, most bucks are in bachelor groups, and they tend to favor steep mountain slopes and basins above timberline. The biggest key to putting an arrow or muzzleloader bullet through the lungs of a shooter buck is to do your homework ahead of your trip. HuntStand and onX are two excellent digital mapping tools. Spend time locating high points that let you glass multiple drainages from a single vantage point.

During your hunt, spend as much time behind quality binos—no less than 12 power—mounted to a top-end tripod as you can. You want to pick the landscape apart slowly and methodically.

Before going on a stalk, wait for the thermals to start dragging uphill as the air warms. Mule deer are easier to stalk when you're above them. Also, it's critical to mark the known position of the buck(s) on your digital mapping app and photograph as many noticeable landmarks as possible so you can refer back to them on your stalk.

OCTOBER RIFLE

October is a popular month for Colorado mule deer hunters. The state's first and second rifle seasons take place during the final two weeks of the month.

First- and second-season hunters should expect and prepare for everything from morning temps in the 40s to daytime temps in the upper 70s to morning temps in the teens and daytime highs in the 40s.

During the first season, it's common to find younger bucks still in bachelor groups, but the more mature bucks will likely be on their own. Mountain mule deer bucks aren't even thinking about the rut. Still, they will know where the does are, so if you're finding lots of does, stay on the glass and keep picking apart the area.

During the first season, don't be afraid to venture above timber line and put archery/muzzleloader tactics to use. It's also an excellent idea to find the most rugged, hellish terrain that offers excellent bedding with water and food nearby. I like deep canyon cuts with dark north-facing timber and lush south slopes where big bucks can graze. Spend time on the glass, and good things will happen.

I believe the second rifle season is the most challenging mule deer season of them all. The bucks have been under significant hunting pressure, and they still aren't anywhere near lovesick. If you find yourself with a second rifle mule stamp in your pocket, pray for snow. Snow will get the bucks up and moving. Plus, if you get an inch or three on the ground, it's an excellent time to creep along ridges overlooking dense dark timber. Still-hunt your way along spine ridges with your nose in the wind and keep an eye out for bedded bucks and tracks. If you find tracks, jump on them and hunt a big buck down.

NOVEMBER RIFLE

If you hold a prized third or fourth-season Colorado mule deer tag in your pocket, lucky you! Colorado's third rifle season typically runs from the 7th or 8th of November for nine days, and the fourth rifle season runs for five days sometime during the third week of November. By now, mature bucks are either with does or close enough to inhale estrus when the girls start cycling. Snow has likely hit the high country several times, and you may even have snow on the ground throughout the entirety of your hunt.

Deep snow will drive mule deer down the mountain to areas where they can feed. Focus on areas of heavy sage and sparse timber, and on south-facing slopes with open vegetation. If possible, arrive a day or two before your hunt begins. You have a prime-time tag, and boots-on-the-ground scouting will give you a leg up, especially if you're hunting public dirt. Locate areas on your HuntStand or onX app where you can gain some elevation and glass as much open to semi-open ground as possible. Find the does, and you'll find the bucks.

NOVEMBER ARCHERY

As I mentioned earlier in this article, mule deer are spread across the Centennial State, and the mountains aren't the only locale to kill a wall-hanger. Colorado's plains units—from the northeast to the southeast—have excellent mule deer hunting. Those with a stick-and-string tag typically have the opportunity to hunt from the first three weeks of October through around November 7 and from December 1 through December 31. Time is a bowhunter's best friend, and when you have an archery plains mule deer tag, Colorado provides you with plenty of it.

I've killed three mature mule deer bucks on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Give me seven days to run an arrow through a gagger plains dweller, and I will take November 20-27 every single time.

Plains bucks frequent endless sage flats with dry creeks and coulees snaking through them. Many hunters also find success in the state's rocky, steep, cedar-sprinkled canyons and pinon landscapes. Cottonwood creek bottoms are also excellent locations to find a shooter.

Colorado has lots of excellent walk-in access areas, and if you find creek bottom/sage habitat in proximity to dryland crop fields, chances are good you'll be in the chips.

Glassing plains mule deer is challenging. The hardest part is often finding a vantage point. I always carry a pair of 15-power binos and my Tricer AD Tripod in my truck. I've discovered many mule deer by plopping my but in a lawn chair in the back of my GMC. The bed height of your truck may provide you with all the elevation you need to get your glass above the sage and CRP and locate a buck.

Unlike whitetails, mule deer will assemble a harem of girls. Combine the openness of the terrain with trying to keep the ladies in check while satellite bucks roam, and you have the recipe for mature deer being on their feet most of the day from November 20 through the first week in December.

Be prepared to crawl on all fours, slither like a snake and spend hours flat on your back trying to hide in the inch-high prairie grasses. Killing a mature mule deer buck in the open plains is difficult. Know when to be aggressive and when to be cautious, and you'll arrow a good deer. Another plains archery tip, especially if you're a whitetail hunter coming West, is to set up a treestand in a lone cottonwood or cottonwood grove in the middle of the sagebrush or ankle-high prairie grass. Mule deer tend to gravitate to lone trees.

If you're seeing mule deer cruising a cottonwood creek bottom, use your best whitetail tactics. Just know that it's not uncommon for a mule deer buck—even one with does—to move miles up or down a waterway in a single day. If you see the deer in one place, chances are they will be back, but it may be a day or two.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Mule deer are awesome. In fact, I believe they trump elk for most hunters when it comes to the question: What is the most amazing western animal to hunt?

A quick social media scroll will show that big mule deer get more attention on the line than elk. I recommend, if you haven't already, planning a western mule deer hunt. And, if you're coming West soon, I wish you the very best. May all your muley dreams come true.

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