Trophy
Mule Deer
Hunting in Colorado
Here
in Colorado we have two different kinds of mule deer. Mountain
Mule Deer
and Plains Mule Deer. They’re the
same species for sure, but they differ a fair amount in size
and antler formation. The Plains mule deer live near crops.
They live mostly in coulees and creek bottoms much like their
white tail cousins. It’s probably because of these
crops that their bodies average 20% bigger. If a buck lives
5 years in the plains he’s likely to weigh 300 lbs.
The difference is not only in the body weight. The mountain
mule deer’s antlers tend to stand up more, while the
plains deer lay out more. And non typical's in the mountains
are more common. A five year old deer in the mountains will
average grossing in the mid 160s while in the plains he’ll
average in the mid 180s. You can get a bruiser in either
location, but the odds are higher in the plains.
In 2007
there was an exception to that with a teenage hunter killing
the 3rd largest non typical buck ever taken in Colorado
not 10 miles from one of our mountain ranches. The buck grossed
way over 300. This deer was harvested on the same ridge
line
as two of the ranches we have leased.
Hunting
mule deer in the plains can prove challenging. Shots can
be long at times, and being able to shoot at running
game increases your chances at going home with a wall hanger.
Not that this is typical, but those hunters who are prepared
for all situations have a higher chance at success. In 2007
we harvested some of the really big boys, yet in 2008 the
shots at the really big bucks came up empty. 2009 was similar
to 2008 with a giant non typical escaping 3 shots untouched.
However our last hunter made a good shot on a great buck
that scored 191 inches (see Rob Arieta, lower left). 2010
had a hunter harvest a really neat non typical buck with
18 points including double drop tines and double kickers.
Another hunters buck just missed the 30” wide mark.
And we hosted our first management buck hunt, the lucky
hunter harvested a great 3 X 4 buck.
The past
4 years in the plains we have hosted 26 hunters. 20 of
them have harvested great bucks (80%), 4 of these white
tails, and the rest mule deer. 6 hunters went home with
only memories. In the mountains we’ve hosted 12 hunters
and had 100% success on mature mountain mule deer bucks.
Come
and be one of the few lucky hunters who hunt with us this
year. There
will only be 8 slots for hunters. We’ve
added quite a lot of land to hunt on so it should be a spectacular
year to hunt. We expect to take some really exceptional deer
in 2011!
Best
of luck hunting!
Patrick
Faast / Pack String Ranch Outfitters 
Click
here for more information.
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