Backcountry Bowhunts

I have two weeks to take off next year to pursue mule deer. I'm looking for any advice or recommendations about some great backcountry bowhunts in Colorado and Idaho. I'm going to apply in Colorado and have my home state of Idaho as my backup choice.

After researching Colorado I have found that GMU's 43, 44, 45, 75, and 751 are some solid choices. GMU 44 is currently my first choice with 43 behind it. The downside is that I have never hunted in Colorado, so every area will be new to me. I may get a chance to scout the area a little over the 4th of July, if I'm lucky.

As for Idaho, I have hunted in East of the Boulder Mountains in GMU 48 and love spending time in those rugged mountains. However, I'd like to explore other areas like GMU 67. Does anyone have experience hunting in 67 during the archery season?

I'd love to hear some feedback.
Thank You

i wouldn't rule out any of the southern parts of CO either. i've seen many giant mulies during sept elk hunts.

Haisen, wish I could help you out but I can't as I've never hunted bowhunted them in either Idaho or Colorado, I'm of no help.

I have to ask you though, what do you mean by "unfortunately North Dakota at the time"????!!!! haha. We don't have mountains but there is still some great hunting here. I got a very nice mule deer there and posted some pictures in a thread. And if you are a waterfowl hunter it was an outstanding year. I've got some pictures in a thread about those too.

Are you working in the oil fields? Usually that's what is bringing everyone to North Dakota these days. Apparently when all you need is a pulse to get hired and start out at $60,000, people take notice. If you have any time to hunt, buy an OTC archery tag and hunt in the Little Missouri National Grassland. There is a huge amount of public land there and has some very big deer. Good luck with wherever you end up hunting.

I'm actually stationed at Minot AFB. I have looked over google maps to see what the Badlands looks like. I know the area holds some good mule deer based on some fairly recent record book bucks harvested out of the area. However, I'd rather use my leave to spend time backpacking in Colorado or Idaho pursuing mule deer.

It looks like there is some decent country with some fairly remote pockets that exist just east of the main river inside of Billings County. Is that kind of the general area you are talking about? I have looked at the tags and seasons, but haven't spent much time researching the area. I might be able to fit a few weekends in next year to explore some of Badlands.

Good Luck Hunting
Thank You

I'm not sure about where you are talking about exactly. There is a huge amount of public land though, well over 300,000 acres. It is spread out all over the southwest part of the state. Even just south of Lake Sakakawea has over 30,000 acres of public land.

Not sure how you have your residency but if you are not a ND resident, you have to apply for an any-deer archery tag. Whitetail archery tags are all over the counter.

unit 43 is still recovering from a rough winter a couple of years ago it is also trying to recover from david long killin the big ones Ha ha
there are some nice ones runnin around though not as many as before and it is very steep country i saw a 170's buck around 12,200 last year and still climbing

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Originally Posted by NDHunter

I'm not sure about where you are talking about exactly. There is a huge amount of public land though, well over 300,000 acres. It is spread out all over the southwest part of the state. Even just south of Lake Sakakawea has over 30,000 acres of public land.

Not sure how you have your residency but if you are not a ND resident, you have to apply for an any-deer archery tag. Whitetail archery tags are all over the counter.

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i have hunted north of grassey butte, awsome country but i have been hearing the mule deer numbers are way way down, almost to the point they were going to shut down the season to let them recover, any truth to that?

43 has become crowded. Also watch out for free range sheep herding. They come through early in the season and blow out any pre scouted deer. Be prepared to change plans often and CO will be a good hunt

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Originally Posted by miller1

i have hunted north of grassey butte, awsome country but i have been hearing the mule deer numbers are way way down, almost to the point they were going to shut down the season to let them recover, any truth to that?

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I haven't heard that, but I really doubt it. Even after the severe, killing winters of 2008 & 2009, ND G&F continued to give out 500 any deer rifle tags in most of the units in the grasslands. It's all about the money to them. Plus the ranchers only see the deer as competition for their cattle's grazing. There's hardly enough deer left out there to make it worth the trip. It's a terrible shame, too, because when we started hunting out there, we saw hundreds of deer and lots of nice bucks.

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Originally Posted by CrimsonArrow

I haven't heard that, but I really doubt it. Even after the severe, killing winters of 2008 & 2009, ND G&F continued to give out 500 any deer rifle tags in most of the units in the grasslands. It's all about the money to them. Plus the ranchers only see the deer as competition for their cattle's grazing. There's hardly enough deer left out there to make it worth the trip. It's a terrible shame, too, because when we started hunting out there, we saw hundreds of deer and lots of nice bucks.

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CrimsonArrow, you obviously don't have a clue of what you are talking about when you say the G&F doesn't care about deer numbers. Maybe in "your" unit they haven't cut back on tags much, but overall they definitely have. For starters, I don't know of any unit that gives out an "any deer" tag. They give out "any buck" tags but I don't know about "any-deer" tags, maybe they do though. In 2009, the G&F issued 144,400 deer licenses, of which 8,700 were mule deer tags. In 2011, they issued 109,950 total licenses and 4,550 mule deer tags. So apparently a 48% reduction in the number of mule deer tags means nothing to you. I'll bet if your salary went down by 48% you would take notice. Also, I have never once heard rancher's complain about deer grazing too much and competing with cattle. Deer in their haystacks in the middle of a bad winter, now that's a different story. And another thing, how can you say they only care about money? They give out a measly 1% of deer tags to non-residents at $200 a tag. If they really cared about money, they would up the percentage to 10% and raise the price to $500. Next time, think a little bit before you spew out a bunch of nonsense.