Archery in 116 and 117, deer

[Little Dutch]

My brother in law is from Wyoming. I don?t think he quite understood how the draw works in Co and he got an archery deer tag for 116 and 117. Out by Cheyenne Wells and Kit Carson.

Can I please get a lead on where I might be able to take him in that area?

I hunt 59 and 511 mostly, and have no desire to drive out to 117 every year. So your secret spot won’t go any further than the 3 of us for just this season.

[CS1983]

Do you have onX or BaseMap?

117 is 100% private land based on huntscore, and looking at onX, that seems to be the case.
https://huntscore.com/hunts/co/deer/0841551f-97b8-41e9-8ab1-67fc1f1c1a79

116, same: https://huntscore.com/hunts/co/deer/47399c62-286d-4cd1-9302-3969c49de26f

I might be wrong, but this ain't looking good unless someone here is or knows a land owner in 116/117 who can give permission and set him up in a good spot.

ETA:

Here are his season dates:
Unit(s): 116/117
Oct. 1–23
Nov. 4–30
Dec. 15–31
Sex: Either
Hunt code:D-E-116-O1-A

So you have a bit to figure out if there's an amenable land owner.

[def90]

Mostly private property, looking at OnX shows that 116 has 12 ?walk in access? parcels that are a couple hundred acres each and 117 has a single walk in access parcel available. Other than knocking on doors these are your only options. The walk in parcels look like farm fields for the most part so deer hunting will be difficult. Subscribe to OnX maps so that you can find these parcels and get out there early before everyone else does.

https://cpw.state.co.us/wia

[CS1983]

If he is going to make a go of this, a collapsible front facing doe decoy might be in order. Probably not a lot of concealment out there.

[hunterhawk]

I would drive the units, find deer and knock or find good habitat and knock. I have had pretty good luck getting on land... never tried or really stepped foot in those 2 units though.

[Little Dutch]

For clarification on the doe decoys, are you suggesting using one for cover?

All this was useful, thanks. I've been looking at the walk-in programs, something I have never taken advantage of, and think that's the only option. It looks like most are in grass, at least one in wheat, but it will be cut by the time we go. But some of the grass areas in 116 and that lower left corn area might be promising. They have ravines running through them the deer will probably walk, but we'll need a place to hide.
I had not heard of onx, I'll pull it down to see what's going on.

I think our only hope is to spend a day and drive out to the walk in areas to see what it looks like.




The area's within the circle all look promising. The spot with the arrow pointing to it is the only area labeled to be in corn.
82888


That square mile in 117 is going to have deer, but I question whether we can get close to them.

[Little Dutch]

I would drive the units, find deer and knock or find good habitat and knock. I have had pretty good luck getting on land... never tried or really stepped foot in those 2 units though.

I went pronhorn hunting out east once, not that far east, but out past Yodar. You could immediately tell who wasn't letting hunters on because there were a few hundred pronghorn camping their land.

Hopefully we find some nice options on the walk in. But door knocking is a good plan if it comes to it.

[hunterhawk]

FYI a lot of the walk in access you can't big game hunt. And honestly on the ones you can I wouldn't want to if you could also hunt pheasants or what have you on them or you will be dissapointed when a deer is coming in and a bunch of other hunters show up hunting something else. I would seriously look into hunting spme private that looks like good habitat even if you had to agree to help them out or front a little cash.

[buffalobo]

Wheat has already been cut. Fields are stubble, rest of grains should be cut by end of month. Some will leave feed corn til thoroughly dry in the field.

[CS1983]

For clarification on the doe decoys, are you suggesting using one for cover?

All this was useful, thanks. I've been looking at the walk-in programs, something I have never taken advantage of, and think that's the only option. It looks like most are in grass, at least one in wheat, but it will be cut by the time we go. But some of the grass areas in 116 and that lower left corn area might be promising. They have ravines running through them the deer will probably walk, but we'll need a place to hide.
I had not heard of onx, I'll pull it down to see what's going on.

I think our only hope is to spend a day and drive out to the walk in areas to see what it looks like.




The area's within the circle all look promising. The spot with the arrow pointing to it is the only area labeled to be in corn.
82888


That square mile in 117 is going to have deer, but I question whether we can get close to them.

Theoretically you can use the decoy for concealment while walking toward the animal, behind the decoy held up in front. It tends to work well for pronghorn. No idea on deer but should be better than nothing.

Best bet is to find a willing landowner and set up a blind where they tell you. But if all else fails, the minuscule walk in areas will have to do.

[whitewalrus]

FYI a lot of the walk in access you can't big game hunt. And honestly on the ones you can I wouldn't want to if you could also hunt pheasants or what have you on them or you will be dissapointed when a deer is coming in and a bunch of other hunters show up hunting something else. I would seriously look into hunting spme private that looks like good habitat even if you had to agree to help them out or front a little cash.

It is the opposite now. You can hunt big game on most properties. They did a trial in the SE ones last year as the public land in the east part of the state is non-accessible.

Most of the properties in the state are now in yellow:
https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Brochure/WalkInAtlas.pdf

OP - you really need to get down there and check things out, I am not sure how many people hunt out there, but the WIA properties in certain areas get hit pretty hard by small game hunters. Especially once pheasant season opens. Finding a private landowner is your best bet. The WIA properties tend to be open fields.

[hunterhawk]

Huh, good to know.