At a Glance
East of Paonia and including part of the West Elk Wilderness, this unit has a healthy elk herd but is best known for its good mule deer. Few Colorado buck tags are harder to obtain. Hunters must apply for many years to accumulate enough preference points to get a tag for November seasons.
The November rifle seasons typically produce some big muleys, but mid-November deer tags are hard to get. Late October hunting can be excellent if snow falls in high country. Backcountry hunters can hunt elk and deer at the same time. There is private, low elevation land that holds big bucks and elk herds through all of the season but access is obviously limited here.
Quick Tips
- Trout fishing in high country lake and streams
- Backpack and horseback hunters can enjoy wilderness
- Glass at dawn and dusk
- Lots of tourist hikers in wilderness in early seasons
- Ambush elk and deer as they leave private property

