Trophy whitetails can be found throughout Region J. The southern and northern units of this region have the Medicine Bow National Forest with mule deer here in the 160-170” range. The central units of the area are great river bottom and irrigated grass land where whitetails are normally found.
The north and south units that are part of the Medicine Bow National Forest have high elevations with large rocky outcrops and rock-covered ridges. Big mule deer can typically be found in portions of the units that are not as pressured with a lot of bedding areas. The lower elevations near to river bottoms that have thick cottonwood and brush are the best places to find trophy whitetail bucks in the 140-150” range.
The National Forest areas have great public access with a lot of walk in access areas across private property to get to public land. The units that have larger whitetail usually have limited public access, but most landowners will give access to river bottoms and allow hunters to hunt on irrigated fields. Getting permission before heading into the field is recommended.
With a decent amount of permits this region has the potential for some Boone and Crockett bucks. In the mountains, hunters should try to concentrate on areas that have tall grass pockets that are found near rocky outcrop ridges for bedding. These areas are good during archery season when bucks are in summer patterns. During the rifle season, big bucks can be harder to find and typically stay in timbered ridges.
The best whitetail hunting in all parts of Region J are in the later parts of the rifle seasons. This will find bucks rutting and looking for does in the daylight hours. Finding trails with scrapes and rubs are the best spots to sit and call. During archery season most hunters will sit on irrigated fields or rivers at pinch points that can get bucks into close range.