I've hunted my whole life, but always deer hunted in LA/TX (with a few random hunts in Missouri and Arkansas). I hunted in North Louisiana, where it was wooded. I currently hunt in South Texas, where it's open but tons of deer, feed pens, and stands. I kill 10+ deer a year (management tags), and have shot a 160"+ deer every year for the last five years.
A few friends and I have gotten the itch to go West and try to hunt some public land. We initially wanted to try an Elk hunt, but it seemed to be difficult to arrange for a first trip. As an easy transition, we decided to try to go on a rifle Mule deer hunt first. I have goHunt access and after research, we are looking at doing a Unit 144/145 Colorado hunt. Unit 8/19 are further but both seem attractive as well. It's within driving distance, and both tag draw odds and harvest success are up a ton from New Mexico.
Any recommendations for this? We already do camping trips so have most of the camping gear down. I have decent Kuiu/Sitka clothing, Crispi boots. While not the most lightweight rifle, I currently hunt with a Seekins Havak PH2 in 300WM. I already have a Viper SS and Binoculars, as well as a CF tripod. I already use a Garmin Montana with GoHunt so can buy the CO maps.