Colorado GMU 103 Mule Deer Hunting
Yuma County, northeast Colorado · 129 sq mi
Based on the EASIEST unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt code available to adult Colorado residents in the 2026 primary draw — the lowest preference-point tier that drew reliably. Private-land-only and Ranching for Wildlife hunts are excluded because neither is a unit-wide public-land opportunity — NOT because the public cannot draw them. A private-land-only license requires the hunter's own permission to hunt private ground; a Ranching for Wildlife license is valid on the participating ranches enrolled in that program. They are separate systems. Other weapons, seasons and nonresident applicants can require substantially more points. The band is a floor, not a target: even the easiest qualifying hunt here sits in that range.
What hunting GMU 103 is like
Colorado GMU 103 covers 129 square miles of Yuma County in the northeast region and is characterized by gentle, rolling terrain. Elevations range from 3,500 feet to 3,900 feet, with a mean slope of 2.6 degrees; 99 percent of the unit falls within the gentle slope category. This is low-elevation, accessible country—but access itself is the defining constraint here.
Public hunting opportunity is limited. The unit contains about 9.5 square miles of State Wildlife Areas that are generally open to public hunting, roughly 7.4 percent of its 129 square miles. Colorado State Trust Land covers roughly 4.2 square miles but is accessible only where CPW has enrolled parcels in the Public Access Program; which parcels are enrolled is not known from this data. Approximately 4 percent of the unit's ownership is unclassified in source records. Private land comprises roughly 84 percent of the unit, and it dominates legal access. Even on the gently sloping terrain that covers most of the unit, a hunter on public ground will encounter private boundaries repeatedly.
Mule deer range across the unit's full 100 percent mapped overall range, but Winter Range covers only 48 percent. Seasonal movement through the unit should be expected as conditions shift through fall and winter, though specific timing and the extent of any movement vary with weather and snow. The concentration and distribution of mule deer across seasonal ranges will shift the focus of effective hunting as the seasons progress.
The unit offers five seasons total: archery from September 2 to September 30 (either-sex/doe), muzzleloader from September 12 to September 20 (doe/buck), Plains Early Rifle from October 24 to November 3 (doe/buck), Plains Late Rifle from December 1 to January 15 (doe/buck), and a private-land-only season from December 1 to December 14 (doe/buck). Four of these are open to public applicants; the private-land-only hunt requires permission from the landowner. The archery and muzzleloader seasons fall in the velvet-shed phase; Plains Early Rifle straddles early fall migration and early pre-rut staging; Plains Late Rifle falls in late rut and winter consolidation. The unit draws with extreme hunter pressure but is generally easy to draw, often at zero points for the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex code available to adult Colorado residents, though other seasons and weapons may require additional preference points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,500–3,900 ft, typically around 3,700 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 2.6°
- Slope breakdown
- 99% gentle · 1% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~10 sq mi, plus ~5 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 7% of GMU 103 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas. A further 4% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area7%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land4%
- Unclassified ownership4%
- Private84%
Colorado State Trust Land is open to public hunting only where it is enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program. Check current enrollment before planning around it.
“Ownership unclassified” means the source dataset does not record an owner for that acreage. It is not known to be public or private.
Where mule deer live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps mule deer seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 103 each range covers — the single best clue to whether mule deer are here in September, in November, or only passing through. The layers overlap, so they do not add to 100%.
- Overall Range100%the full extent of range CPW maps for mule deer — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when mule deer are present
- Winter Range48%used in winter
Mule Deer seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | September 2 – September 30 | Either-sex, Doe |
| Muzzleloader | September 12 – September 20 | Doe, Buck |
| Plains Early Rifle | October 24 – November 3 | Doe, Buck |
| Plains Late Rifle | December 1 – January 15 | Doe, Buck |
| Private-land only | December 1 – December 14 | Doe, Buck |
Dates span every hunt code of that type in this unit and can differ by code. Confirm the current brochure with Colorado Parks & Wildlife before applying.
GMU 103 mule deer hunting FAQ
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually hunt here?
About 9.5 square miles of State Wildlife Areas is generally open to public hunting — roughly 7.4 percent of the unit. The rest is private or State Trust Land, so a public-land hunter is working a small footprint.
What does the easy-draw rating actually mean for applicants like me?
Easy draw describes the lowest preference-point tier that drew reliably for an adult Colorado resident on the easiest qualifying unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt code in the 2026 primary draw. Other seasons, weapons and nonresident applicants can require substantially more points. The rating is a floor, not a target: even the easiest qualifying hunt sits in that range, and competition may still be high in future years.
Which season should I target if I want to hunt early versus late in the fall?
Archery (September 2–30) and muzzleloader (September 12–20) occur during velvet shed and early fall transition. Plains Early Rifle (October 24–November 3) falls during early fall migration and early pre-rut staging. Plains Late Rifle (December 1–January 15) occurs during late rut and winter consolidation. A hunter's choice depends on whether deer distribution and behavior during those phases suits their approach and the public ground available to them.
Does extreme hunter pressure mean the unit will be crowded?
Extreme hunter pressure indicates high hunter use relative to the unit's dependable hunting acreage. It does not mean every parcel will be equally crowded, and it is not a measure of how many people applied.
Should I expect mule deer to shift to lower-elevation winter range as the seasons progress?
Winter Range covers 48 percent of the unit, and seasonal movement should be expected as conditions shift through fall and winter. The timing and extent of any shift depend on weather and snow, and they vary from year to year. A hunter planning a late-season hunt should be prepared for deer to be distributed differently than they were during early season.
Is this terrain walkable for a hunter on foot?
Yes. Ninety-nine percent of the unit is gentle slope, and the mean slope across the entire unit is 2.6 degrees, making this some of Colorado's most manageable walking country. The limiting factor is legal access to public ground, not the difficulty of the terrain itself.
Data sources & methodology
- Colorado Parks & Wildlife — Big Game hunting — seasons, weapons, hunt codes and license types
- CPW — Primary Draw rules — how preference points and the hybrid draw work
- CPW — Deer statistics, draw recap and Drawn Out At reports — the point levels behind the draw-difficulty bands
- CPW — Secondary Draw — licenses remaining after the primary draw
- CPW — Maps and GIS (Species Activity Mapping) — mule deer seasonal range
- CPW — State Trust Land Finder — which State Trust acreage is enrolled and open to public hunting
- Federal and state land-ownership datasets — land ownership and access
- NOAA climate normals — fall weather
Draw difficulty is a qualitative band, not published odds — the note under the summary above states exactly which hunt code it describes. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories: publicly owned is not the same as open to hunting, and State Trust Land is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it. Unit data last updated August 31, 2026.