Colorado GMU 106 Mule Deer Hunting
Arapahoe, Elbert, Washington and Lincoln counties, northeast Colorado · 598 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 106 is like
Unit 106 sprawls across the high plains of northeastern Colorado, covering 598 square miles at elevations from 4,700 to 6,000 feet. The terrain is gentle and rolling throughout, with 95 percent of the unit in gentle slopes and the remainder in moderate grades; there are no steep or rugged areas. The country is wide-open and walkable on foot, though the terrain itself is not the limiting factor for hunters here.
Public hunting access is severely restricted. Approximately 7.9 percent of the unit is Colorado State Trust Land, huntable only on parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, and the hunter has no way to know which parcels that includes without contacting the program directly. The remaining 92.1 percent is private land. This means that in practical terms, legal access to hunt is the dominant challenge, regardless of how easy the rolling grassland is to walk.
Mule deer occupy winter range across 60 percent of the unit and cluster on 19 percent of it during the winter concentration phase. The remaining 40 percent of the unit sits outside mapped winter range. This distribution means hunters pursuing mule deer should expect concentration during the late-season hunts. Migration corridors cover just 1 percent of the unit.
The unit offers four seasons. Archery runs September 2–30 and is either-sex; muzzleloader runs September 12–20 and is doe-buck; Plains Early Rifle runs October 24–November 3 and is doe-buck; Plains Late Rifle runs December 1–14 and is doe-buck. The draw for this unit is easy, often requiring zero preference points for the most accessible either-sex or buck codes. Hunter pressure is high, but tags draw readily.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,700–6,000 ft, typically around 5,200 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 3.7°
- Slope breakdown
- 95% gentle · 5% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi, plus ~47 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 0% of GMU 106 is public land a hunter can count on. A further 8% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Trust Land8%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private92%
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.
Where mule deer live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps mule deer seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 106 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 Range60%used in winter
- Winter Concentration19%where mule deer bunch up in winter
- Migration Corridors<1%movement between ranges, not residence
Mule Deer seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | September 2 – September 30 | Either-sex |
| Muzzleloader | September 12 – September 20 | Doe, Buck |
| Plains Early Rifle | October 24 – November 3 | Doe, Buck |
| Plains Late Rifle | 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 106 mule deer hunting FAQ
Is this unit realistic for a hunter with no preference points?
Yes. The easiest qualifying hunt here—an either-sex code for an adult resident—draws at zero points on average. Other seasons and weapon types may require more points, but an applicant with no history can realistically draw at least one of the seasons offered.
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually hunt in Unit 106?
Legal access is the critical constraint. Only about 7.9 percent of the unit is State Trust Land with potential public access, and only parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program are open to hunting; the hunter must verify enrollment directly with the program. The remaining 92 percent is private. This means most of the unit requires landowner permission, no matter how walkable the terrain is.
Which seasons are best for hunting the rut in Unit 106?
The Primary Rut runs November 11–25. Plains Late Rifle (December 1–14) falls in the Late Rut phase, when bucks are consolidating toward winter range and behavior is transitioning from active rutting. Plains Early Rifle (October 24–November 3) straddles the pre-rut migration phase and the start of the Primary Rut period, offering opportunity as bucks move and activity increases. Archery and muzzleloader, running in early September, occur before the rut begins.
Does mule deer distribution shift during the fall in this unit?
Yes. The unit maps 19 percent as winter concentration ground, suggesting hunters should expect mule deer to cluster increasingly on that ground as the season advances into late fall and early winter. Early-season hunts may encounter deer more dispersed across the broader winter range; later seasons align with more pronounced concentration.
Is the terrain here manageable for a hunter on foot?
The terrain itself is gentle and rolling—95 percent gentle slopes and 5 percent moderate—so walking and crossing country is straightforward. Legal access to the ground is the real obstacle. The small amount of potentially huntable public land requires confirmation of enrollment in the Public Access Program.
How does high hunter pressure affect success in Unit 106?
High hunter pressure does not mean tags are hard to draw; this unit draws easily, often at zero points. However, the combination of high pressure and severely limited legal public access means that any hunter who does draw a tag will be competing for limited ground and mule deer with many other applicants on the same small public parcels.
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.