Colorado GMU 110 Mule Deer Hunting
El Paso County, central Colorado · 624 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 110 is like
Colorado GMU 110 covers 624 square miles of gentle and rolling country in El Paso County at elevations between 6,000 and 7,700 feet, with a mean slope of 3 degrees. The terrain is nearly entirely gentle and rolling, making it walkable and open in character. The unit is a mixed landscape of low-elevation shortgrass prairie transitioning to foothill scrub and scattered ponderosa pine, typical of the transition zone between the Colorado plains and the Front Range foothills.
Nearly all the unit—approximately 96%—is privately owned, leaving limited opportunity for public-land hunting. Approximately 0.1% (about 1 square mile) is state Wildlife Area that is generally open to public hunting. An additional 2.6% (about 16 square miles) is Colorado State Trust Land, where hunting access depends on CPW enrollment in the Public Access Program and varies by parcel; this ground cannot be assumed available. Approximately 1.6% is unclassified in ownership records. Legal access is the primary constraint on this unit regardless of how easy the terrain is to walk.
Mule deer range across the unit's full mapped extent, but they concentrate during winter on about 1% of the unit; this concentration layer marks specific ground where deer cluster rather than indicating even distribution across the season's range. Summer Range comprises about 14% of the unit and Winter Range about 17%. A hunter should expect mule deer to shift gradually toward winter ground as fall progresses and temperatures drop through October and November, though the timing and extent of this movement vary with weather and snow.
The unit offers three seasons for mule deer: Archery from September 2 to September 30 (either-sex/doe), Muzzleloader from September 12 to September 20 (either-sex/doe/buck), and Plains Early Rifle from October 24 to November 3 (either-sex/doe/buck). The archery and muzzleloader seasons fall in the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, while the rifle season spans the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase and Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phases. Temperatures cool from September highs around 73°F to November highs around 50°F, with October and November bringing increasing snowfall and colder conditions. The unit draws at an easy level on its most accessible codes, though hunter pressure on this unit is extreme owing to proximity to the Front Range population centers.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 6,000–7,700 ft, typically around 6,700 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 3°
- Slope breakdown
- 98% gentle · 2% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~1 sq mi, plus ~16 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About <1% of GMU 110 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas. A further 3% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- State Trust Land3%
- Unclassified ownership2%
- Private96%
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 110 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 Range17%used in winter
- Summer Range14%used in summer
- Winter Concentration<1%where mule deer bunch up in winter
Mule Deer seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | September 2 – September 30 | Either-sex, Doe |
| Muzzleloader | September 12 – September 20 | Either-sex, Doe, Buck |
| Plains Early Rifle | October 24 – November 3 | Either-sex, 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.
Fall weather
- September — highs around 73°F, lows around 43°F (mid-elevation normals)
- October — highs around 61°F, lows around 32°F, about 1.7 in of snow (mid-elevation normals)
- November — highs around 50°F, lows around 21°F, about 2.5 in of snow (mid-elevation normals)
GMU 110 mule deer hunting FAQ
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually access on GMU 110?
Only about 1 square mile of state Wildlife Area is dependably open to public hunting on this 624-square-mile unit. An additional 16 square miles of state trust land may be accessible if enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, but enrollment varies by parcel and is not guaranteed. Legal access, not terrain difficulty, is the bottleneck here.
Is this a realistic draw for someone with zero preference points?
Yes—the easiest unit-wide either-sex and buck codes on this unit draw reliably at zero points for adult Colorado residents. Other seasons, weapons, and nonresident applicants may require substantially more points. This qualitative ease does not reflect tag availability; rather, it indicates that the qualifying codes are not heavily competed.
How does the rifle season here differ from the archery and muzzleloader hunts?
The archery and muzzleloader seasons occur in early September and target deer in the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase when they are still in summer range patterns. The Plains Early Rifle hunt runs from October 24 to November 3, coinciding with the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase and the onset of the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging, giving hunters a chance to encounter deer in transition toward winter ground.
Where should a hunter focus given the winter concentration layer?
The Winter Concentration layer marks 1% of the unit where mule deer cluster during the winter months but does not specify location by elevation, aspect, or place name. A hunter planning a late-season rifle hunt in early November should consult maps and local conditions to identify where this concentrated ground actually lies within the unit.
Does deer distribution shift significantly from September to November?
Mule deer typically shift gradually toward winter ground as temperatures fall and snow arrives through October and November, but the timing and extent of this movement depend on weather and snow conditions. The unit offers 17% mapped Winter Range against 14% Summer Range, suggesting some seasonal movement, though both ranges include overlapping ground that may be used year-round.
What should a hunter expect from weather and conditions across the three seasons?
September offers warm days (around 73°F) and cool nights (around 43°F) with minimal snow. October cools to highs near 61°F with about 1.7 inches of average snowfall. By November, highs drop to around 50°F with 2.5 inches of average snowfall, creating conditions where deer movement accelerates toward winter range.
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.