Colorado GMU 117 Mule Deer Hunting
Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties, northeast Colorado · 449 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 117 is like
GMU 117 spans 449 square miles across Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties in the northeast region of Colorado. The unit sits between 3,800 and 4,400 feet of elevation, with terrain that is entirely gentle and rolling. The ground is walkable and open to foot travel across its low-relief landscape.
Nearly all the unit—96 percent—is private land. Only about 3.5 percent is publicly owned, and of that, roughly 0 square miles is generally open to public hunting. An additional 3.5 percent consists of Colorado State Trust Land, which is huntable only on parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program; access to those tracts is enrollment-dependent and must be verified before a hunt. The limiting factor for a public-land hunter here is legal access, not terrain.
Mule deer range across the unit according to CPW mapping, with 13 percent mapped as Winter Range and 5 percent as Winter Concentration. The concentration layer indicates where mule deer cluster, particularly during the post-rut recovery and winter consolidation periods as the year advances. A hunter's access to mule deer will depend almost entirely on private-land permission and State Trust Land enrollment status.
GMU 117 offers four mule deer seasons: Archery from September 2 to September 30 (either-sex), Muzzleloader from September 12 to September 20 (doe or buck), Plains Early Rifle from October 24 to November 3 (doe or buck), and Plains Late Rifle from December 1 to December 14 (doe or buck). The two rifle seasons fall across the early migration and pre-rut phases and then into the late rut and winter consolidation. Draw difficulty for this unit is easy, with the easiest qualifying hunts often available at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,800–4,400 ft, typically around 4,100 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.2°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi, plus ~16 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About <1% of GMU 117 is public land a hunter can count on. A further 4% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- State Trust Land4%
- 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.
Where mule deer live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps mule deer seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 117 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 Range13%used in winter
- Winter Concentration5%where mule deer bunch up in winter
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 117 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can a public-land hunter realistically hunt this unit?
Nearly all of GMU 117 is private land. Only a negligible share is generally open to public hunting, and an additional 3.5 percent is Colorado State Trust Land available only where CPW has enrolled individual parcels in the Public Access Program. A public-land hunter will need to verify access to State Trust Land tracts or negotiate private-land permission before applying.
Is this a zero-point draw for any seasons?
The easiest qualifying mule deer hunts in GMU 117 draw at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents. This applies to the unit-wide buck or either-sex codes; other weapons, seasons, nonresident applicants, or private-land-only and Ranching for Wildlife hunts may require additional points.
When do mule deer concentrate on winter range in this unit?
Winter Concentration covers about 5 percent of the unit and marks ground where mule deer cluster primarily during the post-rut recovery phase (January through mid-March) and the late rut and winter consolidation period (late November through December). A hunter must verify access to that ground before the season begins.
Does this unit work better for archery or rifle?
The choice depends on mule deer behavior and access. Archery (early September) falls during the velvet-shed phase when bucks are transitioning to nocturnal patterns. Plains Early Rifle (late October through early November) and Plains Late Rifle (December) coincide with the pre-rut and late-rut phases when movement increases. Practical hunting will be limited by legal access to private or enrolled State Trust Land.
What is the terrain like for foot hunters?
GMU 117 is entirely gentle and rolling, with slopes averaging 1.2 degrees. The low-relief landscape is straightforward to walk. Accessibility on foot is not the challenge here; legal permission to hunt the ground is.
Is this a crowded unit?
Overall hunter pressure in GMU 117 is high. Despite the easy draw and the gentle terrain, the scarcity of public access and the concentration of private land mean that public-land hunters will face significant real-world limitations on where they can actually hunt.
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.