Colorado GMU 120 Mule Deer Hunting
Lincoln, Crowley and Kiowa counties, southeast Colorado · 519 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 120 is like
GMU 120 spans 519 square miles across the high plains of southeastern Colorado, where low-elevation prairie gives way to gently rolling terrain. Elevations range from 4,300 feet to 5,400 feet, with typical elevation around 4,800 feet. The unit is uniformly gentle and rolling—there are no steep or rugged terrain features to navigate. This is open, accessible country in terms of landscape, though that topographic advantage is heavily constrained by land ownership.
Public hunting access is extremely limited. Roughly 0.8% of the unit—about 4 square miles of BLM and State Wildlife Area ground—is dependably open to public hunting. An additional 10% (approximately 53 square miles) is Colorado State Trust Land, where access depends on CPW's Public Access Program enrollment; not all State Trust Land parcels are enrolled, so a hunter cannot assume those acres are huntable. The remaining 89% is private land. This stark distribution means that legal access, not terrain walkability, is the primary obstacle to hunting this unit.
Mule deer on this unit occupy the ground seasonally. Overall Range mapping covers the entire unit, but this represents the full extent of CPW's recorded mule deer range and does not indicate year-round presence. Winter Concentration ground comprises just 1% of the unit, marking areas where mule deer cluster during the post-rut and winter months. Summer Range coverage is minimal, indicating that mule deer presence is concentrated in specific locations during winter and that hunting opportunity aligns closely with seasonal movement rather than broad occupancy.
GMU 120 offers three seasons open to public applicants. Archery runs September 2 through September 30 and is an either-sex hunt falling in the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase. Muzzleloader is September 12 through September 20, also in the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, and is either-sex. Plains Early Rifle, the single rifle season available, runs October 24 through November 3 and spans two phases: Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase and Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging. The unit draws at an easy difficulty level—often at zero preference points—for the most accessible either-sex or buck hunt codes available to adult Colorado residents, though other weapons, seasons, and nonresident applicants may require substantially more points. Hunter pressure is moderate overall.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,300–5,400 ft, typically around 4,800 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.1°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~4 sq mi, plus ~53 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About <1% of GMU 120 is public land a hunter can count on — BLM and State Wildlife Areas. A further 10% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM<1%
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- State Trust Land10%
- Private89%
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 120 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 Range5%used in winter
- 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 |
| Muzzleloader | September 12 – September 20 | Doe, Buck |
| Plains Early Rifle | October 24 – November 3 | 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 120 mule deer hunting FAQ
How much public land can a hunter actually hunt in this unit?
Roughly 0.8% of the unit—about 4 square miles of BLM and State Wildlife Area ground—is open to public hunting without restrictions. An additional 10% (approximately 53 square miles) is Colorado State Trust Land, but only parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program are huntable; a hunter must verify enrollment before counting on it. The remaining 89% is private.
Is this unit realistic for a hunter with no preference points?
Yes. The unit draws at easy difficulty, with the most accessible either-sex or buck hunts often available at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents. Other weapons, seasons, and nonresident applicants may require substantially more points, so the specific hunt code matters.
When are mule deer actually present in this unit?
Mule deer presence is seasonal and concentrated. Winter Concentration ground comprises only 1% of the unit, marking clusters of mule deer during winter months. Summer Range coverage is minimal, indicating that hunting opportunity is tightly tied to seasonal movement and winter concentration rather than broad occupancy across the unit.
Does the terrain make this unit walkable once a hunter gets access?
Yes. The entire unit is gentle and rolling with no steep or rugged areas, making it physically easy to walk. The real constraint is legal access: only about 0.8% of the ground is dependably open to public hunting, and an additional 10% is huntable only if enrolled in the Public Access Program.
Which season offers the best chance at a buck?
Plains Early Rifle in October and early November spans phases when bucks are in migration and early pre-rut activity, providing the most predictable buck hunting. Archery and Muzzleloader both fall earlier in September when bucks are still in summer bachelor patterns and velvet shedding, offering a different character of hunt.
How crowded is this unit?
Hunter pressure is moderate overall. This is an easy-to-draw unit, which can attract applicants, but the scarcity of public access means that actual pressure on the ground depends heavily on where the limited open acreage is located and whether State Trust Land parcels are enrolled in public access.
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.