Colorado GMU 125 Mule Deer Hunting
Bent, Crowley, Kiowa and Otero counties, southeast Colorado · 585 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 125 is like
Unit 125 spans 585 square miles across Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, and Otero counties in the southeastern corner of Colorado, sitting between 3,900 and 4,600 feet in elevation with a typical elevation around 4,200 feet. The terrain is gentle and rolling throughout, with a mean slope of 0.7 degrees and no slopes classified as steep or rugged. This is high-plains mule deer country, open and exposed, and a hunter on foot can walk the ground itself without steep obstacles.
Public access is tightly constrained. The unit contains roughly 1.4 percent—about 8 square miles—of dependably open public hunting ground held by State Wildlife Areas and the Bureau of Land Management. An additional 37 percent, about 218 square miles, is Colorado State Trust Land where hunting access depends on enrollment in the CPW Public Access Program; not all of that acreage may be legally hunted. The remaining 61 percent is private. Legal access, not terrain, is the limiting factor for a public-land hunter here.
Mule deer in Unit 125 occupy the mapped overall range across the unit, but concentrated winter use covers only 3 percent of the area. This small winter concentration share, set against the much larger overall range, suggests that as seasons advance into late fall and winter, a hunter should expect mule deer to consolidate on portions of the available ground, though timing and extent depend on weather and snow. The archery and muzzleloader seasons in early September fall during the velvet-shed and early fall transition phase, when bucks are shedding antler velvet and patterns remain localized. The plains early-rifle season spanning late October into early November covers the early fall migration and early pre-rut phases as bucks move and nocturnal activity increases. The plains late-rifle season in December falls during late rut and winter consolidation, after the primary rut period has peaked.
Unit 125 offers four mule deer seasons. The archery season runs September 2 to September 30 and is either-sex. The muzzleloader season spans September 12 to September 20 and offers doe or buck options. Two rifle seasons follow: the plains early-rifle season from October 24 to November 3, and the plains late-rifle season from December 1 to December 14, each offering either-sex or doe/buck choices. Draw difficulty for this unit is easy, with the easiest qualifying either-sex hunt or unit-wide buck code often drawing at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents. Overall hunter pressure remains low.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,900–4,600 ft, typically around 4,200 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 0.7°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~8 sq mi, plus ~218 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 1% of GMU 125 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas and BLM. A further 37% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land37%
- National Park Service<1%
- Private61%
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 125 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 Range3%used 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 | Either-sex, Doe, Buck |
| Plains Late Rifle | December 1 – December 14 | 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.
GMU 125 mule deer hunting FAQ
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually access here?
Only about 1.4 percent of the unit—roughly 8 square miles of State Wildlife Areas and BLM—is open to hunting without special arrangement. An additional 37 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, but access depends on CPW Public Access Program enrollment, and not all of that acreage may be legally huntable. Private land covers the remaining 61 percent. Legal access, not terrain, is the bottleneck on this unit.
Is this unit realistic for someone with no preference points?
Yes. Draw difficulty for the easiest qualifying unit-wide either-sex or buck hunt for an adult Colorado resident is easy, with these tags often drawing at zero preference points in the primary draw. Other weapons, seasons, and nonresident applicants can require substantially more points.
Which season is best for hunting the pre-rut or rut?
The plains early-rifle season (October 24–November 3) covers the early fall migration and early pre-rut phases, when buck movement and nocturnal activity increase. The plains late-rifle season (December 1–December 14) falls during late rut and winter consolidation, after the primary rut has peaked. Both offer either-sex and doe/buck options.
When do archery and muzzleloader hunts occur relative to the rut?
Both the archery season (September 2–30) and muzzleloader season (September 12–20) fall during the velvet-shed and early fall transition phase, months before the primary rut in mid-to-late November. Bucks are still shedding antler velvet and behavior remains localized during these early seasons.
What terrain should a hunter expect to find?
The unit is entirely gentle and rolling, with a mean slope of 0.7 degrees and no steep or rugged terrain. A hunter on foot will not face significant climbing obstacles. The terrain itself is walkable, but legal access to the ground remains the real constraint.
Does mule deer distribution shift toward concentrated areas later in the fall?
Winter range covers only 3 percent of the unit, against a much larger overall range. As fall advances and seasons move into late rut and winter consolidation, hunters should expect mule deer to consolidate on portions of the available ground, though timing and extent vary with weather and snow.
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.