Colorado GMU 126 Mule Deer Hunting
Kiowa, Bent and Prowers counties, southeast Colorado · 675 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 126 is like
GMU 126 spans 675 square miles across Kiowa, Bent and Prowers counties in the southeast region, occupying low-elevation plains country at 3,600 to 4,600 feet. The terrain is uniformly gentle and rolling with a mean slope of 0.9 degrees; no part of the unit exceeds moderate steepness. Mule deer occupy the unit through the fall and into early winter, using the Overall Range that covers the full extent of mapped habitat.
Land access is the defining constraint in GMU 126. Only about 1.3 percent of the unit—roughly 9 square miles—is generally open to public hunting on BLM and State Wildlife Area ground. An additional 12 percent, approximately 80 square miles, is Colorado State Trust Land accessible only where CPW has enrolled parcels in the Public Access Program; hunters must verify enrollment before planning to hunt these tracts. The remaining 87 percent is private land. The publicly owned ground totals only about 13 percent of the unit, making legal access the primary limiting factor despite the easy walking terrain.
Mule deer distribution follows the mapped seasonal ranges. Winter Range comprises only 7 percent of the unit, indicating that while some deer remain through winter, the bulk of the mapped Overall Range does not support permanent occupancy. Hunters should expect deer use to be concentrated and variable across the unit's extent, and densities will reflect the typical character of low-elevation plains mule deer populations.
GMU 126 offers four seasons to public applicants: Archery from September 2 to September 30 (Either-sex), Muzzleloader from September 12 to September 20 (Doe/Buck), Plains Early Rifle from October 24 to November 3 (Either-sex or Doe/Buck), and Plains Late Rifle from December 1 to December 14 (Either-sex or Doe/Buck). The archery and muzzleloader seasons occur during the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase when bucks are shedding velvet and transitioning to fall behavior. The Plains Early Rifle season brackets the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase and Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging, while Plains Late Rifle falls in the Late Rut / Winter Consolidation phase. Draw difficulty for the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt available to adult Colorado residents is easy, often requiring zero preference points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,600–4,600 ft, typically around 4,200 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 0.9°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~9 sq mi, plus ~80 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 1% of GMU 126 is public land a hunter can count on — BLM and State Wildlife Areas. A further 12% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM<1%
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- State Trust Land12%
- Private87%
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 126 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 Range7%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 126 mule deer hunting FAQ
Is there enough public ground to hunt this unit without connections to private land?
Only 1.3 percent of GMU 126—roughly 9 square miles of BLM and State Wildlife Area—is dependably open to public hunting. An additional 12 percent is State Trust Land, but only enrolled parcels are accessible through CPW's Public Access Program. For most hunters, legal access will be the decisive factor, not the gentle terrain.
When should a hunter apply for this unit: early season or later in the fall?
The archery and muzzleloader seasons (September 2–20) occur while bucks are shedding velvet and establishing fall movement patterns. The Plains Early Rifle season (October 24–November 3) captures the transition into pre-rut staging, and Plains Late Rifle (December 1–14) coincides with late rut and winter consolidation. Choice depends on preferred weapon and rut phase rather than relative success.
Can a hunter with zero preference points draw a tag here?
Yes. The easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt for an adult Colorado resident draws at zero points or very few, making this an accessible option for applicants building preference-point balances. Other weapons, seasons, and codes may carry higher point requirements.
What does the Winter Range share of 7 percent mean for deer distribution?
Winter Range represents only a small fraction of the unit's mapped Overall Range, indicating that while some mule deer remain in the unit through winter, year-round occupancy is not the pattern. Hunters should expect variable density across the broader mapped range and recognize that deer use will concentrate and shift seasonally with weather and forage.
Is the terrain actually walkable, even if access is limited?
Yes. The unit is uniformly gentle and rolling with a mean slope of 0.9 degrees and no steep or rugged terrain. However, walkability and legal access are separate issues—easy terrain does not solve the access problem posed by 87 percent private ownership and only 1.3 percent dependably open public ground.
How much of the unit sees moderate to heavy hunter use?
Overall hunter pressure on GMU 126 is moderate. Because only a small fraction of the unit is open to public hunting, pressure does not spread evenly, and hunters concentrating on accessible ground may encounter one another despite the unit's large total size.
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.