Colorado GMU 13 Mule Deer Hunting
Moffat and Routt counties, northwest Colorado · 362 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 13 is like
Game Management Unit 13 spans 362 square miles across Moffat and Routt counties in northwestern Colorado, with elevations ranging from 6,100 feet to 8,500 feet and a typical elevation near 6,900 feet. The terrain is rolling, with some steeper breaks: 53% of the unit is gentle, 38% moderate, and 9% steep. The country supports mule deer across varied topography, and hunters should expect to navigate a mix of rolling slopes and occasional rugged sections.
Roughly 7.1% of the unit—about 26 square miles—is generally open to public hunting and managed by the Bureau of Land Management and State Wildlife Areas. An additional 15%, or roughly 55 square miles, is Colorado State Trust Land, which is huntable only where parcels are enrolled in Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Public Access Program. The remaining 77% of the unit is privately owned. Legal access is the primary constraint here, and a hunter's ground-pounding options are substantially limited despite the moderate terrain.
Mule deer occupy the unit's summer range throughout the season and appear across the full mapped range. Winter Range covers 36% of the unit, with concentrated clustering on 7% of the ground. Migration corridors span 44% of the unit. Hunters should expect mule deer to shift toward winter ground as November advances, with timing and extent varying with weather and snow. The archery and muzzleloader seasons fall during the velvet-shed phase in early September. Second and third rifle seasons span the early fall migration and early pre-rut through primary rut phases. The fourth rifle season coincides with the primary rut.
The unit offers six seasons in total: archery September 2–September 30 for either-sex; muzzleloader September 12–September 20 for doe or buck; second rifle October 24–November 1 for doe or buck; third rifle November 7–November 15 for doe or buck; and fourth rifle November 18–November 22 for buck only. A private-land-only season runs October 24–November 22 for either-sex, but this opportunity requires the hunter's own permission on private ground and is separate from the public-land draw. Draw difficulty for the easiest qualifying public-land either-sex hunt code is often zero points for adult Colorado residents. Hunter pressure here is extreme despite the easy draw.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 6,100–8,500 ft, typically around 6,900 ft
- Steepness
- Moderate — mean slope 11.6°
- Slope breakdown
- 53% gentle · 38% moderate · 9% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~26 sq mi, plus ~55 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 7% of GMU 13 is public land a hunter can count on — BLM and State Wildlife Areas. A further 15% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM7%
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- State Trust Land15%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private77%
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 13 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%.
- Summer Range100%used in summer
- 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
- Migration Corridors44%movement between ranges, not residence
- Winter Range36%used in winter
- Winter Concentration7%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 |
| 2nd Rifle | October 24 – November 1 | Doe, Buck |
| 3rd Rifle | November 7 – November 15 | Doe, Buck |
| 4th Rifle | November 18 – November 22 | Buck |
| Private-land only | October 24 – November 22 | Either-sex |
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 40°F (mid-elevation normals)
- October — highs around 59°F, lows around 30°F, about 1.3 in of snow (mid-elevation normals)
- November — highs around 44°F, lows around 20°F, about 7.4 in of snow (mid-elevation normals)
GMU 13 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can a hunter with zero preference points actually draw a mule deer tag here?
Yes. The easiest qualifying either-sex or buck code for adult Colorado residents in the primary draw often requires zero preference points. This applies to the seasons available to public-land hunters and does not include the private-land-only season, which requires the applicant's own permission on private ground.
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually access?
Only about 7 percent of the unit—roughly 26 square miles of Bureau of Land Management and State Wildlife Area—is generally open to hunting. An additional 15 percent is State Trust Land, huntable only where CPW has enrolled specific parcels in its Public Access Program. Legal access, not terrain difficulty, is the limiting factor on this unit.
How does hunter pressure compare to the draw difficulty?
Draw difficulty is easy, but hunter pressure is extreme. An easy-to-draw unit can still experience heavy crowding. The low preference-point requirement reflects available tags, not the number of hunters competing for them.
When do mule deer shift to winter ground, and how predictable is that timing?
Winter Range covers 36 percent of the unit, with 7 percent showing concentrated clustering. Hunters should expect a shift toward winter ground as November progresses, but timing and extent vary with weather and snow. The third and fourth rifle seasons span mid-November into late November, when this movement is likely underway.
What is the terrain like, and is it walkable?
The unit is rolling with some steeper breaks: 53 percent gentle, 38 percent moderate, and 9 percent steep. While this terrain is generally manageable on foot, legal access is far more constraining than walkability. A hunter has limited ground to work regardless of how easily the terrain can be covered.
How does weather change through the season?
September highs average about 73 degrees Fahrenheit with minimal snowfall. October temperatures drop to highs around 59 degrees with roughly 1.3 inches of monthly snowfall. By November, highs average 44 degrees and monthly snowfall increases to about 7.4 inches. The season cools steadily from fall through late November.
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.