Colorado GMU 138 Mule Deer Hunting
Baca County, southeast Colorado · 312 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 138 is like
GMU 138 is a low-elevation mule deer unit in Baca County that spans 312 square miles of gentle and rolling terrain. Elevations range from 4,300 feet to 4,900 feet, with a mean slope of 1.3 degrees; the entire unit is classified as gentle terrain by area. The country is walkable, but legal access is the constraint: only about 0.2 square miles of State Wildlife Area is dependably open to public hunting, with an additional 6 square miles of Colorado State Trust Land available only where CPW has enrolled it in the Public Access Program. The remaining 98 percent of the unit is private land.
About 2 percent of the unit is publicly owned (State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Land combined), while 98 percent is private. The small State Wildlife Area parcel offers the only guaranteed public hunting ground. State Trust Land parcels may be huntable if enrolled in the Public Access Program, but enrollment varies and a hunter must verify access before the season.
Mule deer occupy the unit during both summer and winter, though the mapping shows only 1 percent of the unit as mapped Winter Range; the broader Overall Range layer covers 100 percent of the unit. As the season progresses, deer may shift between available ranges, though the exact timing and extent depend on weather and snow.
The unit offers four public-land seasons and one private-land-only season. Archery runs September 2–30 and falls during the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase. Muzzleloader runs September 12–20 in the same phase. Two rifle seasons follow: Plains Early Rifle from October 24–November 3, covering the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase and Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phases, and Plains Late Rifle from December 1–14, during Late Rut / Winter Consolidation. The draw for this unit is easy, often accessible at zero preference points for the qualifying either-sex hunts available to adult Colorado residents. Hunter pressure is high.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,300–4,900 ft, typically around 4,600 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.3°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi, plus ~6 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About <1% of GMU 138 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas. A further 2% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- State Trust Land2%
- Private98%
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 138 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 Range<1%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 | Doe, Buck |
| Plains Late Rifle | December 1 – December 14 | Doe, Buck |
| Private-land only | 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 138 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can someone with no preference points draw an either-sex tag here?
Yes. The draw difficulty is easy, often at zero preference points for the qualifying either-sex hunts available to adult Colorado residents. Other weapons, seasons, and nonresident applicants can require substantially more points, and this floor does not guarantee a draw — only that zero points can be sufficient for the easiest qualifying code.
How much public ground can a hunter actually access and hunt?
Only about 0.2 square miles of State Wildlife Area is dependably open to public hunting. Another 6 square miles of Colorado State Trust Land may be available if enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, but enrollment varies by parcel and must be verified before the season. The remaining 98 percent of the unit is private land, making legal access the primary constraint.
When does the rut occur and which seasons fall during it?
Colorado mule deer rut in mid-to-late November. The archery and muzzleloader seasons in September occur during the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, when bucks are shedding velvet but not yet in rut. Plains Early Rifle in late October to early November spans the transition into pre-rut staging. Plains Late Rifle from December 1–14 occurs after the primary rut, during Late Rut / Winter Consolidation.
Is the terrain manageable for hiking and glassing?
Yes. The unit is entirely gentle and rolling terrain with a mean slope of 1.3 degrees, so the country is walkable. However, legal access is the limiting factor — the small amount of dependably open public land means terrain ease does not translate to huntable ground.
What is the difference between the Easy draw difficulty and the high hunter pressure?
Draw difficulty and hunter pressure are separate. An easy draw means tags are accessible to applicants with few or zero preference points; high pressure means many hunters are on the ground pursuing the same game. Both are true on this unit: tags draw easily, but once a hunter is in the field, competition for animals is significant.
Do mule deer move out of the unit as the season progresses?
The mapping shows only 1 percent of the unit as Winter Range, but this does not necessarily mean deer leave — much of the unit is mapped as year-round Overall Range. Timing and extent of any seasonal shift depend on weather and snow; a hunter should expect deer distribution to change with conditions as the fall advances.
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.