Colorado GMU 142 Mule Deer Hunting
Las Animas County, southeast Colorado · 368 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 142 is like
GMU 142 is a 368-square-mile mule deer unit in the southeastern Colorado high plains, lying between 4,400 and 5,900 feet in elevation with a typical elevation near 5,100 feet. The terrain is gentle and rolling, with 91 percent of the unit in gentle slopes, 7 percent moderate, and 2 percent steep terrain. The landscape is dominated by private land, with only a small remnant of National Forest ground open to public hunting.
Public hunting access is severely limited. Approximately 0.1 percent of the unit—roughly negligible acreage—is open to public hunting on National Forest land. The remaining 99.9 percent is private. The public acreage is scattered and difficult to reach, making legal access the primary constraint on hunting opportunity here regardless of terrain walkability.
Mule deer occupy the unit across a broad seasonal range, with Overall Range coverage at 100 percent and Winter Range at 96 percent. This distribution indicates that mule deer are present throughout much of the unit in winter, while summer use is variable. Hunters should expect deer on the accessible public ground, but the extreme limitation of open acreage means that most animals in the unit are on private land.
The unit offers three seasons for mule deer: an archery season September 2–30 for either-sex; a muzzleloader season September 12–20 for doe or buck; and a late rifle season December 1–14 for doe or buck. The rifle season falls during the late rut and winter consolidation phase, when mule deer are transitioning to winter patterns. Draw difficulty for the easiest qualifying hunts is rated easy, often at zero preference points, though the unit holds premium buck seasons requiring substantially more points. Overall hunter pressure on the unit is extreme.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,400–5,900 ft, typically around 5,100 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 3.9°
- Slope breakdown
- 91% gentle · 7% moderate · 2% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi
Land & access
About <1% of GMU 142 is public land a hunter can count on — National Forest.
- National Forest<1%
- State Trust Land<1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private100%
Where mule deer live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps mule deer seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 142 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 Range96%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 |
| Late Rifle | December 1 – December 14 | 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 142 mule deer hunting FAQ
Is there actually enough public ground here to hunt without preference points?
Yes, the easiest qualifying either-sex or buck hunt typically draws at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents. However, legal access is the binding constraint: only about 0.1 percent of the unit is open to public hunting, and that acreage is on National Forest land scattered across private-dominated ground. A hunter must locate and reach that open ground and then contend with extreme overall hunter pressure on it.
When should a hunter apply for this unit—early or late season?
The late rifle season (December 1–14) offers the best window for mule deer behavior, falling during the late rut and winter consolidation when animals are more concentrated and predictable. The archery and muzzleloader seasons (September 2–30 and September 12–20) occur during velvet shed and early fall transition, when deer are less patterned. Neither early-season hunt extends far enough into fall migration or pre-rut phases to leverage traditional staging behavior.
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually reach and hunt?
The limiting factor is legal access, not terrain walkability. Fewer than 0.1 percent of the unit is open to public hunting, and that acreage lies on National Forest land within a largely private matrix. A successful hunt here requires first identifying which specific National Forest parcels are accessible and then reaching them from legal entry points—neither of which the ownership percentages address. Most of the unit is off-limits.
What does the easy draw rating actually mean for this unit?
It indicates that the easiest qualifying unit-wide either-sex or buck hunt often draws at zero preference points for an adult Colorado resident in the primary draw. Premium buck seasons on this unit require substantially more points. The easy draw reflects low demand relative to available tags for standard hunts, not necessarily a low-competition experience once the public ground is accessed.
Why is hunter pressure extreme if the draw is easy?
Draw difficulty and hunter pressure are separate concepts. This unit draws easily because few hunters compete for its public-land tags, not because it is empty. The extreme pressure reflects the fact that nearly all the unit is private land where concentrated recreational use creates crowding, hunter visibility, and land-access conflicts regardless of the quota difficulty. An easy draw does not mean a quiet hunt.
Will mule deer be on the unit all fall, or do they leave as winter approaches?
Mule deer occupy broad seasonal range across the unit, with Overall Range at 100 percent and Winter Range at 96 percent, indicating animals are present throughout most of the unit into winter. However, the mapping does not indicate whether deer shift between higher and lower elevations or concentrate on specific aspects as the season advances. Timing and extent of any shift depend on weather and snow, not the season calendar alone.
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.