Colorado GMU 145 Mule Deer Hunting
Baca County, southeast Colorado · 309 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 145 is like
Unit 145 sits in southeastern Colorado and spans 309 square miles of low-elevation mule deer country. Elevation ranges from 3,500 feet to 4,400 feet, with a typical elevation near 3,900 feet. The terrain is gentle and rolling throughout, with no steep or rugged slopes—mean slope across the unit is 1.3 degrees. This is a small, accessible landscape in Baca County where the land is uniformly easy to walk.
Roughly 19 percent of the unit, about 58 square miles, is National Forest land that is generally open to public hunting. Colorado State Trust Land comprises an additional 2.7 percent, roughly 8 square miles, but hunting there requires enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program and depends on which parcels are enrolled. The remaining roughly 79 percent is private land. Legal access to hunt is the binding constraint here: only the open National Forest acreage can be reliably entered by a general hunter.
Mule deer occupy the unit across its full mapped range. Winter Range covers 20 percent of the unit, indicating that as seasons advance into late fall and early winter, mule deer concentrate on a smaller portion of the available ground. A hunter should expect deer distribution to shift toward winter range as cold weather and snow arrive, though timing and the degree of that shift vary with weather patterns and snow depth from year to year.
The unit offers four mule deer seasons. Archery runs September 2 to September 30 on either-sex basis and falls during the Velvet Shed phase. Muzzleloader season runs September 12 to September 20 on a doe or buck basis, also in the Velvet Shed phase. Plains Early Rifle runs October 24 to November 3 on a doe or buck basis and covers the Early Fall Migration and Early Pre-Rut phases. Plains Late Rifle runs December 1 to December 14 on a doe or buck basis and falls in the Late Rut phase. The unit draws as easy for the simplest qualifying buck or either-sex hunt available to adult Colorado residents, often at zero preference points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,500–4,400 ft, typically around 3,900 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.3°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~58 sq mi, plus ~8 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 19% of GMU 145 is public land a hunter can count on — National Forest. A further 3% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- National Forest19%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land3%
- Private79%
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 145 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 Range20%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 |
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 145 mule deer hunting FAQ
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually hunt here?
About 58 square miles of National Forest is generally open to public hunting—roughly 19 percent of the unit. An additional 8 square miles of State Trust Land may be huntable if enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, but enrollment status varies by parcel and must be verified. The remaining 79 percent is private land and off-limits without landowner permission.
Is this unit realistic for someone with no preference points?
Yes. The unit draws as easy for the simplest qualifying buck or either-sex hunt available to adult Colorado residents and often requires zero preference points. Other weapons, later seasons, and nonresident applicants may require substantially more points.
Does this unit draw competitively?
No. The unit draws as easy, with the simplest qualifying hunts often available at zero preference points. Easy-to-draw status is separate from hunter pressure; this unit currently sits at low overall pressure.
Is the terrain manageable for a hunter on foot?
Yes. The unit is uniformly gentle and rolling with no steep or rugged slopes, making it walkable throughout. Terrain is not the limiting factor; legal access to the National Forest parcels is.
When should a hunter expect deer to be concentrated in the unit?
Winter Range covers 20 percent of the unit. As late fall advances into early winter, hunters should expect mule deer to shift toward this winter range, though timing and extent vary with snow and cold weather. Early-season hunts may find deer more broadly distributed across the full mapped range.
Which season offers the best chance at a buck during the rut?
The Plains Late Rifle season, December 1 to December 14, falls in the Late Rut phase and offers the best opportunity to hunt during the rut itself. Plains Early Rifle runs October 24 to November 3 and covers the transition into the rut but before the Primary Rut begins.
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.