Colorado GMU 147 Mule Deer Hunting
Las Animas County, southeast Colorado · 323 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 147 is like
Unit 147 is a 323-square-mile mule deer area in Las Animas County in the southeast region of Colorado. The country is gentle and rolling, with elevations ranging from 4,300 feet to 5,800 feet and a typical elevation around 5,400 feet. Terrain breakdowns show 85 percent gentle slope, 9 percent moderate, 5 percent steep, and 1 percent rugged by area. The unit offers four seasons across archery, muzzleloader, and rifle options, attracting hunters across multiple months of the fall.
Public land that is generally open to hunting covers roughly 3.6 percent of the unit—approximately 12 square miles—managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. An additional 26 percent (about 83 square miles) consists of Colorado State Trust Land, where hunting access depends on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program; only those parcels enrolled may be hunted. Unclassified ownership covers 21 percent of the unit, while private land comprises 49 percent. Legal access is the primary constraint on where a hunter can operate across this unit.
Overall Range mapping covers the full unit, reflecting the potential extent of mule deer distribution. A Winter Range layer covers 42 percent of the unit. These seasonal-range shares establish where mule deer may be found across the calendar year, but the available mapping does not indicate the specific elevations or positions of these ranges within the unit, nor does it establish the timing or extent of any seasonal movement. Hunting opportunity and success will depend heavily on which portions of public or enrolled State Trust Land a hunter can legally access.
The unit offers four mule deer seasons in 2026. Archery runs September 2 through September 30 and is either-sex. Muzzleloader runs September 12 through September 20 and is buck/doe. Plains Early Rifle runs October 24 through November 3 and is buck/doe. Plains Late Rifle runs December 1 through December 14 and is buck/doe, providing two rifle opportunities. Draw difficulty for this unit is easy, with the easiest qualifying buck or either-sex hunt code drawing reliably at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents in the primary draw. Hunter pressure across the unit is low overall.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,300–5,800 ft, typically around 5,400 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 5.2°
- Slope breakdown
- 85% gentle · 9% moderate · 5% steep · 1% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~12 sq mi, plus ~83 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Habitat & cover
What actually grows here, by elevation. Each band adds to 100% on its own — these are shares of that band, not of GMU 147.
Across the unit
- Grass and meadow64%
- Sagebrush30%
- Conifer5%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database, split into elevation bands. “Other cover” is the remainder of the classification — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land — and is left unnamed rather than guessed at.
Land & access
About 4% of GMU 147 is public land a hunter can count on — National Forest and BLM. A further 26% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- National Forest4%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land26%
- Unclassified ownership21%
- Private49%
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.
“Ownership unclassified” means the source dataset does not record an owner for that acreage. It is not known to be public or private.
Where mule deer live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps mule deer seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 147 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 Range42%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 147 mule deer hunting FAQ
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually hunt here?
Only about 3.6 percent of the unit—roughly 12 square miles of National Forest and BLM—is dependably open to public hunting. An additional 26 percent is State Trust Land, but only parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program may be hunted; a hunter will need to check which specific parcels that includes. The majority of the unit is private or unclassified ownership, making legal access the binding constraint.
Can someone with no preference points draw a tag here?
Yes. The easiest qualifying unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt code draws reliably at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents in the primary draw. Applicants can also pursue leftover tags through the first-come, first-served list after the primary draw or enter the separate June secondary draw, both of which do not require preference points, though these are distinct systems from the primary draw.
Which season should a hunter target, given the terrain and rut timing?
The archery and muzzleloader seasons (early September) occur during the Velvet Shed phase, before the rut begins. The Plains Early Rifle season (late October through early November) spans the Early Fall Migration and Early Pre-Rut phases. The Plains Late Rifle season (December) falls in the Late Rut and Winter Consolidation phase. The choice depends on whether a hunter prefers hunting in the early fall transition or during the late rut consolidation period.
Is the terrain walkable for a hunter on foot?
Yes, the unit is predominantly gentle and rolling—85 percent falls in the gentle-slope category, and only 6 percent combined is steep or rugged. The typical elevation around 5,400 feet and low elevation of 4,300 feet present no extreme altitude barriers. Terrain walkability is not the limiting factor here; legal access to public or enrolled State Trust Land is.
What does 'easy draw' mean for this unit?
The draw-difficulty label 'easy' describes the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt code for adult Colorado residents in the primary draw—that code has drawn reliably at zero preference points. Other seasons, weapons, or applicant categories (such as nonresidents) may require more points. The label does not mean all tags in the unit are easy to draw, only that the easiest qualifying hunt sits in the zero-point range.
Is this a crowded unit despite the easy draw?
No. Draw difficulty and hunter pressure are separate factors. This unit combines an easy draw with low overall hunter pressure, meaning both access to tags and solitude on the ground are relatively favorable. The constraint remains legal access to public or enrolled State Trust Land.
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
- USGS / MRLC — National Land Cover Database — habitat and cover classes by elevation band
- 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
- USGS PAD-US — Protected Areas Database of the United States — land ownership and access
- Daymet daily climate, 1991–2020 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) — 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 September 24, 2026.