Colorado GMU 301 Mule Deer Hunting
Moffat County, northwest Colorado · 367 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 301 is like
Unit 301 covers 367 square miles of Moffat County in Colorado's northwest. The country is gentle and rolling, with elevations ranging from 6,000 feet to 7,500 feet and a typical elevation around 6,600 feet. Terrain slopes gently across 83 percent of the unit, with moderate slopes covering 16 percent and steep ground comprising only 1 percent. The unit is dominated by private ownership, with roughly 11 percent of its acreage managed by the Bureau of Land Management and open to public hunting, and roughly 3.9 percent held as Colorado State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment in the Public Access Program.
Of the unit's 367 square miles, only the 11 percent held by BLM—approximately 42 square miles—is reliably open to public hunting. The remaining land is either private or state trust acreage available only where CPW has enrolled parcels in its access program. Legal access to hunting ground is the primary constraint on this unit, not terrain walkability.
Mule deer occupy the unit across all mapped seasonal ranges. Summer Range and Winter Range each cover the entire unit, and Winter Concentration covers 80 percent, indicating that mule deer cluster on specific ground during the winter months. Migration Corridors extend across 69 percent of the unit. This concentration of winter use suggests that as the fall progresses and temperatures drop, hunters should expect deer to shift toward concentrated-use ground, though the timing and extent of that shift vary with weather and snow.
The unit offers seven seasons in the 2026 draw, of which five are open to public applicants. Three rifle seasons run from late October through mid-November: the 2nd Rifle October 24–November 1, the 3rd Rifle November 7–November 15, and the 4th Rifle November 18–November 22. Archery runs September 2–September 30, and Muzzleloader runs September 12–September 20. A private-land-only season and the Ranching for Wildlife program are also available but fall outside unit-wide public-land opportunities. The draw for this unit is easy, with the most accessible unit-wide buck or either-sex hunts typically drawing at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents, though other weapons, seasons, and nonresident applicants can require substantially more points. Hunter pressure on this unit is extreme.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 6,000–7,500 ft, typically around 6,600 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 6.8°
- Slope breakdown
- 83% gentle · 16% moderate · 1% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~42 sq mi, plus ~14 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 11% of GMU 301 is public land a hunter can count on — BLM. A further 4% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM11%
- State Trust Land4%
- Private85%
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 301 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
- Winter Range100%used in winter
- 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 Concentration80%where mule deer bunch up in winter
- Migration Corridors69%movement between ranges, not residence
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 |
| Ranching for Wildlife | Dates vary by hunt code | 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 301 mule deer hunting FAQ
Is any significant public land open to walk-in hunting here?
Only roughly 11 percent of the unit—about 42 square miles of BLM ground—is reliably open to public hunting. That amounts to legal access as the primary limiting factor, even though the terrain itself is gentle and walkable. The remaining 3.9 percent of State Trust Land may be huntable where enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, but specific parcels are not listed here.
Will a hunter with zero preference points draw a public-land season here?
Yes, the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunts on public land typically draw at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents. Other weapons, seasons, and nonresident applicants can require substantially more points, and the private-land-only season and Ranching for Wildlife program operate outside the standard public-draw system.
When is the rut, and which season falls in it?
The mule deer rut runs from November 11 to November 25. The 3rd Rifle season (November 7–November 15) overlaps the early part of the rut, and the 4th Rifle season (November 18–November 22) falls entirely within the rut. The earlier seasons—Archery (September 2–September 30) and Muzzleloader (September 12–September 20)—occur before the rut begins, during the velvet shed and early fall transition phase.
Does the extreme hunter pressure mean this unit is crowded?
Extreme hunter pressure and an easy draw are separate things—this unit draws readily but experiences very high numbers of hunters. The combination of accessible draw odds and high pressure means hunters should expect crowded conditions across the small amount of public ground available.
Where do mule deer concentrate as the season progresses?
Winter Concentration covers 80 percent of the unit, meaning mule deer cluster significantly in winter. However, the concentration-layer data does not specify which parts of the unit hold those clusters—only that they occupy concentrated ground. Hunters should expect deer to shift toward these concentrated areas as fall progresses and temperatures drop, though timing and extent depend on weather and snow.
Is this unit realistic for a public-land hunter with limited time?
The extremely high hunter pressure and small public-land footprint (roughly 42 square miles of BLM) mean a public-land hunter will encounter substantial competition for limited ground. The gentle, walkable terrain itself is not the constraint; the scarcity of legal access and the volume of hunters create the challenge.
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.