Colorado GMU 512 Mule Deer Hunting
El Paso County, central Colorado · 28 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 512 is like
GMU 512 is a 28 square-mile unit in El Paso County characterized by gentle and rolling terrain. Elevations range from 6,300 feet to 8,300 feet, with a typical elevation near 6,800 feet. The terrain is predominantly gentle, with 76 percent of the unit in gentle slopes, 23 percent in moderate slopes, and only 1 percent in steep terrain. The unit lies in the Central region and offers limited public hunting opportunity.
Nearly all of the unit is private land. Approximately 0.1 percent—a negligible fraction—is National Forest ground open to public hunting. This tiny public acreage is the only ground a hunter can reliably count on accessing here. The practical reality is that hunting GMU 512 depends almost entirely on obtaining permission to hunt private land.
Mule deer Summer Range and Winter Range each cover 100 percent of the unit, indicating the species uses this ground across both seasons. The seasonal ranges suggest a year-round presence, though movement patterns between seasonal ranges are not mapped. Deer will be distributed across the unit through the fall rifle season, with distribution potentially shifting as the season progresses and conditions change.
One rifle season is offered in this unit: an either-sex or buck rifle season running October 1 through December 31. The season spans the early fall migration, pre-rut staging, primary rut, and late-rut phases of the mule deer calendar. Draw difficulty for the easiest qualifying bull or either-sex code is Premium, requiring 10–19 preference points in the primary draw. Hunter pressure across the unit is Extreme.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 6,300–8,300 ft, typically around 6,800 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 7°
- Slope breakdown
- 76% gentle · 23% moderate · 1% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi
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 512.
Across the unit
- Conifer36%
- Sagebrush28%
- Other cover19%
- Grass and meadow14%
- Aspen2%
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 <1% of GMU 512 is public land a hunter can count on — National Forest.
- National Forest<1%
- Private100%
Where mule deer live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps mule deer seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 512 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
Mule Deer seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Other Rifle | October 1 – December 31 | 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 512 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can a public-land hunter actually hunt much ground here?
No. Only about 0.1 percent of the unit is open public land, and it is National Forest. The remaining 100 percent is private. A public-land-only hunter will find almost nothing to hunt here and should focus effort on units with substantially more public acreage.
Is the terrain walkable for a hunter on foot?
Yes, in terms of slope. The unit is predominantly gentle and rolling, with 76 percent in gentle terrain and only 1 percent steep. However, terrain walkability and legal access are separate issues—even gentle country matters little if 99.9 percent of it is private land and the hunter cannot reach it.
When in the fall are mule deer most concentrated here?
The rifle season runs October 1 through December 31, spanning early fall migration through late rut and winter consolidation. No concentration layer is mapped for this unit, so the timing and location of concentrated deer use within that span is not characterized in the available data. Deer will shift distribution as fall progresses, but precise timing will depend on weather and individual animal behavior.
What does the 'Premium' draw difficulty actually mean?
Premium means the easiest qualifying bull or either-sex hunt code for an adult Colorado resident drew reliably in the primary draw at 10–19 preference points. The band describes a floor, not a target—applicants with fewer points can still draw through the secondary June draw or leftover list, but the primary draw at this tier is the typical route.
Is this unit realistic for a hunter focused on public land?
No. With only 0.1 percent public land and Extreme overall hunter pressure, this unit is not practical for a public-land hunter. The private land dominates, and access will be the limiting factor regardless of terrain or deer distribution.
What seasons and weapons are available?
One either-sex or buck rifle season runs October 1 through December 31. No archery, muzzleloader, or other-weapons seasons are mapped for this unit. The season encompasses multiple rut phases, from early fall migration through late-rut consolidation.
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.