Colorado GMU 83 Mule Deer Hunting
Alamosa and Costilla counties, southeast Colorado · 1,252 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 83 is like
GMU 83 spans roughly 1,252 square miles across Alamosa and Costilla counties in the southeast region, encompassing country that rises from around 7,400 feet to 14,300 feet, with typical elevations near 8,200 feet. The terrain is gentle and rolling, with 72 percent of the unit falling into gentle slopes, 21 percent moderate, and 7 percent steep. This elevation span and predominantly gentle terrain make the unit accessible on foot across much of its extent, though terrain alone does not determine where a hunter can legally hunt.
Land access severely constrains hunting opportunity here. Approximately 0.9 percent of the unit—roughly 11 square miles—is generally open to public hunting on BLM and State Wildlife Areas. The remaining land is split among private ownership (97 percent), unclassified ownership (1.6 percent), and State Trust Land (0.3 percent). Public ownership in total makes up only around 1.2 percent of the unit; the vast majority of the landscape is private ground requiring permission to hunt. For a public-land hunter, legal access is the primary limiting factor, not the walkability of the terrain itself.
Mule deer occupy seasonal ranges across the unit. Summer Range covers 49 percent of the unit, while Winter Range covers 36 percent. Winter Concentration, where mule deer cluster, accounts for 12 percent of the unit. The Overall Range mapping extends across the full unit, indicating the full extent of mule deer habitat, though this does not mean mule deer are uniformly distributed or present everywhere year-round. As fall progresses and temperatures drop from September highs around 73°F to November highs around 49°F, mule deer move through their seasonal ranges; a hunter should expect ground conditions and elk distribution to shift considerably as the season advances, though the timing and extent of that movement varies with weather and snowfall.
The unit offers five seasons for mule deer: Archery from September 2 through September 30, Muzzleloader from September 12 through September 20, and three rifle seasons—2nd Rifle October 24 through November 1, 3rd Rifle November 7 through November 15, and 4th Rifle November 18 through November 22. All seasons hunt bucks. Archery and Muzzleloader seasons occur during the Velvet Shed phase when bucks are transitioning into fall activity. The 2nd Rifle season spans the Early Fall Migration and Early Pre-Rut phases. The 3rd Rifle season crosses into the Early Pre-Rut and Primary Rut phases. The 4th Rifle season takes place during the Primary Rut. The draw for this unit is hard, with the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex code for adult Colorado residents typically requiring 3 to 5 preference points. Hunter pressure across the unit is extreme.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 7,400–14,300 ft, typically around 8,200 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 7.3°
- Slope breakdown
- 72% gentle · 21% moderate · 7% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~11 sq mi, plus ~4 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About <1% of GMU 83 is public land a hunter can count on — BLM and State Wildlife Areas.
- BLM<1%
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- National Forest<1%
- State Trust Land<1%
- Unclassified ownership2%
- Private97%
“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 83 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
- Summer Range49%used in summer
- Winter Range36%used in winter
- Winter Concentration12%where mule deer bunch up in winter
Mule Deer seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | September 2 – September 30 | Buck |
| Muzzleloader | September 12 – September 20 | Buck |
| 2nd Rifle | October 24 – November 1 | Buck |
| 3rd Rifle | November 7 – November 15 | Buck |
| 4th Rifle | November 18 – November 22 | 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.
Fall weather
- September — highs around 73°F, lows around 41°F (mid-elevation normals)
- October — highs around 62°F, lows around 30°F, about 1.5 in of snow (mid-elevation normals)
- November — highs around 49°F, lows around 20°F, about 3.7 in of snow (mid-elevation normals)
GMU 83 mule deer hunting FAQ
Is GMU 83 realistic for a hunter with no preference points?
No. The easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt code for adult Colorado residents requires 3 to 5 preference points. A hunter with zero points would not draw any of the main public-land seasons. The unit also holds at least one premium buck season that requires substantially more points.
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually access and hunt here?
Only about 11 square miles out of 1,252—roughly 0.9 percent—is generally open to public hunting on BLM and State Wildlife Areas. The rest is private land. A public-land hunter must locate and secure permission on the private ground where the unit's public parcels sit, or find accessible routes through those small public holdings. Legal access, not terrain difficulty, is the primary constraint.
Which season would be best suited to hunt this unit as the fall progresses?
Seasons differ in the rut phases they cross. Archery and Muzzleloader occur during the Velvet Shed phase in early September. The 2nd Rifle (late October to early November) spans the Early Fall Migration and Early Pre-Rut phases. The 3rd Rifle (early to mid-November) crosses into the Primary Rut, and the 4th Rifle (late November) hunts during the Primary Rut itself. A hunter's preference depends on whether they want to hunt before the rut or during it, and on tolerance for cooling temperatures and increasing snowfall as the season advances.
Does mule deer distribution shift significantly through the fall season?
Yes, conditions change substantially. Temperatures drop from around 73°F in September to around 49°F by November, and snowfall increases from near zero in September to an average of 3.7 inches by November. Mule deer move through Summer Range (49 percent of the unit), Winter Range (36 percent), and Winter Concentration areas (12 percent) as the season progresses. Timing and extent vary with weather and snow, but a hunter should expect significant shifts in where deer are concentrated as the fall advances.
What makes this unit's draw hard despite gentle terrain and reasonable access to BLM ground?
The draw difficulty reflects extreme hunter pressure on very limited public land. Only 0.9 percent of the unit is open to public hunting, so demand far exceeds supply. The terrain is walkable, but the scarcity of legal hunting ground—not the country itself—drives the point requirement. The unit's draw difficulty is about access scarcity and competition, not terrain 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.