Colorado GMU 89 Mule Deer Hunting
Weld and Logan counties, northeast Colorado · 774 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 89 is like
Game Management Unit 89 occupies portions of Weld and Logan counties in Colorado's northeast region and covers 774 square miles of gentle and rolling terrain. Elevations range from 3,900 feet to 5,100 feet, with a typical elevation around 4,400 feet. The unit is 98 percent gentle terrain by area, with only 2 percent moderate slopes and no steep or rugged ground. The landscape consists primarily of plains and foothill country typical of this region.
Roughly 3.4 percent of the unit, approximately 26 square miles, is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and is generally open to public hunting. An additional 7.3 percent, about 56 square miles, consists of Colorado State Trust Land where hunting access depends on CPW enrollment in the Public Access Program. The remaining 89 percent of the unit is private land. This ownership pattern means that dependable public-land hunting opportunities are limited, and a successful hunt requires either access to enrolled State Trust Land or hunting within National Forest boundaries.
Mule deer occupy portions of the unit seasonally. Winter Range covers 53 percent of the unit, with Winter Concentration accounting for 19 percent of the total area where deer cluster during the winter months. This concentration of deer on a subset of winter ground means that hunters should expect mule deer to cluster rather than spread uniformly across the winter range, particularly as the season progresses into the late fall and early winter periods. Overall Range, which represents the full extent of mapped mule deer habitat, covers 100 percent of the unit but does not indicate year-round occupancy or uniform distribution.
Four seasons are offered to public applicants. Archery runs from September 2 to September 30 and is either-sex. Muzzleloader runs from September 12 to September 20 for doe or buck. Plains Early Rifle runs from October 1 to November 3 for either-sex or doe/buck. Plains Late Rifle runs from December 1 to December 14 for doe or buck. The unit draws with easy difficulty, often at zero preference points for the most accessible either-sex and buck hunts available to resident applicants. Hunter pressure remains moderate across the unit.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,900–5,100 ft, typically around 4,400 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 2°
- Slope breakdown
- 98% gentle · 2% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~26 sq mi, plus ~56 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 3% of GMU 89 is public land a hunter can count on — National Forest. A further 7% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- National Forest3%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land7%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private89%
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 89 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 Range53%used in winter
- Winter Concentration19%where mule deer bunch up 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 1 – November 3 | Either-sex, 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 89 mule deer hunting FAQ
Is there enough public land here to hunt without private permission?
Only about 3.4 percent of the unit is National Forest open to public hunting, making private access or enrolled State Trust Land nearly essential for a hunt here. The gentle terrain makes that limited ground walkable, but legal access is the limiting factor, not terrain difficulty.
When do mule deer concentrate and when should a hunter expect to find them?
Winter Range covers 53 percent of the unit, with 19 percent designated as Winter Concentration where deer cluster during the winter season. As fall advances into winter, hunters should expect deer to concentrate on a subset of the winter range rather than spread across it evenly. Timing and degree of concentration shift with weather and snow conditions.
Which seasons fall in the rut?
The Archery and Muzzleloader seasons fall during the Velvet Shed and Early Fall Transition phase, before the rut. Plains Early Rifle spans the Early Fall Migration and Early Pre-Rut phases. Plains Late Rifle falls in the Late Rut and Winter Consolidation phase, overlapping with post-rut deer movement and winter grouping.
Does this unit draw easily for a resident with no preference points?
The unit draws with easy difficulty, often at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents applying for the most accessible either-sex and buck hunts. This applies to the easiest unit-wide codes available in the primary draw; other weapons, seasons and nonresident applicants may require substantially more points.
How crowded is this unit during the seasons?
Overall hunter pressure is moderate. An easy draw does not mean the unit is empty; applicants can access the same ground, and popular seasons may concentrate hunters in the limited public areas available.
What does State Trust Land mean for access here?
About 7.3 percent of the unit is State Trust Land, but hunting it requires enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program. Not all parcels are enrolled, and access varies by location and year. A hunter should verify which Trust Land parcels are open before planning a hunt.
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.