Colorado GMU 90 Mule Deer Hunting
Logan and Sedgwick counties, northeast Colorado · 374 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 90 is like
Unit 90 is a 374-square-mile lowland mule deer unit in northeastern Colorado, spanning Logan and Sedgwick counties across terrain that is gentle and rolling. Elevations range from 3,400 feet to 4,500 feet, with a mean slope of 2 degrees. The unit consists almost entirely of private land, with only about 1.6 percent managed as State Wildlife Areas that are generally open to public hunting. An additional 5.2 percent comprises Colorado State Trust Land, huntable only where CPW has enrolled parcels in the Public Access Program—access to these holdings cannot be assumed. The vast majority of the unit's 374 square miles lies on private ground where hunting requires landowner permission.
Legally huntable ground is severely limited. State Wildlife Areas total approximately 6 square miles of the unit, providing the only reliably open public access. State Trust Land parcels may be accessible where enrolled, but identifying and gaining entry to them requires verification of enrollment status and advance arrangement. Hunters should verify public-access opportunities before planning to hunt this unit, as the private land share means that successful public hunting depends entirely on locating and securing permission to hunt enrolled State Trust Land or State Wildlife Areas.
Mule deer in Unit 90 occupy the overall mapped range across the unit, but Winter Range covers only 12 percent of the total area. Deer should be expected on the open and accessible public ground throughout the fall. The seasonal composition of the unit's range suggests that deer distribution may shift across the landscape as conditions change, but the gentle topography and low elevation mean that terrain itself does not channel movement or constrain where hunters can expect to find deer during each season.
Unit 90 offers four mule deer seasons in 2026: an Archery season September 2–30 for either-sex deer, a Muzzleloader season September 12–20 for does and bucks, a Plains Early Rifle season October 1–November 3 for either-sex or doe/buck hunting, and a Plains Late Rifle season December 1–14 for does and bucks. Two of these are rifle seasons. The unit draws with low overall hunter pressure. The easiest qualifying unit-wide either-sex or doe/buck hunt here draws with easy difficulty, often requiring zero preference points, though other seasons, weapons and nonresident applicants may require more points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,400–4,500 ft, typically around 3,900 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 2°
- Slope breakdown
- 99% gentle · 1% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~6 sq mi, plus ~19 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 2% of GMU 90 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas. A further 5% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area2%
- State Trust Land5%
- Private93%
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 90 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 Range12%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 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 90 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can I draw GMU 90 with zero points, and how much public ground is available?
No. Only about 1.6 percent of the unit—roughly 6 square miles of State Wildlife Areas—is generally open to public hunting, and the remaining 93 percent is private. An additional 5.2 percent of State Trust Land may be accessible where enrolled in the Public Access Program, but enrollment cannot be assumed. A hunter with zero points can draw an easy tag to this unit, but actually hunting it requires either access to State Wildlife Areas or confirmed enrollment of specific State Trust Land parcels.
What rut phases cover each season?
Archery and Muzzleloader seasons both fall during Velvet Shed and Early Fall Transition, when bucks are shedding velvet and shifting their behavior as temperatures cool. Plains Early Rifle spans Early Fall Migration through Early Pre-Rut, a window of nocturnal buck activity and staging. Plains Late Rifle falls in Late Rut and Winter Consolidation, covering the tail end of breeding activity and the consolidation of herds toward winter grounds.
Is the terrain easy to walk if I can access public ground?
Yes. Unit 90 is 99 percent gentle and rolling terrain with a mean slope of only 2 degrees, making the landscape itself very walkable. The limiting factor is not terrain but legal access: with only about 1.6 percent of the unit in State Wildlife Areas, finding ground you can legally hunt is the primary challenge, not the physical difficulty of the country.
How does the small Winter Range share affect where to hunt?
CPW maps the entire unit within Overall Range, but that layer does not establish fall or winter occupancy. Winter Range covers 12 percent of the unit, and deer distribution will vary with habitat, weather and hunting pressure.
Which season is best for a first-time applicant to this unit?
Archery and Muzzleloader both draw with easy difficulty and occur during the same rut phase, when bucks are transitioning into early fall behavior. Plains Early Rifle offers a longer season and a slightly different rut phase but still draws easily. At least one qualifying unit-wide hunt often draws at zero points for adult Colorado residents; other seasons and hunt codes may require more.
Does this unit get crowded despite the easy draw?
The unit draws with easy difficulty and experiences low overall hunter pressure. Because so little ground is open to public hunting, crowds concentrate on the small acreage of State Wildlife Areas available, but the unit as a whole does not attract heavy use.
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.