Colorado GMU 91 Mule Deer Hunting
Sedgwick County, northeast Colorado · 77 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 91 is like
GMU 91 is a 77-square-mile unit on the high plains of northeastern Colorado, lying entirely below 4,000 feet in elevation with gentle, rolling terrain that averages just 1.1 degrees of slope. The landscape is open country, typical of the region's agricultural and rangeland environment. Mule deer occupy the unit across its full mapped range, with both Overall Range and Winter Range covering 100 percent of the area.
The unit is predominantly private, with roughly 79 percent held in private ownership. Public hunting is limited to State Wildlife Areas comprising about 16 percent of the unit, or roughly 13 square miles. An additional 4.6 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, but access to this ground depends on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program and cannot be assumed available. Legal access is the primary constraint on where a public-land hunter can operate, even where the terrain itself is easy to traverse.
Mule deer remain present across the unit through the fall and winter, with both Overall Range and Winter Range mapping across all available habitat. Hunters should expect deer distribution to remain fairly consistent as seasons progress, with no large seasonal shift in occupancy mapped for the unit. The gentle terrain and low elevation allow hunting throughout the season, though access to public ground remains the limiting factor.
The unit offers four public seasons: archery from September 2 to September 30, muzzleloader from September 12 to September 20, Plains Early Rifle from October 24 to November 3, and Plains Late Rifle from December 1 to December 14. All public seasons are either-sex or doe-or-buck hunts. A fifth season, available on private land only from October 1 to December 14, is excluded from public draw. Draw difficulty is easy, with the most accessible unit-wide either-sex hunts typically requiring zero preference points for adult Colorado residents. However, the unit experiences extreme local hunter pressure, making actual hunting conditions crowded despite the low draw difficulty.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,700–4,000 ft, typically around 3,800 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.1°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~13 sq mi, plus ~4 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 16% of GMU 91 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 Area16%
- State Trust Land5%
- Private79%
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 91 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 Range100%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 24 – November 3 | Doe, Buck |
| Plains Late Rifle | December 1 – December 14 | Doe, Buck |
| Private-land only | October 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 91 mule deer hunting FAQ
How much public ground is there actually available to hunt?
About 16 percent of the unit, or roughly 13 square miles, is State Wildlife Area open to public hunting. An additional 4.6 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, but access there depends on CPW enrollment and cannot be counted on without checking specific parcels first. The remaining 79 percent is private, which is off-limits to public hunters without permission.
Is this unit realistic for someone with no preference points?
Yes. The easiest unit-wide either-sex hunts in the general draw often require zero preference points for adult Colorado residents, making this one of the most accessible units to draw. However, draw difficulty and hunter pressure are different things; the low draw barrier means the unit will be crowded when seasons open.
Which season should an applicant focus on?
Archery and muzzleloader hunts occur during the velvet-shed phase in early September, when bucks are newly shedding velvet and still in bachelor groups. Plains Early Rifle (late October through early November) catches the early pre-rut phase when bucks are becoming more active and movement increases. Plains Late Rifle (December) falls in the late rut and winter consolidation phase, when deer are beginning to gather on winter ground.
Is the terrain manageable for a hunter on foot?
The terrain is entirely gentle and rolling with minimal slope, so walking is not an obstacle. However, legal access to that walking ground is: only about 16 percent of the unit is reliably open to public hunting. A hunter needs to locate public ground first and then navigate from there.
Will most of the unit be available to hunt?
No. About 79 percent of the unit is private land off-limits to public hunters. Legal access, not terrain difficulty, is the binding constraint; hunters must plan to hunt within or near the State Wildlife Area boundaries or verify access to State Trust Land parcels before the season.
Does deer distribution shift as the season progresses?
Both Overall Range and Winter Range cover the full unit, indicating mule deer remain broadly distributed across available habitat through the fall and into winter. Timing and extent of local movements vary with weather and snow, but the mapping does not indicate a large seasonal withdrawal from the unit as a whole.
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.