Colorado GMU 93 Mule Deer Hunting
Logan, Segwick and Phillips counties, northeast Colorado · 946 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 93 is like
GMU 93 is a gentle, rolling prairie unit spanning 946 square miles across northeast Colorado, with terrain that rarely exceeds a slope of 1.4 degrees. Elevation ranges from 3,400 feet in the low country to 4,400 feet at the highest points, with a typical elevation around 3,800 feet. The unit's character is defined by its low-relief topography: 100 percent of its area falls into the gentle terrain class. This is fundamentally a plains unit suited to hunters comfortable walking and glassing relatively open country.
Public hunting access is extremely limited. The State Wildlife Areas, which are generally open to public hunting, comprise roughly 0.8 percent of the unit, or about 7 square miles. An additional 10 percent of the unit consists of Colorado State Trust Land, but access there depends on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program; not all parcels are available to hunt. The remaining 89 percent is private ground. Any strategy for hunting this unit must account for the fact that legal access is the primary constraint, regardless of terrain walkability.
The unit's mapped Overall Range for mule deer covers 100 percent of its area, but a Winter Range is mapped across only 14 percent. This Winter Range distribution reflects the seasonal pattern CPW has mapped, but without substantial mapped summer or migration layers to indicate movement, the extent of fall occupancy across the broader unit remains dependent on weather, available forage and timing. Mule deer use the mapped ranges according to seasonal conditions, but a hunter should expect the primary season focus to be on public ground and enrolled State Trust Land parcels.
Four seasons are available to public applicants: Archery runs September 2 through September 30 and takes either-sex deer; Muzzleloader runs September 12 through September 20 for doe and buck; Plains Early Rifle runs October 1 through November 3 for either-sex, doe or buck; Plains Late Rifle runs December 1 through December 14 for doe and buck. The Archery and Muzzleloader seasons fall during the velvet-shed phase when bucks are recently free of velvet. The Plains Early Rifle season spans the early fall migration and early pre-rut phases, while Plains Late Rifle falls in the late rut and winter consolidation period. Draw difficulty is easy, with the easiest unit-wide hunt code often drawing at zero preference points for adult Colorado residents, though other hunt codes, nonresident applicants and private-land-only opportunities may require more. Overall hunter pressure is moderate.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,400–4,400 ft, typically around 3,800 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.4°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~7 sq mi, plus ~94 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
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 93.
Across the unit
- Other cover68%
- Grass and meadow32%
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 93 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas. A further 10% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land10%
- 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 93 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 Range14%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 93 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can a hunter with no preference points draw this unit?
Yes. The easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex code in the primary draw often requires zero preference points for adult Colorado residents. Other seasons and codes, as well as nonresident applicants, may require more points, and private-land-only hunts are not included in that figure.
How much public ground can a hunter actually access here?
Only about 0.8 percent of the unit—roughly 7 square miles of State Wildlife Area—is dependably open to public hunting. An additional 10 percent is State Trust Land, but access there is limited to enrolled parcels in CPW's Public Access Program. The remaining 89 percent is private, so legal access is the binding constraint on where a hunter can go.
Is this unit better for early or late-season archery or rifle?
Archery and Muzzleloader fall in early September when bucks are shedding velvet and behavioral patterns shift. Plains Early Rifle (October through early November) spans the early fall migration and early pre-rut phases, when buck activity increases. Plains Late Rifle (December) coincides with late rut and winter consolidation, making it suited to hunters seeking that phase.
What terrain can a hunter on foot expect?
This is gentle, rolling prairie with no steep or rugged terrain—100 percent of the unit falls into the gentle class. Walking is not physically demanding, but glassing open country requires patience and cover management rather than vertical scrambling.
Does this unit hold mule deer year-round?
The mapped Overall Range covers 100 percent of the unit, but this represents the full extent of CPW's range mapping, not year-round occupancy everywhere. A Winter Range is mapped across 14 percent of the unit. Without larger mapped summer or migration layers, elk distribution through the fall depends on weather, forage conditions and timing rather than a predictable seasonal shift.
What is the hunter pressure like here?
Overall hunter pressure is moderate. However, since most of the unit is private ground, actual crowding on the small amount of public access depends on whether enrolled State Trust Land parcels are available in any given year and how many other hunters draw public tags.
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.