Colorado GMU 134 Elk Hunting
Las Animas and Pueblo counties, southeast Colorado · 398 sq mi
Based on the EASIEST unit-wide bull 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 134 is like
GMU 134 spreads across 398 square miles of gentle and rolling terrain in Las Animas and Pueblo counties in the southeast region. The landscape varies from 4,800 feet in the lowlands to 6,500 feet at its highest, with a mean slope of 2.5 degrees and virtually no steep or rugged ground—97 percent of the unit is gentle by area. The elevation span and terrain composition make much of this country physically walkable for hunters on foot.
However, legal access is the binding constraint. The unit is 92 percent private land, with only about 0.7 percent (roughly 3 square miles) in State Wildlife Areas and BLM land, both generally open to public hunting. An additional 5.2 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, huntable only on parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, and 2.0 percent is unclassified in ownership. The overwhelming private-land share means that a public-land hunter's actual hunting ground is severely limited regardless of terrain difficulty.
Elk occupy 27 percent of the unit across the mapped overall range, and 22 percent supports year-round resident use. The unit offers three seasons: Muzzleloader September 12–20 for either-sex or antlerless elk during the Primary Rut; 4th Rifle November 18–22 for bulls during Migration Transition; and Late Rifle October 24–January 31 for antlerless elk, which spans the late rut, post-rut recovery, migration transition and winter range phases. Hunter pressure is moderate. The draw is easy, with the easiest bull and either-sex codes drawing reliably at zero preference points, though other seasons and weapons may require substantially more points and nonresident applicants face different odds.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,800–6,500 ft, typically around 5,700 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 2.5°
- Slope breakdown
- 97% gentle · 3% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~3 sq mi, plus ~21 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 134.
Across the unit
- Grass and meadow84%
- Sagebrush10%
- Other cover4%
- Riparian2%
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 134 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas and BLM. A further 5% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land5%
- Unclassified ownership2%
- Private92%
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.
“Ownership unclassified” means the source dataset does not record an owner for that acreage. It is not known to be public or private.
Where elk live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps elk seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 134 each range covers — the single best clue to whether elk are here in September, in November, or only passing through. The layers overlap, so they do not add to 100%.
- Overall Range27%the full extent of range CPW maps for elk — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when elk are present
- Resident Population22%the only layer that means year-round use
Elk seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Muzzleloader | September 12 – September 20 | Either-sex, Antlerless |
| 4th Rifle | November 18 – November 22 | Bull |
| Late Rifle | October 24 – January 31 | Antlerless |
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 134 elk hunting FAQ
Is there actually public land a public-land hunter can rely on?
Only about 0.7 percent of the unit—roughly 3 square miles—is State Wildlife Areas or BLM land open to public hunting. Colorado State Trust Land makes up another 5.2 percent but is huntable only where CPW has enrolled specific parcels in its Public Access Program; enrollment status is not known here. With 92 percent private land, legal access is the limiting factor for any public-land hunter, regardless of how gentle the terrain is to walk.
Which season is the rut hunt and which sits earlier in fall?
Muzzleloader (September 12–20) falls during the Primary Rut and is the rut hunt. 4th Rifle (November 18–22) comes much later, during Migration Transition, and targets bulls after the rut is over. Late Rifle (October 24–January 31) spans several phases, including the late rut and post-rut recovery early in its dates.
Is this unit easy to draw with no preference points?
Yes. The easiest bull and either-sex codes draw reliably at zero preference points, so an applicant with no points has a genuine opportunity at those hunts. However, other seasons and weapons may require points, and Colorado's draw also issues leftover and reissued licenses outside the primary draw.
Does elk distribution shift through the fall, and if so when?
Mapped resident population covers 22 percent of the unit year-round, indicating year-round use across that share. Overall range—the broader extent of possible elk habitat—covers 27 percent, but this layer does not indicate movement timing. No Migration Corridor layer is mapped for this unit, so specific shift timing and extent cannot be inferred from the available data.
How much of the unit can a public-land hunter actually cover on foot?
Terrain walkability and legal access are separate constraints. The unit is 97 percent gentle or rolling, making it physically navigable, but only about 0.7 percent is open public land where a hunter can legally hunt. A public-land hunter is restricted to State Wildlife Areas and BLM parcels, which together represent an extremely small fraction of the unit's total area.
How moderate is the hunter pressure here?
Moderate hunter pressure describes the overall level of use on this unit. This does not reveal whether crowding occurs on specific patches of public land—only that the unit-wide use is neither light nor heavy. The practical pressure a public-land hunter experiences will depend on which specific open parcels are being hunted.
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 — Elk 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) — elk 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.