Colorado GMU 791 Elk Hunting
Alamosa, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache counties, southwest Colorado · 409 sq mi
This unit offers no unit-wide bull or either-sex elk hunt open across the unit. Public applicants can draw antlerless tags here. Private-land-only and Ranching for Wildlife licenses are drawn by Colorado residents through the public draw, but neither is unit-wide: a private-land-only license needs permission on private ground, and a Ranching for Wildlife license is valid on the ranches enrolled in that program.
What hunting GMU 791 is like
GMU 791 is a 409-square-mile unit in the San Luis Valley spanning Alamosa, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache counties. The terrain is gentle and rolling throughout, with elevations ranging from 7,500 feet to 7,900 feet and a mean slope of 0.3 degrees. The country is low and open by regional standards, making it relatively accessible on foot where legal access exists.
Public hunting ground is scarce here. Approximately 1.1% of the unit (about 4 square miles) is generally open to public hunting, comprising State Wildlife Areas and BLM land. An additional 1.3% (about 5 square miles) is Colorado State Trust Land, but access to this ground depends on whether individual parcels are enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program—enrollment status is not tracked here and must be verified elsewhere. The remaining 98% of the unit is private land. Legal access, not terrain, is the primary constraint on where a hunter can hunt.
Elk use varies seasonally across the unit. CPW maps Overall Range across the entire unit, but this represents the full extent of potential elk habitat rather than year-round occupancy. A Resident Population layer covers 8% of the unit, indicating year-round use on that ground. Summer Range covers 6% and Winter Range covers 12% of the unit, while Migration Corridors account for 11%. A Winter Concentration layer marks 1% of the unit where elk cluster during the winter season. As fall advances and conditions change, hunters should expect elk to shift toward Winter Range and Winter Concentration areas, though timing and extent of movement vary with weather and snow.
The unit offers two public elk hunts. Archery season runs September 2–September 30 for antlerless elk, falling during Rut Onset and Primary Rut phases. Muzzleloader season runs September 12–September 20, also for antlerless elk, during Primary Rut. Both seasons are antlerless-only; the unit offers no bull or either-sex hunt to public applicants. Hunter pressure on the unit is extreme, though the difficulty of drawing an antlerless tag is moderate relative to other Colorado hunts.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 7,500–7,900 ft, typically around 7,600 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 0.3°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~4 sq mi, plus ~5 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 1% of GMU 791 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas and BLM. A further 1% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private98%
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 elk live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps elk seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 791 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 Range100%the full extent of range CPW maps for elk — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when elk are present
- Winter Range12%used in winter
- Migration Corridors11%movement between ranges, not residence
- Resident Population8%the only layer that means year-round use
- Summer Range6%used in summer
- Winter Concentration<1%where elk bunch up in winter
Elk seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | September 2 – September 30 | Antlerless |
| Muzzleloader | September 12 – September 20 | 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 791 elk hunting FAQ
How much public land can a hunter actually hunt in this unit?
Approximately 1.1% of the unit (about 4 square miles) is generally open to public hunting through State Wildlife Areas and BLM. An additional 1.3% (about 5 square miles) is State Trust Land with access dependent on CPW enrollment status. With 98% of the unit in private ownership, legal access, not terrain or elk presence, is the primary limiting factor for public hunters.
Is this unit realistic for someone with no preference points?
The unit offers only antlerless hunts to public applicants, with no unit-wide bull or either-sex opportunity. Antlerless-only hunts are generally more accessible in the draw than bull hunts, though competitiveness varies. A hunter with no points should check the current draw odds for the specific antlerless codes before applying.
Is the terrain manageable for hunting on foot?
Yes. The unit is gentle and rolling throughout, with elevations from 7,500 to 7,900 feet and a mean slope of 0.3 degrees. Walking the country itself is not difficult. However, steep terrain is not the constraint here—legal access to public ground is the primary challenge.
When should a hunter expect elk to concentrate during the fall season?
CPW maps Winter Concentration on 1% of the unit and Winter Range on 12% of the unit. As fall advances and conditions change, hunters should expect elk to shift toward these areas, though timing and extent of movement depend on weather and snow. The exact location of these concentration areas across the unit is not specified in the mapping.
When do the seasons occur and what rut phases do they overlap?
Archery runs September 2–September 30, overlapping Rut Onset and Primary Rut phases. Muzzleloader runs September 12–September 20, occurring entirely during Primary Rut. Both are antlerless-only hunts.
Does extreme hunter pressure mean this unit will be crowded?
Extreme pressure indicates heavy overall use, but crowding depends on how broadly that pressure is distributed across the small amount of open public ground. With only about 4 square miles of generally open land available, even moderate numbers of hunters can create significant competition for space and elk.
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
- 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
- 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 28, 2026.