Colorado Pronghorn Hunting by Unit

Colorado pronghorn live on the open country — the eastern plains, the sage basins of the northwest and the parks between the ranges — across roughly 119 Game Management Units. Rifle and muzzleloader pronghorn licences are all limited, and rifle buck tags are among the hardest in the state to draw, so the unit you apply for decides how long the wait is and what you are waiting for. Archery is the exception: CPW leaves archery licences unlimited in most units and sells them over the counter, limiting them only where it needs to.

How the Colorado pronghorn draw works

Colorado's primary draw generally awards limited licenses by preference-point priority: every year you apply and miss your first choice you bank a point, and points stack toward a guaranteed draw rather than buying extra lottery tickets. That makes Colorado unusually predictable — for most units you can look at the point level that drew last year and know roughly where you stand. Certain high-demand hunt codes also run a hybrid draw, which gives applicants with fewer points a second-chance shot at the most sought-after tags.

Most eligible licenses left after the primary draw go into the secondary draw in June. Preference points are neither used nor awarded there, though youth applicants receive priority. Licenses still available after that round appear on the Leftover List. They remain limited licenses and are sold first-come, first-served. A hunter with zero points is not shut out of Colorado: they hunt different units and seasons than a hunter with ten, and over-the-counter archery is open to them from 15 August in the units CPW leaves unlimited — bucks only through August, either-sex from 1 September.

Pronghorn seasons are short and early. Archery runs from mid-August into late September, muzzleloader for about nine days at the end of September, and the rifle season for roughly nine days in early October — one rifle season on almost every unit, not the four-season sequence elk and deer run. Some units add a late rifle hunt in November and December, and private-land-only and Ranching for Wildlife licences exist alongside them.

Pronghorn do not migrate the way elk and deer do, and CPW maps them differently: there is no summer range or year-round resident layer for pronghorn at all, only overall range, winter range, winter concentration and migration corridors. Each unit page shows how much of the unit each of those covers — and how much of the ground a public-land hunter can actually set foot on, which on the plains is often very little.

Hunting a different animal in the same country? See the Colorado elk unit guides or the Colorado mule deer unit guides.

Every Colorado pronghorn unit (119 published)

Northwest Colorado

Big public-land units, high sage and oak basins rising into dark timber.

GMU 1Moffat CountyPremium — 10–19 pointsGMU 2Moffat CountyPremium — 10–19 pointsGMU 3Moffat CountyVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 4Moffat and Routt countiesVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 5Moffat and Routt countiesVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 6Jackson CountyVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 7Larimer CountyHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 8Larimer CountyHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 10Moffat and Rio Blanco countiesElite — 20+ pointsGMU 11Moffat and Rio Blanco countiesVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 12Moffat, Routt and Rio Blanco countiesHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 13Moffat and Routt countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 15Routt, Grand and Eagle countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 16Jackson CountyVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 17Jackson CountyVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 18Grand CountyModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 23Rio Blanco and Garfield countiesPrivate-land onlyGMU 26Eagle, Garfield and Routt countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 27Grand and Routt countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 28Grand CountyModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 30Garfield and Mesa countiesVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 37Summit and Grand countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 131Routt and Rio Blanco countiesAntlerless onlyGMU 161Jackson CountyVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 171Jackson CountyVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 181Grand CountyModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 201Moffat CountyPremium — 10–19 pointsGMU 211Moffat and Rio Blanco countiesHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 214Routt CountyModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 231Routt, Rio Blanco and Garfield countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 301Moffat CountyVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 441Moffat and Routt countiesModerate — 1–2 points

Southwest Colorado

The San Juans and the mesa country: steep, high, and heavily forested, with long migrations off the peaks.

Central Colorado and the Front Range

Front Range foothills falling away into the plains, plus high country along the Continental Divide.

GMU 48Lake and Chaffee countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 49Lake, Park and Chaffee countiesVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 50Park CountyVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 56Chaffee CountyModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 57Chaffee, Park and Fremont countiesHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 58Fremont and Park countiesHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 59Pueblo, Fremont, El Paso and Teller countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 104Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Elbert countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 110El Paso CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 118El Paso CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 123El Paso and Pueblo countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 481Chaffee CountyModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 500Park CountyVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 501Park and Jefferson countiesVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 551Gunnison and Saguache countiesVery hard — 6–9 pointsGMU 581Park, Teller and Fremont countiesHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 591Pueblo, Fremont and El Paso countiesEasy — often 0 points

Northeast Colorado

Front Range and foothills units — closer to the cities, more private ground, more pressure.

GMU 9Larimer and Weld countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 87Larimer and Weld countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 88Weld CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 89Weld and Logan countiesHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 90Logan and Sedgwick countiesHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 93Logan, Segwick and Phillips countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 95Weld, Logan, Morgan and Washington countiesHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 97Logan, Washington and Morgan countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 98Logan, Phillips, Yuma and Washington countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 99Weld, Morgan and Adams countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 100Washington and Morgan countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 101Washington and Yuma countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 102Washington and Yuma countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 105Adams, Arapahoe and Elbert countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 106Arapahoe, Elbert, Washington and Lincoln countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 107Washington, Lincoln and Kit Carson countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 109Washington, Yuma and Kit Carson countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 111Elbert, Lincoln and El Paso countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 112Lincoln CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 114Lincoln, Kit Carson and Cheyenne countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 115Kit Carson and Cheyenne countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 116Kit Carson and Cheyenne countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 117Kit Carson and Cheyenne countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 191Larimer CountyEasy — often 0 points

Southeast Colorado

Southeastern mountains and canyon country, where public land comes in smaller, scattered blocks.

GMU 69Custer and Fremont countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 83Alamosa and Costilla countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 84Custer, Fremont, Huerfano and Pueblo countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 85Huerfano and Las Animas countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 113Lincoln and Cheyenne countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 119El Paso and Lincoln countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 120Lincoln, Crowley and Kiowa countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 121Cheyenne, Lincoln and Kiowa countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 122Cheyenne and Kiowa countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 124Crowley and Pueblo countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 125Bent, Crowley, Kiowa and Otero countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 126Kiowa, Bent and Prowers countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 127Kiowa and Prowers countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 128Huerfano, Las Animas, Otero and Pueblo countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 129Crowley, Otero and Pueblo countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 130Otero and Bent countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 132Prowers CountyHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 133Huerfano, Las Animas and Pueblo countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 134Las Animas and Pueblo countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 135Las Animas, Pueblo and Otero countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 136Las Animas CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 137Las Animas and Baca countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 138Baca CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 139Baca CountyHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 140Las Animas CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 141Las Animas CountyModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 142Las Animas CountyHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 143Las Animas CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 144Baca CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 145Baca CountyHard — 3–5 pointsGMU 146Bent and Prowers countiesEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 147Las Animas CountyEasy — often 0 pointsGMU 691Custer and Fremont countiesModerate — 1–2 pointsGMU 861Huerfano CountyModerate — 1–2 points

Data sources & methodology

Draw difficulty on the unit pages is a qualitative band describing the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt code for an adult Colorado resident — not published odds. 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.

Plan the whole application season

Hunt Plan carries draw odds by point level for every Colorado hunt code, point creep by year, harvest and hunter-pressure history, land-ownership and terrain map layers, and deadline tracking across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho.

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