Colorado GMU 100 Pronghorn Hunting
Washington and Morgan counties, northeast Colorado · 1,060 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 100 is like
GMU 100 spans Washington and Morgan counties in the northeastern region and covers 1,060 square miles of low-elevation pronghorn country. Elevations range from 4,200 feet to 5,000 feet, with typical terrain around 4,600 feet. The landscape is gentle and rolling throughout, with a mean slope of 1.4 degrees. Pronghorn here occupy relatively open ground that supports reasonable visibility and movement.
Nearly all of the unit is privately owned. Only about 6 percent is publicly held—a combination of Colorado State Trust Land, which is huntable only where enrolled in the Public Access Program, and no open Bureau of Land Management ground. The open public hunting area is negligible. Private land comprises roughly 94 percent of the unit, and access to hunt pronghorn here depends entirely on prior arrangement with landowners or enrollment status of State Trust parcels.
Overall pronghorn range covers the full unit through the year, but concentration and seasonal use patterns are more focused. Winter Range, mapped on about 21 percent of the area, and a Winter Concentration layer covering roughly 9 percent indicate where animals cluster as cooler months arrive. The distribution of pronghorn shifts toward those winter concentration grounds during the fall and early winter transition, beginning in mid-October. Early and mid-season hunting occurs when animals are still spread more broadly across the landscape.
The unit offers two seasons open to public draw: a Muzzleloader season from September 21 to September 29 for either-sex harvest, and a Rifle season from October 3 to October 11 for either-sex harvest. The Muzzleloader season occurs during the Primary Rut and early post-rut recovery; the Rifle season falls during late post-rut recovery as animals begin transitioning toward winter concentration grounds. An additional over-the-counter archery season is available, with details governed separately from the draw system.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,200–5,000 ft, typically around 4,600 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.4°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi, plus ~63 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 100.
Across the unit
- Other cover58%
- Grass and meadow42%
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 100 is public land a hunter can count on. A further 6% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land6%
- Private94%
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 pronghorn live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps pronghorn seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 100 each range covers — the single best clue to whether pronghorn 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 pronghorn — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when pronghorn are present
- Winter Range21%used in winter
- Winter Concentration9%where pronghorn bunch up in winter
Pronghorn seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Muzzleloader | September 21 – September 29 | Doe, Buck |
| Rifle | October 3 – October 11 | 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 100 pronghorn hunting FAQ
Can a hunter with zero preference points draw pronghorn here?
Yes. The easiest unit-wide either-sex hunt code draws reliably at 1–2 preference points, meaning applicants with fewer points sometimes draw in the primary draw. Additionally, the secondary draw in June and the leftover list after the primary draw offer separate routes to a tag that do not require preference points at all.
Is there actually huntable public land in this unit?
No meaningful public hunting area exists here. About 6 percent of the unit is publicly owned, consisting mainly of Colorado State Trust Land that is only huntable if enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program—and enrollment status of specific parcels is unknown. The remaining 94 percent is private, so nearly all hunting depends on landowner permission.
When are pronghorn most concentrated and hardest to find?
Pronghorn begin clustering on winter concentration ground starting in mid-October and intensifying through the fall transition. The Rifle season in early October occurs before that major shift, while animals are still more dispersed. A Winter Concentration layer covers about 9 percent of the unit and marks where animals gather.
Is the terrain walkable?
Yes—the entire unit is gentle and rolling with no steep or rugged terrain, making it physically easy to cover on foot. However, the terrain is not the limiting factor here; legal access to private land is.
Does this unit offer an archery season?
Over-the-counter archery pronghorn licenses are sold in many Colorado units during August and September with no draw required, and this unit's status is not specified in the draw data. The Muzzleloader and Rifle seasons listed above are the limited, drawn hunts available.
What rut stage should a hunter expect during each season?
The Muzzleloader season (September 21–29) spans the Primary Rut and the start of post-rut recovery, when rutting activity is still occurring. The Rifle season (October 3–11) falls entirely within late post-rut recovery, after the peak rut has passed.
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 — Pronghorn 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) — pronghorn 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.