Colorado GMU 109 Pronghorn Hunting
Washington, Yuma and Kit Carson counties, northeast Colorado · 1,042 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 109 is like
GMU 109 covers 1,042 square miles across Washington, Yuma and Kit Carson counties in the northeastern region of Colorado. The unit is characterized by gentle, rolling terrain with elevations ranging from 3,700 feet to 4,700 feet and a mean slope of 1.7 degrees. This is low-elevation country with minimal topographic relief—0% of the unit is moderate, steep, or rugged. The landscape is accessible to foot travel but presents a different challenge to hunters in terms of legal access to land.
Approximately 96% of GMU 109 is privately owned. Public land comprises about 3.5% of the unit, all of which is Colorado State Trust Land. Access to State Trust Land depends on whether individual parcels are enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, and enrollment status is not guaranteed. The remaining public ownership—about 0.0% operated by public agencies and open to hunting—amounts to virtually no dependably huntable ground. For practical purposes, a pronghorn hunter in this unit is limited to private land or whatever State Trust Land parcels happen to be enrolled.
CPW's species activity mapping shows that Overall Range covers 57% of the unit. This range layer indicates where pronghorn may be found but does not establish either population density or year-round occupancy. Pronghorn are present during the mapped seasonal ranges across the fall and into early winter.
The unit offers two seasons for pronghorn: Muzzleloader from September 21–29 and Rifle from October 3–11. Both seasons are Doe/Buck. The Muzzleloader season falls during the Primary Rut and Late Rut/Post-Rut Recovery phases. The Rifle season occurs during the Late Rut/Post-Rut Recovery phase. Draw difficulty for the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt code is Easy, often drawing at zero points for adult Colorado residents in the primary draw. Hunter pressure in this unit is high.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,700–4,700 ft, typically around 4,200 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.7°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi, plus ~36 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 109.
Across the unit
- Other cover53%
- Grass and meadow45%
- Sagebrush1%
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 109 is public land a hunter can count on. A further 3% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land3%
- Private96%
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 109 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 Range57%the full extent of range CPW maps for pronghorn — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when pronghorn are present
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 109 pronghorn hunting FAQ
Can a hunter with no preference points draw a pronghorn tag here?
Yes. The easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt code draws at zero points reliably in the primary draw for adult Colorado residents. Other seasons, weapons, and applicant categories may require more points, and a zero-point applicant is not guaranteed to draw every available code, but the low-difficulty rating reflects that the easiest qualifying hunt is accessible without prior preference points.
What does the high hunter pressure mean for this unit?
High pressure indicates many hunters pursue pronghorn here, likely driven by proximity to population centers and easy terrain. High pressure does not mean tags are hard to draw—this unit's draw difficulty is Easy—but rather that public pronghorn typically see considerable hunting activity across the season.
Is there enough public land here to hunt without permission on private ground?
No. Roughly 0% of the unit is open public land operated by agencies. About 3.5% is State Trust Land, but only parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program may be hunted, and enrollment is not guaranteed. A pronghorn hunter in GMU 109 will need to secure permission on private land or locate and access an enrolled State Trust parcel.
When is the rut, and which season falls during it?
Colorado pronghorn rut primarily from September 6–25. The Muzzleloader season (September 21–29) spans the end of the Primary Rut and into the Late Rut/Post-Rut Recovery phase, while the Rifle season (October 3–11) falls entirely within Late Rut/Post-Rut Recovery.
Is the terrain walkable for a hunter on foot?
Yes. The entire unit is gentle and rolling with a mean slope of 1.7 degrees, so foot travel is feasible from a terrain standpoint. However, legal access to the land is the limiting factor—96% of the unit is private, and fewer than 4% of public acres are dependably open to hunting.
Are there any archery seasons listed for this unit?
No archery season appears in the drawn hunt codes for GMU 109. Pronghorn archery licences in Colorado are typically sold over the counter in units where they are unlimited, but this data does not indicate whether over-the-counter archery is available here.
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.