Colorado GMU 114 Pronghorn Hunting
Lincoln, Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties, northeast Colorado · 558 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 114 is like
Unit 114 is a 558-square-mile pronghorn unit in the northeast corner of Colorado, spanning Lincoln, Kit Carson, and Cheyenne counties. Elevation ranges from 4,500 feet to 5,600 feet with a typical elevation near 5,100 feet. The terrain is gentle and rolling throughout, with a mean slope of 1.8 degrees and no steep or rugged terrain by area. This is prairie and grassland country at low elevation, characteristic of the high plains.
Land access is severely limited here. Approximately 95 percent of the unit is privately owned. About 4.8 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, where hunting access depends on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program; not all state parcels are open in any given year. Dependably open public hunting ground comprises roughly 0 percent of the unit, managed by public agencies. For practical purposes, a nonresident or resident hunter considering this unit must secure private-land permission or rely on whatever state trust parcels are enrolled and accessible in the year of the hunt.
Pronghorn distribution across the unit is mapped as Overall Range covering 100 percent, indicating the full extent of mapped range. Winter Range covers 8 percent of the unit. The Overall Range mapping does not mean pronghorn occupy all ground equally; rather, it defines the bounds within which they may be found. As winter approaches, pronghorn may concentrate in areas mapped as Winter Range, though the exact timing and degree of movement vary with snow and weather conditions.
Three seasons are offered to public applicants: a Muzzleloader season September 21–September 29 for either-sex harvest, a Rifle season October 3–October 11 for either-sex harvest, and a Late Rifle season December 5–December 13 for does only. The Muzzleloader season falls within the Primary Rut and Late Rut / Post-Rut Recovery phases. The Rifle season overlaps the Late Rut / Post-Rut Recovery and early Fall Grouping / Winter Transition phases. The Late Rifle season sits entirely in the Fall Grouping / Winter Transition phase. The draw is easy for the most accessible hunt codes, often requiring zero preference points. Hunter pressure on the unit is generally low, though legal access to ground remains the primary constraint on hunting opportunity.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,500–5,600 ft, typically around 5,100 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.8°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi, plus ~27 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 114.
Across the unit
- Grass and meadow71%
- Other cover25%
- Sagebrush4%
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 0% of GMU 114 is public land a hunter can count on. A further 5% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Trust Land5%
- Private95%
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 114 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 Range8%used in winter
Pronghorn seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Muzzleloader | September 21 – September 29 | Doe, Buck |
| Rifle | October 3 – October 11 | Doe, Buck |
| Late Rifle | December 5 – December 13 | Doe |
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 114 pronghorn hunting FAQ
Can someone with no points draw a pronghorn tag here?
Yes. The easiest qualifying hunt codes draw reliably at zero preference points in the primary draw. Other seasons and weapons can require more points, and the secondary draw (a separate June lottery open to anyone) and leftover list also provide paths to tags independent of the point system.
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually access?
Roughly 0 percent of the unit is dependably open to public hunting by public agencies. About 4.8 percent is state trust land, but only parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program in any given year are huntable, and enrollment varies. The practical reality is that nearly all of this unit is private, making permission or enrollment-dependent access the limiting factor.
Which season is best for someone new to pronghorn hunting?
The Rifle season October 3–October 11 occurs as pronghorn transition into fall grouping, making them somewhat more predictable than earlier in the rut. The Muzzleloader season September 21–29 falls during the primary rut when pronghorn are most active but also most unpredictable. The Late Rifle season in December occurs as pronghorn consolidate for winter and may concentrate on Winter Range.
Is this terrain manageable for a hunter on foot?
Yes, the unit is entirely gentle and rolling grassland with a mean slope of 1.8 degrees and no steep terrain. Walking is straightforward from a terrain standpoint. However, legal access to the ground is the real constraint; terrain difficulty is not a limiting factor here.
What does the Winter Range mapping tell me about where pronghorn will be?
Winter Range covers 8 percent of the unit. As the season advances into late fall and early winter, pronghorn may concentrate in areas mapped as Winter Range, though the timing and extent of any shift depend on snow accumulation and weather. Hunters should expect that later-season dates may find animals distributed differently than earlier dates.
Is this unit realistic for someone with limited private-land connections?
Access is the critical issue. With 95 percent private ownership and zero percent dependably open public ground, hunters without private-land permission have only state trust parcels enrolled in the Public Access Program to work with—and enrollment is variable year to year. An applicant considering this unit should verify enrollment status and realistic access before applying.
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.