Colorado GMU 115 Pronghorn Hunting
Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties, northeast Colorado · 361 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 115 is like
Unit 115 spans 361 square miles across Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties in the northeast region and consists of gentle, rolling terrain between 4,300 and 5,100 feet. The landscape is uniformly low-angle: 100 percent of the unit falls into the gentle terrain class by area. Pronghorn here occupy relatively open country at elevations typical for the short-grass plains.
Roughly 95 percent of the unit is privately owned. The publicly owned share consists of about 5.5 percent Colorado State Trust Land, but access to that ground depends on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program and is not guaranteed. Only about 0.0 percent is generally open to public hunting on public agency land. The practical effect is that a hunter without private permission faces extremely limited legal access to the unit despite the gentle terrain and straightforward topography.
Pronghorn occur across the unit as mapped by the Overall Range layer, which covers 100 percent of the area. CPW maps no seasonal ranges that would establish a winter shift or migration corridor on this unit. Pronghorn distribution remains relatively consistent through the fall and into winter.
Unit 115 offers three pronghorn seasons: Muzzleloader from September 21 to 29, Rifle from October 3 to 11, and Late Rifle from December 5 to 13. The Muzzleloader season spans the Primary Rut and into the Late Rut / Post-Rut Recovery phase. The Rifle season falls within the Late Rut / Post-Rut Recovery phase, when animals are transitioning away from rut behavior. The Late Rifle season occurs during Fall Grouping / Winter Transition, after the rut is complete. All three seasons are either-sex or buck hunts. The Muzzleloader and Rifle seasons are either-sex; the Late Rifle is doe-only. Draw difficulty for the unit-wide pronghorn hunts is easy and often requires zero preference points. Hunter pressure across the unit is extreme.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,300–5,100 ft, typically around 4,800 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.6°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi, plus ~20 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 115.
Across the unit
- Grass and meadow55%
- Other cover41%
- Sagebrush5%
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 115 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 115 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
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 115 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much ground can a hunter without private permission actually hunt here?
Roughly 0.0 percent of the unit is dependably open to public hunting. About 5.5 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, but that is accessible only on parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, and enrollment varies. The vast majority of the unit is private, so realistically a public-land hunter without private contacts faces nearly no legal ground to hunt.
Which season is best for someone with no preference points?
An applicant with zero preference points can reliably draw the Rifle season (October 3–11), which falls in the Late Rut / Post-Rut Recovery phase. The Muzzleloader season (September 21–29) overlaps the Primary Rut and early recovery, while the Late Rifle (December 5–13) is doe-only and falls during Fall Grouping. Zero-point applicants may also draw through the secondary draw or leftover list, which operate separately from the primary draw.
Is the terrain walkable if a hunter finds private access?
Yes. The unit is 100 percent gentle and rolling terrain between 4,300 and 5,100 feet, with a mean slope of 1.6 degrees. There are no steep or rugged sections by area. However, legal access—not terrain—is the binding constraint on this unit.
When do pronghorn move through the unit as the season progresses?
CPW maps no seasonal ranges or migration corridors for pronghorn in this unit, only Overall Range across all 361 square miles. This means pronghorn distribution remains relatively consistent through the fall rather than shifting to a distinct winter range.
What does 'extreme hunter pressure' mean for conditions on the ground?
Extreme hunter pressure indicates that the unit draws very heavy use relative to its acreage and habitat. This reflects both the ease of the draw and the fact that most of the unit is private, which concentrates hunters on whatever public access exists.
Is this unit realistic to apply for without private-land contacts?
Unlikely. With only 0.0 percent dependably open public land and 95 percent private ownership, this unit is not a practical choice for a hunter with no private permission. Even if a draw tag is obtained, finding legal ground to hunt on will be extremely difficult.
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.