Colorado GMU 116 Pronghorn Hunting
Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties, northeast Colorado · 962 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 116 is like
GMU 116 occupies 962 square miles across Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties in Colorado's northeast corner at elevations ranging from 4,100 to 4,900 feet, with a typical elevation near 4,400 feet. The unit is characterized by gentle and rolling terrain with slopes averaging 1.3 degrees across its entire area. This is open prairie and shortgrass country with minimal topographic relief.
Nearly all the unit—approximately 96 percent—is private land. Approximately 4.2 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, accessible only where CPW has enrolled parcels in the Public Access Program; the remaining publicly owned acreage that is generally open to public hunting comprises only approximately 0.0 percent of the unit. This extremely limited open public ground means that access is the controlling constraint on where a hunter can legally pursue pronghorn. The gentle terrain is readily walkable, but legal entry is difficult to come by without private-land permission or enrollment in a public-access program.
Pronghorn range covers the full extent of the unit. CPW maps overall range at 100 percent of the unit, indicating the full geographic potential where pronghorn may be found. Pronghorn distribution across the unit through fall follows no mapped seasonal-range structure that would indicate concentration, migration, or predictable movement patterns. Hunters should expect pronghorn to be scattered across the available range, with distribution subject to weather, forage conditions, and animal movement that CPW has not mapped as a discrete seasonal pattern.
The unit offers three limited pronghorn seasons for 2026: muzzleloader from September 21 to September 29 (either sex), rifle from October 3 to October 11 (either sex), and late rifle from December 1 to December 31 (doe only). The muzzleloader season falls during the primary rut and late rut/post-rut recovery phases, the October rifle season during late rut/post-rut recovery, and the December rifle season during fall grouping and winter transition. Draw difficulty for pronghorn here is easy, with the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex code drawing reliably at zero preference points in the primary draw. Hunter pressure on the unit is extreme relative to available public access.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,100–4,900 ft, typically around 4,400 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.3°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi, plus ~41 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 116.
Across the unit
- Other cover61%
- Grass and meadow36%
- Sagebrush3%
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 116 is public land a hunter can count on. A further 4% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Trust Land4%
- 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 116 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 1 – December 31 | 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 116 pronghorn hunting FAQ
Can a hunter with no preference points draw an either-sex pronghorn tag here?
Yes. The easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex code for adult Colorado residents draws reliably at zero preference points in the primary draw, meaning applicants without preference points have a dependable opportunity for the October rifle season. Applicants may also access over-the-counter archery licences or try the secondary June draw and leftover list.
What makes this unit so hard to access despite easy draw odds?
Approximately 96 percent of GMU 116 is private land, and only about 0.0 percent is generally open to public hunting. Approximately 4.2 percent is State Trust Land accessible only through CPW's Public Access Program, where enrollment is not guaranteed. Easy tag odds mean little when legal places to hunt are nearly nonexistent without private permission or program enrollment.
Is the terrain actually walkable for a hunter on foot?
Yes. The unit's gentle and rolling terrain with an average slope of 1.3 degrees is straightforward to traverse on foot—this is open prairie with minimal elevation change. The limiting factor is legal access to the ground, not the difficulty of the country itself.
Which season is best for hunting pronghorn in this unit?
The October rifle season (October 3–11) occurs during the late rut/post-rut recovery phase when pronghorn are still active and responsive but beginning to settle into grouping behavior. Both the September muzzleloader and December late rifle are available options depending on equipment and timing preference.
Does pronghorn distribution shift through the fall, or do they stay scattered?
CPW has not mapped seasonal-range layers or migration corridors that would define a specific pattern of movement or concentration for pronghorn in this unit. Hunters should expect pronghorn to be dispersed across the overall range, with their actual location varying based on weather, forage, and natural movement independent of CPW's mapped seasonal structure.
What does the December-only doe season mean about the fall hunt?
The late rifle season (December 1–31) is doe-only, while the earlier muzzleloader and October rifle seasons allow either-sex harvest. This structure extends hunting opportunity into late fall and winter grouping periods but reserves it for females in that later window.
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.