Colorado GMU 122 Pronghorn Hunting
Cheyenne and Kiowa counties, southeast Colorado · 987 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 122 is like
Unit 122 covers 987 square miles of southeastern Colorado in Cheyenne and Kiowa counties. The terrain is gentle and rolling throughout, with elevations ranging from 3,800 feet to 4,600 feet and a mean slope of 1 degree. The unit is characterized by wide-open plains country typical of the region's high shortgrass prairie.
Approximately 97 percent of the unit is private land. The remaining public ground consists of roughly 0.5 square miles managed by the National Park Service, which is closed to hunting, and approximately 25 square miles of Colorado State Trust Land. Access to State Trust Land depends on whether specific parcels are enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, making it unreliable for planning. As a result, only the negligible amount of generally open public land—about 0 square miles managed by public agencies—can be counted on for legal access. Legal access, not terrain walkability, is the primary constraint on hunting this unit.
The Overall Range layer mapped for pronghorn covers 100 percent of the unit. This represents the full extent of range CPW maps but does not indicate year-round presence or density. Pronghorn are present across the unit through fall and into early winter. The muzzleloader season occurs during the Primary Rut and Late Rut phases in late September, coinciding with peak breeding activity. The rifle season in early October falls in the Late Rut and Fall Grouping phases as the rut winds down. The late rifle season runs through December in the Fall Grouping and Winter Transition phases.
Three limited seasons are offered to public applicants. The muzzleloader season runs September 21–29 and allows harvest of either bucks or does. Two rifle seasons follow: the rifle season from October 3–11 on either bucks or does, and the late rifle season from December 1–31 limited to does. The draw for these seasons is easy, often requiring zero preference points for the easiest qualifying buck or either-sex code available to adult Colorado residents. Hunter pressure across the unit is extreme.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,800–4,600 ft, typically around 4,100 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~0 sq mi, plus ~25 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 122.
Across the unit
- Other cover58%
- Grass and meadow28%
- Sagebrush14%
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 122 is public land a hunter can count on. A further 3% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Trust Land3%
- National Park Service<1%
- Private97%
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 122 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 122 pronghorn hunting FAQ
Can a nonresident hunt pronghorn in Unit 122?
The facts provided describe seasons and draw difficulty for Colorado residents only. Nonresident applicants may have access to this unit but are not covered in this resident-focused guide. A nonresident should check CPW's nonresident draw statistics for additional requirements.
Is there any public land a hunter can reliably access without special permission?
No. Public agencies manage negligible acreage here, and the roughly 25 square miles of State Trust Land requires enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program—a status that varies by parcel and cannot be assumed. The unit is effectively private-land hunting.
Does pronghorn distribution shift as the season progresses through the fall?
The Overall Range layer shows that pronghorn inhabit the entire unit through the fall and winter seasons. No Migration Corridors or Winter Range distinct from Overall Range are mapped for this unit, so seasonal shifts within the unit cannot be determined from the available data.
Which season offers the best chance to hunt rutting pronghorn?
The muzzleloader season from September 21–29 falls squarely within the Primary Rut and Late Rut phases, when breeding activity is at its peak. The rifle season in early October still overlaps the tail end of the rut but occurs as animals are transitioning to fall grouping behavior.
Can a hunter with zero preference points draw a tag here?
The draw for this unit is easy, often requiring zero points for the easiest qualifying buck or either-sex code available to adult Colorado residents. This describes the primary draw only; the secondary June draw and leftover list are separate systems with different mechanics and success rates that are not quantified here.
Is there over-the-counter archery pronghorn hunting available?
Archery pronghorn licenses are sold over the counter in Colorado units left unlimited—typically from mid-August through mid-September—but the available data does not specify whether Unit 122's archery is limited or over the counter. A hunter should verify archery availability directly with CPW.
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.