Colorado GMU 123 Pronghorn Hunting
El Paso and Pueblo counties, central Colorado · 524 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 123 is like
GMU 123 spans 524 square miles of gentle, rolling country across El Paso and Pueblo counties at elevations between 4,500 and 5,600 feet, typical around 5,000 feet. The terrain is uniformly gentle with no steep or rugged terrain. Pronghorn hunting here is defined by access constraints rather than terrain difficulty.
Only about 2.2 square miles (roughly 2%) of the unit is generally open to public hunting on BLM land. Colorado State Trust Land covers approximately 46% of the unit, but hunting access depends on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program—not all parcels are open. The remaining 51% is private. Public ownership totals roughly 48% of the unit, but the actually huntable acreage for unconnected public hunters is the small BLM share.
The Overall Range mapped for pronghorn covers 95% of the unit; Winter Range covers 63%. Pronghorn occupy portions of the unit across the fall and winter months as the season progresses, with distribution shaped by the available range layers rather than elevation shifts.
Three seasons are offered to public applicants: Muzzleloader from September 21 to 29, Rifle from October 3 to 11 (both either-sex or doe), and Late Rifle from December 1 to 31 (doe only). Draw difficulty is easy, with the simplest unit-wide hunts often requiring zero preference points. Overall hunter pressure is low.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,500–5,600 ft, typically around 5,000 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.6°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~11 sq mi, plus ~242 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 123.
Across the unit
- Grass and meadow83%
- Sagebrush11%
- Other cover5%
- Riparian2%
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 2% of GMU 123 is public land a hunter can count on — BLM. A further 46% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM2%
- State Trust Land46%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private51%
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 123 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 Range95%the full extent of range CPW maps for pronghorn — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when pronghorn are present
- Winter Range63%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 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 123 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much public land can a hunter actually access here without special permission?
Only about 2.2 square miles of BLM ground is dependably open to public hunting. Colorado State Trust Land makes up 46% of the unit, but access to those parcels depends on CPW enrollment in the Public Access Program—many are closed. Most of the unit is private.
Is this unit realistic for someone with no preference points?
Yes. Draw difficulty is easy, and the simplest unit-wide hunts often draw at zero preference points. An applicant with no points has a realistic chance at the easiest qualifying buck or either-sex seasons in the primary draw.
Which season offers the best chance to connect with pronghorn?
Muzzleloader (September 21–29) falls during the Primary Rut phase when pronghorn are most active, and the Rifle season (October 3–11) occurs as the rut winds down and pronghorn begin grouping. The Late Rifle season (December 1–31) is doe-only and falls in the Fall Grouping/Winter Transition phase.
Is the terrain manageable for a foot hunter?
Yes, the terrain is gentle and rolling with no steep or rugged country, so walking the ground is straightforward. The real constraint is legal access: only a small BLM share is openly huntable, so terrain walkability is separate from where a hunter can actually hunt.
Are there archery seasons in this unit?
The draw seasons listed are Muzzleloader, Rifle, and Late Rifle only. Whether archery pronghorn licenses are available over the counter in this unit is not specified in this data.
How crowded is this unit compared to others?
Overall hunter pressure is low. Draw difficulty is easy, and the two concepts are separate: an easy draw does not guarantee low crowding, but in this unit both conditions apply.
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.