Colorado GMU 132 Pronghorn Hunting
Prowers County, southeast Colorado · 815 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 132 is like
Game Management Unit 132 lies in Prowers County in the southeast corner of Colorado and encompasses 815 square miles of gentle and rolling terrain. Elevations range from 3,300 feet to 4,400 feet, with terrain that is uniformly gentle across the entire unit and averaging just 1.3 degrees in mean slope. The country is defined by wide-open grassland and plains landscape characteristic of this region of the state.
Public hunting access is extremely limited. Approximately 0.9 percent of the unit—roughly 8 square miles—is generally open to public hunting on State Wildlife Areas and BLM land. An additional 3.5 percent consists of Colorado State Trust Land where hunting is access-dependent and available only on parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program. The remaining 96 percent of the unit is private land. The overwhelming predominance of private ownership means that legal access, not terrain difficulty, is the primary constraint on where a hunter can pursue pronghorn here.
Pronghorn range across approximately 92 percent of the unit, reflecting the broad extent of mapped pronghorn habitat. As the seasons progress through fall, pronghorn move through phases that carry them from pre-rut activity into grouping and early winter transition. The gentle terrain and open grassland character of the unit support pronghorn movement across the landscape, though the vast majority of that ground remains inaccessible to the general public due to private ownership.
The unit offers three seasons: a muzzleloader hunt from September 21–29, a rifle hunt from October 3–11, and a private-land-only hunt from October 3 through December 31, all for either-sex pronghorn. The muzzleloader season spans the primary rut and early post-rut period, while the rifle season falls entirely during the late post-rut recovery phase. Drawing for limited licenses here is hard, with the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex code requiring 3–5 preference points. Hunter pressure across the unit is moderate overall.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,300–4,400 ft, typically around 3,800 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.3°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~8 sq mi, plus ~28 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 132.
Across the unit
- Grass and meadow46%
- Other cover35%
- Sagebrush19%
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 <1% of GMU 132 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas and BLM. A further 3% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land3%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- 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 132 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 Range92%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 |
| Private-land only | October 3 – December 31 | Doe, Buck |
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 132 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much public ground can actually be hunted in Unit 132?
Approximately 0.9 percent of the unit, or roughly 8 square miles on State Wildlife Areas and BLM, is generally open to public hunting. An additional 3.5 percent is Colorado State Trust Land where hunting is access-dependent and available only on enrolled parcels in CPW's Public Access Program. The remaining 96 percent is private land, making legal access the primary limiting factor for any hunt here.
Is Unit 132 realistic for someone with no preference points?
The easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex code requires 3–5 preference points in the primary draw, so applicants with no points are unlikely to draw it reliably. However, alternative routes exist: the secondary draw in June is pure random and open to anyone regardless of points, and the leftover list becomes available first-come, first-served after the primary draw closes.
When is the rut occurring during the rifle season here?
The rifle season runs October 3–11, which falls entirely during the late post-rut recovery phase. The primary rut has already ended by the time rifle hunting begins, making this a post-rut hunt rather than a rut hunt.
Does the terrain make this unit manageable to hunt on foot?
The terrain itself is gentle and rolling across the entire unit, requiring no mountaineering skills and presenting no walking obstacles. However, the terrain's walkability is separate from legal access—96 percent of the unit is private land, so the fundamental challenge is obtaining permission to hunt, not crossing difficult country.
What weapons and seasons are available for public land hunters?
Public-land hunters can pursue either the muzzleloader season September 21–29 or the rifle season October 3–11, both offering either-sex pronghorn. A third season from October 3 through December 31 is private-land-only and not available to hunters without private-land access.
How does the over-the-counter archery season work in this unit?
This data does not specify whether archery licenses are sold over-the-counter or drawn as limited tags. Checking CPW directly will clarify whether archery pronghorn hunting in Unit 132 requires a draw or is available over-the-counter.
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.