Colorado GMU 136 Pronghorn Hunting
Las Animas County, southeast Colorado · 570 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 136 is like
GMU 136 occupies 570 square miles in the southeastern corner of Colorado and consists of gentle and rolling country at low elevations. The unit ranges from 4,200 feet at its lowest to 5,900 feet at its highest, with typical elevations around 5,200 feet. Terrain is predominantly gentle or rolling: 79% of the unit is gentle, 13% moderate, 7% steep, and 1% rugged by area. The combination of low elevation and gentle slopes makes most of this ground walkable, though terrain is only one factor in a hunter's ability to reach and hunt it.
Access is severely limited by land ownership. Only 6.3% of the unit—roughly 36 square miles—is generally open to public hunting, consisting of National Forest ground. Colorado State Trust Land makes up 7.7% of the unit, but hunting on state trust parcels is access-dependent and available only where CPW has enrolled the ground in its Public Access Program; the status of individual parcels is not tracked here. Private land comprises 85% of the unit, with 1.3% unclassified. The public ground that is dependably open is the limiting factor for a hunter's options on this unit, not the terrain itself.
CPW maps Overall Range for pronghorn across 56% of the unit. This figure represents the full extent of the range CPW has mapped and does not indicate where pronghorn concentrate or how many use the unit at any time. The mapped range includes areas where pronghorn may be present during some or all of the fall hunting seasons, but specific seasonal-range layers that would show where animals concentrate during particular months or rut phases are not mapped for this unit.
The unit offers five pronghorn seasons, three of which are open to public applicants. The Muzzleloader season runs September 21–29 and falls in the Primary Rut and Late Rut phases. The Rifle season runs October 3–11 and falls in the Late Rut phase. The Late Rifle season runs December 1–31 and falls in the Fall Grouping phase. A private-land-only season runs October 3–December 31 for landowners and their guests. The Ranching for Wildlife season runs August 15–24 and falls in the Pre-Rut phase. All public seasons are either-sex or doe-only as noted. Draw difficulty is easy, with the easiest qualifying code often requiring zero preference points; however, other seasons, weapons, and nonresident applicants may require substantially more points. Hunter pressure on the unit is moderate overall.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,200–5,900 ft, typically around 5,200 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 6.5°
- Slope breakdown
- 79% gentle · 13% moderate · 7% steep · 1% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~36 sq mi, plus ~44 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 136.
Lower elevations
- Sagebrush53%
- Grass and meadow41%
- Conifer4%
- Other cover1%
Mid elevations
- Conifer38%
- Grass and meadow33%
- Sagebrush28%
Higher elevations
- Grass and meadow72%
- Sagebrush19%
- Conifer8%
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 6% of GMU 136 is public land a hunter can count on — National Forest. A further 8% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- National Forest6%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land8%
- Unclassified ownership1%
- Private85%
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.
“Ownership unclassified” means the source dataset does not record an owner for that acreage. It is not known to be public or private.
Where pronghorn live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps pronghorn seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 136 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 Range56%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 |
| Private-land only | October 3 – December 31 | Doe, Buck |
| Ranching for Wildlife | August 15 – August 24 | 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.
Fall weather
- September — highs around 81°F, lows around 50°F (mid-elevation normals)
- October — highs around 69°F, lows around 36°F, about 0.7 in of snow (mid-elevation normals)
- November — highs around 57°F, lows around 26°F, about 1 in of snow (mid-elevation normals)
GMU 136 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually reach on this unit?
Only 6.3% of the unit—roughly 36 square miles—is generally open to public hunting on National Forest land. An additional 7.7% is Colorado State Trust Land where hunting is available only if CPW has enrolled that specific parcel in its Public Access Program. The remaining 85% is private land. Legal access, not terrain difficulty, is the primary constraint on where a hunter can hunt.
What is the draw difficulty, and can someone with no preference points draw here?
Draw difficulty is easy, and the easiest qualifying unit-wide hunt code often requires zero preference points. This describes the lowest tier of the primary draw that drew dependably among adult Colorado residents; applicants below that tier sometimes draw anyway, and the secondary draw and leftover list offer additional routes to tags independent of preference points. Other seasons and weapons may require substantially more points.
Is this unit better suited to early or late season?
The Muzzleloader season (September 21–29) falls in the Primary Rut and Late Rut phases, when pronghorn behavior is driven by breeding activity. The Rifle season (October 3–11) falls in the Late Rut phase as animals transition toward grouping. The Late Rifle season (December 1–31) falls in the Fall Grouping phase. Early season offers a rut window, while late season is after the rut has concluded.
What kind of weather should a hunter expect during pronghorn season here?
September temperatures average highs around 80°F and lows around 50°F with nearly zero snowfall. October highs average around 69°F and lows around 36°F with about 0.7 inches of snow on average. November highs average around 57°F and lows around 26°F with about 1 inch of snow on average. The fall cools significantly from September through November.
Is there an archery season, and is it limited or over-the-counter?
This data does not identify whether an archery season is limited and drawn or sold over-the-counter. Archery licenses for pronghorn are typically sold over-the-counter in units where CPW leaves them unlimited, but the status for this unit is not specified in the available information.
How much of the unit supports pronghorn during the fall hunting season?
CPW maps Overall Range covering 56% of the unit, representing the full extent of the range where pronghorn may occur. This figure does not indicate density, concentration, or which areas hold pronghorn during specific fall hunting months—only that these areas are part of the mapped range CPW has identified for the species on this unit.
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.