Colorado GMU 138 Pronghorn Hunting
Baca County, southeast Colorado · 312 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 138 is like
GMU 138 is a 312-square-mile pronghorn unit in the southeast corner of Colorado, spanning elevations from 4,300 feet to 4,900 feet with a typical elevation near 4,600 feet. The terrain is uniformly gentle and rolling, with no steep or rugged ground. The landscape is dominated by grassland and shrubland characteristic of the high plains, open and walkable throughout.
The unit is almost entirely private land, at roughly 98 percent. Only about 0.2 square miles are State Wildlife Areas open to public hunting. An additional 2.0 square miles of Colorado State Trust Land exist within the unit, but hunting access there depends on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program and is not guaranteed. Public hunters are therefore limited to a small fraction of the unit's total area, regardless of terrain difficulty.
Pronghorn are mapped across the full extent of the unit. No seasonal range subdivision is mapped for this unit, meaning pronghorn occupancy is not defined by distinct seasonal movements or concentrations. The mapping does not support claims about whether pronghorn remain year-round or shift through the fall; the extent and timing of occupancy depend on seasonal conditions and weather.
The unit offers pronghorn hunting in four seasons: Muzzleloader from September 21 to 29 and Rifle from October 3 to 11, both doe-or-buck; Late Rifle from December 1 to 31 for does only; and a Private-land-only season from October 3 to December 31 for doe-or-buck. Two rifle seasons are available to public applicants. Overall hunter pressure is high. The draw is easy, with the simplest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunts often available at zero preference points, though the unit holds premium buck seasons requiring substantially more points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,300–4,900 ft, typically around 4,600 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 ~6 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 138.
Across the unit
- Grass and meadow78%
- Other cover15%
- Sagebrush7%
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 138 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas. A further 2% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- State Trust Land2%
- Private98%
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 138 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 |
| 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 138 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much ground can a public-land hunter actually hunt in this unit?
Only about 0.2 square miles of State Wildlife Area are guaranteed open to public hunting across the entire 312-square-mile unit. An additional 2.0 square miles of State Trust Land may be huntable if enrolled in the Public Access Program, but enrollment is not guaranteed and must be verified with CPW. Legal access, not terrain difficulty, is the limiting factor for public hunters here.
Is this unit realistic for someone with no preference points?
The easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunts often draw at zero preference points, making the unit accessible to new applicants in the primary draw. However, the unit holds at least one premium buck season that requires substantially more points. Zero-point applicants should check which specific hunts are easiest before applying.
Which seasons fall during the pronghorn rut?
The Muzzleloader season from September 21 to 29 straddles the primary rut and late rut phases. The Rifle season from October 3 to 11 falls in the late rut and post-rut recovery phase. The Late Rifle season from December 1 to 31 occurs during fall grouping and winter transition, well after the rut.
How much of the unit's terrain is steep or rugged?
None. The unit is uniformly gentle and rolling throughout, with 100 percent of its area falling in the gentle terrain class. A hunter on foot can cover ground across the entire unit without navigating rugged country.
Why is hunter pressure described as high if the draw is easy?
Draw difficulty and hunter pressure are separate measures. An easy-to-draw unit can still see heavy use because tags are accessible to many applicants and the terrain is walkable. High pressure means many hunters will be afield during the seasons, not that tags are hard to win in the lottery.
Can a hunter access archery pronghorn hunting in this unit?
This data does not include over-the-counter archery licences or identify which units offer them. Archery pronghorn seasons sold over the counter are not shown in the draw tables. Contact CPW directly to confirm whether archery pronghorn tags are over-the-counter or limited-draw in 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.