Colorado GMU 3 Pronghorn Hunting
Moffat County, northwest Colorado · 848 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 3 is like
GMU 3 covers 848 square miles of northwestern Colorado in Moffat County, spanning elevations between 5,700 and 7,400 feet with a typical elevation around 6,500 feet. The terrain is gentle and rolling, with 90 percent of the unit in gentle slopes, 10 percent moderate, and 1 percent steep. This is primarily basin and foothill country suited to pronghorn hunting across open ground and sagebrush flats.
Approximately 46 percent of the unit is generally open to public hunting, managed by the Bureau of Land Management and State Wildlife Areas, providing roughly 387 square miles of huntable ground. An additional 8.5 percent is Colorado State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program. The remaining 46 percent is private land. Public ownership covers about 54 percent of the unit, but not all publicly owned ground is open to hunting.
Pronghorn range mapped by CPW extends across 98 percent of the unit overall, with Winter Range covering 96 percent. Winter Concentration areas, where pronghorn cluster during the winter season, cover 18 percent of the unit. Hunters should expect pronghorn to be present across much of the unit during the hunting seasons, with denser concentrations on approximately 18 percent of the ground during the winter period.
The unit offers five pronghorn seasons: Archery August 15–September 20 for bucks, Muzzleloader September 21–September 29 for bucks, and Rifle October 3–October 11 for bucks. Two additional seasons—a Private-land-only hunt September 19–October 4 and a Ranching for Wildlife hunt September 16–September 20—serve specific access categories and are excluded from unit-wide draw statistics. Archery falls during the Pre-Rut and Primary Rut phases; Muzzleloader spans the Primary Rut and Late Rut periods; and Rifle occurs during Late Rut. Draw difficulty for the easiest unit-wide buck hunt is very hard, with the lowest preference-point tier that drew reliably requiring 6–9 points. Hunter pressure on the unit is extreme.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,700–7,400 ft, typically around 6,500 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 5.5°
- Slope breakdown
- 90% gentle · 10% moderate · 1% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~387 sq mi, plus ~72 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 3.
Across the unit
- Sagebrush75%
- Grass and meadow20%
- Other cover3%
- Conifer2%
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 46% of GMU 3 is public land a hunter can count on — BLM and State Wildlife Areas. A further 9% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM45%
- State Wildlife Area1%
- State Trust Land9%
- Private46%
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 3 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 Range98%the full extent of range CPW maps for pronghorn — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when pronghorn are present
- Winter Range96%used in winter
- Winter Concentration18%where pronghorn bunch up in winter
Pronghorn seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | August 15 – September 20 | Buck |
| Muzzleloader | September 21 – September 29 | Buck |
| Rifle | October 3 – October 11 | Buck |
| Private-land only | September 19 – October 4 | Buck |
| Ranching for Wildlife | September 16 – September 20 | 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 3 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much public ground can a hunter actually access here?
Approximately 46 percent of the unit, roughly 387 square miles, is BLM or State Wildlife Area ground generally open to public hunting. An additional 8.5 percent is State Trust Land where access depends on CPW enrollment in the Public Access Program. The remaining 46 percent is private, though some private ranches participate in the Ranching for Wildlife program.
What is the draw difficulty for a first-time applicant with no preference points?
The easiest unit-wide buck hunt in the primary draw requires 6–9 preference points reliably, meaning applicants with fewer points sometimes draw but cannot count on it. Applicants without points may still draw through the secondary draw (a separate June random draw) or find tags on the leftover list after the primary draw closes.
Is this unit better suited to early or late season hunting?
Archery (August 15–September 20) coincides with the Pre-Rut and Primary Rut phases when pronghorn are forming territories and beginning to rut. Muzzleloader (September 21–September 29) and Rifle (October 3–October 11) both fall during and after the rut peak, when breeding activity is declining and animals are regrouping for fall.
Where should a hunter focus effort within the unit?
Pronghorn range covers 98 percent of the unit overall, but Winter Concentration areas mark where they cluster most densely—about 18 percent of the unit's ground during the winter season. Outside those concentration zones, pronghorn are scattered across the broader Winter Range and Overall Range, so hunters should plan to cover significant distances.
What terrain should a hunter expect?
The unit is gentle and rolling, with 90 percent in gentle slopes, 10 percent moderate, and only 1 percent steep terrain. Elevations range from 5,700 to 7,400 feet, making this country that is accessible to hunters on foot across most of the unit without extreme climbing.
Can an archer hunt this unit over the counter, or must they draw?
The archery season is listed as a limited draw hunt, meaning tags are limited and must be drawn through the primary draw system, not purchased 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.