Colorado GMU 50 Pronghorn Hunting
Park County, central Colorado · 500 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 50 is like
Unit 50 is a 500-square-mile pronghorn area in Park County at the center of the state. Elevation ranges from 7,900 feet to 11,500 feet, with a typical elevation around 9,300 feet. The terrain is gentle and rolling overall: 77 percent of the unit is gentle, 20 percent moderate, and only 3 percent steep. The country is mostly open or semi-open, with rolling topography well-suited to spotting and stalking across moderate distances.
Public hunting opportunity covers roughly 39 percent of the unit, comprising National Forest, BLM, and State Wildlife Area ground. About 4.8 percent of the unit is Colorado State Trust Land, accessible only where CPW has enrolled it in the Public Access Program; enrollment status varies by parcel. An additional 4.1 percent is unclassified ownership. The remaining 52 percent is private land. Hunters should verify access on State Trust Land parcels before committing to application, as not all are open.
Pronghorn are mapped across 88 percent of the unit overall. Winter Range covers 32 percent, and Winter Concentration—ground where pronghorn cluster during the cold months—covers 13 percent. The concentration of winter animals on a subset of the mapped winter range means pronghorn are not evenly distributed across the unit; hunters should expect to focus effort on those concentrated areas as the season advances into the rut and beyond. The unit offers three pronghorn seasons: Archery from August 15 to September 20, Muzzleloader from September 21 to September 29, and Rifle from October 3 to October 11. All three seasons are either-sex or doe/buck hunts. The archery season spans the pre-rut and primary rut phases; the muzzleloader season covers the primary rut and early post-rut period; and the rifle season falls entirely in the late rut and post-rut recovery phase.
Draw difficulty for the easiest unit-wide buck or either-sex hunt is very hard, with the lowest preference-point tier that drew reliably sitting at 6–9 points. This unit also holds at least one premium buck season requiring substantially more points. Hunter pressure is moderate overall.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 7,900–11,500 ft, typically around 9,300 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 6.7°
- Slope breakdown
- 77% gentle · 20% moderate · 3% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~196 sq mi, plus ~24 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 50.
Across the unit
- Grass and meadow61%
- Conifer16%
- Sagebrush10%
- Riparian8%
- Other cover3%
- Aspen3%
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 39% of GMU 50 is public land a hunter can count on — National Forest, BLM and State Wildlife Areas. A further 5% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- National Forest23%
- BLM10%
- State Wildlife Area6%
- State Trust Land5%
- Unclassified ownership4%
- Private52%
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 50 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 Range88%the full extent of range CPW maps for pronghorn — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when pronghorn are present
- Winter Range32%used in winter
- Winter Concentration13%where pronghorn bunch up in winter
Pronghorn seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | August 15 – September 20 | Doe, Buck |
| Muzzleloader | September 21 – September 29 | Doe, Buck |
| Rifle | October 3 – October 11 | 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 50 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much public land is actually huntable here without knowing State Trust Land enrollment?
About 39 percent of the unit—roughly 196 square miles of National Forest, BLM, and State Wildlife Area—is reliably open to public hunting. The additional 4.8 percent on Colorado State Trust Land may be huntable on enrolled parcels, but CPW does not publish which parcels are enrolled, so a hunter should verify access before applying.
Is pronghorn distributed evenly across the unit, or do they concentrate?
Winter Concentration covers 13 percent of the unit, meaning pronghorn cluster on specific ground during the cold months rather than spreading uniformly across the 32-percent Winter Range. Hunters should expect concentrated animals and focus effort accordingly as the season advances toward and into the post-rut period.
Which season offers the best hunting for someone who wants to hunt during the rut?
The muzzleloader season (September 21–29) sits squarely in the primary rut phase, when pronghorn are most active in territorial and breeding behavior. The archery season overlaps pre-rut and the transition into the primary rut, while the rifle season falls in the late rut and post-rut recovery phases.
Can someone with no preference points draw here?
The easiest unit-wide hunt in the primary draw requires 6–9 preference points reliably. Applicants with fewer points can still draw the secondary draw (a separate June lottery with no points used) or access the leftover list after the primary draw, but these are not guaranteed.
Is the terrain manageable for foot hunting?
Yes. The unit is 77 percent gentle and 20 percent moderate terrain, with only 3 percent steep ground. Elevation reaches 11,500 feet at the high end, but rolling topography and modest slopes make the country accessible for hunters on foot across most of the unit.
Does this unit have any over-the-counter pronghorn tags?
The facts provided do not indicate whether any of these seasons are over-the-counter or all drawn. A hunter should check CPW's current season structure directly, as over-the-counter availability can differ from hunt codes in the draw.
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.