Colorado GMU 791 Pronghorn Hunting
Alamosa, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache counties, southwest Colorado · 409 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 791 is like
GMU 791 covers 409 square miles of low-elevation pronghorn country in the San Luis Valley of south-central Colorado. Elevation ranges from 7,500 feet to 7,900 feet, with typical terrain at 7,600 feet. The entire unit is gentle and rolling, with a mean slope of 0.3 degrees. The landscape is open and walkable across most of its expanse, but legal access is the controlling constraint: only about 1.1 percent of the unit is generally open to public hunting, consisting of State Wildlife Areas and BLM land.
The unit is nearly entirely private. State Trust Land comprises about 1.3 percent of the acreage, but only parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program are available to hunt there and enrollment status varies. Hunters should verify access before planning a hunt. The remaining public ownership lies on State Wildlife Areas and BLM parcels totaling roughly 1.1 percent, which are the only reliably huntable public ground.
CPW maps pronghorn Overall Range across 26 percent of the unit, a figure reflecting the full extent of mapped range rather than year-round occupancy. Winter Range covers 6 percent of the unit, with a Winter Concentration layer marking 2 percent where pronghorn cluster seasonally. Winter Concentration ground is where hunters are most likely to encounter animals during the late-season hunts. The unit does not have mappings for resident year-round populations or migration corridors.
The unit offers three seasons to public applicants: an Archery season from August 15 to September 20 hunting bucks; a Muzzleloader season from September 21 to September 29 hunting bucks; and a Rifle season from October 3 to October 11 hunting bucks. The Archery season spans the Pre-Rut and Primary Rut phases, with pronghorn moving through territory formation and into the rut as the season progresses. The Muzzleloader season straddles the Primary Rut and Late Rut phases. The Rifle season occurs in the Late Rut phase as animals are recovering from breeding activity. Draw difficulty for the easiest unit-wide buck hunt reaches 3–5 preference points in the primary draw. Overall hunter pressure on the unit is low.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 7,500–7,900 ft, typically around 7,600 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 0.3°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~4 sq mi, plus ~5 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 791.
Across the unit
- Other cover62%
- Sagebrush28%
- Riparian9%
- Grass and meadow2%
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 791 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas and BLM. A further 1% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- 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 791 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 Range26%the full extent of range CPW maps for pronghorn — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when pronghorn are present
- Winter Range6%used in winter
- Winter Concentration2%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 |
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 791 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much public ground is there to hunt and who owns it?
About 1.1 percent of the unit—roughly 4 square miles—is generally open to public hunting, divided between State Wildlife Areas and BLM land. An additional 1.3 percent is State Trust Land, but access there depends on whether specific parcels are enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program. Hunters must verify enrollment status before planning a hunt on State Trust Land.
Is this realistic for someone drawing with zero points?
The easiest qualifying unit-wide buck hunt requires 3–5 preference points reliably in the primary draw, making a zero-point applicant unlikely to draw that tag. However, the secondary draw offers a separate June lottery at random with no preference points used, and applicants can also check the leftover list after the primary draw closes.
Which season is best for hunting pronghorn here?
The Rifle season (October 3–11) concentrates hunting effort on pronghorn during the Late Rut phase, when animals are grouping up and moving toward winter range. The Muzzleloader season (September 21–29) straddles the primary rut and late-rut recovery and offers a middle option. The Archery season (August 15–September 20) begins in the pre-rut territory-formation phase and carries into the primary rut.
Where should a hunter focus effort given how little public ground there is?
The mapped Winter Concentration layer covers 2 percent of the unit and marks ground where pronghorn cluster during the colder months. This concentrated-use ground offers the best chance to encounter animals, particularly during the late-season hunts. Spending time on the publicly available State Wildlife Areas and BLM parcels within or near this zone maximizes opportunity on limited access.
Is the terrain manageable for a hunter on foot?
The unit's gentle and rolling topography is easy to walk—terrain itself is not a limiting factor. Legal access to that terrain is the real constraint: with only 1.1 percent of the unit reliably open to public hunting and the rest private, a hunter will cover far less ground than the terrain would permit. Advance scouting and careful route planning on public parcels are essential.
Is this unit worth applying for if I prefer early-season hunting?
The Archery season (August 15–September 20) is the only early option, taking place during territory formation and moving into the primary rut. Pronghorn are actively establishing and defending territories during this window, which can create hunting opportunities. An applicant interested primarily in late-season hunting might find the Rifle season (October 3–11) during late-rut recovery more suitable for encountering grouping animals.
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.