Colorado GMU 95 Pronghorn Hunting
Weld, Logan, Morgan and Washington counties, northeast Colorado · 746 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 95 is like
GMU 95 is a large, low-elevation pronghorn unit in the northeastern corner of Colorado, spanning 746 square miles across parts of Weld, Logan, Morgan and Washington counties. The terrain is gentle and rolling, with an average slope of 1.9 degrees and no steep or rugged country anywhere in the unit. Elevation ranges from 3,900 feet to 5,100 feet, with a typical elevation near 4,600 feet. The unit's overall range covers 91 percent of the mapped area, indicating the potential distribution of pronghorn across much of the unit, and a winter concentration zone covers 19 percent, marking ground where pronghorn cluster during the colder months.
Public hunting access is severely limited. Only about 0.3 percent of the unit—roughly 2 square miles—is generally open to public hunting through State Wildlife Areas and BLM land. An additional 6.4 percent consists of Colorado State Trust Land, but access there depends entirely on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program, which varies by parcel. The remaining 93 percent is private land. Legal access, not terrain difficulty, is the limiting factor for hunting this unit.
The winter concentration layer shows where pronghorn cluster during the Winter Herding and Energy Conservation phase from January through mid-March, but CPW does not map year-round resident populations here. The overall range extends across nearly all of the unit, meaning pronghorn may be found broadly, though the clustering pattern shown by the winter concentration zone indicates they are not uniformly distributed. Winter range itself covers 41 percent of the unit.
The unit offers three pronghorn seasons: a muzzleloader season September 21–29 for doe or buck, a rifle season October 3–11 for doe or buck, and a private-land-only season November 1–December 31 for doe. The muzzleloader season falls in the Primary Rut and Early Post-Rut phases, while the rifle season falls in the Late Post-Rut phase. Draw difficulty for the easiest unit-wide public-land hunt code is rated Hard, requiring 3–5 preference points reliably, though applicants with fewer points sometimes draw and alternative routes including the secondary draw and leftover list remain available. Overall hunter pressure on the unit is low.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,900–5,100 ft, typically around 4,600 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.9°
- Slope breakdown
- 99% gentle · 1% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~2 sq mi, plus ~48 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 95.
Across the unit
- Grass and meadow64%
- Other cover36%
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 95 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas and BLM. A further 6% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land6%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private93%
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 95 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 Range91%the full extent of range CPW maps for pronghorn — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when pronghorn are present
- Winter Range41%used in winter
- Winter Concentration19%where pronghorn bunch up in winter
Pronghorn seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Muzzleloader | September 21 – September 29 | Doe, Buck |
| Rifle | October 3 – October 11 | Doe, Buck |
| Private-land only | November 1 – December 31 | Doe |
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 95 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much ground can a hunter actually access and hunt in this unit?
Only about 0.3 percent of the unit—roughly 2 square miles of State Wildlife Area and BLM land—is generally open to public hunting. An additional 6.4 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, but hunting there requires that specific parcels be enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program, which is not guaranteed and varies by property. The remainder is private land. Legal access, not walkable terrain, is the primary constraint.
Is this unit realistic for an applicant with no preference points?
The easiest public-land hunt code draws reliably at 3–5 preference points, which means applicants with no points face a harder path through the primary draw alone. However, the secondary draw (a separate June random draw open to anyone regardless of points) and the leftover list (first-come, first-served after the primary draw) remain open to zero-point applicants and represent separate routes to a tag.
When during the season are pronghorn most likely to be active and visible?
The muzzleloader season (September 21–29) runs through the Primary Rut and into Early Post-Rut phases, when pronghorn are actively searching for mates and moving. The rifle season (October 3–11) falls in the Late Post-Rut phase, when animals begin transitioning toward fall grouping behavior. Both seasons align with periods of higher pronghorn activity.
Where in the unit should a hunter focus effort in late fall?
A winter concentration zone covers 19 percent of the mapped unit, marking ground where pronghorn cluster during the Winter Herding phase (January through mid-March). The overall 41 percent winter range coverage shows where pronghorn are expected seasonally, though the specific location of these zones cannot be determined from the range mapping alone.
Does the terrain here require special conditioning or mountaineering skills?
No. The unit is 99 percent gentle and rolling terrain with virtually no steep or rugged country. Elevation spans only about 1,200 feet across the unit, and the average slope is 1.9 degrees. The physical challenge of traversing the landscape is minimal; legal access to huntable ground is the real constraint.
Can a hunter reasonably plan an over-the-counter archery tag here?
The facts provided do not include information about whether archery pronghorn licenses in this unit are sold over the counter or drawn. A hunter should contact CPW directly to confirm the current archery status before building a plan around an over-the-counter assumption.
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.