Colorado GMU 98 Pronghorn Hunting
Logan, Phillips, Yuma and Washington counties, northeast Colorado · 1,791 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 98 is like
Unit 98 covers 1,791 square miles across Logan, Phillips, Yuma and Washington counties in the northeast region. The terrain is gentle and rolling throughout, with a mean slope of 1.8 degrees and 99 percent of the unit classified as gentle by area. Elevations range from 3,300 feet to 4,600 feet, with a typical elevation near 3,900 feet. The pronghorn season runs concurrently with the rut, making timing a central consideration for planning.
Public land in this unit is extremely limited. State Wildlife Areas account for roughly 0.3 percent of the unit's total area, or about 5 square miles of generally open ground where a hunter can dependably access public land. An additional 4.8 percent of the unit, approximately 85 square miles, is Colorado State Trust Land, though access depends on CPW's Public Access Program enrollment and not all parcels are currently available to hunters. The remaining 95 percent is private land. Legal access is the binding constraint on where a hunter can pursue pronghorn in this unit, regardless of terrain difficulty.
The mapped Overall Range for pronghorn covers 67 percent of the unit, reflecting the full geographic extent of pronghorn distribution across the year. CPW maps no Winter Concentration layer here, indicating pronghorn do not cluster on specific winter ground within the unit. The gentle terrain and low elevation mean that movement through the fall is driven by seasonal phenology and resource availability rather than the sharp winter range shifts seen in higher-elevation units.
Two buck seasons are offered: a Muzzleloader season September 21 through 29 that falls within the Primary Rut and early Late Rut phases, and a Rifle season October 3 through 11 that falls in the Late Rut and Post-Rut Recovery phase. Draw difficulty for the easiest qualifying buck code sits at 1–2 preference points for adult Colorado residents in the primary draw, though a premium season in this unit requires substantially more points. Overall hunter pressure remains low.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,300–4,600 ft, typically around 3,900 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 1.8°
- Slope breakdown
- 99% gentle · 1% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~5 sq mi, plus ~85 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 98.
Across the unit
- Other cover63%
- Grass and meadow37%
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 98 is public land a hunter can count on — State Wildlife Areas. A further 5% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- BLM<1%
- State Trust Land5%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private95%
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 98 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 Range67%the full extent of range CPW maps for pronghorn — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when pronghorn are present
- Winter Range3%used in winter
- Winter Concentration<1%where pronghorn bunch up in winter
Pronghorn seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| 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 98 pronghorn hunting FAQ
How much public land can a hunter actually access here?
Roughly 0.3 percent of the unit—about 5 square miles—is State Wildlife Area open to public hunting. Another 4.8 percent is State Trust Land, but only parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program are available, and enrollment varies. Private land comprises 95 percent of the unit, so legal access via permission or enrolled public ground is the primary limiting factor for any hunt.
Is this unit realistic for someone with zero preference points?
An applicant with no preference points can draw the easiest buck hunt code in the primary draw reliably, as that code sits in the 1–2 point band. However, an applicant with fewer than 1 point can still draw, particularly in the secondary June draw or the leftover list, though neither route is guaranteed.
Is this unit better suited to early season or the rut hunt?
The Muzzleloader season (September 21–29) runs through the Primary Rut and into early Post-Rut Recovery, while the Rifle season (October 3–11) falls entirely in Late Rut and Post-Rut Recovery. Both hunts overlap with the rut; the Muzzleloader season opens earlier during peak rut activity, while the Rifle season follows the rut's decline.
What does the mapped Overall Range tell a hunter about pronghorn distribution?
Overall Range covers 67 percent of the unit and shows the full geographic extent of where pronghorn can be found across the year, but it does not indicate even distribution or year-round occupancy. CPW maps no Winter Concentration layer on this unit, so pronghorn do not cluster on specific winter ground.
How walkable is the terrain if a hunter can gain access?
The unit is gentle and rolling throughout, with a mean slope of 1.8 degrees and 99 percent classified as gentle terrain by area. Walking and glassing are not the constraint; legal access to private ground is.
Does draw difficulty reflect how crowded this unit actually is?
No. This unit draws at 1–2 points for its easiest buck code, a moderate rating, but overall hunter pressure here remains low. An easy-to-draw unit can still be less crowded than a hard-to-draw one, and applicant competition for tags is a separate measure from how many hunters work the ground during the season.
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.