Colorado Deer · GMU 43
Colorado GMU 43 covers 336,308 acres and lies 21 miles south of Glenwood Springs and 35 miles south-east of Rifle. 73% of it is public land, mostly national forest (62%) and BLM (11%). In 2024, 632 people hunted deer here and took 278, a 44% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, DM043O2R, put up 325 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 186 nonresident first-choice applicants, 85 of whom drew, and the last tag went to someone with 1 point.
27 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
62% Forest Service
336,308 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2024. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in GMU 43
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE043O1A Standard | Deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 43 | 26% | 0 ▼1 | |
| DE043O1A Youth | Deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| DE043P2R Standard · private | Deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 43 | 100% | — | |
| DE043P2R Youth · private | Deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| DE043P3R Standard · private | Deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 43 | 100% | 0 | |
| DE043P3R Youth · private | Deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| DF043K1M Standard · youth | Deer female muzzleloader youth-only GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| DF043K1M Youth · youth | Deer female muzzleloader youth-only GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| DF043K2R Standard · youth | Deer female rifle youth-only GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| DF043K2R Youth · youth | Deer female rifle youth-only GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | 1 | |
| DF043K3R Standard · youth | Deer female rifle youth-only GMU 43 | not open | — | |
| DF043K3R Youth · youth | Deer female rifle youth-only GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| DF043O1M Standard | Deer female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 43 | — | — | |
| DF043O2R Standard | Deer female rifle season 2 GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | 1 | |
| DF043O2R Youth | Deer female rifle season 2 GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| DF043O3R Standard | Deer female rifle season 3 GMU 43 | not open | — | |
| DF043O3R Youth | Deer female rifle season 3 GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| DM043E1R Standard | Deer male rifle early season GMU 43 | 0% | 9 ▲2 | |
| DM043E1R Youth | Deer male rifle early season GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| DM043O1M Standard | Deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 43 | 100% | 0 | |
| DM043O1M Youth | Deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| DM043O2R Standard | Deer male rifle season 2 GMU 43 | 0% | 1 | |
| DM043O2R Youth | Deer male rifle season 2 GMU 43 | 0% | 0 | |
| DM043O3R Standard | Deer male rifle season 3 GMU 43 | 0% | 5 | |
| DM043O3R Youth | Deer male rifle season 3 GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| DM043O4R Standard | Deer male rifle season 4 GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | 10 ▼6 | |
| DM043O4R Youth | Deer male rifle season 4 GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: CPW 2026 Primary DEER Post Draw Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Standard $636.03 ($129.11 to apply) · Youth $636.03 ($129.11 to apply). Open Mar 1 – Apr 6, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 632 | 278 | 44% |
| 2023 | 693 | 276 | 40% |
| 2022 | 890 | 413 | 46% |
| 2021 | 830 | 343 | 41% |
2024 split: rifle 199 (71%) from 390 hunters, 51%, archery 38 (14%) from 134 hunters, 28%, muzzleloader 42 (15%) from 108 hunters, 39%
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Colorado's figures come from CPW's post-season hunter survey. CPW's 2025 report dropped the per-GMU table in favour of hunt-code rows, so the newest year shown here is 2024. Source: CPW 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest; CPW 2023 Statewide Deer Hunting Harvest…; CPW 2022 Statewide Deer Harvest.
The Ground
| National Forest | 208,680 ac | 62% |
| Private | 90,786 ac | 27% |
| BLM | 36,528 ac | 11% |
| State land | 313 ac | <1% |
Source: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 10
- CPW 2026 Primary DEER Post Draw Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 2 CCR 406-0 Chapter W-0 General… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 Big Game Hunting brochure fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 web page fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2023 Statewide Deer Hunting Harvest… harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2022 Statewide Deer Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2021 Statewide Deer Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 GMU Boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Colorado Parks and Wildlife's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check Colorado Parks and Wildlife's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Colorado Parks and Wildlife's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Colorado deer hunts