Colorado Deer — GMU 45
Colorado GMU 45 covers 214,927 acres and lies 31 miles east of Gypsum and 50 miles east of Glenwood Springs. 89% of it is public land, mostly national forest (88%). In 2024, 437 people hunted deer here and took 140 — 32% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 208 tags here for 273 first-choice applicants.
Tags (2026):794
Nonresident share:capped at 25%
Applicants:948
Hunter success (2024):32%
Public land:89%
Size:214,927 acres
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in GMU 45, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
DE035O1A deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] 46 tags · 57 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard60% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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DE035P2R deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] 20 tags · 2 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 43% as 2nd choice
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DE035P2R deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] 20 tags · 0 applicants · Youth100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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DE035P3R deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] 20 tags · 6 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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DF035O1M deer female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] 7 tags · 4 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 23% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 25% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 6% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 25% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 8% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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DM035O1M deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] 80 tags · 69 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 12% as 2nd choice
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DM035O1M deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] 7 tags · 4 applicants · needed 0 pts · Youth100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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53% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
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67% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DM035O4R deer male rifle season 4 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] 4 tags · 69 applicants · needed 13 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DM044E1R deer male rifle early season GMU 44 [Those portions of GMUs 44, 45, and 444 within the Holy Cross Wilderness Area] 3 tags · 32 applicants · needed 11 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DM044E1R deer male rifle early season GMU 44 [Those portions of GMUs 44, 45, and 444 within the Holy Cross Wilderness Area] 15 tags · 1 applicants · Youth0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE035O1A ↗ deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Archery | 60% Real chance | 0% | 0 steady since 2021 | 46 / 57 | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| DE035O1A ↗ deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Archery | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — steady since 2021 | 180 / 0 | Youth | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| DE035P2R ↗ deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 43% | — | 20 / 2 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DE035P2R ↗ deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 20 / 0 | Youth | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DE035P3R ↗ deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | 0 steady since 2022 | 20 / 6 undersubscribed | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DF035O1M ↗ deer female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Muzzleloader | 100% Undersubscribed | 23% | — | 7 / 4 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DF035O1M ↗ deer female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Muzzleloader | 100% No first-choice applicants | 25% | — | 3 / 0 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DF035O2R ↗ deer female rifle season 2 GMU 35 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 6% | — −1 since 2021 | 6 / 1 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DF035O2R ↗ deer female rifle season 2 GMU 35 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 25% | — | 4 / 1 undersubscribed | Youth | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DF035O3R ↗ deer female rifle season 3 GMU 35 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 8% | — steady since 2021 | 9 / 3 undersubscribed | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DF035O3R ↗ deer female rifle season 3 GMU 35 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | 0 steady since 2021 | 4 / 2 undersubscribed | Youth | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DM035O1M ↗ deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Muzzleloader | 100% Undersubscribed | 12% | — steady since 2024 | 80 / 69 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DM035O1M ↗ deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Muzzleloader | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | 0 steady since 2021 | 7 / 4 undersubscribed | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DM035O2R ↗ deer male rifle season 2 GMU 35 Rifle | 53% Real chance | 0% | 0 steady since 2021 | 208 / 273 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DM035O2R ↗ deer male rifle season 2 GMU 35 Rifle | 67% Real chance | 0% | 0 steady since 2021 | 7 / 19 | Youth | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DM035O3R ↗ deer male rifle season 3 GMU 35 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 2 +1 since 2021 | 124 / 361 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DM035O3R ↗ deer male rifle season 3 GMU 35 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 2 +1 since 2021 | 7 / 41 | Youth | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DM035O4R ↗ deer male rifle season 4 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 13 steady since 2021 | 4 / 69 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| DM035O4R ↗ deer male rifle season 4 GMU 35 [35, 36, 45, 361] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | — | 20 / 3 | Youth | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| DM044E1R ↗ deer male rifle early season GMU 44 [Those portions of GMUs 44, 45, and 444 within the Holy Cross Wilderness Area] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 11 +5 since 2021 | 3 / 32 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DM044E1R ↗ deer male rifle early season GMU 44 [Those portions of GMUs 44, 45, and 444 within the Holy Cross Wilderness Area] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | — | 15 / 1 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- As 2nd choice —
- Colorado lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $636.03 |
| Youth license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $636.03 |
Application window: opens Mar 1, closes Apr 7, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
How the hunting has gone
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. 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.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 437 | 140 | 32% |
| 2023 | 321 | 101 | 32% |
| 2022 | 304 | 73 | 24% |
| 2021 | 312 | 105 | 34% |
What people carried (2024 harvest)
- Rifle 91 · 65% · 272 hunters, 33% success
- Archery 27 · 19% · 85 hunters, 32% success
- Muzzleloader 22 · 16% · 79 hunters, 28% success
Boundary: CPW GMU Boundary (Big Game)
Harvest: 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Statewide Deer Hunting Harvest Estimates
Harvest: 2022 Statewide Deer Harvest