Colorado Deer · GMU 71

Colorado GMU 71 covers 332,838 acres and lies 32 miles north-east of Cortez and 56 miles south of Montrose. 85% of it is public land, mostly national forest (84%). In 2024, 506 people hunted deer here and took 222, a 44% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, DM071O3R, put up 560 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 449 nonresident first-choice applicants, 109 of whom drew, and the last tag went to someone with 3 points.

Tags, 2026
3,110

17 licenses · NR capped at 25%

Applicants
1,148

first choice, NR

Hunter Success
44%

2024, all licenses

Public Land
85%

84% Forest Service

Size
520 mi²

332,838 acres

Cortez Durango 71
44%hunter success 2024 · 506 hunters, 222 deer

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.

None of these licenses drew anyone at your points in 2026: see the table below for the cut on each.

Every License in GMU 71

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it
DF071P2R Standard · private 100% —
Youth · private 100% (small sample) —
DF071P3R Standard · private 100% 0
DM071O1A Standard 0% 2 ▲1
Youth 0% (small sample) 0
DM071O1M Standard 0% 4 ▲2
Youth 0% (small sample) 0
DM071O2R Standard 0% 2 ▲1
Youth 0% (small sample) 0
DM071O3R Standard 0% 3 ▲2
Youth 0% (small sample) 0
DM071O4R Standard 0% 6 ▼4
Youth 0% (small sample) —
DM071P2R Standard · private 100% —
Youth · private 100% (small sample) —
DM071P3R Standard · private 100% —
Youth · private 100% (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 506 222 44%
2023 382 112 29%
2022 407 134 33%
2021 476 186 39%

2024 split: rifle 185 (83%) from 384 hunters, 48%, archery 25 (11%) from 81 hunters, 31%, muzzleloader 12 (5%) from 41 hunters, 29%

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 281,002 ac 84%
Private 49,922 ac 15%
State land 1,488 ac <1%
BLM 414 ac <1%
County or city land 10 ac <1%
Other public 0 ac <1%

Source: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.

▸ Sources 10
  1. CPW 2026 Primary DEER Post Draw Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  2. CPW 2026 2 CCR 406-0 Chapter W-0 General… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  3. CPW 2026 Big Game Hunting brochure fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  4. CPW 2026 web page fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  5. CPW 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  6. CPW 2023 Statewide Deer Hunting Harvest… harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  7. CPW 2022 Statewide Deer Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  8. CPW 2021 Statewide Deer Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  9. CPW 2026 GMU Boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  10. 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.

Report an error on this page

Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

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