Colorado Unit 39 Mule Deer Hunting Guide

Colorado Unit 39 is a high-elevation mule deer unit spanning 236,179 acres, with terrain ranging from 7,049 feet to 14,236 feet — a swing that puts everything from sagebrush foothills to alpine tundra within its boundaries. For hunters researching Colorado mule deer units, Unit 39 stands out because of its high percentage of public land access combined with a wide elevation gradient that pushes deer through multiple vegetation zones as the season progresses. This is rugged, big-mountain mule deer country, and hunters need to understand both the terrain and the recent harvest trends before committing points or a first-choice application here.

With 72% public land and 16% designated wilderness, Unit 39 offers legitimate DIY opportunity for hunters willing to get away from roads. Forum discussion around this unit and its neighbor, Unit 46, echoes a common theme: hunters can typically only get three to four miles from a road before running into another access point, which suggests a network of roads cutting through the unit rather than a single deep wilderness core. That's useful context for hunters planning where to focus effort — pressure concentrates near easy access, and the wilderness acreage represents the best opportunity to get away from other hunters.

HuntPilot Analysis: Is Unit 39 Worth Applying For?

Unit 39 is a reasonable unit for hunters who prioritize public land access and rugged, high-elevation terrain over chasing a specific trophy-class buck. The numbers tell a mixed story. Harvest success has been trending in a concerning direction over the past several years: success dropped from 30% in 2022 to 26% in 2023, then rebounded somewhat to 28% in 2024, before jumping to 42% in 2025 — but that spike came alongside a significant drop in hunter numbers, from 1,055 hunters in 2024 down to 654 in 2025. Fewer hunters afield with fewer tags issued tends to inflate success percentages, so this recent number should be read cautiously rather than as a sign the herd suddenly improved.

The wildlife survey data adds another layer of caution. The only buck:doe ratio available (2024) sits at 28:100 across a single survey year. That ratio is on the lower end for a mule deer unit and, with only one year of data, hunters shouldn't treat it as a definitive herd health indicator — but it does align with the general pattern of declining or unremarkable buck recruitment that shows up in the harvest trend. There isn't enough historical survey data here to call a multi-year trend, so hunters should treat this as a data point worth monitoring rather than a red flag or green light on its own.

Trophy data for the counties overlapping Unit 39 shows a limited history of trophy-class entries. This doesn't mean big bucks aren't present — Colorado's high country regularly produces surprises — but hunters should not go into Unit 39 expecting it to compete with the state's well-known trophy units. This is better framed as an opportunity and experience unit: solid public land, genuine backcountry terrain, and a fair shot at a mature buck, rather than a unit hunters should burn a large point stockpile chasing a record-class deer.

For a first Colorado mule deer hunt — particularly for hunters who can draw with few or no points, as referenced in forum discussion about the neighboring 39/46 area — this unit offers a realistic entry point into western mule deer hunting: real elevation, real public access, and a herd that, while not thriving, is still producing harvestable bucks every year.

Harvest Success Rates

Recent harvest data for Unit 39 shows meaningful year-to-year variation:

• 2025: 654 hunters, 276 harvested, 42% success
• 2024: 1,055 hunters, 294 harvested, 28% success
• 2023: 1,273 hunters, 336 harvested, 26% success
• 2022: 1,055 hunters, 319 harvested, 30% success

The multi-year trend from 2022 through 2024 shows success rates holding in the high-20s to low-30s range with hunter numbers between roughly 1,000 and 1,300. The 2025 season stands apart with far fewer hunters afield and a notably higher success percentage. Hunters should weigh the three-year baseline (26–30%) more heavily than the single outlier year when setting expectations, since a smaller, more selective group of hunters in the field can skew the percentage upward without reflecting a genuine improvement in deer numbers or hunter opportunity for the broader applicant pool.

Trophy Quality

Trophy record data for the counties overlapping Unit 39 indicates a limited history of trophy-class entries. This points to limited trophy potential rather than a unit known for consistently producing record-book bucks. Hunters targeting a specific score class or chasing a once-in-a-lifetime typical buck should look at units with a deeper trophy pedigree. That said, limited trophy-record history doesn't mean mature bucks don't exist in this terrain — it simply means Unit 39 hasn't built a track record of producing entries that make the record books, and hunters should set expectations around a quality DIY hunt and a mature buck opportunity rather than a trophy-hunting destination.

Herd Health & Population Trends

The only wildlife survey data available for Unit 39 comes from a single survey year (2024), showing a buck:doe ratio of 28:100. With just one year of data, this cannot be treated as a reliable trend indicator — a single survey doesn't tell hunters whether buck recruitment is improving, declining, or holding steady over time. What can be said is that this ratio, combined with a declining hunter-and-harvest trend from 2022–2024, doesn't suggest a herd in a strong upswing. Hunters should track HuntPilot's unit data year over year for updated survey numbers before making long-term point-investment decisions based on herd health alone.

Access & Terrain

Unit 39 covers 236,179 acres with an elevation range from 7,049 feet at the low end to 14,236 feet at its highest points — one of the more dramatic elevation spreads a hunter will encounter in a single Colorado deer unit. That range means hunters can expect to move through sagebrush and transitional brush country at lower elevations up into timbered slopes and alpine basins near treeline, depending on where in the unit they hunt and how far into the season they're afield.

Public land makes up 72% of the unit, which gives DIY hunters a strong base of accessible ground without needing to negotiate private land access. Wilderness acreage sits at 16% of the total unit, offering a meaningful chunk of country where road access is restricted and foot traffic thins out considerably. For hunters willing to pack in, that wilderness acreage is likely the best bet for finding bucks that have moved away from vehicle-accessible pressure zones.

That said, hunter forum experience on the adjacent 39/46 area describes a network of roads that limits how far a hunter can truly get from vehicle access — often just three to four miles before intersecting another road. This suggests that while the unit carries a strong public land percentage, true backcountry seclusion may be more limited than the acreage numbers alone suggest, outside of the wilderness-designated portion. Hunters serious about getting away from pressure should focus scouting efforts on accessing the wilderness zone or the areas farthest from the road network, and should use HuntPilot's mapping tools to identify public land boundaries, elevation bands, and access routes ahead of the season.

How to Apply

Nonresidents in particular should note the license fee is a separate, required cost on top of the application fee — hunters must hold a qualifying license before the draw application can even be submitted. This is easy to overlook when budgeting for a Colorado application and adds a meaningful cost beyond the app fee alone.

For current draw odds specific to Unit 39, hunters should check HuntPilot's Colorado unit pages at /states/co, since draw statistics shift from year to year based on quota changes and applicant volume.

Application dates and fees change every draw cycle. For the current deadlines, fees, and draw odds, see HuntPilot's Colorado page at /states/co.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the terrain like in Colorado Unit 39? Unit 39 spans an elevation range from 7,049 to 14,236 feet across 236,179 acres, meaning hunters encounter everything from lower-elevation sagebrush and brush country up through timbered slopes into alpine terrain near the unit's highest points. With 72% public land and 16% wilderness, there's substantial room to roam, though forum reports from hunters familiar with the area note a fairly dense road network that limits true backcountry isolation outside the wilderness zone.

What is harvest success like in Unit 39? Harvest success has ranged from 26% to 42% over the past four seasons (2022–2025), with the three most recent comparable years (2022–2024) sitting in the 26–30% range on hunter counts between roughly 1,000 and 1,300. The 2025 season saw success spike to 42%, but that came with a substantial drop in hunter numbers, so the multi-year baseline in the high-20s to low-30s percentage range is likely the more reliable expectation for future seasons.

How big are the mule deer in Unit 39? Trophy record data for the counties overlapping this unit shows a limited history of trophy-class entries, indicating limited trophy potential compared to Colorado's well-known trophy units. Hunters can still find mature bucks given the unit's rugged, high-elevation terrain and strong public land base, but this isn't a unit with a documented track record of producing record-book animals.

Is Unit 39 worth applying for? For hunters focused on public land access, challenging high-elevation terrain, and a realistic DIY mule deer hunt — especially those newer to Colorado or western hunting — Unit 39 has real merit, backed by 72% public land and a workable harvest success history. Hunters specifically chasing trophy-class bucks or in possession of a large point stockpile may want to look elsewhere, given the limited trophy record history and a single-year buck:doe survey ratio (28:100) that doesn't indicate a booming herd.

What is the buck-to-doe ratio in Unit 39, and is it reliable? The only available survey data (2024) shows a 28:100 buck:doe ratio across one survey year. Because it's based on a single year, it should not be treated as a definitive herd health metric — hunters should watch for updated survey data in future years and weigh it alongside the unit's recent harvest trend rather than relying on one data point alone.