Colorado Unit 591 Mule Deer Hunting Guide

Colorado Unit 591 is a limited-quota mule deer unit sitting entirely on public ground, spanning 137,927 acres at elevations ranging from 5,174 to 6,965 feet. For hunters filtering through Colorado's dozens of deer units trying to find one that combines real public access with consistent harvest, Unit 591 deserves a close look. There's no general season here — every hunt, including tags for antlered bucks, comes through the draw, which means hunter numbers and pressure are managed more tightly than in over-the-counter country.

What makes this unit stand out immediately is the land base: 100% public land across nearly 138,000 acres. That's a rarity in Colorado deer hunting, where private land checkerboards frequently choke off access even in units with decent deer numbers. Combined with a moderate-elevation profile — this isn't high alpine country, but rolling terrain in the mid-5,000 to just-under-7,000-foot range — Unit 591 reads as classic mule deer habitat that rewards hunters willing to walk and glass rather than rely on landowner permission slips.

Harvest data pulled from HuntPilot shows a unit that has produced tags and animals consistently over the last several seasons, with success rates that fluctuate but rarely fall into discouraging territory. That track record, paired with full public access, is the foundation for the analysis below.

HuntPilot Analysis: Is Unit 591 Worth Applying For?

The case for Unit 591 starts with access. At 100% public land, there is no private-land bottleneck to navigate, no need to knock on doors or lease access — hunters who draw a tag here can hunt the entire unit's public footprint without worrying about boundary disputes. That alone puts Unit 591 ahead of a lot of Colorado deer units where public land percentages in the 40-60% range force hunters into tight pockets of huntable ground.

The harvest numbers back up the opportunity angle. Over the six most recent seasons on record, success rates have ranged from 45% up to 61%, with the 2025 season showing 962 hunters and 583 harvested animals for a 61% success rate — the strongest of the stretch. Even the leaner years (45% in 2022, 48% in 2023) sit well above what many limited-quota deer units produce. This is a unit where, if a hunter draws, the odds of putting a deer on the ground are genuinely favorable relative to Colorado deer hunting as a whole.

The one data point that deserves a caution flag is the buck:doe ratio. The 2024 survey reported a ratio of 29:100, drawn from a single survey year. That's a low ratio compared to healthy mule deer herds, and with only one year of data available, it's difficult to say whether this reflects a genuine herd structure issue or a limited sampling window. Hunters should treat this number as a flag worth monitoring rather than a definitive verdict on herd health — there isn't a multi-year trend here to confirm a direction, and a single-year snapshot can be noisy. What it does suggest is that buck numbers relative to does may be on the lower side, which is worth factoring into expectations, particularly for hunters hoping for high buck density while glassing.

On trophy quality, the counties overlapping Unit 591 carry a moderate history of trophy-class mule deer production. That's not an elite-tier trophy pedigree, but it's also not a blank slate — moderate trophy history means big bucks have come from this general area, just not with the frequency or consistency of Colorado's top-tier trophy units. Hunters chasing a genuine record-book buck should treat this as a solid opportunity unit rather than a trophy-hunting destination, while hunters who want a quality, mature buck with a fair shot at something special should find the odds reasonable.

Put together: Unit 591 is worth applying for if the priority is public-land access and a strong likelihood of connecting on a mule deer. It's a harder sell for hunters whose sole objective is a giant buck, given the moderate trophy history and the caution around buck density suggested by the survey data.

Harvest Success Rates

Unit 591's harvest data spans six seasons and tells a consistent story of a productive limited-quota unit:

• 2025: 962 hunters, 583 harvested, 61% success
• 2024: 378 hunters, 200 harvested, 53% success
• 2023: 361 hunters, 174 harvested, 48% success
• 2022: 311 hunters, 140 harvested, 45% success
• 2021: 394 hunters, 224 harvested, 57% success
• 2020: 424 hunters, 222 harvested, 52% success

A few things stand out. First, success rates have never dropped below 45% in this six-year window, and four of the six years cleared 50%. That's a strong baseline for a mule deer unit anywhere in the West. Second, the jump in hunter numbers in 2025 — nearly triple the hunter count of any prior year in the data — coincided with the highest success rate of the stretch, which suggests the unit absorbed significantly more pressure without a corresponding collapse in success. That's a good sign for herd density and huntability, though it's worth watching in future seasons to see if that pattern holds or if the larger 2025 cohort was an anomaly in tag allocation.

For hunters weighing this unit against others, a success rate hovering in the high-40s to low-60s percent range across multiple years is a meaningfully strong indicator that a drawn tag here is likely to result in a harvested deer, not just a week of scouting.

Trophy Quality

Trophy potential in Unit 591 sits in the moderate range. The counties overlapping this unit carry a moderate history of trophy-class mule deer entries — meaning big bucks have come out of this general area historically, but not with the volume or consistency found in Colorado's premier trophy units. Because record-book entries are logged at the county level rather than the unit level, the trophy history associated with Unit 591 is shared with neighboring units that overlap the same counties, so this data should be read as a regional indicator rather than a unit-exclusive claim.

For hunters, the practical takeaway is that Unit 591 is a legitimate option for a mature, respectable buck, and there's real history of exceptional bucks coming from the surrounding area. It is not, however, a unit hunters should target purely chasing a top-tier record-book entry — the moderate designation reflects real but limited trophy production rather than a unit known for consistently producing giants.

Herd Health & Population Trends

The only survey data available for Unit 591 comes from a single year, 2024, showing a buck:doe ratio of 29:100 across one survey. This is a low ratio in absolute terms — healthy mule deer herds typically run higher — but with just one year of data, it's not possible to establish a trend. There's no multi-year average to compare it against, so hunters should be cautious about drawing firm conclusions about herd health from this number alone.

What can be said is that a 29:100 ratio, taken at face value, suggests the doe population currently outnumbers bucks by a wide margin, which could be a function of harvest pressure, natural mortality, or simply the limitations of a single survey's sample size. Hunters relying on this data point should weigh it alongside the harvest numbers above — a unit posting 45-61% success rates over multiple seasons despite a lower buck ratio suggests bucks are still findable and huntable, even if overall buck density trails what's ideal. Future survey years will be necessary to confirm whether this ratio represents a stable pattern or an outlier.

Access & Terrain

Unit 591's defining access characteristic is total public land coverage — 100% of the unit's 137,927 acres are open to public hunting. This is about as good as it gets in Colorado for eliminating the private-land access headache that plagues so many other units. Hunters drawing a tag here don't need to negotiate landowner permission or worry about parcels of private ground splitting up otherwise huntable terrain.

Elevation in the unit ranges from 5,174 to 6,965 feet, putting this squarely in lower-to-mid elevation mule deer country rather than high alpine terrain. This elevation band typically supports a mix of open sagebrush flats, rolling foothill terrain, and brushy draws — habitat types well-suited to glassing and spot-and-stalk tactics rather than technical mountain hunting. There is no wilderness designation in this unit (0% wilderness), meaning motorized access rules are generally less restrictive than in wilderness-designated country, which can be an advantage for hunters covering ground efficiently or packing out a deer.

Given the combination of full public access and moderate elevation, Unit 591 suits hunters willing to do physical scouting on foot and glass extensively rather than relying on vehicle access alone. Hunters planning their approach should use HuntPilot's public land and terrain overlays to identify specific drainages, ridgelines, and glassing points within the unit's boundaries before the season — this kind of on-the-ground spatial planning is where a hunter's own scouting effort pays off most in a unit this size.

How to Apply

Unit 591 is a limited-quota unit — there is no general season option here, and that applies to all deer hunts in the unit, including tags for antlered bucks. Every hunter, resident or nonresident, needs to go through Colorado's draw system to hunt this unit.

Colorado's deer draw uses a hybrid preference-point structure: roughly half of available tags go to the highest point holders, and the remaining tags are allocated through a weighted random draw where each applicant's number of entries equals their accumulated points plus one. Resident and nonresident applicants are pooled separately, so nonresident competition doesn't directly affect resident draw odds and vice versa. A high enough point level has, on many Colorado hunts, effectively guaranteed a tag — but whether that threshold applies to Unit 591 specifically requires checking current data rather than assuming.

Because Unit 591 is limited-quota only, hunters interested in this unit should plan their point strategy around this specific hunt rather than assuming a general-season fallback exists. Application dates, fees, and current draw odds change every cycle — for the most current numbers, hunters should check HuntPilot's Colorado page at /states/co or the specific Unit 591 page on HuntPilot for up-to-date draw statistics before applying.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the terrain like in Colorado Unit 591? Unit 591 sits at a relatively low elevation range for Colorado mule deer country, from 5,174 to 6,965 feet, with no wilderness designation. This typically translates to rolling, lower-elevation terrain rather than high alpine basins — think open country and foothill-style terrain suited to glassing and spot-and-stalk hunting. The entire unit is public land, giving hunters full access to explore and scout terrain features without private-land restrictions.

What is harvest success like in Unit 591? Harvest success has been consistently strong over the past six seasons, ranging from 45% to 61%. The most recent season on record, 2025, posted 583 harvested deer out of 962 hunters for a 61% success rate — the highest of the six-year stretch. Success rates below 50% occurred in only two of the six years (2022 and 2023), making this one of the more reliable limited-quota deer units in terms of hunters actually connecting.

How big are the mule deer in Unit 591? Trophy potential is moderate. The counties overlapping this unit have a moderate history of trophy-class entries, meaning notable bucks have come from the area but not with the frequency seen in Colorado's top trophy units. Hunters can reasonably expect a shot at a mature buck, with occasional standout deer coming from the surrounding region, but this isn't a unit defined by consistent record-book production.

Is Unit 591 worth applying for? For hunters prioritizing public land access and solid odds of harvesting a deer, yes — 100% public land and success rates regularly above 50% make this an attractive limited-quota option. Hunters solely chasing an elite trophy buck should weigh the moderate trophy history and the low 2024 buck:doe ratio (29:100, from a single survey year) before setting expectations too high, though that survey figure should be treated cautiously given the limited sample.

What is the buck to doe ratio in Unit 591? The only available survey year, 2024, reported a buck:doe ratio of 29:100. This is a low ratio and comes from a single survey year, so it should not be treated as a firm long-term indicator of herd health. There isn't multi-year data available yet to confirm whether this reflects a consistent trend or a one-time sampling result.