Colorado Unit 681 Mule Deer Hunting Guide

Colorado Unit 681 is a limited-quota mule deer unit sitting high in the state's mountain country, with elevations ranging from 7,675 feet up to 13,246 feet and a total footprint of 284,294 acres. For hunters researching this unit, the first thing to understand is that there is no general season here — every mule deer hunt in Unit 681 is a limited-quota draw hunt, meaning access is controlled entirely through Colorado's application system rather than an over-the-counter tag.

With 92% public land, Unit 681 offers about as much access as a hunter could ask for in Colorado. That combination of high public land percentage, big elevation swings, and a fully limited-draw structure makes this a unit that rewards research and physical preparation, but it also comes with real trade-offs in trophy potential that hunters need to understand before spending points here.

This article breaks down what the harvest data, survey numbers, and trophy history actually show for Unit 681, and gives an honest answer on whether it's worth applying for.

HuntPilot Analysis: Is Unit 681 Worth Applying For?

The short answer: Unit 681 is a solid opportunity unit with dependable harvest success, but hunters chasing a truly exceptional buck should temper expectations based on the available data.

Harvest success in Unit 681 has been consistently strong over the last five years, ranging from 39% to 51% and landing at 49% in the most recent 2024 season. That's a meaningfully high success rate for a limited-quota mule deer unit in Colorado, and it suggests hunters who draw a tag here have a realistic shot at putting a buck on the ground. Compare that to the reality across most of the state, where many limited units run well below 40% — Unit 681 is performing above that baseline in four of the last five years.

The trophy picture is more nuanced. Counties overlapping Unit 681 carry a moderate history of trophy-class buck production — not a blank slate, but not an area with an exceptional or elite trophy pedigree either. As is true anywhere in Colorado, record-book entries are logged by county, not by unit, so this trophy history is shared with neighboring units that overlap the same counties. Hunters should read this as: bucks capable of reaching trophy-class have come from this broader area, but they are not common, and hunters banking a large number of points specifically for a wall-hanger buck here should go in with realistic expectations rather than "swing for the fences" assumptions.

The 2024 survey data reported a buck:doe ratio of 25:100, based on a single survey year. That ratio is on the lower end for mule deer herds and, taken at face value, suggests a buck segment that's been thinned by hunting pressure and/or winter mortality relative to the doe population. Because this is drawn from only one survey year, it should be treated as a single data point rather than a definitive trend — but it does align with the qualitative theme found in hunter discussions of this unit and nearby areas: the country still produces deer, but the truly big, mature bucks are increasingly hard to come by, and hunters should not walk in expecting an easy trophy.

Given all this, Unit 681 is best framed as a unit worth applying for if a hunter's primary goal is a solid, high-percentage opportunity to fill a tag in genuinely big, rugged country with outstanding public access. It is a much tougher recommendation for a hunter who wants to cash in a large point balance purely in pursuit of an exceptional or elite-class buck — the data doesn't support that being a likely outcome, even though it's not impossible.

Harvest Success Rates

Unit 681's harvest numbers over the past five seasons show a unit that consistently produces for hunters who draw a tag:

• 2024: 808 hunters, 392 harvested, 49% success
• 2023: 807 hunters, 346 harvested, 43% success
• 2022: 704 hunters, 356 harvested, 51% success
• 2021: 738 hunters, 290 harvested, 39% success
• 2020: 696 hunters, 348 harvested, 50% success

Four of the last five years have cleared 43% success, with 2022 topping out at 51%. The one outlier, 2021 at 39%, still isn't a disastrous number, but it does show some year-to-year variability that's worth factoring into expectations — weather, snowpack, and migration timing can all shift outcomes from one season to the next even in a unit with generally good structure.

Hunter numbers have also crept up slightly, from 696 in 2020 to 808 in 2024, while harvest totals have grown proportionally, which suggests the unit's herd and habitat are absorbing modestly increased pressure without a collapse in success rate. For a limited-quota unit, this is a healthy pattern: success rates aren't sliding as more tags get filled, and hunters are consistently topping 40%.

Trophy Quality

Trophy potential in Unit 681 is best described as moderate. The counties overlapping this unit have a track record of producing trophy-class bucks, but that history is not exceptional or elite by Colorado standards, and it's shared across all the neighboring units that fall within those same counties. This is an important distinction: a trophy buck credited to this broader county area could just as easily have come from an adjacent unit, so hunters shouldn't assume Unit 681 itself is a unique trophy factory.

What this means practically: hunters who draw here have a real chance at a mature, respectable buck, and the terrain and elevation range (topping out above 13,000 feet) support the kind of high-country escape cover that can hide older-age-class deer through the season. But hunters specifically targeting an exceptional or record-caliber buck should recognize that the data doesn't support Unit 681 as a top-tier trophy destination compared to Colorado's most elite units. The low buck:doe ratio reported in the 2024 survey reinforces this — a thinner buck segment generally means fewer bucks surviving into the older age classes that produce the biggest antlers.

Hunters willing to put in serious effort — getting away from easy access points, working the high basins, and hunting hard through a full season — improve their odds of connecting with an above-average buck. But this should be approached as a quality opportunity hunt with upside, not a guaranteed trophy unit.

Herd Health & Population Trends

The only survey data available for Unit 681 is from 2024, showing a buck:doe ratio of 25:100 across a single survey year. This ratio is on the low side for a healthy mule deer herd, where ratios in the 30-40:100 range are often considered more indicative of a buck segment that isn't being over-harvested.

Because this is a single year of survey data, it's important not to overreact to one number — a single survey doesn't establish a trend, and factors like survey timing, sample area, and winter conditions in a given year can all influence the count. Still, taken alongside the moderate (not strong) trophy history and the consistent (but not eye-popping) harvest success rates, the 25:100 ratio fits a coherent picture: this is a unit that produces a fair number of deer and fills tags reliably, but doesn't appear to be carrying an unusually deep bench of mature bucks relative to the doe population. Hunters should watch for updated survey data in future years to see whether this ratio holds, improves, or declines further.

Access & Terrain

Unit 681 sits at elevations from 7,675 feet up to 13,246 feet, which is a massive vertical range for a single unit and points to genuinely rugged, high-alpine terrain intermixed with lower-elevation foothill and drainage country. With 92% public land across 284,294 total acres, this is one of the more DIY-friendly units a hunter will find in Colorado — the vast majority of the ground is open to public access, meaning hunters aren't fighting for scraps of land squeezed between private ranches.

There is no wilderness designation reported for this unit, so hunters don't need to plan around wilderness-specific travel restrictions (no motorized access, stock-only rules, etc.) that apply in some other high-country Colorado units.

That said, elevation alone tells a story here. Terrain pushing above 13,000 feet means hunters need to be prepared for genuinely difficult physical conditions — thin air, steep grades, and the kind of country where deer can retreat into basins and cirques that are a serious effort to reach on foot. Hunters chasing bucks in the true high country late in the season should expect a physical unit that rewards fitness and willingness to get well off any easy access. Given the near-total public ownership, the limiting factor in this unit isn't land access — it's terrain difficulty and hunting pressure concentrated near easier entry points. Hunters willing to push farther from convenient access will likely find better hunting than those working the fringes.

How to Apply

Because Unit 681 has no general season, the only way to hunt mule deer here is through Colorado's limited-quota draw system. Every hunt code in this unit — including tags for antlered bucks — is allocated through the draw, so there's no over-the-counter fallback option for hunters who don't draw.

Colorado's draw structure differs for residents and nonresidents, and preference points play a role in long-term draw strategy for both groups. Points accumulate for hunters who apply and don't draw, and in Colorado's system, a high enough point total can guarantee a tag on many hunts — this is a true preference system, not a weighted lottery, meaning point-holders with the most points draw before those with fewer, all else being equal.

Because draw odds, tag quotas, and point requirements shift from year to year based on quota changes and applicant demand, hunters should not rely on historical assumptions when deciding how many points to spend or which season to apply for. For current draw odds, application windows, and fees, visit HuntPilot's Colorado state page for the most up-to-date numbers before submitting an application.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the terrain like in Colorado Unit 681? Unit 681 spans an unusually wide elevation range, from 7,675 feet at its lowest points to 13,246 feet at its highest, indicating a mix of lower foothill and drainage terrain along with true high-alpine basins and peaks. With 92% public land, hunters have extensive access to explore this terrain without navigating private land boundaries, though the elevation extremes mean physical conditioning is a major factor in successfully hunting the higher-elevation portions of the unit.

What is harvest success in Unit 681? Harvest success has ranged from 39% to 51% over the past five years, with the most recent 2024 season posting 392 harvested deer out of 808 hunters for a 49% success rate. This is a consistently strong success rate for a limited-quota mule deer unit, with four of the last five years exceeding 43%.

How big are the mule deer in Unit 681? Trophy potential in Unit 681 is moderate. The counties overlapping this unit have some history of producing trophy-class bucks, but that history is shared with neighboring units in the same counties and isn't considered an exceptional or elite trophy pedigree. A 2024 survey buck:doe ratio of 25:100 suggests the buck segment skews toward fewer mature-age bucks relative to does, which aligns with the moderate trophy assessment. Hunters can find a quality, mature buck here, but shouldn't count on drawing this unit as a guaranteed path to an exceptional trophy.

Is Unit 681 worth applying for? For hunters prioritizing a solid opportunity to fill a tag in big, rugged, mostly public-land country, yes — the harvest success data supports that. For hunters specifically saving points for an exceptional or record-class buck, the trophy and survey data suggest tempering expectations; this unit performs better as a quality opportunity hunt than as a premier trophy destination.

Does Unit 681 have a general season for mule deer? No. Every mule deer hunt in Unit 681, including tags for antlered bucks, is allocated through Colorado's limited-quota draw system. There is no over-the-counter or general season option in this unit — hunters must apply and draw a tag to hunt here.