Colorado GMU 851 deer hunting: 2024 harvest and hunter numbers
Unit 851 covers about 438 square miles in Costilla and Las Animas counties.
In 2024, an estimated 95 deer hunters hunted Game Management Unit 851 across all seasons and took 48 deer, a success rate of 51%. The statewide rate that year was 43%.
That is 61 fewer hunters than 2023, when success was 51%.
2nd rifle was the busiest rifle season, with 27 hunters, about 6 for every 100 square miles of the unit.
Fewer than 100 hunters reported for this unit, so these estimates swing a lot from year to year. Read them as rough.
2024 deer harvest in unit 851, by season
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Bucks / Does / Fawns | Success 2024 | Success 2023 | Hunters per 100 sq mi | Days per hunter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd rifle | 27 | 12 | 12 / 0 / 0 | 44% | 57% | 6 | 4.7 |
| 3rd rifle | 12 | 8 | 8 / 0 / 0 | 67% | 64% | 3 | 2.8 |
| All rifle seasons | 72 | 41 | 39 / 2 / 0 | 57% | 53% | 16 | 4.2 |
| Archery | 12 | 5 | 5 / 0 / 0 | 42% | 39% | 3 | 5.5 |
| Muzzleloader | 11 | 1 | 1 / 0 / 0 | 9% | 60% | 3 | 4.3 |
| All seasons and methods | 95 | 48 | 45 / 2 / 0 | 51% | 51% | 22 | 4.4 |
Hunters per 100 square miles uses the whole unit, private land included, so real crowding on public ground is higher. Season rows include limited and over-the-counter licenses together.
2026 rifle season dates
- 2nd rifle: Oct 24-Nov 1
- 3rd rifle: Nov 7-15
- 4th rifle: Nov 18-22
Dates are from the 2026 Colorado Big Game brochure. Whether a license for unit 851 is over-the-counter or limited depends on the hunt code: check the brochure before you buy.
Hunting unit 851 this fall?
Numbers tell you how busy a unit is. They do not tell you where to park, camp and sit. FilledTag builds one exact plan for your tag, with every pin checked against public land and road rules. It is free for 25 testers this season.
Get a free plan for unit 851Nearby units
Unit 85 Unit 140 Unit 134 Unit 83 Unit 141 Unit 133 Unit 851 elk All deer units
Where these numbers come from
Colorado Parks and Wildlife surveys license holders after each season and publishes estimates of hunters, harvest and days hunted for every unit. This page uses the 2024 Colorado Deer Harvest Estimates and the 2023 report in the same series. They are estimates from a survey, not counts, and they cover the whole unit.