Unit 115, Colorado

Flat to gently rolling hills with minimal topographic relief; elevation ranges from 4,288 to 5,029 feet above sea level. The landscape is framed by the South Fork of the Republican River drainage in the north and Wild Horse Creek in the south — not the Big Sandy Creek drainage, which lies in adjacent units to the south and west. Weather is mild and dry; the first hard freeze or snow can occur anywhere from early October to mid-November.

GMU 115 is 100% private land per CPW's official unit description. No State Wildlife Areas, National Forest, or BLM tracts exist within the unit boundaries; third-party GIS sources (GoHunt, HuntScore) show approximately 5% state or public parcels detectable on modern layers. The unit is framed by Interstate 70 (north), Colorado Highway 59 (east), U.S. Highway 40 (south), and the Flagler-Wildhorse Road system — a network of county roads including CRs 5, G, A, 9 — on the west. Access for pronghorn hunting is rated good by CPW because many landowners grant permission for antelope, but access for deer is rated only fair due to tighter landowner restrictions. CPW explicitly advises obtaining landowner permission well before the season opener. No designated trailheads, wilderness, or seasonal road closures apply. Hugo has a hospital, gas, and food; Arriba and Stratton have lodging, gas, and food; Limon and Flagler have full services including lodging.

Predominantly shortgrass prairie (blue grama, buffalo grass) with dispersed dryland agricultural crops (wheat, corn, sunflowers). Sagebrush, Russian thistle, and Russian olive provide contrast to the flat landscape and additional browse cover. Brushy and weedy areas adjacent to fallow fields and cropland edges provide the principal deer cover. The South Fork of the Republican River and Wild Horse Creek, along with Flagler Reservoir and scattered stock ponds, form the riparian and wetland component. Southern portions of the unit support marginal scaled quail habitat in sand sage areas.

Pronghorn are the dominant big game species and are found throughout the unit year-round; their rut runs from early September through mid-October. Mule deer and white-tailed deer both occur in brushy and weedy areas near cropland and fallow fields; the whitetail rut can start as late as early November running through December. OTC plains elk licenses are valid in GMU 115 (Sep 1–Jan 31), but actual elk use of this unit is extremely low — CPW harvest reports from 2022 recorded only 2 hunters afield with zero harvest. Wild turkey, scaled quail (southern portions), cottontail and jackrabbits, teal and waterfowl (early season near stock ponds and Flagler Reservoir), and mourning dove near riparian cottonwood and sunflower areas round out the small-game offering. Mountain lion and black bear licenses can technically be purchased for this unit under plains OTC rules, but confirmed resident populations are negligible on flat shortgrass prairie.

1. Watershed correction: the draft incorrectly cited the Big Sandy Creek watershed as the defining drainage for GMU 115. The correct drainages per GoHunt and geographic sources are the South Fork of the Republican River (north) and Wild Horse Creek (south); Big Sandy Creek flows through Elbert, Lincoln, Cheyenne, and Kiowa counties and does not run through this unit. 2. Season dates updated to 2026 brochure: pronghorn rifle Oct 3-11 (was Oct 5-13); deer archery Sep 2-30 (was Oct 1-25/Nov 6-Dec 31 which are mountain deer dates); deer muzzleloader Sep 13-21 (was Oct 12-20); deer plains rifle Oct 24-Nov 3 (was Oct 26-Nov 5). 3. Pronghorn harvest data (rifle: 53 total, 87 hunters, 61% success) is from the 2017 season (CPW SE CO Hunting Guide). 4. Deer harvest data (32 total, 69 hunters, 47% success) is from the 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest Estimates (most current). 5. Elk harvest data from 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest Estimates. 6. HuntScore shows 2022 combined all-species harvest of 95 total from 267 hunters (25% overall). 7. Public land is approximately 5% per GoHunt (5.4%); CPW official guide says 100% private — hunters should treat the unit as essentially private. 8. The Big Sandy DAU grouping in the draft appears to conflate the CPW pronghorn herd unit name with the Big Sandy Creek watershed; the pronghorn DAU is named 'Big Sandy' covering GMUs 107/112-115/120-121 but this refers to the herd management area name, not the watershed.