Colorado Muzzleloader Pronghorn in Units 1,2,and 201

[AKHawken]

I may cash in my points for Pronghorn in Colorado this year. I was thinking of putting in for units 1, 2, and 201. Has anyone out there had experience hunting these units for Pronghorn?

 

[Sheltowee]

Jim, I want to say the NW units got nuked pretty badly by a blizzard a couple years ago. Lost quite a bit of the deer and pronghorn herds. You might want to call CPW and see what info they can offer.

More details: https://cpw.state.co.us/news/021620...inter,will be closed for the 2024-2025 season.

 

[TheGreek]

So NW CO got crushed with brutally harsh winter weather the winter of 22/23. Driving around the county roads in Unit 3 in the spring of ‘23, I saw scores of dead pronghorn stacked up on the remote county roads.

The two winters since, 23/24 and 24/25, were very average and this winter, 25/26, has been very mild thus far.

I was in unit 1 this fall for a few days chasing cow elk but no clue how the antelope hunting is out there.

Overall, the winter of 22/23 was brutal, but if this mild winter holds, this fall will be three average winters post that.

The big issue right now is the lack of moisture so far this winter and what that might mean for drought come this summer/fall.

Mild winter eases big game stressors, could set stage for summer challenges

Big game herds in Northwest Colorado are rebounding from the punishing winter of 2022-23, a season that forced wildlife managers to shift from managing abundant populations to supporting their recovery. Every winter since that year,...

www.craigdailypress.com

 

[Pagosa]

I worked in 2, 3, and 301 last summer from Dinosaur to Baggs. I really didn't see any really big pronghorn. The biggest I seen were really near Craig in the irrigated meadows. I did observe a good number of pronghorn, but not like previously as others mentioned with the winter kill in 2023.

 

[AKHawken]

Jim, I want to say the NW units got nuked pretty badly by a blizzard a couple years ago. Lost quite a bit of the deer and pronghorn herds. You might want to call CPW and see what info they can offer.

More details: https://cpw.state.co.us/news/02162024/cpw-urges-hunters-pay-attention-big-game-license-changes-severe-winter-zone-when#:~:text=PRONGHORN: The severity of the 2022-23 winter,will be closed for the 2024-2025 season.

I called Colorado Wildlife and Parks in Meeker. They sent me to https://cpw.state.co.us/hunting/big-game/pronghorn/statistics#4257225834-2321689823 From there you can look at the population estimates, which are on the rise...

 

[TheGreek]

I called Colorado Wildlife and Parks in Meeker. They sent me to https://cpw.state.co.us/hunting/big-game/pronghorn/statistics#4257225834-2321689823 From there you can look at the population estimates, which are on the rise...

DAU 9- Great Divide- went from appx 18k post hunt population in 2022 to 6300 post hunt population in 2023. Wowza!

From those figures, doesn’t look like the population in 1/2/201 took nearly the hit as the units just to the east of it did. Interesting stuff.

 

[The_Coloradoboy]

I probably wouldn’t touch the NW corner of Colorado or Southwest Wyoming right now as far as antelope. Things are still in pretty rough shape as far as numbers go. I would personally be looking at options in the southern part of the state as far antelope right now.