GMU 741 GMU 741 — La Plata County Co.
A high-success mule deer unit choked with private and tribal land
Southwest Colorado — mesa and pinyon-juniper country south of Durango · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
484
sq mi
Public land
15%
approx.
Elevation
5,800–9,000
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
GMU 741 occupies the low mesa, canyon, and pinyon-juniper country south of Durango in La Plata County, bounded by US-160 on the north, the Animas River on the east, New Mexico on the south, and the Montezuma-La Plata county line on the west. It is a mule deer unit at heart, with strong hunter success on a healthy deer herd, and a smaller elk resource in the higher timber toward HD Mountain and the national-forest fringe. The catch is access: most of GMU 741 is private ranch land or falls inside the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, so the huntable public ground is limited and scattered. Land status, not game abundance, is the defining challenge here.
Terrain
Low-to-mid elevation mesa and canyon country — pinyon-juniper flats and oakbrush benches cut by drainages, rising to ponderosa and mixed timber on HD Mountain and the northern edge.
Cover: Pinyon-juniper and sagebrush on the mesas, Gambel oakbrush and serviceberry on the benches, ponderosa pine and mixed conifer on the higher north end, with cottonwood and riparian brush along the drainages.
Landmarks: HD Mountain · Animas River (east boundary) · Florida Mesa · pinyon-juniper mesas south of Durango · New Mexico state line
Access
Access is the hard part — most of GMU 741 is private ranch or Southern Ute Reservation land, with the southern third largely inside the reservation (tribal land, not open to general public hunting). The limited public is mainly San Juan NF and scattered BLM on the higher north end around HD Mountain. State Trust Land is generally closed unless enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program. A GPS boundary layer is mandatory, and hunters without private permission will be working small, pressured public blocks or leaning on landowner-tag programs.
Managers: private ranch, Southern Ute Indian Reservation (tribal, closed to public hunting), USFS San Juan National Forest (northern fringe, HD Mountain), BLM (scattered), Colorado State Trust Land (generally closed unless in CPW Public Access Program)
Access points: San Juan NF / HD Mountain access off the US-160 corridor · scattered BLM parcels (verify boundaries) · county roads south of Durango (mostly private frontage)
Species notes
Mule Deer
common qualityThe signature species and the driver of the harvest — a productive mule deer herd thriving in the mesa, oakbrush, and pinyon-juniper mosaic, with high hunter success reflecting good deer numbers and quality low-country habitat. Limited-draw. The main obstacle is finding huntable ground, since much of the best deer country is private or tribal.
- →Glass oakbrush and serviceberry benches and pinyon-juniper edges at first and last light
- →Bucks hold in oakbrush pockets and juniper draws through midday
- →Work the ponderosa-and-oakbrush transition on HD Mountain and the forest fringe
- →Nail down access first — landowner permission or public-block boundaries decide the hunt
Rocky Mountain Elk
limited opportunityA secondary resource — elk use the higher timber toward HD Mountain and the forest fringe, with lower harvest reflecting a smaller huntable population on limited public ground. Elk carry the San Juan Basin's over-the-counter component in some seasons, but access constrains opportunity more than elk numbers do.
- →Hunt timber pockets and oakbrush edges on the higher north end
- →Glass forest parks at dawn and dusk
- →During the rut, work timbered draws with calling on the public fringe
- →Concentrate effort on the accessible San Juan NF blocks
Black Bear
limited opportunityBlack bears use the oakbrush and berry country of the benches and higher slopes, concentrating on early-fall mast. An incidental opportunity given the limited public ground.
- →Hunt oakbrush and berry patches in early fall
- →Glass shrubby slopes at dawn and dusk
- →Usually taken opportunistically while deer hunting the forest fringe
Pro tips
- →Solve access before anything else — most of the unit is private ranch or Southern Ute Reservation land
- →Run a GPS boundary layer; public is only about 15% and scattered on the north end
- →The Southern Ute Reservation is tribal land and not open to general public hunting
- →HD Mountain and the San Juan NF fringe are the core public deer-and-elk ground
- →Consider landowner-tag or private-access options here, where deer quality is high but public land is thin
Watch out for
- !Only ~15% public — private ranch and Southern Ute Reservation land dominate the unit
- !Southern Ute Reservation is tribal land, closed to general public hunting
- !State Trust Land generally closed unless in CPW's Public Access Program
- !Small, pressured public blocks; verify BLM/forest boundaries carefully
- !Early-fall fire risk in the pinyon-juniper mesas
Logistics
Durango is the full-service hub for fuel, lodging, groceries, and processing, with Ignacio and Bayfield closer to the eastern side. Roads are a mix of paved highway and dirt county and forest roads that turn slick when wet; the lower mesas can stay warm and dry early in the fall. Because so much land is private or tribal, sorting out legal access well before the season is the single most important piece of planning.
Nearest towns: Durango, Bayfield, Ignacio
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Colorado sources:
Research sources: CPW GMU 741 boundary & unit description · Colorado Hunting Atlas (NDIS) · San Juan National Forest (USFS)
FAQ
- How big is GMU 741 in Colorado?
- GMU 741 (GMU 741 — La Plata County Co.) covers about 484 square miles, ranging from roughly 5,800 to 9,000 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in GMU 741?
- Approximately 15% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: private ranch, Southern Ute Indian Reservation (tribal, closed to public hunting), USFS San Juan National Forest (northern fringe, HD Mountain), BLM (scattered), Colorado State Trust Land (generally closed unless in CPW Public Access Program). Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for GMU 741?
- Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, Black Bear. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Colorado agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put GMU 741 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.