In the Field
Hunting Pronghorn
In the Field
Pronghorn evolved with keen eyesight and the ability to outrun predators. The vision of a pronghorn is comparable to a human looking through 8X binoculars. Pronghorns’ ability to quickly burst into a sprint of over 50 miles per hour helps them to stay out of range of even expert marksmen.
Safety First
Hunter Orange and Pink
HUNTERS MUST WEAR FLUORESCENT ORANGE OR PINK DURING CERTAIN HUNTING SEASONS.
The law requires hunters to wear at least 500 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink material on an outer garment above the waist while hunting deer, elk, pronghorn, moose or bear with any firearm license. A fluorescent orange or pink hat or head covering, visible from all directions, is also required. Camouflage orange or pink does not qualify. Mesh garments are legal but not recommended. This includes all muzzleloader hunters. It also includes archery hunters who hunt during rifle seasons.
Archers hunting during the limited Sept. rifle bear season, archers with an archery bear, deer, elk, pronghorn or moose license, and archers licensed for private land hunting through the Ranching for Wildlife program do not have to wear fluorescent orange or pink, but should consider wearing it to increase safety while in the field.
Auction- and raffle-license holders do not have to wear orange or pink when hunting with archery equipment when no rifle seasons are open. If using a ground blind or pop-up blind, hunters should display orange or pink that is visible from all directions on the outside of the blind.
CPW RECOMMENDS WEARING FLUORESCENT ORANGE OR PINK CLOTHES IN THE FIELD, EVEN IF NOT HUNTING.
Archery deer, elk, moose and bear hunters are encouraged to wear hunter orange or pink during the overlapping archery and muzzleloader seasons to help address safety concerns. Wearing orange or pink is for hunter safety, as big-game animals don’t see these colors like we do: Movement, sound and smell are what give hunters away.
Know Before You Go
Road Closures
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are in charge of road closures. Roads are closed seasonally for many reasons. Some roads are closed to protect wildlife at critical times of the year; others are closed because they are not passable due to snow, snow drifts and ice or to protect the road bed. Please be aware that road closure information is subject to change daily.
Find out moreFire Restrictions and Prescribed Burns
Colorado has several active wildfires and fire restrictions/bans are in place across most of the state. Some planned, or prescribed, burns occur during hunting seasons, which can lead to road closures. Closures of areas can change quickly (even daily or hourly) and your hunting destination or access route may be affected. Prior to license purchase, scouting or hunting, learn about closures and plan alternative routes and areas to hunt.
Find out moreFirewood
If you’ll be camping during your hunting trip, please help protect our forests by buying your firewood in Colorado. Firewood can spread harmful insect pests and diseases such as emerald ash borer, sirex wood wasp, gypsy moth, Asian longhorned beetle and oak wilt disease. If you have firewood from another state, please burn it immediately. For more information, visit our Invasive Species pages or contact the Colorado Department of Agriculture at (303) 239-4140.
Find out moreAltitude Sickness
Learn about Altitude sickness: What it is, the symptoms, how to lessen your chances of being affected, and treatments. Altitude sickness can affect you even if you aren't venturing into Colorado's high country.
Find out moreInformation to Leave for Friends and Family
Each member of the hunting party should provide the requested information to their family or friends. Instruct family members and/or friends on the procedure to follow should it be necessary to contact you in an emergency.
Find out moreRegister Your Off Highway Vehicle
All off-highway vehicles operated in Colorado on public lands or traveling on an OHV-designated route must have a valid Colorado OHV registration or permit. Vehicle use is limited to transporting hunters and downed game.
Find out moreHow to Skin and Field Dress a Pronghorn
How To
Field Dress a Pronghorn
Interested in learning how to gut and field dress big game? We'll take you through step by step, but be sure to check the rules and regulations in the state you will be hunting in, to ensure your harvest remains legal and ethical throughout the process.
virtual scouting tool
The Colorado Hunting Atlas
The Colorado Hunting Atlas allows users to view big game concentrations and game management units on top of street maps, USGS topographic maps or high resolution color aerial photography. The Hunter Resource Report allows hunters to create a list of important emergency and contact information, field office locations, campgrounds, CPW sales agents and more.
Harvesting a Pronghorn
Ear Tags and Radio Collars
If you shoot an animal with a collar or ear tag, report the number, color, harvest location and date to CPW, and return the radio collars.
Carcass Tags
Be sure to sign and detach your carcass tag from your hunting license directly after you harvest your animal, and make sure you attach it properly. The carcass tag should be attached to the carcass (not to detached hides, horns or antlers carried separately) immediately prior to and during transportation in any vehicle, or while in camp or at a residence or other place of storage. Tags must stay on until meat is processed and remain with meat until consumed. It is illegal to sign the tag before harvesting an animal.
Do not remove any parts of a license except the carcass tag only after harvest. Doing so voids the license and you must buy a duplicate. The upper part of the license must be kept by whoever harvested the animal.
If you lose, accidentally destroy or detach the tag, you must buy a duplicate from a Colorado Parks and Wildlife office before hunting and prove the loss, detachment or destruction was accidental. If you have a nonresident big game/fishing combo license, the fishing license is valid after the carcass tag is detached, as long as the rest of the license is intact.
Evidence of Sex
- It is illegal to have or transport a big-game carcass without evidence of sex naturally attached. It is illegal to have only detached evidence of sex accompany the carcass. If you submit a deer or elk head for CWD testing, leave evidence of sex on the carcass.
- EVIDENCE OF SEX IS:
Buck: Head with antlers or horns attached to carcass; or testicle, scrotum or penis attached to carcass.
Doe: Head, udder (mammary) or vulva attached to carcass. C. BLACK BEAR: Male: testicles or penis. Female: vulva. - Heads detached from carcass are not adequate evidence of sex.
- If a carcass is cut in pieces or deboned, evidence of sex needs to be attached to a quarter or another major part of the carcass. All portions must be transported together.
- Evidence of sex is not required if a donation certificate accompanies less than 20 pounds of meat or after the carcass is cut into processed meat, wrapped and frozen, or stored at the licensee’s home.
TIP: If you shoot a young buck or bull with antlers less than 5 inches long, it can be considered “antlerless.” But what do you do about evidence of sex?
- Leave the head and antlers naturally attached to a portion of the carcass to prove it meets the requirement.
- Leave the testicles attached to a portion of the carcass, and then you can detach the head or skull plate and carry it out with the antlers intact.
Tips for Safely Handling Game Meat
Most of the time, properly handled and prepared game meat poses no greater risk than domestic meat of causing or carrying disease that could make humans sick. Hunters are encouraged to contact their local public health department or CPW office for information on wildlife diseases where they plan to hunt.
Public health officials recommend the following precautions when handling and preparing game meat:
- Do not handle animals that are obviously sick or found dead. Report sick or dead animals you find to a CPW office near you.
- Keep game cool, clean and dry.
- Do not eat, drink or smoke while dressing game.
- Use disposable gloves when cleaning game.
- Wash your hands with soap and water or use alcohol wipes after dressing game.
- Clean all tools and surfaces immediately after use. Use hot soapy water, then disinfect with a 10 percent chlorine bleach solution.
- Cook game meat to an internal temperature of at least 165° F to kill disease organisms and parasites. Juices from adequately cooked game meat should be clear.
- Do not eat any raw portions of wild game.
- Do not feed raw wild game to domestic pets.
Know the Rules
Read the Colorado Big Game Hunting Brochure! The first 19 pages have all of your basic hunting information: new changes, license information, options and sales dates, general information, hunting laws, application information, and deadlines, and how to read the hunt code tables.
It is illegal in Colorado for anyone to prevent or interfere with an individual’s ability to participate in hunting and trapping.
This includes, but is not limited to, alarming, distracting, or frightening prey; causing prey to flee by using light or noise; chasing prey on foot or by vehicle; throwing objects; making movements; harassing hunters by using threats or actions; erecting barriers to deny access to hunting areas; and intentionally injecting yourself into the line of fire. Violators face criminal prosecution and may have to pay damages to the victim, as well as court costs.
If, while hunting, you feel you are being harassed, remain calm and composed, avoiding confrontation or arguing. You should seek assistance from law enforcement personnel. Contact the nearest Colorado Parks and Wildlife office, the Colorado State Patrol, or the local police or sheriff’s department. Report incidents immediately or as soon after their occurrence as is reasonable.
Penalties upon conviction for this misdemeanor include a fine between $500 and $1000, twenty license-suspension points, damages, and court costs.
The Top 10 Most Common Hunting Violations in Colorado
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Trespassing
Going onto private lands without getting permission first while hunting, fishing or performing any related activity is illegal. Private lands do not need to be posted or fenced, so it can be difficult to see boundaries. Violators may be suspended for up to 5 years for trespassing. This includes State Land Board properties not leased and signed to CPW, unless permission is given by the lessee. You must have permission from the landowner to enter private land to retrieve a harvested animal. First, you should try to contact the landowner on your own. If that effort fails, call the local CPW office.
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Failing to make a reasonable attempt to track and kill animals you wound or may have wounded.
Remember that it’s against the law to pursue wounded wildlife that goes on private property without first obtaining permission from the landowner or person in charge. You must still attempt to gain permission to enter and locate the animal.
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Failing to reasonably dress, care for, prepare and provide edible wildlife meat for human consumption.
At a minimum, the four quarters, tenderloins and backstraps are edible meat. Internal organs are not considered edible meat.
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Hunting without a proper license.
Anyone who hunts wildlife must have in their possession the appropriate and valid Colorado resident or nonresident license that includes their Customer Identification (CID) number, and must only harvest wildlife of the species and type indicated on the license.
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Mistakenly killing wildlife.
You must report big-game animals unintentionally killed, not due to carelessness or negligence to a CPW office (or a local Sheriff’s office after CPW regular hours) before continuing the hunt and as soon as practical. Before contacting CPW, field dress the animal. CPW evaluates the circumstances, including shots fired, species and number of animals present, firearms, ammunition, etc. Big game accidentally killed does not count toward annual bag limits.
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Not showing evidence of sex.
Be sure to leave evidence of sex naturally attached to the carcass. Evidence includes the head, the vulva or the scrotum.
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Carrying loaded firearms while in or on any motor vehicle.
Firearms must be unloaded in the chamber. Muzzleloading rifles are considered unloaded if the percussion cap or shotshell primer is removed, or if the powder is removed from the flashpan. It is illegal for anyone to have a loaded electronic ignition muzzleloader in or on a motor vehicle; the chamber must be unloaded or the battery must be disconnected and removed from its compartment. Most accidents involving firearms occur in or near vehicles.
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Carrying loaded firearms (except handguns) must be unloaded in the chamber and magazine.
Firearms (except handguns) and bows must be fully enclosed in a hard or soft case. Scabbards or cases with open ends or sides are prohibited. This does not apply to landowners or their agents who carry a firearm on an OHV to take depredating wildlife on property they own or lease.
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Improperly voiding and/or attaching a carcass tag.
You must sign and detach the carcass tag from your hunting license immediately following taking your animal. It is illegal to sign or tear the carcass tag before harvest. The tag must also be attached to the animal properly.
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Shooting from or across a public road with a firearm, bow or crossbow.
People firing a bow, rifle, handgun or shotgun with a single slug must be at least 50 feet from the centerline of the road.
If convicted of these violations, you may face a life-time hunting license suspension in Colorado.
- Killing and abandoning big game wildlife. It is illegal to remove only the hide, antlers or other trophy parts and leave the carcass in the field.
- Selling, purchasing, or offering to sell or purchase big game.
- Soliciting someone to illegally take big game for commercial gain or providing outfitting services without required registration.
You Can Help Stop Poaching
If you see a poaching incident, report it. Look at it this way: if you saw someone breaking into your neighbor's house, would you just stand by and watch? Of course not; you would report it. Poaching is a crime against you, your neighbor, and everyone else in the state of Colorado. Call 1-877-COLO-OGT toll-free or Verizon cell phone users can simply dial #OGT.