Unit S69 (Cochetopa)
Colorado Hunting Guide — Bighorn Sheep
Unit S69 lies in Gunnison and Saguache counties. CPW bounds it by Gunnison River and U.S. 50 among others. CPW's harvest estimates put bighorn sheep success here as high as 58%. Federal land covers about 33% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit S69
Unit S69 lies in Gunnison and Saguache counties. CPW bounds it by Gunnison River and U.S. 50 among others. CPW's harvest estimates put bighorn sheep success here as high as 58%. Federal land covers about 33% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Bighorn Sheep in Unit S69
What CPW publishes for unit S69 is a boundary, not a bighorn sheep map. Every place named below sits inside the unit line. Which of them holds animals in your season is for you to find out. The unit lies in Gunnison and Saguache counties.
The lines of the unit: Gunnison River, U.S. 50 and Gunnison CR 45
CPW has unit S69 bounded on the north by Gunnison River and U.S. 50; on the east by Gunnison CR 45 and Saguache CR 14-PP (Doyleville Cutoff Rd.), Razor Creek and USFS 803 (Gismo Creek and Meyer's Gulch Rd.), Colo. 114 and Continental Divide; on the south by Sagauche CRs NN-14 and KK-14; on the west by USFS 806 and South Beaver Creek. It tells you the shape of the unit and nothing about its inhabitants. What it does give you is the way in: the rivers and highways you cross, and the divides that decide which drainage you end up in.
High ground inside the line: Sawtooth Mountain, Agency Peak and Razor Creek Dome
Named high points inside the unit include Sawtooth Mountain at 12,138 feet, Agency Peak at 11,717 feet, Razor Creek Dome at 11,527 feet, Cochetopa Dome at 11,129 feet and Green Mountain at 10,928 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Sheep need rock to escape into and will not stand far from it.
Holding ground: Long Park, Big Basin and Soldiers Park
Below them sit Long Park at 9,846 feet, Big Basin at 9,807 feet, Soldiers Park at 9,787 feet, Lower Gulch at 9,754 feet and Little Basin at 9,731 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past on the way to somewhere steeper. Two you can watch from a single knob is worth more than five you have to drive between.
Public ground to start from: Dome Lakes SWA, Dutch Gulch SWA and Tomichi Creek SWA
CPW lists Dome Lakes SWA, Dutch Gulch SWA and Tomichi Creek SWA inside this unit as ground open to public hunting. Each property sets its own restrictions, and the agency's page for it is where they are written down. Federal land covers about 33% of the unit on top of those.
Water: Valdez Spring, Simmons Spring and Sage Hen Spring
Named sources include Valdez Spring, Simmons Spring, Sage Hen Spring, Prospector Spring and East Parlin Spring. Nothing in the data says which of them run in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
The herd this unit belongs to: RBS-27
CPW does not manage bighorn sheep unit by unit. It manages them as data analysis unit RBS-27, and unit S69 is one piece of it. CPW puts no other unit in RBS-27, so this unit carries the herd on its own. So the objective behind your tag was written for that whole area, and a neighbouring unit in the same herd is a fairer comparison than the statewide figure.
Unit S69 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Sawtooth Mountain (12,138 ft), Razor Creek Dome (11,527 ft), Cochetopa Dome (11,129 ft), Green Mountain (10,928 ft)
Holding ground: Mill Park (10,168 ft), North Pass (10,003 ft), Bead Park (10,001 ft), Dome Lakes SWA, Dutch Gulch SWA
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Bighorn Sheep in Unit S69
Bighorn Sheep Success Rates
CPW's 2023 harvest estimates put bighorn sheep success in unit S69 at 58% — 7 animals taken by 12 hunters. On a sample that small the percentage moves several points with one animal, so read the hunter count beside it.
These are the agency's own printed figures for this unit, not a modelled estimate and not a state average. They describe one season, so check CPW's current harvest estimates before you read a trend into them.
Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — 1st Season ewe only (resident) | 2 | 37 | 5.4% | 3 |
| Rifle — 1st Season ewe only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ewe only (resident) | 1 | 32 | 3.1% | 3 |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ewe only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 1st Season ram only (resident) | 2 | 318 | 0.6% | 3 |
| Rifle — 1st Season ram only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Archery — 1st Season ram only (resident) | 2 | 47 | 4.3% | 3 |
| Archery — 1st Season ram only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Archery — 2nd Season ram only (resident) | 1 | 42 | 2.4% | 3 |
| Archery — 2nd Season ram only (nonresident) | 1 | 315 | 0.3% | 3 |
Data from 2026 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.
Open in Draw Odds EngineCPW's 2026 draw recap for bighorn sheep in unit S69, by hunt code, with resident and nonresident kept apart because the two draw from different licence pools:
- SMS69O1R — Rifle, 1st Season, Ram Only, resident: 318 applicants for 2 licences, 0.6% drawn, 3 preference points needed
- SMS69O2A — Archery, 2nd Season, Ram Only, nonresident: 315 applicants for 1 licences, 0.3% drawn, 3 preference points needed
- SMS69O1A — Archery, 1st Season, Ram Only, resident: 47 applicants for 2 licences, 4.3% drawn, 3 preference points needed
- SMS69O2A — Archery, 2nd Season, Ram Only, resident: 42 applicants for 1 licences, 2.4% drawn, 3 preference points needed
Colorado runs a pure preference-point draw, so the point figure above is the requirement the agency published for that code in that year, not a forecast for the next one. There are 2 further code-and-residency combinations in the recap for this unit. Figures checked against CPW's own statistics pages on 2026-06-09.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Colorado unit S69?
What is the bighorn sheep success rate in unit S69?
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Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-23.
- Colorado Sheep & Goat Hunting Brochure — Game Management Unit (GMU) Descriptions (pp. 16-17) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: GMU boundary description, Counties the unit lies in, Data analysis unit (DAU) the unit belongs to · accessed 2026-10-22
- 2023 Colorado Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep Harvest Estimates — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: Percent success for bighorn sheep in unit S69, Hunters and harvest by weapon and season · accessed 2026-10-22
- CPW CPWAdminData feature service — GMU and sheep/goat unit boundaries — Colorado Parks and Wildlife GIS Unit · supports: Mapped extent of the unit, Which named ground falls inside the unit line · accessed 2026-10-22