Colorado Deer — GMU 161
Colorado GMU 161 covers 261,039 acres and lies 32 miles north-east of Steamboat Springs and 59 miles north-east of Craig. 73% of it is public land, mostly national forest (40%) and BLM (25%). In 2024, 249 people hunted deer here and took 70 — 28% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 165 tags here for 4 first-choice applicants.
Tags (2026):437
Nonresident share:capped at 25%
Applicants:355
Hunter success (2024):28%
Public land:73%
Size:261,039 acres
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in GMU 161, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
DE006O1A deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] 28 tags · 79 applicants · needed 1 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DE006O1A deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] 165 tags · 4 applicants · needed 0 pts · Youth75% Likely draw 0% as 2nd choice
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DF006E1R deer female rifle early season GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] 0 tags · 0 applicants · Standard— Not open to nonresidents
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DF006O1M deer female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] 1 tags · 2 applicants · needed 3 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DF006P5R deer female rifle private-land-only GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] 12 tags · 0 applicants · Standard100% No first-choice applicants
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DM006O1M deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] 26 tags · 50 applicants · needed 1 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DM006O1M deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] 3 tags · 3 applicants · needed 2 pts · Youth0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DM006O4R deer male rifle season 4 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] 4 tags · 38 applicants · needed 17 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder
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100% No first-choice applicants
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DM014E1R deer male rifle early season GMU 14 [Those portions of GMUs 14, 16, and 161 within the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area] 12 tags · 57 applicants · needed 5 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DM014E1R deer male rifle early season GMU 14 [Those portions of GMUs 14, 16, and 161 within the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area] 1 tags · 1 applicants · Youth0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DM161E1R deer male rifle early season GMU 161 [161] 11 tags · 37 applicants · needed 4 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE006O1A ↗ deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] Archery | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 steady since 2025 | 28 / 79 | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| DE006O1A ↗ deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] Archery | 75% Likely draw | 0% | 0 | 165 / 4 | Youth | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| DF006E1R ↗ deer female rifle early season GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] Rifle | Not open to nonresidents | — | — | 0 / 0 | Standard | Oct 1–7, 2026 |
| DF006O1M ↗ deer female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | 0% | 3 | 1 / 2 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DF006P5R ↗ deer female rifle private-land-only GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | — | — | 12 / 0 | Standard | Dec 1–31, 2026 |
| DM006O1M ↗ deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 steady since 2021 | 26 / 50 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DM006O1M ↗ deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | 0% | 2 steady since 2022 | 3 / 3 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DM006O4R ↗ deer male rifle season 4 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 17 +4 since 2021 | 4 / 38 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| DM006O4R ↗ deer male rifle season 4 GMU 6 [6, 16, 17, 161, 171] Rifle | 0% Point builder | — | — | 25 / 3 | Youth | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| DM006W1R ↗ deer male rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 6 Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | — | — | 1 / 0 | Standard | Nov 16–20, 2026 |
| DM014E1R ↗ deer male rifle early season GMU 14 [Those portions of GMUs 14, 16, and 161 within the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 5 +3 since 2021 | 12 / 57 | Standard | Sep 5–13, 2026 |
| DM014E1R ↗ deer male rifle early season GMU 14 [Those portions of GMUs 14, 16, and 161 within the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | — steady since 2022 | 1 / 1 | Youth | Sep 5–13, 2026 |
| DM161E1R ↗ deer male rifle early season GMU 161 [161] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 4 +1 since 2021 | 11 / 37 | Standard | Oct 1–7, 2026 |
| DM161E1R ↗ deer male rifle early season GMU 161 [161] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | — | 55 / 1 | Youth | Oct 1–7, 2026 |
| DM161O1R ↗ deer male rifle season 1 GMU 161 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 6 +3 since 2025 | 2 / 24 | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| DM161O1R ↗ deer male rifle season 1 GMU 161 Rifle | 0% Point builder | — | 5 | 15 / 3 | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| DM161O2R ↗ deer male rifle season 2 GMU 161 [161] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 3 +1 since 2021 | 13 / 25 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DM161O2R ↗ deer male rifle season 2 GMU 161 [161] Rifle | 0% Point builder | — | — | 55 / 2 | Youth | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DM161O3R ↗ deer male rifle season 3 GMU 161 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 5 −1 since 2021 | 7 / 25 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DM161O3R ↗ deer male rifle season 3 GMU 161 Rifle | 0% Point builder | — | — steady since 2023 | 1 / 1 | Youth | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- As 2nd choice —
- Colorado lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
1 hunt not offered in 2026 is hidden — show discontinued hunts.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $636.03 |
| Youth license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $636.03 |
Application window: opens Mar 1, closes Apr 7, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Other licenses valid in GMU 161
Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.
The country
Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
How the hunting has gone
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Colorado's figures come from CPW's post-season hunter survey. CPW's 2025 report dropped the per-GMU table in favour of hunt-code rows, so the newest year shown here is 2024.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 249 | 70 | 28% |
| 2023 | 253 | 87 | 34% |
| 2022 | 232 | 140 | 61% |
| 2021 | 203 | 118 | 58% |
What people carried (2024 harvest)
- Rifle 41 · 59% · 150 hunters, 27% success
- Archery 15 · 21% · 57 hunters, 26% success
- Muzzleloader 14 · 20% · 42 hunters, 33% success
Boundary: CPW GMU Boundary (Big Game)
Harvest: 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Statewide Deer Hunting Harvest Estimates
Harvest: 2022 Statewide Deer Harvest