Colorado Deer · GMU 18
Colorado GMU 18 covers 413,238 acres and lies 41 miles west of Boulder. 88% of it is public land, mostly national forest (53%) and national park (23%). In 2024, 609 people hunted deer here and took 110, a 18% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, DM018O3R, put up 800 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 346 nonresident first-choice applicants, 175 of whom drew.
17 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
53% Forest Service
413,238 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2024. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
- Success
- 18%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 510 / 59
- If Drawn
- $636.03
- Success
- 18%
- Season
- Sep 12–20
- Tags / Apps
- 420 / 72
- If Drawn
- $636.03
- Success
- 18%
- Season
- Oct 24 – Nov 1
- Tags / Apps
- 955 / 210
- If Drawn
- $636.03
- Success
- 18%
- Season
- Nov 7–15
- Tags / Apps
- 800 / 346
- If Drawn
- $636.03
Every License in GMU 18
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE018O1A Standard | Deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 18 | 72% | 0 | |
| DE018O1A Youth | Deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 18 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| DE018P2R Standard · private | Deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 | 91% | 0 | |
| DE018P3R Standard · private | Deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 | 0% | 0 | |
| DE018P3R Youth · private | Deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| DF018O1M Standard | Deer female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 | not open | — | |
| DF018O2R Standard | Deer female rifle season 2 GMU 18 | 0% (small sample) | 2 ▲2 | |
| DF018O2R Youth | Deer female rifle season 2 GMU 18 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| DF018O3R Standard | Deer female rifle season 3 GMU 18 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| DM018O1M Standard | Deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 | 100% | — | |
| DM018O1M Youth | Deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| DM018O2R Standard | Deer male rifle season 2 GMU 18 | 99% | — | |
| DM018O2R Youth | Deer male rifle season 2 GMU 18 | 100% | — | |
| DM018O3R Standard | Deer male rifle season 3 GMU 18 | 33% | 0 | |
| DM018O3R Youth | Deer male rifle season 3 GMU 18 | 13% (small sample) | 0 | |
| DM018O4R Standard | Deer male rifle season 4 GMU 18 | 0% | 2 | |
| DM018O4R Youth | Deer male rifle season 4 GMU 18 | 0% (small sample) | 0 |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: CPW 2026 Primary DEER Post Draw Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Standard $636.03 ($129.11 to apply) · Youth $636.03 ($129.11 to apply). Open Mar 1 – Apr 6, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 609 | 110 | 18% |
| 2023 | 1,470 | 344 | 23% |
| 2022 | 2,648 | 383 | 14% |
| 2021 | 2,696 | 597 | 22% |
2024 split: rifle 101 (92%) from 489 hunters, 21%, archery 9 (8%) from 61 hunters, 15%, muzzleloader 0 (0%) from 59 hunters, 0%
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. 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. Source: CPW 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest; CPW 2023 Statewide Deer Hunting Harvest…; CPW 2022 Statewide Deer Harvest.
The Ground
| National Forest | 217,554 ac | 53% |
| National Park Service | 96,548 ac | 23% |
| Private | 50,167 ac | 12% |
| BLM | 44,440 ac | 11% |
| State land | 4,517 ac | 1% |
| Other public | 10 ac | <1% |
Source: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 10
- CPW 2026 Primary DEER Post Draw Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 2 CCR 406-0 Chapter W-0 General… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 Big Game Hunting brochure fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 web page fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2023 Statewide Deer Hunting Harvest… harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2022 Statewide Deer Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2021 Statewide Deer Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 GMU Boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Colorado Parks and Wildlife's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
Report an error on this page
We don't take applications: check Colorado Parks and Wildlife's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Colorado Parks and Wildlife's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Colorado deer hunts