Colorado Deer — GMU 181
Colorado GMU 181 covers 116,458 acres and lies 28 miles south-east of Steamboat Springs and 52 miles north-east of Gypsum. 62% of it is public land, mostly BLM (32%) and national forest (17%). In 2024, 159 people hunted deer here and took 43 — 27% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 510 tags here for 0 first-choice applicants.
Tags (2026):1,904
Nonresident share:capped at 25%
Applicants:229
Hunter success (2024):27%
Public land:62%
Size:116,458 acres
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in GMU 181, 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-
DE018O1A deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] 51 tags · 59 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard72% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
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DE018O1A deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] 510 tags · 0 applicants · Youth100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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DE018P2R deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] 92 tags · 13 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard91% Likely draw 0% as 2nd choice
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DE018P3R deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] 50 tags · 8 applicants · needed 1 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DE018P3R deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] 50 tags · 1 applicants · needed 3 pts · Youth0% Undersubscribed
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DF018O1M deer female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] 0 tags · 1 applicants · Standard— Not open to nonresidents 0% as 2nd choice
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— Not open to nonresidents
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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— Cut level
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DM018O1M deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] 86 tags · 72 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 22% as 2nd choice
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DM018O1M deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] 420 tags · 2 applicants · Youth100% Undersubscribed 25% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 28% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 33% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 10% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 29% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE018O1A ↗ deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] Archery | 72% Real chance | 0% | 0 steady since 2023 | 51 / 59 | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| DE018O1A ↗ deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] Archery | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — steady since 2021 | 510 / 0 | Youth | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| DE018P2R ↗ deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] Rifle | 91% Likely draw | 0% | 0 steady since 2023 | 92 / 13 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DE018P3R ↗ deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 +1 since 2023 | 50 / 8 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DE018P3R ↗ deer either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] Rifle | 0% Undersubscribed | — | 3 +3 since 2023 | 50 / 1 undersubscribed | Youth | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DF018O1M ↗ deer female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] Muzzleloader | Not open to nonresidents | 0% | — | 0 / 1 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DF027O2R ↗ deer female rifle season 2 GMU 27 Rifle | Not open to nonresidents | — | — | 0 / 0 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DF027O2R ↗ deer female rifle season 2 GMU 27 Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 60 / 0 | Youth | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DF027O3R ↗ deer female rifle season 3 GMU 27 Rifle | — Cut level | — | — | 1 / 0 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DM018O1M ↗ deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] Muzzleloader | 100% Undersubscribed | 22% | — | 86 / 72 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DM018O1M ↗ deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 27, 28, 37, 181, 371] Muzzleloader | 100% Undersubscribed | 25% | — steady since 2021 | 420 / 2 undersubscribed | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DM027O2R ↗ deer male rifle season 2 GMU 27 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 28% | — | 30 / 24 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DM027O2R ↗ deer male rifle season 2 GMU 27 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 33% | — steady since 2021 | 250 / 1 undersubscribed | Youth | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DM027O3R ↗ deer male rifle season 3 GMU 27 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 10% | — | 37 / 32 undersubscribed | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DM027O3R ↗ deer male rifle season 3 GMU 27 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 29% | — | 225 / 1 undersubscribed | Youth | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DM027O4R ↗ deer male rifle season 4 GMU 27 [27, 181] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 steady since 2021 | 7 / 15 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| DM027O4R ↗ deer male rifle season 4 GMU 27 [27, 181] Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — +1 since 2022 | 35 / 0 | Youth | Nov 18–22, 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.
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.
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 | 159 | 43 | 27% |
| 2023 | 432 | 37 | 9% |
| 2022 | 838 | 174 | 21% |
| 2021 | 940 | 226 | 24% |
What people carried (2024 harvest)
- Rifle 43 · 100% · 133 hunters, 32% success
- Archery 0 · 0% · 10 hunters, 0% success
- Muzzleloader 0 · 0% · 16 hunters, 0% success
Boundary: CPW GMU Boundary (Big Game)
Harvest: 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Statewide Deer Hunting Harvest Estimates
Harvest: 2022 Statewide Deer Harvest