Colorado Deer — GMU 500
Colorado GMU 500 covers 103,661 acres and lies 45 miles south-west of Golden. 70% of it is public land, mostly national forest (66%) and county or city land (3%). In 2024, 108 people hunted deer here and took 20 — 18% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 24 tags here for 114 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 4 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in GMU 500, 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-
DE050O1A deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] 18 tags · 40 applicants · needed 1 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DM050O1M deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] 11 tags · 25 applicants · needed 3 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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DM050O1M deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] 2 tags · 2 applicants · needed 4 pts · Youth0% Point builder
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DM050O2R deer male rifle season 2 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] 24 tags · 114 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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DM050O3R deer male rifle season 3 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] 21 tags · 119 applicants · needed 6 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE050O1A ↗ deer either-sex archery season 1 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] Archery | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 steady since 2021 | 18 / 40 | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| DM050O1M ↗ deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | 0% | 3 +2 since 2021 | 11 / 25 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DM050O1M ↗ deer male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | — | 4 −1 since 2021 | 2 / 2 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| DM050O2R ↗ deer male rifle season 2 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 4 +2 since 2021 | 24 / 114 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DM050O2R ↗ deer male rifle season 2 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | — +1 since 2021 | 4 / 12 | Youth | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| DM050O3R ↗ deer male rifle season 3 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 6 +4 since 2021 | 21 / 119 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| DM050O3R ↗ deer male rifle season 3 GMU 50 [50, 500, 501] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | — +2 since 2021 | 1 / 3 | 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.
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
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 | 108 | 20 | 18% |
| 2023 | 110 | 24 | 21% |
| 2022 | 90 | 7 | 7% |
| 2021 | 147 | 19 | 13% |
What people carried (2024 harvest)
- Rifle 13 · 65% · 49 hunters, 27% success
- Archery 5 · 25% · 35 hunters, 14% success
- Muzzleloader 2 · 10% · 24 hunters, 8% success
Boundary: CPW GMU Boundary (Big Game)
Harvest: 2024 Statewide Deer Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Statewide Deer Hunting Harvest Estimates
Harvest: 2022 Statewide Deer Harvest