AmmoSight

Colorado Elk Draw Odds

In the 2026 draw Colorado offered 1,040 elk hunts to nonresidents, drawn by preference points. At 0 points a nonresident had at least an even chance in 365 hunts open to every hunter.

Applications Close
171 days
Apr 6

Open Mar 1 – Apr 6, 2027 (expected)

Cost to Apply
$129

Kept if you miss. Elk license $845 only if drawn

Tags
21,095

2026 draw · nonresidents capped at 25%

Nonresident Applicants
132,234

2026 draw, first choice

Point only: free nonresident · on the draw application · apply by Apr 6, 2027 (expected) → Buying Points in Colorado

How the Colorado Draw Works (30-Second Version)

Preference points.

Tags go to the applicants with the most preference points, one level at a time. If the last level that draws has more applicants than tags remaining, those applicants are chosen at random. Everyone below that level misses and earns a point. In the hunts that take the most points, 20% of the tags are drawn at random instead, among the applicants who already hold enough points to enter that pool.

Who can apply, fees and deadlines in Colorado

Best Bets at 0 Points

Odds × hunter success × public land, 10 tags or more. Private-land, ranch, landowner and youth hunts left out.

Bull or Either-Sex

EM104O1R

GMU 104 · Bull 1st rifle

100%
Success
53%
Public
7%
Season
Oct 14–18

EM070O1A

GMU 70 · Bull 1st archery

87%
Success
37%
Public
70%
Season
Sep 2–30

EE060O4R

GMU 60 · Either-sex 4th rifle

100%
Success
25%
Public
82%
Season
Nov 18–22

EM012O4R

GMU 12 · Bull 4th rifle

100%
Success
29%
Public
53%
Season
Nov 18–22

EM011O1R

GMU 11 · Bull 1st rifle

100%
Success
25%
Public
68%
Season
Oct 14–18

EE083O2R

GMU 83 · Either-sex 2nd rifle

100%
Success
41%
Public
2%
Season
Oct 24–Nov 1

Cow

EF040O4R

GMU 40 · Cow 4th rifle

100%
Success
60%
Public
62%
Season
Nov 18–22

EF061O4R

GMU 61 · Cow 4th rifle

90%
Success
56%
Public
85%
Season
Nov 18–22

EF076O4R

GMU 76 · Cow 4th rifle

100%
Success
46%
Public
94%
Season
Nov 18–22

EF010O4R

GMU 10 · Cow 4th rifle

78%
Success
58%
Public
78%
Season
Nov 18–22

EF001O1R

GMU 1 · Cow 1st rifle

100% (small sample)
Success
37%
Public
91%
Season
Oct 14–18

EF049S2R

GMU 49 · Cow rifle

100% (small sample)
Success
39%
Public
72%
Season
Oct 24–Nov 1

Every Hunt at 0 Points

1,040 hunt codes drawn in 2026 · 577 at 50% or better · first choice · nonresident adult

Last year's odds were off by about 3 percentage points for applicants near the points needed. How we check

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it
One Line per Hunt Odds at Every Point Level
EE001E1R GMU 1 · Either-sex early rifle 0% (small sample) 32▲4
EE001O1A GMU 1 · Either-sex 1st archery 0% (small sample) —
EF001L1R GMU 1 · Cow late rifle 0% (small sample) 1
EF001O1M GMU 1 · Cow 1st muzzleloader — —
EF001O1R GMU 1 · Cow 1st rifle 100% (small sample) 0
EF001O2R GMU 1 · Cow 2nd rifle 100% (small sample) —
EF001O3R GMU 1 · Cow 3rd rifle — —
EF001O4R GMU 1 · Cow 4th rifle 100% (small sample) —
EF001P5R Private land · GMU 1 · Cow rifle 100% —
EM001O1M GMU 1 · Bull 1st muzzleloader 0% (small sample) 26
EE002E1R GMU 2 · Either-sex early rifle 0% 33▲4
EE002O1A GMU 2 · Either-sex 1st archery 0% (small sample) 33▲5
EF002L1R GMU 2 +1 · Cow late rifle 0% (small sample) 6▲3
EF002O1M GMU 2 · Cow 1st muzzleloader 0% (small sample) 3▼6
EF002O1R GMU 2 · Cow 1st rifle 0% 2
EF002O2R GMU 2 · Cow 2nd rifle 0% 4▲2
EF002O3R GMU 2 · Cow 3rd rifle 0% 2
EF002O4R GMU 2 · Cow 4th rifle 0% 2▲2
EM002O1M GMU 2 · Bull 1st muzzleloader 0% (small sample) 34▲5
EE003O1M GMU 3 +1 · Either-sex 1st muzzleloader 0% 4
EE003O1R GMU 3 +4 · Either-sex 1st rifle 0% 3▲2
EE003O4R GMU 3 +1 · Either-sex 4th rifle 100% —
EE003P1A Private land · GMU 3 +6 · Either-sex archery 100% —
EE003P1R Private land · GMU 3 +5 · Either-sex rifle 100% —
EE003V1A GMU 3 +1 · Either-sex archery 100% —

Showing 1–25 of 1,040 · sorted by GMU · 77 hunts not offered in 2026 hidden — show discontinued hunts

Show all 1,040 hunts
What These Columns Mean
Odds at your points
—
the share of first-choice applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year. A badge marked * had under five tags, so one applicant either way swings it.
Pts needed
—
the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw; the ▲ or ▼ is how far that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold. A 0 marks a hunt that went Undersubscribed: fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
Tags / apps
—
tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them.
Success
—
the share of hunters in the GMU who killed an animal, from the latest harvest report on file. It is the whole GMU's figure, not the hunt's.
Private land, RFW, ranch, youth
—
tags not every hunter can use: private-land-only hunts need landowner access, ranch hunts (Colorado's Ranching for Wildlife, Utah's CWMUs) come with access to one ranch, youth tags have an age limit. They are never best bets and never colour the map.
All 186 GMUs

Each GMU has its own page: where it is on the map, how much of it is public land, what the hunters who went there killed last season, and every license type you can apply for inside it.

1 37% success · 91% public 2 64% success · 91% public 3 16% success · 54% public 4 25% success · 48% public 5 36% success · 60% public 6 10% success · 68% public 7 9% success · 87% public 8 9% success · 77% public 9 39% success · 3% public 10 58% success · 78% public 11 25% success · 68% public 12 29% success · 53% public 13 41% success · 22% public 14 12% success · 86% public 15 11% success · 66% public 16 15% success · 52% public 17 16% success · 63% public 18 13% success · 88% public 19 10% success · 62% public 20 41% success · 49% public 21 16% success · 88% public 22 29% success · 73% public 23 23% success · 45% public 24 14% success · 93% public 25 13% success · 83% public 26 12% success · 49% public 27 7% success · 56% public 28 6% success · 67% public 29 28% success · 29% public 30 25% success · 75% public 31 28% success · 58% public 32 20% success · 38% public 33 14% success · 75% public 34 10% success · 92% public 35 17% success · 71% public 36 15% success · 82% public 37 10% success · 71% public 38 8% success · 30% public 39 31% success · 65% public 40 60% success · 62% public 41 20% success · 63% public 42 21% success · 55% public 43 18% success · 73% public 44 14% success · 79% public 45 15% success · 89% public 46 22% success · 76% public 47 14% success · 92% public 48 27% success · 89% public 49 39% success · 72% public 50 32% success · 44% public 51 30% success · 46% public 52 18% success · 48% public 53 16% success · 77% public 54 22% success · 78% public 55 14% success · 89% public 56 24% success · 69% public 57 34% success · 76% public 58 32% success · 50% public 59 19% success · 37% public 60 25% success · 82% public 61 56% success · 85% public 62 18% success · 70% public 63 20% success · 57% public 64 22% success · 45% public 65 25% success · 53% public 66 42% success · 80% public 67 33% success · 82% public 68 14% success · 87% public 69 26% success · 36% public 70 37% success · 70% public 71 18% success · 85% public 72 18% success · 29% public 73 16% success · 37% public 74 21% success · 86% public 75 23% success · 44% public 76 46% success · 94% public 77 21% success · 83% public 78 27% success · 62% public 79 16% success · 73% public 80 21% success · 59% public 81 24% success · 71% public 82 23% success · 64% public 83 41% success · 2% public 84 38% success · 29% public 85 21% success · 18% public 86 15% success · 56% public 87 27% success · 23% public 88 21% public 89 11% public 90 6% public 91 21% public 92 10% public 93 33% success · 11% public 94 0% success · 1% public 95 7% public 96 17% success · 7% public 97 14% public 98 0% success · 5% public 99 6% public 100 6% public 101 8% public 102 4% public 103 15% public 104 53% success · 7% public 105 41% success · 7% public 106 42% success · 9% public 107 0% success · 3% public 109 3% public 110 46% success · 4% public 111 11% success · 5% public 112 24% success · 13% public 113 7% public 114 31% success · 5% public 115 5% public 116 4% public 117 4% public 118 0% success · 32% public 119 22% public 120 11% public 121 50% success · 4% public 122 5% public 123 35% success · 56% public 124 6% public 125 14% success · 40% public 126 11% success · 15% public 127 8% success · 8% public 128 24% success · 13% public 129 25% success · 3% public 130 8% success · 16% public 131 23% success · 16% public 132 0% success · 5% public 133 25% success · 10% public 134 53% success · 6% public 135 14% success · 43% public 136 20% success · 14% public 137 45% success · 14% public 138 2% public 139 4% public 140 41% success · 15% public 141 53% success · 2% public 142 29% success · 100% public 143 47% success · 9% public 144 26% success · 36% public 145 61% success · 21% public 146 15% success · 6% public 147 26% success · 27% public 161 11% success · 71% public 171 8% success · 69% public 181 14% success · 62% public 191 4% success · 49% public 201 53% success · 91% public 211 25% success · 43% public 214 26% success · 23% public 231 14% success · 64% public 301 14% success · 15% public 361 13% success · 74% public 371 11% success · 86% public 391 37% success · 1% public 411 18% success · 62% public 421 19% success · 66% public 431 19% success · 73% public 441 37% success · 32% public 444 21% success · 66% public 461 20% success · 9% public 471 11% success · 90% public 481 36% success · 80% public 500 30% success · 70% public 501 33% success · 89% public 511 7% success · 62% public 512 100% public 521 19% success · 75% public 551 16% success · 87% public 561 16% success · 91% public 581 13% success · 42% public 591 14% success · 100% public 681 10% success · 88% public 682 63% success · 14% public 691 16% success · 49% public 711 21% success · 62% public 741 30% success · 10% public 751 20% success · 73% public 771 16% success · 21% public 791 35% success · 2% public 851 30% success · 13% public 861 22% success · 37% public 951 11% public
Report an error on this page

Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

About These Numbers

Every percentage here is the chance an applicant with that many points had in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results; quotas, applicant numbers and point levels change every year. A dash means the agency did not publish the number. Under five tags the percentage is flagged: one applicant either way swings it. Check the agency's site and apply there; we don't take applications. How we compute these.