Colorado Elk EF023W2R — GMU 23

elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 23

GMU 23 within Colorado

What you may take: elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 23
Weapon: Rifle
Where: GMU 23; 45% public of 271,005 acres
Season (2026): Nov 28 – Dec 2, 2026
Tags (2026): 6; for 0 first-choice applicants · nonresidents capped at 25%
Hunter success here (2024): 23%; of everyone who hunted the area

Showing nonresident results. Switch to resident

Odds by point level — 2026 draw

No first-choice applicants: 6 tags on offer in 2026 and nobody listed this hunt first. Anyone who had would have drawn.

Prior-draw probability for a first-choice nonresident applicant. 6 tags, 0 first-choice applicants. Source: 2026 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 448.

Points	Your chance	Applicants	Drawn
0–10	100% same chance at every one of these levels	—	—

Fewer applicants than tags. Colorado Parks and Wildlife publishes no per-level applicant counts for this hunt. How we compute these.

What it costs (2026 nonresident fees)

Cash to apply

$129.11

Out of pocket if unsuccessful

$129.11

Total if drawn

$974.27

Refunded if unsuccessful

At the 2026 odds, expected cost per hunt-year ranges from $974.27 (enough points to draw) .

Nonresident limited-license application-processing fee (per species, per draw) · paid at application $11.49 source

Nonresident annual small game license (cheapest qualifying license to enter the draws; base $102.11 + surcharges) · paid at application $104.86 or $194.21 source

Colorado Wildlife Habitat Stamp (ages 18-64, once per license year, added automatically) · paid at application $12.76 source

Preference point fee, deer/elk/pronghorn (none until the 2028 draw) · only for a point bought without applying — an unsuccessful applicant gets the point free $0 source

Nonresident elk license (bull, either-sex or cow; includes annual fishing combo; base $842.41 + surcharges) - charged only if drawn · paid if drawn, refundable $845.16 source

Optional, not counted above: Hunt-code exchange fee (same species, quota remaining, before season starts) $5 and License refund processing fee (most refunds) $15.

Not applying this year? A point-only purchase costs $0 (Mar 1 – Apr 7, expected) and adds a point for next year's draw.

Next application window: opens Mar 1, closes Apr 7, 2027 (expected) · results ~May 26. Last cycle's schedule rolled forward — confirm when the agency publishes.

Point creep & years to draw

Insufficient history (0 of 3 draws) — a creep trend needs at least three draw years with a published drew-out level.

Seasons (2026)

Split 1: Nov 28 – Dec 2, 2026 p. 448

How this tag has hunted

Across every license type in GMU 23, Colorado Parks and Wildlife counted 1,870 hunters and 423 elk taken in 2024 — 23% of them killed something. Full GMU 23 profile: maps, public land, five years of harvest →

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: 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates

Year by year

The standard draw for nonresidents, one row per year.

Year	Tags	Points needed	Source
2026	6	—	2026 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 448
2025	3	—	2025 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 380
2024	1	—	2024 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 344
2023	1	—	2023 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 350
2022	6	—	2022 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 348
2021	6	—	2021 Primary Elk Post Draw... · p. 358

Other licenses valid in GMU 23

EE011P1A — elk either-sex archery private-land-only GMU 11 [11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 25, 26, 33, 34 131, 211, 231] Archery EE011P1R — elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 11 [11, 12, 13, 23, 24 25, 26, 33, 34, 131 211, 231] Rifle EE012O1A — elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 12 [12, 23 north of the White River, and 24 north of the North Fork of the White River] Archery EE012O1M — elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 12 [12, 23 north of the White River, and 24 north of the North Fork of the White River] Muzzleloader EE012P1M — elk either-sex muzzleloader private-land-only GMU 12 [12, 13, 23, 24, 33] Muzzleloader EE023W1R — elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 23 Rifle EE033O1A — elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 33 [33, 23 south of the White River, and 24 south of the North Fork of the White River] Archery EE033O1M — elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 33 [33, 23 south of the White River, and 24 south of the North Fork of the White River] Muzzleloader EF011O1R — elk female rifle season 1 GMU 11 [11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 33, 131, 211, 231] Rifle EF011O4R — elk female rifle season 4 GMU 11 [11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 211] Rifle EF011P5R — elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 11 [11, 12, 13, 23, 24 211] Rifle EF012O1M — elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 12 [12, 23 north of the White River, and 24 north of the North Fork of the White River] Muzzleloader EF012O2R — elk female rifle season 2 GMU 12 [12, 13, 23, 24] Rifle EF012O3R — elk female rifle season 3 GMU 12 [12, 13, 23, 24] Rifle EF012P1M — elk female muzzleloader private-land-only GMU 12 [12, 13, 23, 24, 33] Muzzleloader EF023P5R — elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 23 [23, 24] Rifle EF023W1R — elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 23 Rifle EF023W3R — elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 23 Rifle EF033O1M — elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 33 [33, 23 south of the White River, and 24 south of the North Fork of the White River] Muzzleloader EM011O1R — elk male rifle season 1 GMU 11 [11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 25, 26, 33, 34, 131, 211 231] Rifle EM011O2R — elk male rifle season 2 GMU 11 [Antlered 11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 131, 211, 231] Rifle EM011O3R — elk male rifle season 3 GMU 11 [11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 131, 211, 231 Antlered] Rifle EM012O4R — elk male rifle season 4 GMU 12 [12, 13, 23, 24] Rifle

Legal cartridges for elk in Colorado

From the Colorado hunting laws rules on file for a rifle. "Depends" means the rule turns on your specific load — check the state page.

.243 Winchester depends from $1.11/rd

.25-06 Remington

6.5 Creedmoor

6.5 Grendel

.270 Winchester from $0.16/rd

7mm-08 Remington

7mm Remington Magnum

.30-06 Springfield

.300 AAC Blackout from $0.56/rd

.300 Winchester Magnum from $1.25/rd

.30-30 Winchester

.308 Winchester

.338 Winchester Magnum

.350 Legend from $1.07/rd

.35 Whelen

.360 Buckhammer

.400 Legend

.444 Marlin

.450 Bushmaster from $2.00/rd

.45-70 Government from $1.97/rd

.50 Beowulf

Spot a data error on this page? Tell us.

How to read these numbers

Every percentage on this page is a prior-draw probability: the chance an applicant with that many points would have drawn in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results. It is not a forecast — quotas, applicant numbers, and point creep change every year. Every figure links to the agency document it came from. Where a state does not publish a number, we show a dash, never a zero. Hunts with fewer than five tags show counts instead of percentages. Fees show the fee year used. Read the methodology for the engine details.

Not an application service

This page is informational only. Draw rules, quotas, fees, and deadlines are set by the state agency and change by commission action — confirm everything on the agency's own site before you apply, and apply through the agency, not here. We disclaim all liability for reliance on this page.