Colorado Elk EM020O1A — GMU 20

elk male archery season 1 GMU 20 [20]

GMU 20 within Colorado

What you may take: elk male archery season 1 GMU 20 [20]
Weapon: Archery; Archery gear only — no rifle season on this license.
Where: GMU 20; 49% public of 772,317 acres
Season (2026): Sep 2–30, 2026
Tags (2026): 2; for 38 first-choice applicants · nonresidents capped at 25%
Hunter success here (2024): 41%; of everyone who hunted the area

Showing nonresident results (Standard class). Switch to resident · Standard Youth

Odds by point level — 2026 draw

Prior-draw probability for a first-choice nonresident applicant. 2 tags, 38 first-choice applicants, drew out at 14 points. Source: 2026 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 984.

Points	Your chance	Applicants	Drawn
0	0%	10	0
1	0%	5	0
2	0%	2	0
3	0%	1	0
4	0%	4	0
5	0%	5	0
6	0%	1	0
7	0%	1	0
8	0%	3	0
9	0%	1	0
10	0%	1	0
11	0%	—	—
12	0%	2	0
13	0%	—	—
14	100%	1	1
15	100%	1	1
16–17	100% same chance at every one of these levels	—	—

Preference points, computed from published point-level pools. A dash means Colorado Parks and Wildlife did not publish a count for that level. 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 keeps you moving toward the 14-point cut.

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

Drew out at 10 → 6 → 7 → 8 → 14 points (2022–2026): +1.0 points/yr (range +0.0 to +2.0). Projecting that pace forward:

Your points now	Years until a sure thing
0	creep ≥ 1/yr
2	creep ≥ 1/yr
4	creep ≥ 1/yr
6	creep ≥ 1/yr
8	creep ≥ 1/yr
10	creep ≥ 1/yr
12	creep ≥ 1/yr
14	now

A projection of the last five draws' median creep (capped at 2 points/yr), not a forecast. Random-pass odds still apply every year you're below the cut.

Seasons (2026)

Split 1: Sep 2–30, 2026 p. 984

How this tag has hunted

Across every license type in GMU 20, Colorado Parks and Wildlife counted 875 hunters and 355 elk taken in 2024 — 41% of them killed something. Full GMU 20 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

As a lower choice

2nd choice

Tags issued to lower choices ÷ lower-choice applicants, as published. Points do not help a lower choice.

Year by year

The standard draw for nonresidents, one row per year.

Year	Tags	Applicants	Applicants per tag	Points needed	Source
2026	2	38	19.0	14	2026 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 984
2025	2	51	25.5	8	2025 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 880
2024	2	43	21.5	7	2024 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 841
2023	2	31	15.5	6	2023 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 842
2022	2	31	15.5	10	2022 Primary ELK Post Draw... · p. 737
2021	2	31	15.5	6	2021 Primary Elk Post Draw... · p. 762

Other licenses valid in GMU 20

EE020O1A — elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 20 [20 excluding the area around the town of Estes Park bounded by Rocky Mountain National Park on the north and west and by] Archery EF020L1R — elk female rifle late season GMU 20 [20] Rifle EF020L3R — elk female rifle late season GMU 20 [(Lefthand Canyon Drive); and on the west by Geer Canyon Drive, Boulder County Trail Wapiti, Boulder County Trail Pondero] Rifle EF020O1A — elk female archery season 1 GMU 20 [20] Archery EF020O1M — elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 20 [20] Muzzleloader EF020O2R — elk female rifle season 2 GMU 20 Rifle EF020O3R — elk female rifle season 3 GMU 20 Rifle EF020O4R — elk female rifle season 4 GMU 20 Rifle EF020P5R — elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 20 [20] Rifle EM020L1R — elk male rifle late season GMU 20 [20] Rifle EM020L2R — elk male rifle late season GMU 20 [20] Rifle EM020O1M — elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 20 [20] Muzzleloader EM020O1R — elk male rifle season 1 GMU 20 [20] Rifle EM020O2R — elk male rifle season 2 GMU 20 [20] Rifle EM020O3R — elk male rifle season 3 GMU 20 Rifle EM020O4R — elk male rifle season 4 GMU 20 Rifle

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.