Colorado Elk — GMU 28
Colorado GMU 28 covers 424,737 acres and lies 38 miles west of Boulder. 67% of it is public land, mostly national forest (60%) and BLM (7%). In 2024, 2,871 people hunted elk here and took 177 — 6% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 330 tags here for 2 first-choice applicants.
Tags (2026):890
Nonresident share:capped at 25%
Applicants:336
Hunter success (2024):6%
Public land:67%
Size:424,737 acres
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in GMU 28, 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-
EE028O1M elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] 23 tags · 82 applicants · needed 1 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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46% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
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50% Real chance
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EE028P1A elk either-sex archery private-land-only GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] 43 tags · 8 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 25% as 2nd choice
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EE028P1R elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 28 [28, 37] 31 tags · 8 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 75% as 2nd choice
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EE028V1A elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] 249 tags · 92 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 35% as 2nd choice
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EE028V1A elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] 330 tags · 2 applicants · Youth100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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— Not open to nonresidents
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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— Not open to nonresidents 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder
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— Not open to nonresidents 0% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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— Not open to nonresidents
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE028O1M ↗ elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 +1 since 2025 | 23 / 82 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EE028O1M ↗ elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | 0% | — steady since 2021 | 1 / 1 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EE028O1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 28 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 +1 since 2024 | 12 / 61 | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EE028O1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 28 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | — steady since 2021 | 80 / 3 | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EE028O4R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 28 Rifle | 46% Real chance | 0% | 0 | 19 / 27 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EE028O4R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 28 Rifle | 50% Real chance | — | 0 | 4 / 2 | Youth | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EE028P1A ↗ elk either-sex archery private-land-only GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] Archery | 100% Undersubscribed | 25% | — | 43 / 8 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EE028P1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 28 [28, 37] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | 0 | 31 / 8 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EE028P1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 28 [28, 37] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 100% | — | 30 / 1 undersubscribed | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EE028P4R ↗ elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 28 Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 75% | — | 36 / 0 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EE028V1A ↗ elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] Archery | 100% Undersubscribed | 35% | — | 249 / 92 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EE028V1A ↗ elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] Archery | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | — | 330 / 2 undersubscribed | Youth | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EF028O1M ↗ elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 28 [28, 37, 371] Muzzleloader | Not open to nonresidents | — | — | 0 / 0 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EF028O1R ↗ elk female rifle season 1 GMU 28 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 | 2 / 7 | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EF028O2R ↗ elk female rifle season 2 GMU 28 [28, 37] Rifle | Not open to nonresidents | 0% | — steady since 2021 | 0 / 26 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| EF028O2R ↗ elk female rifle season 2 GMU 28 [28, 37] Rifle | 0% Point builder | — | — steady since 2021 | 10 / 2 | Youth | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| EF028O3R ↗ elk female rifle season 3 GMU 28 Rifle | Not open to nonresidents | 0% | — | 0 / 4 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EF028O3R ↗ elk female rifle season 3 GMU 28 Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 10 / 0 | Youth | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EF028O4R ↗ elk female rifle season 4 GMU 28 Rifle | Not open to nonresidents | — | — | 0 / 0 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EF028P5R ↗ elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 28 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | — +1 since 2022 | 10 / 10 | Standard | Sep 1 – Jan 31, 2027 |
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.
1 hunt not offered in 2026 is hidden — show discontinued hunts.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $974.27 |
| Youth license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $974.27 |
Application window: opens Mar 1, closes Apr 7, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Other licenses valid in GMU 28
Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.
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 | 2,871 | 177 | 6% |
| 2023 | 3,871 | 203 | 5% |
| 2022 | 4,040 | 334 | 8% |
| 2021 | 4,759 | 355 | 7% |
What people carried (2024 harvest)
- Rifle 130 · 73% · 1,792 hunters, 7% success
- Archery 32 · 18% · 882 hunters, 4% success
- Muzzleloader 15 · 8% · 197 hunters, 8% success
Boundary: CPW GMU Boundary (Big Game)
Harvest: 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates
Harvest: 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest