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, a 6% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE028V1A, put up 330 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 92 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
20 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
60% Forest Service
424,737 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2024. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in GMU 28
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE028O1M Standard | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 28 | 0% | 1 ▲1 | |
| EE028O1M Youth | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 28 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EE028O1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 28 | 0% | 1 ▲1 | |
| EE028O1R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 28 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EE028O4R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 28 | 46% | 0 | |
| EE028O4R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 28 | 50% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EE028P1A Standard · private | Elk either-sex archery private-land-only GMU 28 | 100% | — | |
| EE028P1R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 28 | 100% | 0 | |
| EE028P1R Youth · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 28 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE028P4R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 28 | 100% | — | |
| EE028V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 28 | 100% | — | |
| EE028V1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 28 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF028O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 28 | not open | — | |
| EF028O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 28 | 0% (small sample) | 1 | |
| EF028O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 28 | not open | — | |
| EF028O2R Youth | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 28 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EF028O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 28 | not open | — | |
| EF028O3R Youth | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 28 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF028O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 28 | not open | — | |
| EF028P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 28 | 0% | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file. Not in the table, with no 2026 result: EF028L1R.
Draw results: CPW 2026 Primary ELK Post Draw Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Standard $974.27 ($129.11 to apply) · Youth $974.27 ($129.11 to apply). Open Mar 1 – Apr 6, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2,871 | 177 | 6% |
| 2023 | 3,871 | 203 | 5% |
| 2022 | 4,040 | 334 | 8% |
| 2021 | 4,759 | 355 | 7% |
2024 split: rifle 130 (73%) from 1,792 hunters, 7%, archery 32 (18%) from 882 hunters, 4%, muzzleloader 15 (8%) from 197 hunters, 8%
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. 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: CPW 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest; CPW 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates; CPW 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest.
The Ground
| National Forest | 253,194 ac | 60% |
| Private | 139,258 ac | 33% |
| BLM | 28,033 ac | 7% |
| State land | 4,197 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 53 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 0 ac | <1% |
Source: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 10
- CPW 2026 Primary ELK Post Draw Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 2 CCR 406-0 Chapter W-0 General… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 Big Game Hunting brochure fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 web page fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2021 Statewide Elk Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 GMU Boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Colorado Parks and Wildlife's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward.
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We don't take applications: check Colorado Parks and Wildlife's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Colorado Parks and Wildlife's results, not a forecast · All Colorado elk hunts