Colorado Elk · GMU 29
Colorado GMU 29 covers 282,388 acres and lies 4 miles south-west of Boulder. 29% of it is public land, mostly national forest (22%) and county or city land (5%). In 2024, 249 people hunted elk here and took 70, a 28% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE029O1A, put up 7 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 20 nonresident first-choice applicants, 7 of whom drew, and the last tag went to someone with 3 points.
15 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
22% Forest Service
282,388 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.
None of these licenses drew anyone at your points in 2026: see the table below for the cut on each.
Every License in GMU 29
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE029O1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 29 | 0% | 3 | |
| EE029O1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 29 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EF029O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 29 | — | — | |
| EF029O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 29 | not open | — | |
| EF029O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 29 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF029O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 29 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF029O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 29 | 0% (small sample) | 3 | |
| EF029P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 29 | 100% | — | |
| EM029O1M Standard | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 29 | 0% | 3 ▲3 | |
| EM029O1M Youth | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 29 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EM029O1R Standard | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 29 | 0% (small sample) | 3 ▲1 | |
| EM029O2R Standard | Elk male rifle season 2 GMU 29 | 0% (small sample) | 6 ▲5 | |
| EM029O3R Standard | Elk male rifle season 3 GMU 29 | not open | — | |
| EM029O4R Standard | Elk male rifle season 4 GMU 29 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EM029O4R Youth | Elk male rifle season 4 GMU 29 | 100% (small sample) | 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.
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 | 249 | 70 | 28% |
| 2023 | 261 | 73 | 28% |
| 2022 | 227 | 92 | 40% |
| 2021 | 223 | 59 | 26% |
2024 split: rifle 42 (60%) from 173 hunters, 24%, archery 10 (14%) from 28 hunters, 36%, muzzleloader 18 (26%) from 48 hunters, 38%
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
| Private | 200,662 ac | 71% |
| National Forest | 62,869 ac | 22% |
| County or city land | 14,232 ac | 5% |
| State land | 2,016 ac | <1% |
| BLM | 1,881 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 721 ac | <1% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 1 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.
Report an error on this page
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