Colorado Elk · GMU 3
Colorado GMU 3 covers 542,835 acres and lies 26 miles north-west of Craig and 49 miles north of Meeker. 54% of it is public land, mostly BLM (45%) and state land (10%). In 2024, 1,038 people hunted elk here and took 162, a 16% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE003O1R, put up 800 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 755 nonresident first-choice applicants, 189 of whom drew, and the last tag went to someone with 3 points.
51 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
45% BLM
542,835 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.
- Success
- 16%
- Season
- Nov 18–22
- Tags / Apps
- 500 / 113
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 16%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 100 / 11
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 16%
- Season
- Oct 24 – Nov 1
- Tags / Apps
- 400 / 16
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 16%
- Season
- Nov 7–15
- Tags / Apps
- 400 / 88
- If Drawn
- $974.27
Every License in GMU 3
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE003O1M Standard | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 3 | 0% | 4 | |
| EE003O1M Youth | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 3 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EE003O1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 3 | 0% | 3 ▲2 | |
| EE003O1R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 3 | 0% | 0 | |
| EE003O4R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EE003O4R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EE003P1A Standard · private | Elk either-sex archery private-land-only GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EE003P1A Youth · private | Elk either-sex archery private-land-only GMU 3 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE003P1R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EE003P1R Youth · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 3 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE003V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EE003V1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 3 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE003W1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EE003W3R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 3 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE004W1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 4 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE004W2R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 4 | 100% | — | |
| EE004W3R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 4 | 100% | — | |
| EE005W2R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 5 | 100% | — | |
| EE214W2R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 214 | 100% | — | |
| EE301W2R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 301 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE441W1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 441 | 100% | — | |
| EF003L1R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 3 | 0% | 5 ▲3 | |
| EF003L1R Youth | Elk female rifle late season GMU 3 | 25% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF003O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 3 | — | — | |
| EF003O1M Youth | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 3 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF003O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 3 | 85% | — | |
| EF003O1R Youth | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 3 | 83% | — | |
| EF003O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003O2R Youth | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003O3R Youth | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003O4R Youth | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003P5R Youth · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003W1R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003W3R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF003W5R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 3 | 100% | — | |
| EF004W1R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 4 | 100% | — | |
| EF004W2R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 4 | 100% | — | |
| EF004W3R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 4 | 100% | — | |
| EF004W5R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 4 | 100% | — | |
| EF005W2R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 5 | 100% | — | |
| EF005W4R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 5 | 100% | — | |
| EF214W2R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 214 | 100% | — | |
| EF214W4R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 214 | 100% | — | |
| EF301W2R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 301 | 100% | — | |
| EF301W4R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 301 | 100% | — | |
| EF441W1R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 441 | 100% | — | |
| EF441W2R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 441 | 100% | — | |
| EF441W3R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 441 | 100% | — |
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: EE003W2R, EE004W4R, EF003E1R, EF003W2R, EF003W4R, EF003W6R, EF004W4R, EF004W6R, EF214W6R, EF301W6R, EM003O1R, EM003O2R, EM003O3R, EM003O4R.
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 | 1,038 | 162 | 16% |
| 2023 | 1,629 | 152 | 9% |
| 2022 | 3,783 | 1,027 | 27% |
| 2021 | 3,727 | 880 | 24% |
2024 split: rifle 144 (89%) from 917 hunters, 16%, archery 16 (10%) from 109 hunters, 15%, muzzleloader 2 (1%) from 11 hunters, 18%
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 | 248,935 ac | 46% |
| BLM | 241,950 ac | 45% |
| State land | 51,868 ac | 10% |
| National Forest | 77 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. How we compute these.
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 · Methodology · All Colorado elk hunts