Colorado Elk · GMU 31
Colorado GMU 31 covers 449,002 acres and lies 25 miles north of Grand Junction and 34 miles west of Rifle. 58% of it is public land, mostly BLM (57%) and state land (1%). In 2024, 1,597 people hunted elk here and took 453, a 28% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE021V1A, put up 1,150 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 499 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
24 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
57% BLM
449,002 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
- 28%
- Season
- Nov 18–22
- Tags / Apps
- 410 / 113
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 28%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 1,150 / 499
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 28%
- Season
- Sep 12–20
- Tags / Apps
- 150 / 1
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 28%
- Season
- Oct 14–18
- Tags / Apps
- 75 / 8
- If Drawn
- $974.27
Every License in GMU 31
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE021O1M Standard | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 21 | 0% | 4 ▲1 | |
| EE021O1M Youth | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 21 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EE021O1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 21 | 0% | 1 | |
| EE021O1R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 21 | 0% | 0 | |
| EE021O4R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 21 | 100% | — | |
| EE021O4R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 21 | 100% | — | |
| EE021P1A Standard · private | Elk either-sex archery private-land-only GMU 21 | 100% | — | |
| EE021P1R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 21 | 100% | — | |
| EE021P1R Youth · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 21 | 100% | — | |
| EE021V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 21 | 100% | — | |
| EE021V1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 21 | 100% | — | |
| EF021O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 21 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF021O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 21 | 100% | 0 | |
| EF021O1R Youth | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 21 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF021O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 21 | 0% | 2 ▲2 | |
| EF021O2R Youth | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 21 | 100% | 0 | |
| EF021V1A Standard | Elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 21 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF022P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 22 | 100% | — | |
| EF030O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 30 | 100% | — | |
| EF030O3R Youth | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 30 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF030O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 30 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF030O4R Youth | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 30 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF031L1R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 31 | 100% | — | |
| EF031L1R Youth | Elk female rifle late season GMU 31 | 100% (small sample) | — |
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: EF031O2R, EF031O3R, EF031O4R.
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 | 1,597 | 453 | 28% |
| 2023 | 1,566 | 375 | 24% |
| 2022 | 1,742 | 469 | 27% |
| 2021 | 1,774 | 353 | 20% |
2024 split: rifle 376 (83%) from 1,228 hunters, 31%, archery 67 (15%) from 342 hunters, 20%, muzzleloader 11 (2%) from 27 hunters, 41%
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
| BLM | 257,087 ac | 57% |
| Private | 189,236 ac | 42% |
| State land | 2,662 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 15 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