Colorado Elk · GMU 38
Colorado GMU 38 covers 291,822 acres and lies 10 miles north-west of Golden. 30% of it is public land, mostly national forest (21%) and state land (5%). In 2024, 1,096 people hunted elk here and took 88, a 8% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EM038O1R, put up 2 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 6 nonresident first-choice applicants, 2 of whom drew, and the last tag went to someone with 2 points.
15 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
22% Forest Service
291,822 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 38
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE038V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 38 | 100% | — | |
| EF038L1R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 38 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF038L2R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 38 | not open | — | |
| EF038O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 38 | 0% (small sample) | 1 ▲1 | |
| EF038O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 38 | 0% (small sample) | 2 ▲1 | |
| EF038O1R Youth | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 38 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF038O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 38 | not open | — | |
| EF038O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 38 | 0% (small sample) | 2 ▲2 | |
| EF038O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 38 | not open | — | |
| EF038P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 38 | 100% | — | |
| EF038V1A Standard | Elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 38 | — | — | |
| EM038O1M Standard | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 38 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EM038O1R Standard | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 38 | 0% (small sample) | 2 ▲1 | |
| EM038O1R Youth | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 38 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EM038O4R Standard | Elk male rifle season 4 GMU 38 | 0% (small sample) | 1 ▲1 |
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 | 1,096 | 88 | 8% |
| 2023 | 1,038 | 105 | 10% |
| 2022 | 1,000 | 123 | 12% |
| 2021 | 1,059 | 74 | 7% |
2024 split: rifle 52 (60%) from 580 hunters, 9%, archery 32 (37%) from 478 hunters, 7%, muzzleloader 3 (3%) from 39 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
| Private | 204,808 ac | 70% |
| National Forest | 62,692 ac | 21% |
| State land | 14,701 ac | 5% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 5,382 ac | 2% |
| Other public | 2,469 ac | <1% |
| BLM | 1,194 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 573 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