Colorado Elk · GMU 431
Colorado GMU 431 covers 140,906 acres and lies 32 miles south of Gypsum and 52 miles south-east of Rifle. 73% of it is public land, mostly national forest (72%) and BLM (1%). In 2024, 244 people hunted elk here and took 47, a 19% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE043V1A, put up 520 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 134 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
19 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
72% Forest Service
140,906 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
- 19%
- Season
- Nov 18–22
- Tags / Apps
- 75 / 11
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 19%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 520 / 134
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 19%
- Season
- Oct 24 – Nov 1
- Tags / Apps
- 215 / 21
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 19%
- Season
- Nov 7–15
- Tags / Apps
- 120 / 16
- If Drawn
- $974.27
Every License in GMU 431
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE043O1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 43 | 60% | 0 | |
| EE043O1R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 43 | 25% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EE043O4R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 43 | 100% | — | |
| EE043O4R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE043P1R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 43 | 100% | 0 | |
| EE043V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 43 | 100% | — | |
| EE043V1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 43 | 100% | — | |
| EF043O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EF043O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF043O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 43 | 100% | — | |
| EF043O2R Youth | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF043O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 43 | 100% | — | |
| EF043O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 43 | — | — | |
| EF043P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 43 | 0% | 1 ▲1 | |
| EF043P5R Youth · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 43 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EF043V1A Standard | Elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF043V1A Youth | Elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 43 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EM043O1M Standard | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 43 | 93% | — | |
| EM043O1M Youth | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 43 | 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.
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 | 244 | 47 | 19% |
2024 split: rifle 44 (94%) from 150 hunters, 29%, archery 3 (6%) from 71 hunters, 4%, muzzleloader 0 (0%) from 23 hunters, 0%
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.
The Ground
| National Forest | 100,800 ac | 72% |
| Private | 37,766 ac | 27% |
| BLM | 1,856 ac | 1% |
| State land | 482 ac | <1% |
Source: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 7
- 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 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