Colorado Elk · GMU 461
Colorado GMU 461 covers 91,802 acres and lies 15 miles south-west of Littleton. 9% of it is public land, mostly national forest (5%) and other public land (2%). In 2024, 132 people hunted elk here and took 26, a 20% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EM461O1R, put up 3 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 2 nonresident first-choice applicants.
14 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
5% Forest Service
91,802 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 461
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE461O1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 461 | — | — | |
| EF461O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 461 | — | — | |
| EF461O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 461 | — | — | |
| EF461O1R Youth | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 461 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF461O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 461 | — | — | |
| EF461O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 461 | — | — | |
| EF461O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 461 | — | — | |
| EF461P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 461 | 100% | — | |
| EM461O1M Standard | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 461 | — | — | |
| EM461O1R Standard | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 461 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EM461O1R Youth | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 461 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EM461O2R Standard | Elk male rifle season 2 GMU 461 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EM461O3R Standard | Elk male rifle season 3 GMU 461 | not open | — | |
| EM461O4R Standard | Elk male rifle season 4 GMU 461 | not open | — |
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 | 132 | 26 | 20% |
| 2023 | 128 | 16 | 12% |
| 2022 | 108 | 17 | 16% |
| 2021 | 100 | 9 | 9% |
2024 split: rifle 23 (88%) from 77 hunters, 30%, archery 3 (12%) from 37 hunters, 8%, muzzleloader 0 (0%) from 18 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; CPW 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates; CPW 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest.
The Ground
| Private | 83,803 ac | 91% |
| National Forest | 4,275 ac | 5% |
| Other public | 2,138 ac | 2% |
| State land | 1,506 ac | 2% |
| BLM | 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.
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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