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 county or city land (2%). In 2024, 132 people hunted elk here and took 26 — 20% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 25 tags here for 0 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in GMU 461, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
— Undersubscribed
-
— Cut level
-
— Cut level
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
-
— Cut level
-
— Cut level
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— Cut level
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100% No first-choice applicants
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— Cut level
-
100% Undersubscribed
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0% Undersubscribed
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100% Undersubscribed
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— Not open to nonresidents
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— Not open to nonresidents
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE461O1A ↗ elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 461 [461] Archery | — Undersubscribed | — | — | 1 / 0 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EF461O1M ↗ elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 461 [461] Muzzleloader | — Cut level | — | — | 10 / 0 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EF461O1R ↗ elk female rifle season 1 GMU 461 Rifle | — Cut level | — | — | 7 / 0 | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EF461O1R ↗ elk female rifle season 1 GMU 461 Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 10 / 0 | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EF461O2R ↗ elk female rifle season 2 GMU 461 Rifle | — Cut level | — | — | 9 / 0 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| EF461O3R ↗ elk female rifle season 3 GMU 461 Rifle | — Cut level | — | — | 9 / 0 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EF461O4R ↗ elk female rifle season 4 GMU 461 Rifle | — Cut level | — | — | 10 / 0 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EF461P5R ↗ elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 461 [461] Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | — | — | 25 / 0 | Standard | Sep 1 – Jan 31, 2027 |
| EM461O1M ↗ elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 461 [461] Muzzleloader | — Cut level | — | — | 14 / 0 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EM461O1R ↗ elk male rifle season 1 GMU 461 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | — | 0 steady since 2025 | 3 / 2 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EM461O1R ↗ elk male rifle season 1 GMU 461 Rifle | 0% Undersubscribed | — | 1 | 10 / 1 undersubscribed | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EM461O2R ↗ elk male rifle season 2 GMU 461 [461] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | — | 0 | 2 / 1 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| EM461O3R ↗ elk male rifle season 3 GMU 461 [461] Rifle | Not open to nonresidents | — | — | 0 / 0 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EM461O4R ↗ elk male rifle season 4 GMU 461 Rifle | Not open to nonresidents | — | — | 0 / 0 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- As 2nd choice —
- Colorado lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $974.27 |
| Youth license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $974.27 |
Application window: opens Mar 1, closes Apr 7, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
How the hunting has gone
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. 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.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 132 | 26 | 20% |
| 2023 | 128 | 16 | 12% |
| 2022 | 108 | 17 | 16% |
| 2021 | 100 | 9 | 9% |
What people carried (2024 harvest)
- Rifle 23 · 88% · 77 hunters, 30% success
- Archery 3 · 12% · 37 hunters, 8% success
- Muzzleloader 0 · 0% · 18 hunters, 0% success
Boundary: CPW GMU Boundary (Big Game)
Harvest: 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates
Harvest: 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest