Colorado Elk — GMU 48
Colorado GMU 48 covers 191,930 acres and lies 44 miles south-east of Gypsum and 57 miles south-east of Glenwood Springs. 89% of it is public land, mostly national forest (82%) and BLM (5%). In 2024, 339 people hunted elk here and took 93 — 27% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 50 tags here for 4 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in GMU 48, 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-
EE048O1A elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 48 [48] 31 tags · 70 applicants · needed 3 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder
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EF048O1M elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 48 [48] 8 tags · 10 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard67% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 100% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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— Not open to nonresidents
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EM048O1M elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 48 [48] 9 tags · 31 applicants · needed 8 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE048O1A ↗ elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 48 [48] Archery | 0% Point builder | 0% | 3 +2 since 2021 | 31 / 70 | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EE048O1A ↗ elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 48 [48] Archery | 0% Point builder | — | — | 5 / 2 | Youth | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EF048O1M ↗ elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 48 [48] Muzzleloader | 67% Real chance | 0% | 0 steady since 2021 | 8 / 10 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EF048O1M ↗ elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 48 [48] Muzzleloader | 100% No first-choice applicants | 100% | — | 35 / 0 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EF048O2R ↗ elk female rifle season 2 GMU 48 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 steady since 2023 | 5 / 7 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| EF048O3R ↗ elk female rifle season 3 GMU 48 Rifle | 0% Undersubscribed | 0% | 3 +2 since 2024 | 1 / 1 undersubscribed | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EF048O4R ↗ elk female rifle season 4 GMU 48 Rifle | Not open to nonresidents | — | — | 0 / 0 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EM048O1M ↗ elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 48 [48] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | 0% | 8 steady since 2021 | 9 / 31 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EM048O1R ↗ elk male rifle season 1 GMU 48 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 8 +3 since 2021 | 11 / 67 | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EM048O1R ↗ elk male rifle season 1 GMU 48 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | — | 50 / 4 | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EM048O2R ↗ elk male rifle season 2 GMU 48 Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 4 +1 since 2023 | 4 / 15 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| EM048O3R ↗ elk male rifle season 3 GMU 48 [48] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 2 −3 since 2023 | 2 / 9 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EM048O4R ↗ elk male rifle season 4 GMU 48 Rifle | 0% Undersubscribed | 0% | 1 steady since 2024 | 2 / 1 undersubscribed | 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 | 339 | 93 | 27% |
| 2023 | 339 | 97 | 29% |
| 2022 | 348 | 122 | 35% |
| 2021 | 342 | 87 | 25% |
What people carried (2024 harvest)
- Rifle 65 · 70% · 184 hunters, 35% success
- Archery 14 · 15% · 95 hunters, 15% success
- Muzzleloader 14 · 15% · 60 hunters, 23% success
Boundary: CPW GMU Boundary (Big Game)
Harvest: 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates
Harvest: 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest