Colorado Elk · GMU 51
Colorado GMU 51 covers 321,976 acres and lies 11 miles south-west of Castle Rock. 46% of it is public land, mostly national forest (44%) and state land (1%). In 2024, 623 people hunted elk here and took 188, a 30% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE051O1A, put up 120 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 33 nonresident first-choice applicants, 15 of whom drew, and the last tag went to someone with 1 point.
16 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
44% Forest Service
321,976 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.
None of these licenses drew anyone at your points in 2026: see the table below for the cut on each.
Every License in GMU 51
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE051O1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 51 | 0% | 1 | |
| EF051O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 51 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF051O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 51 | — | — | |
| EF051O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 51 | not open | — | |
| EF051O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 51 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF051O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 51 | not open | — | |
| EF051P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 51 | 100% | — | |
| EF051P5R Youth · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 51 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EM051O1M Standard | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 51 | 0% | 3 ▲1 | |
| EM051O1M Youth | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 51 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EM051O1R Standard | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 51 | 0% | 1 | |
| EM051O1R Youth | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 51 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EM051O2R Standard | Elk male rifle season 2 GMU 51 | 50% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EM051O2R Youth | Elk male rifle season 2 GMU 51 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EM051O3R Standard | Elk male rifle season 3 GMU 51 | 0% | 1 ▲1 | |
| EM051O4R Standard | Elk male rifle season 4 GMU 51 | 0% (small sample) | 2 ▲2 |
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 | 623 | 188 | 30% |
| 2023 | 578 | 163 | 28% |
| 2022 | 524 | 176 | 34% |
| 2021 | 495 | 149 | 30% |
2024 split: rifle 137 (73%) from 466 hunters, 29%, archery 25 (13%) from 85 hunters, 29%, muzzleloader 26 (14%) from 71 hunters, 37%
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 | 172,804 ac | 54% |
| National Forest | 141,057 ac | 44% |
| State land | 4,416 ac | 1% |
| Other public | 3,696 ac | 1% |
| County or city land | 1 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