Colorado Elk — GMU 83

Colorado GMU 83 covers 801,273 acres and lies 27 miles south-east of Alamosa and 81 miles south of Cañon City. 5% of it is public land, mostly county or city land (3%) and wildlife refuge (1%). In 2024, 884 people hunted elk here and took 367 — 41% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 200 tags here for 1 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):975 Nonresident share:capped at 25% Applicants:211 Hunter success (2024):41% Public land:5% Size:801,273 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in GMU 83, 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

EE083O1M elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 83 [83] 18 tags · 17 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard

85% Likely draw 0% as 2nd choice
EE083O1R elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 83 24 tags · 20 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard

88% Likely draw 0% as 2nd choice
EE083O1R elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 83 175 tags · 3 applicants · needed 0 pts · Youth

100% Undersubscribed
EE083O2R elk either-sex rifle season 2 GMU 83 33 tags · 28 applicants · Standard

100% Undersubscribed 29% as 2nd choice
EE083O2R elk either-sex rifle season 2 GMU 83 200 tags · 1 applicants · needed 0 pts · Youth

100% Undersubscribed
EE083O3R elk either-sex rifle season 3 GMU 83 [83] 20 tags · 20 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard

59% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
EE083O3R elk either-sex rifle season 3 GMU 83 [83] 200 tags · 2 applicants · needed 0 pts · Youth

100% Undersubscribed
EE083O4R elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 83 7 tags · 22 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard

5% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
EE083O4R elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 83 100 tags · 1 applicants · Youth

0% Point builder
EE083V1A elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 83 [83] 96 tags · 94 applicants · Standard

100% Undersubscribed 19% as 2nd choice
EE083V1A elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 83 [83] 100 tags · 1 applicants · needed 0 pts · Youth

100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
EF083O1M elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 83 [83] 0 tags · 0 applicants · Standard

— Not open to nonresidents
EF083O4R elk female rifle season 4 GMU 83 2 tags · 2 applicants · Standard

100% Undersubscribed 25% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
EE083O1M ↗ elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 83 [83] Muzzleloader	85% Likely draw	0%	0 steady since 2021	18 / 17	Standard	Sep 12–20, 2026
EE083O1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 83 Rifle	88% Likely draw	0%	0 steady since 2021	24 / 20	Standard	Oct 14–18, 2026
EE083O1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 83 Rifle	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2021	175 / 3 undersubscribed	Youth	Oct 14–18, 2026
EE083O2R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 2 GMU 83 Rifle	100% Undersubscribed	29%	— steady since 2021	33 / 28 undersubscribed	Standard	Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026
EE083O2R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 2 GMU 83 Rifle	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2022	200 / 1 undersubscribed	Youth	Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026
EE083O3R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 3 GMU 83 [83] Rifle	59% Real chance	0%	0 steady since 2021	20 / 20	Standard	Nov 7–15, 2026
EE083O3R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 3 GMU 83 [83] Rifle	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2023	200 / 2 undersubscribed	Youth	Nov 7–15, 2026
EE083O4R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 83 Rifle	5% Point builder	0%	0 steady since 2021	7 / 22	Standard	Nov 18–22, 2026
EE083O4R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 83 Rifle	0% Point builder	—	— −1 since 2022	100 / 1	Youth	Nov 18–22, 2026
EE083V1A ↗ elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 83 [83] Archery	100% Undersubscribed	19%	—	96 / 94 undersubscribed	Standard	Sep 2–30, 2026
EE083V1A ↗ elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 83 [83] Archery	100% Undersubscribed	0%	0	100 / 1 undersubscribed	Youth	Sep 2–30, 2026
EF083O1M ↗ elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 83 [83] Muzzleloader	Not open to nonresidents	—	—	0 / 0	Standard	Sep 12–20, 2026
EF083O4R ↗ elk female rifle season 4 GMU 83 Rifle	100% Undersubscribed	25%	—	2 / 2 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.

7 hunts not offered in 2026 are hidden — show discontinued hunts.

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.

Other licenses valid in GMU 83

Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.

EE083W1R — elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 83 Standard EE851J2R — elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 851 Standard EF083W1R — elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 83 Standard EF083W2R — elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 83 Standard EF083W3R — elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 83 Standard EF083W4R — elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 83 Standard EF083W5R — elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 83 Standard

The country

GMU 83 within Colorado

GMU 83 and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

Private 761,230 ac · 95%
County or city land 22,382 ac · 3%
National Wildlife Refuge 11,535 ac · 1%
BLM 3,792 ac · 0%
State land 646 ac · 0%
National Forest 576 ac · 0%

Source: BLM Colorado Surface Management Agency

Nearby areas

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.