Colorado Elk · GMU 851
Colorado GMU 851 covers 280,395 acres and lies 61 miles south-east of Alamosa. 13% of it is public land, mostly state land (12%) and national forest (1%). In 2024, 579 people hunted elk here and took 175, a 30% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE085V1A, put up 600 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 441 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
43 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
12% State
280,395 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.
- Success
- 30%
- Season
- Nov 18–22
- Tags / Apps
- 125 / 59
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 30%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 600 / 441
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 30%
- Season
- Sep 12–20
- Tags / Apps
- 115 / 2
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 30%
- Season
- Nov 7–15
- Tags / Apps
- 50 / 4
- If Drawn
- $974.27
Every License in GMU 851
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE085O1M Standard | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 85 | 0% | 2 ▲1 | |
| EE085O1M Youth | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 85 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EE085O1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 85 | 0% | 1 ▲1 | |
| EE085O1R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 85 | 0% | 0 | |
| EE085O4R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 85 | 70% | 0 | |
| EE085O4R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 85 | 100% | 0 | |
| EE085P1R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 85 | 100% | 0 | |
| EE085P1R Youth · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 85 | 100% | 0 | |
| EE085V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 85 | 100% | — | |
| EE085V1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 85 | 100% | — | |
| EE851K2R Standard · youth | Elk either-sex rifle youth-only GMU 851 | not open | — | |
| EE851K2R Youth · youth | Elk either-sex rifle youth-only GMU 851 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EE851K3R Standard · youth | Elk either-sex rifle youth-only GMU 851 | not open | — | |
| EE851K3R Youth · youth | Elk either-sex rifle youth-only GMU 851 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE851O1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 851 | 0% (small sample) | 8 ▼5 | |
| EE851W1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 851 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE851W2R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 851 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF085L1R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 85 | 0% (small sample) | 1 ▲1 | |
| EF085O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 85 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF085O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 85 | 8% | 0 ▼1 | |
| EF085O2R Youth | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 85 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF085O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 85 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF085O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 85 | 100% | — | |
| EF085O4R Youth | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 85 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF085P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 85 | 79% | 0 | |
| EF085P5R Youth · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 85 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF085P6R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 85 | 100% | — | |
| EF085P6R Youth · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 85 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF085V1A Standard | Elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 85 | — | — | |
| EF851L1R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 851 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EF851L1R Youth | Elk female rifle late season GMU 851 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF851L2R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 851 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF851L3R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 851 | 100% | 0 | |
| EF851L3R Youth | Elk female rifle late season GMU 851 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF851W1R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 851 | 100% | — | |
| EF851W2R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 851 | 100% | — | |
| EF851W4R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 851 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF851W6R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 851 | 100% | — | |
| EM851O1M Standard | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 851 | 0% (small sample) | 15 ▲2 | |
| EM851O1R Standard | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 851 | 0% (small sample) | 29 ▲4 | |
| EM851O2R Standard | Elk male rifle season 2 GMU 851 | not open | — | |
| EM851O3R Standard | Elk male rifle season 3 GMU 851 | 0% (small sample) | 23 ▼3 | |
| EM851O4R Standard | Elk male rifle season 4 GMU 851 | 0% (small sample) | 28 ▲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. Not in the table, with no 2026 result: EE851J2R, EE851W4R, EF851O1M, EF851O3R.
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 | 579 | 175 | 30% |
| 2023 | 545 | 186 | 34% |
| 2022 | 614 | 149 | 24% |
| 2021 | 628 | 154 | 25% |
2024 split: rifle 140 (80%) from 380 hunters, 37%, archery 32 (18%) from 156 hunters, 21%, muzzleloader 3 (2%) from 43 hunters, 7%
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 | 241,122 ac | 86% |
| State land | 34,148 ac | 12% |
| National Forest | 2,092 ac | <1% |
| BLM | 156 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 2,875 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.
Report an error on this page
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