Colorado Elk · GMU 87
Colorado GMU 87 covers 714,793 acres and lies 23 miles east of Wellington. 23% of it is public land, mostly national forest (16%) and state land (7%). In 2024, 82 people hunted elk here and took 22, a 27% success rate.
0 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
16% Forest Service
714,793 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Licenses
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has not offered an elk license in GMU 87 in any draw we hold. It has a page because the agency still publishes harvest for it; the Colorado elk hunts that are on offer are drawn elsewhere.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 82 | 22 | 27% |
| 2023 | 94 | 26 | 28% |
| 2022 | 92 | 10 | 11% |
| 2021 | 167 | 40 | 24% |
2024 split: rifle 22 (100%) from 75 hunters, 29%, archery 0 (0%)
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 | 552,526 ac | 77% |
| National Forest | 115,164 ac | 16% |
| State land | 47,048 ac | 7% |
| County or city land | 12 ac | <1% |
Source: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 6
- 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
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