Colorado Hunting

Overview

Known For

Colorado is known for its big game animals, especially trophy-class mule deer and elk. The state is home to the largest elk herd in North America with a population of 280,000 animals. And with more than 23 million acres of public land, Colorado boasts some of the best public hunting access in the country. For perspective, Colorado’s public-land acreage is equal in size to the state of Indiana.

Terrain

From its grass-covered eastern plains to the Rocky Mountain Front, Colorado’s terrain has everything from rugged mountains, rivers, valleys, and vast plains to desert lands, desert canyons, and mesas.

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Colorado Hunting Seasons

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Colorado Draw Specifics

COLORADO – ELK, DEER, ANTELOPE

Point System

• For elk, deer and antelope Colorado uses a Preference Point system
• Preference Points are like a place in line – 1st in 1st out. The applicants with the most Preference Points draw before those with less
• If you apply for and are unsuccessful drawing your 1st choice limited license, you will receive an additional Preference Point for future drawings
• Applicants may apply for Preference Points only during the primary application window that begins in early March but you must first buy a qualifying license
• Preference Points are considered for your 1st choice only – if you draw your 1st choice for a species and it is a limited license, your Preference Points are purged back to 0
• If nonresidents fail to apply or buy a Preference Point for a particular species in 10 consecutive years, they will lose all accumulated Preference Points for that species

Tag Allocation

• For elk and deer hunt codes that required six or more points for a Colorado resident to draw, up to 20 percent may go to nonresidents
• For hunt codes that required fewer than six points for a Colorado resident to draw an elk or deer license, up to 35 percent may go to nonresidents
• There is no maximum nonresident tag allocation for Antelope
• Nonresident allocations may increase if licenses remain after all Colorado resident first choices have been drawn for that hunt code
• License allocations do not apply to private-land only and Ranching for Wildlife licenses
• In a group of applications made up of both residents and nonresidents, all nonresidents in the group will count against the nonresident allocation

Understanding Draw Odds

• In Colorado we include 1 draw odds columns in our List View: Minimum Points to Draw – Draw Odds
• Draw Odds: This is the value that indicates how many Preference Points were required to successfully draw a tag in the Preference Point draw for everyone’s 1st Choice. So 25% @ 16 pts means that 25% of the applicants with 16 Preference Points were successful. In this example there are more applicants at 16 points than tags left to issue, so they randomly select from the pool of 16 point applicants until the quota is reached. It also means that 100% of applicants with more than 16 Preference Points were successful, and that 0% of applicants with less than 16 Preference Points drew a tag in the Preference Point draw. Use these columns to evaluate if you have any shot to draw a particular hunt using Preference Points given your total. It’s also a key indicator of demand for the hunt, and it’s implied quality.

Other Tips

• In Colorado if you apply as a group, the entire group will be entered into the drawing with the Preference Point total for the group member with the least points.
• There is a secondary drawing that includes the remaining limited licenses with quota remaining from the primary draw for deer, elk, pronghorn and bear. This draw is open to everyone, whether you applied in the primary draw or not. In ‘21 the application period is June 16 – June 30th wth results posted on July 6.
• Colorado has a large number of over-the-counter elk units and an unlimited number of tags can be purchased beginning in early August. These hunts are very popular and increasingly crowded, but you’ll be elk hunting! See our Over the Counter unit information here and here.

COLORADO – MOOSE, SHEEP, MOUNTAIN GOAT

Point System

• For moose, sheep and mountain goat Colorado uses a Preference Point + Weighted Point system
• Effectively, you must accumulate the maximum of 3 Preference Points before you have any chance to draw a tag – so if you’re new you will not have any chance for 3 years
• After you have 3 Preference Points, you accumulate Weighted Points. Weighted Points are a fancy way to effectively implement Bonus Points in an otherwise random drawing. For full details, read this and this
• Participating in the Weighted Point program is now optional. Once you have 3 Preference Points, you can opt out of paying the additional fee ($100 for nonresidents, $50 for residents) to accumulate Weighted Points
• There is no Point System for Desert Bighorn Sheep – the very few available tags in Colorado are issued randomly
• Points are considered for your 1st choice only – if you draw your 1st choice for a species and it is a limited license, all Points are purged back to 0
• If nonresidents fail to apply or buy a Preference Point for a particular species in 10 consecutive years, they will lose all accumulated Preference Points for that species

Tag Allocation

• Up to 10% of the available moose, sheep and mountain goat tags can be issued to nonresidents

Understanding the Draw Odds

• In Colorado we include 1 draw odds columns in our List View for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat
• Draw Odds: This is the value that indicates your draw odds given your Preference Points + Weighted Point total. So 1% @ 3 + 8 pts means your draw odds would have been 1% if you have accumulated your 3 Preference Points, and in addition have 8 Weighted Points.The more Weighted Points you have, the better your odds to draw are, if only very slightly. If you change the selected value in the “PREF + WEIGHTED PTS” dropdown, this value will recalculate.

Other Tips

• Drawing a bull moose, ram or mountain goat tag in Colorado involves a good bit of luck no matter how many points you have and you can easily go a lifetime without ever being successful. Have realistic expectations going in.
• If you harvest a Rocky Mountain bighorn ram with a half-curl or more, you must wait five years before applying for another bighorn ram license. During the five year waiting period, hunters may apply for ewe permits, but cannot accrue preference points.
• If you harvest a mountain goat, you must wait five years before applying for another mountain goat license.
• If you harvest a desert bighorn sheep, you cannot participate in future desert bighorn sheep drawings.

Colorado Licenses, Permits and Regulations

Colorado hunting licenses, permits, and regulations for resident and non-resident hunters can be purchased on the Colorado Parks & Wildlife website. Click below to view the website.

Hunting GPS Maps

Every Colorado hunter should have hunting GPS maps on hand. Colorado hunting maps are available from onX Hunt. With a paid membership you can access Satellite, Topo, or Hybrid Basemaps, over which you can view maps of game management units, along with State, Forest Service, and other public and private property boundaries. You can view trails and roads, and even download maps to the Hunt App for use offline. Click below to get onX Hunt for Colorado.

Game Management Units

Colorado is divided into 185 game management units (GMUs), 93 of which offer over-the-counter (OTC) second and third rifle season hunting licenses. Altogether there are four separate rifle seasons, with the first and fourth being draw-only tags. Click below to view Colorado game management units in more detail through an interactive map.

Hunting Layers

CO Private Lands

Over 2,100,000 parcels mapped by the onX team, this layer helps you know who the property owners are in Colorado. Tap any parcel to learn more info about the owner and acreage.

CO Gov Lands

onX has the most accurate maps of Gov Lands, covering over 29,000,000 acres in Colorado. Not all Gov Lands offer access opportunities, check regulations before recreating.

SUBLAYERS (3)

CO GMUs

Colorado Big Game, Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat Game Management Units. Please hunt responsibly, obey all signage and have a safe legal hunt.

Includes 3 Sublayers

• Big Game Mgmt Units
• Bighorn Sheep Mgmt Units
• Mtn. Goats Mgmt Units

CO Possible Access

onX has mapped 89,000 acres of possible access lands in Colorado including timber companies and land conservation groups. Research rules on these private lands before recreating.

CO Walk In Access

Colorado Parks and Wildlife WalkIn Access Lands show CRP grasslands, sandsage, cholla rangelands, and cultivated cropland. All hunters are expected to know the rules of the program

SUBLAYERS (9)

CO Species Activity

Big Game Migration and Species Data for the State of Colorado.

Includes 9 Sublayers

• Elk
• Whitetail Deer
• Bighorn Sheep
• Black Bear
• Moose
• Mountain Goat
• Mule Deer
• Pronghorn
• Turkey

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