Overview of Colorado's elk hunting opportunities

When it comes to Colorado it’s easy to see why this state is the land of hunting opportunity. Out of all of the western states, Colorado has the highest elk population. And with all that opportunity, there are some phenomenal hunts that shouldn’t be overlooked. When it comes to elk, most will consider Colorado’s over the counter hunts, but there are a lot of options that are worth considering when it comes to easily obtainable draw hunts too.

Below is a quick overview of some opportunities that exist in Colorado for elk. Remember, even more research information can be found on our annual application strategy articles for elk in Colorado.

Muzzleloader Elk Hunts

If you love the challenge of a primitive weapon, a muzzleloader elk hunt is for you. You get all the thrills that you would experience with an archery elk hunt in the rut, but you have a weapon that has a little more range in your hand.

Plus, the opportunity exists to draw tags that you can pick up for minimum points in certain units. A quick look on INSIDER and of the 129 units that have muzzleloader elk hunts, there are 39 units you can draw 100% with 0 points. The big kicker… there are also 10 muzzleloader elk units you can draw 100% as a second choice. So what this means is you can gain a preference point, and still hunt bull elk on a permit tag.

Draw Rifle Hunts

Also, beyond the ever-popular OTC 2nd and 3rd season elk hunts in Colorado, there draw hunts for 1st rifle, 2nd rifle, 3rd rifle and 4th rifle. These hunts with limited tags could mean less crowding.

Again, some of these hunts can be drawn with zero points! A quick look on INSIDER showcased that for a nonresident, 56 units that were drawn in 2020 with zero points for 1st rifle, 11 units were 100% draw for 2nd rifle, 12 unts were 100% draw for 3rd rifle and finally 85 units were 100% draw for 4th rifle. And there are even options to pick up some of these units as a second choice at zero points, so you would build a preference point and put a tag in your pocket.

See your 1st rifle elk draw options here

See your 2nd rifle elk draw options here

See your 3rd rifle elk draw options here

See your 4th rifle elk draw options here

Archery Draw Hunts

For example, there are a total of 21 units that have draw odds of 100% at zero points and 32 units that have draw odds of 100% at 1 point. Plus, there are 19 units that were 100% draw odds last year as a second choice. So you'd be able to gain a point and hunt.

The archery elk draw hunts are a great way to get away from the OTC crowds and possibly have a better overall hunting experience.

Over the Counter Hunts

One strategy for trying to gauge the popularity of OTC hunts is to view an individual unit's Unit Profile and check out how many hunters were surveyed that hunted the unit.

Screenshot of data that can be found on Unit Profile on INSIDER.

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Screenshot of data that can be found on Unit Profile on INSIDER.

Using this data can help you to find a unit that has less pressure could put you at a slight advantage. Also, on some of the later season hunt dates it might not be a bad idea to start to look at some of the migration layers that can be found on GOHUNT Maps to figure out where elk could be, or if it is an area where animals will migrate out of during those late dates that we will see in 2021.

Archery OTC

When looking at OTC archery elk opportunities you'll see there are a total of 122 units, but if you dig a little deeper, a bunch of them are on the eastern plains which is mainly private lands. If you adjust the public land percentage slider on Filtering to 10% that number drops to 87 and if you slide it up to 20% you are now looking at 70 units.

Below is a screenshot of Filtering showing all 122 units that have an over the counter archery elk hunt.

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And now below, here is the same over the counter archery elk opportunities, with a 20% or greater public land percentage applied. You'll see how easily it can be to start to narrow down hunts using Filtering.

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The 2020 harvest reports were not available as of March 12, 2021.

See your archery OTC options here

2nd Season OTC

There are a total of 143 units that hold 2nd season OTC elk hunts. Again, there are a lot of units on the eastern plains, so adjusting the public land filter to 10% will knock that number down to 109 and if you jump to 20% public land you're looking at 94 total units.

The 2020 harvest reports were not available as of March 12, 2021.

See your 2nd season OTC options here

3rd Season OTC

There are a total of 90 different units in Colorado that hold an OTC elk hunt for 3rd season.

The 2020 harvest reports were not available as of March 12, 2021.

See your 3rd season OTC options here

In Summary

Best of luck this upcoming hunting season! Hopefully, you're able to pick up an elk tag this fall and get out and have fun. Keep in mind when looking at opportunities for elk in Colorado that there are a lot of options that you can draw with minimal points and you always have OTC hunts to consider if you don't draw.

Remember, as an Insider you have access to everything from Filtering, Draw Odds, GOHUNT 3D Web Maps and Application Strategy articles. All of these tools are what you need to find the perfect hunt for you.