Outdoors · Hunting
Plain-English answers first, then the official source. Colorado is one of the best hunting states in the country — the largest elk herd in the world, strong mule deer and pronghorn, and more than 23 million acres of public land. It also has a detailed rulebook. This guide is your map and your translator.
Last checked against CPW sources: June 2026. Dates, fees, hunt codes, license availability, and unit rules change every year and vary unit to unit. Treat every number here as a current-year example — confirm with CPW before you apply, buy, or hunt.
Start here
Most people land here with one specific worry. Pick the closest and jump straight to it.
Brand new
You'll likely need a hunter-education course first. Start with the license basics.
Jump there →Elk / deer / big game
Most big-game tags come from a spring draw with real deadlines. This trips up the most people.
Jump there →Small game / birds
Usually the easiest place to start — most are over-the-counter, no lottery.
Jump there →From out of state
You pay more, and some tags are draw-only for nonresidents. Know this before you plan.
Jump there →Access
"Public" comes in several flavors, each with its own rules. Some even need a pass just to park.
Jump there →On this page
Your first season
The rest of this page is the full picture. But if you're brand new, here's the short, ordered path — do these six things and you'll have a real, legal hunt your first year.
If you were born on or after Jan 1, 1949, do this first — you can't buy a license without it. Online or in person; it's a one-time, lifetime card.
Even if you won't hunt big game in year one, the annual small-game license lets you apply in the draw and start earning preference points. Points only grow if you're in the game.
An over-the-counter archery or 2nd/3rd-season rifle elk tag, a white-tailed deer tag, or small game and birds. You can buy these without drawing — no lottery, no waiting.
Mark the draw deadline (early April), results (late May), the secondary draw (June), and when leftover and OTC tags go on sale (early August). Missing April means missing the best tags for the year.
Open CPW's free Hunting Atlas, pick public land you can legally reach, and confirm the access rules for it. Scout before the season if you can.
Plan for altitude, sudden snow, and steep country. Read the field rules below, pack hunter orange, and tell someone your plan.
Yes. In Colorado, almost everyone needs a license to hunt almost anything — big game, small game, and birds. There are a few narrow exceptions (for example, a landowner protecting crops or livestock under state law), but for normal hunting, plan on needing one.
You also need the right license for the right animal. Colorado sells licenses per species: an elk tag does not let you shoot a deer, and a small-game license does not cover turkey.
Two things almost everyone needs:
If you were born on or after January 1, 1949, you must finish a CPW-approved hunter-education course before you can buy or apply for a license. It's a one-time requirement — pass once and you're set for life. You can take it online or in a classroom, and hunter-ed cards from other states and countries are accepted.
Adults over 50, plus active military and veterans, who never took the course can test out with a one-time online exam. And brand-new hunters who haven't finished the course can use a free Apprentice license to get into the field first (see Special groups).
Prices and some rules depend on whether you're a Colorado resident. A resident has generally lived in Colorado for at least six months (CPW looks for things like a Colorado driver's license). Active-duty military stationed here, and some qualifying students, can also count.
Visitors (nonresidents) pay a lot more for big-game tags, and for some species can only get tags through the draw. For visitors, big-game licenses are sold as a combo that also includes a fishing privilege — you can't buy the hunting part by itself.
A heads-up for visitors chasing elk: Colorado no longer sells over-the-counter archery elk to nonresidents in units west of I-25 (or in GMU 140) — those are now draw-only. Nonresidents can still get OTC archery elk in certain units east of I-25, but the exact hunt codes are set each year, so check CPW's current nonresident list before you count on it.
A Colorado hunt is usually a few pieces stacked together:
A nice thing to know: a small $1.25 search-and-rescue fee is baked into license prices and helps fund county search-and-rescue teams if a hunter gets hurt or lost.
A note on the license year. Colorado's products don't all use one calendar. Annual small-game, furbearer, fishing, and combo licenses generally run March 1 through March 31 of the following year (about 13 months). Big-game licenses are tied to seasons. Mountain lion and some products run on their own cycle. Always check the dates printed on your license.
Where to buy: online at CPWShop.com, by phone at 1-800-244-5613, or in person at CPW offices and approved retailers.
These are approximate 2026 example prices. Prices change every year. Confirm the exact amount in the current CPW brochure or at CPWShop.com before you buy.
| License / tag | Resident | Visitor |
|---|---|---|
| Annual small-game license (also a "qualifying license") | ~$38 | ~$105 |
| Habitat Stamp (ages 18–64, once per year) | ~$12.50 | ~$12.50 |
| Deer | ~$52 | ~$507 |
| Elk | ~$70 | ~$845 |
| Pronghorn (antelope) | ~$52 | ~$507 |
| Black bear | ~$64 | ~$303 |
| Moose, bighorn sheep, or mountain goat | ~$386 | ~$2,824 |
| Draw application fee (per species, non-refundable) | ~$9 | ~$11 |
This is the part that trips up the most people, so we'll go slow. Colorado has way more hunters than tags for the best hunts, so most big-game tags are handed out by a draw — a yearly lottery. You apply in spring, and a computer picks who gets each limited tag.
Before you can apply in the draw, you must already own a qualifying license — most people just buy the annual small-game license for this. You can add it in the same checkout, but it has to go in the cart first, even if you're only "buying a point." A fishing license does not count. You don't need one to buy leftover or OTC tags.
Each year you apply and don't draw, you usually earn one preference point. Points stack, and the hardest hunts can take many years to draw. You can also apply just to build a point. Drawing a tag spends the points you used. Keep a working card on file — if your payment fails after you draw, you can lose both the tag and the points.
Heads-up: Colorado is changing its draw and points system starting in 2028 (including a move toward a bonus-style draw for sheep, goat, and moose). If you're sitting on a big pile of points, read up before then.
Drew a tag you can't use? Colorado lets you turn a license back in for a refund or to restore your preference point — but only before posted deadlines (generally before the season starts). Miss the deadline and you forfeit both. If something comes up, act early and check CPW's refund and point-restoration rules.
Some tags are sold over the counter: you just buy them, no lottery, limited to certain units, seasons, and weapons. OTC tags don't use preference points and don't require a qualifying license.
Some tags go to private landowners through CPW's Landowner Preference Program; a landowner can transfer a voucher to a hunter (one time), who then buys the matching tag. You can also apply as a group so your whole party draws together or not at all — it doesn't improve your odds, just keeps you together. Party hunting — tagging an animal a buddy shot under their license — is illegal. Your tag, your animal.
When you apply, you pick a hunt code (a string like E-E-001-O1-A). It reads like a license plate but tells you everything: species, animal type, GMU, season, and weapon (A = archery, M = muzzleloader, R = rifle). Double-check every character — a wrong hunt code can stick you with the wrong place or weapon, and it's hard to fix after the draw runs.
A GMU is a Game Management Unit — a numbered chunk of the map. Colorado is split into hundreds of them, and rules, tags, seasons, and even what you can shoot change from unit to unit. Your tag is usually good only in specific GMUs, so always know which unit you're standing in. CPW's free Hunting Atlas shows the units, public land, and access — learn the ground before you go.
The animals you can hunt
Each species has its own way to get a tag and the rules people most often ask about. Sheep, goat, and moose carry special lifetime and waiting-period rules — read the current CPW species pages before applying.
Colorado's headline animal — the largest elk herd anywhere.
How you get a tag: A mix of draw and over-the-counter. OTC rifle bull/cow tags exist in 2nd & 3rd seasons in many units; archery OTC in some units. 1st and 4th rifle elk are draw-only.
Good to know: Gunnison Basin units 54, 55, 551 are now draw (no longer OTC), and nonresidents can no longer buy OTC archery elk west of I-25.
The classic western-mountains deer.
How you get a tag: All tags are draw — there is no over-the-counter mule deer. Good news: many solid units don't take many points to draw.
Good to know: Don't show up expecting to buy a mule deer tag at the counter. There isn't one.
Mostly the eastern plains.
How you get a tag: Over-the-counter for any legal weapon. This is the OTC deer.
Good to know: Deer use the List A/B system — usually a buck tag plus an optional doe tag.
Fast speed-goats of the open plains and sagebrush.
How you get a tag: Mostly draw. OTC archery (either-sex) is available; rifle pronghorn is draw.
Good to know: Strong on the eastern plains and some western basins.
A fall, spot-and-stalk hunt — color varies from black to cinnamon to blond.
How you get a tag: Draw and OTC. An OTC archery/muzzleloader bear tag is usually an add-on to a matching deer or elk tag in an overlapping unit.
Good to know: No spring season, no dogs, no bait (banned by 1992 vote). You may not take a cub or a female with cubs.
Heavily regulated, with a special hoop to clear.
How you get a tag: Over-the-counter, but you must pass a Mountain Lion Education exam (80%+) first. Season runs fall into the following spring.
Good to know: Each unit has a harvest quota — when it's hit, the unit closes, so check status. Report within 48 hours, inspection within 5 days. Hounds are legal.
A precious, very limited tag.
How you get a tag: Draw-only.
Good to know: The lifetime limit for an antlered (bull) moose is one. Once you've taken a bull, you can't apply for an antlered or either-sex moose again.
Rocky Mountain (high country) and desert (dry southwest) — among the hardest tags in the state.
How you get a tag: Draw-only and extremely limited, with a separate access program.
Good to know: Harvest a Rocky Mountain ram and you wait five years; harvest a desert bighorn and you generally can't apply again for life. You can't apply for both in the same year.
A true high-alpine, bucket-list hunt.
How you get a tag: Draw-only, very limited.
Good to know: Harvest one and you wait five years before applying again.
Classified as big game on paper — but not a normal hunt.
How you get a tag: CPW offers no regular bison seasons, and the state has no established wild bison herds.
Good to know: Treat bison as a special case, not a hunting opportunity. CPW may use a special-management process if a harvest is ever needed.
The friendliest place to start. One annual small-game license covers a lot — rabbits and hares (cottontail, snowshoe, jackrabbit) and squirrels (fox, pine, Abert's) — and you usually don't need a draw.
Furbearers are animals with valuable fur (coyote, bobcat, fox, raccoon, badger, beaver, and more). To take most furbearers you need either a furbearer license or a small-game license plus a $10 furbearer harvest permit. Two big things people get wrong:
A coyote is not a wolf. Wolves are protected. If it looks too big to be a coyote, don't shoot. And most trapping (leghold/body-gripping traps, snares, poisons) has been banned since 1996.
Turkey gets its own license — a small-game license doesn't cover it. There's a spring season (bearded turkeys only) and a fall season (either sex); some tags are over-the-counter (spring OTC goes on sale around March 1), some are draw.
Upland birds — pheasant (roosters only), quail, chukar, several grouse, and prairie-chicken — are covered by the small-game license, mostly in fall and winter. A few sensitive species (white-tailed ptarmigan, greater sage-grouse, sharp-tailed grouse) need a small permit and open only in limited areas.
Waterfowl and doves follow both Colorado and federal rules. To hunt ducks and geese you need a small-game (or qualifying) license, a federal duck stamp, a Colorado waterfowl stamp, and a free HIP number. Doves open the bird year on September 1 and need a small-game license plus HIP, but not the duck stamps. For waterfowl, your shotgun can be no bigger than 10 gauge, must be plugged to hold no more than 3 shells, and you must use non-toxic shot — lead is not allowed.
Colorado spreads big-game seasons out by weapon so the woods aren't crowded all at once. The basic shape: archery opens first (early September), muzzleloader overlaps it in mid-September (draw-only), and rifle runs in four staggered seasons across October and November. 1st and 4th rifle are short and limited (draw); 2nd and 3rd are longer with many OTC elk tags. The eastern plains have their own, often longer seasons.
Exact dates shift a few days every year, so we don't print them here. Check your printed tag and the current Big Game brochure for your dates, unit, and legal hours. Bird, turkey, and waterfowl seasons run on different calendars.
Where you can hunt
More than a third of Colorado is public, with over 23 million acres open to hunting in many places. But "public" comes in several kinds, each with its own rules. The tool to use is CPW's Hunting Atlas — and watch for landlocked public parcels you can't legally reach.
~11 million acres (U.S. Forest Service)
Home to most of Colorado's elk and deer. Open to hunting under normal forest rules.
8+ million acres, mostly western Colorado
Open to hunting unless posted otherwise. Watch for travel and seasonal rules.
Hunting not allowed
One exception: the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve (the Preserve, not the Park).
~350 properties
Quirk: adults generally need a hunting/fishing license OR a current SWA pass just to set foot on most SWAs — even to scout or walk the dog. Some need a reservation.
~973,000 acres enrolled (of ~3 million)
Only the parcels CPW has enrolled are open, usually Sept 1 – end of February. Unenrolled trust land is closed — use the State Trust Land Finder.
~166,000 acres of private land
Landowners opened these to hunters, mostly eastern Colorado. Foot access only; closed at night. Check the Walk-In Atlas.
~1 million acres
Private ranch land opened to hunters who draw specific tags. Colorado residents only.
Permission required
You may only hunt private land with the owner's permission — get it in writing when you can. Even an honest "I didn't know" trespass can mean stiff fines.
Southern Ute & Ute Mountain Ute
Reservation land in the southwest runs on tribal hunting rules and tribal permits — not CPW licenses. A Colorado tag is not valid there. Check with the tribe before you go near these boundaries.
These apply no matter what you're hunting.
Big game: half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. Small game: half an hour before sunrise to sunset. A handful of furbearers (including coyote and bobcat) may be hunted at night under specific rules.
Hunting deer, elk, pronghorn, bear, or moose with any firearm (including muzzleloader seasons) means wearing at least 500 square inches of solid fluorescent orange or pink above the waist, plus an orange or pink hat visible from all directions. Camo orange does not count. There are limited exceptions for some archery hunters, and orange isn't required for sheep or goat — check your brochure.
Big-game rifles must be centerfire, at least .24 caliber, with expanding bullets meeting CPW's minimums (heavier for elk and moose). Muzzleloaders are minimum .40 caliber for deer/pronghorn/bear and .50 for elk/moose, with open sights only (no scopes). Suppressors are allowed if you legally possess one. Banned: "smart rifles," fully automatic firearms, and any semi-automatic rifle holding more than 6 rounds.
Archery is its own world. Bows must meet a minimum draw weight and broadhead width, and electronic or lighted sights are restricted — equipment rules differ sharply from neighboring states, so don't assume your home-state setup is legal here. Crossbows are generally allowed only during rifle/muzzleloader seasons, not the regular archery season, unless you hold a disability accommodation. Check the current rules before you build your kit.
Tag it right away. The moment you harvest a big-game animal, detach the carcass tag and attach it as directed. And if you accidentally take the wrong animal, report it to CPW or the local sheriff right away — done honestly and promptly, it generally won't count against you.
You can quarter and debone an animal in the field, but Colorado requires you to keep evidence of the animal's sex naturally attached to a portion of the carcass or meat until it reaches your home or a processor. For antlered animals the head often does the job; for antlerless game you must leave the required external evidence attached. This trips up people who clean an animal too thoroughly before the drive home.
On Forest Service and BLM land you must stay on designated roads and trails, and many areas ban motorized game retrieval — you can't just drive a side-by-side out to pick up an elk. CPW often treats e-bikes as motor vehicles on closed routes and in many State Wildlife Areas. And designated Wilderness allows no vehicles, bikes, or game carts at all — it's foot or horseback. Check the travel-management map for your unit before you plan a drive-in or a pack-out.
Safety, altitude & weather
Hunters who travel from lower elevations underestimate Colorado's high country every season. A little planning keeps a great hunt from turning into a rescue.
Many hunts happen at 8,000–12,000+ feet. Arrive a day or two early to acclimate, drink far more water than feels necessary, and watch for headache, nausea, and shortness of breath. Coming from sea level and pushing hard on day one is how people get sick.
Rifle seasons run October into November, when a sunny morning can become a snowstorm by afternoon. Dress in layers, carry rain and snow gear, and know that mountain roads can close. Hypothermia, not the animal, is often the real danger.
Leave your unit, route, and return time with someone. A small search-and-rescue fee is already built into your license and helps fund the county teams that come looking — but they need to know where to look.
Steep terrain, packing an animal out, and being miles from a road all add up. Carry a map and compass (phones die in the cold), enough food and water, and a first-aid kit — and don't hunt the backcountry alone your first time if you can help it.
CWD is a fatal brain disease found in some Colorado deer, elk, and moose, and CPW tracks it closely. For 2026, CPW requires a CWD test sample (the head) from elk taken during rifle seasons in certain hunt codes — there's no charge for required testing, and there's no mandatory deer testing in 2026. Even when it's not required, you can usually test voluntarily for about $25 (waived for all moose statewide and for elk from the selected hunt codes).
See a sick-looking animal (thin, drooling, stumbling)? Don't shoot it — note the location and call the nearest CPW office. When you submit a head, bring your license, the GMU, the date, and the location, and plan for it to take up to a day for results. If you cross state lines, the destination state may have carcass-import rules (often no brain or spinal material) — check before you travel.
Colorado quirks
This is the section that saves you a fine or an awkward day in the field.
Voters approved wolf reintroduction in 2020 (Prop 114), and the first wolves were released in December 2023. Gray wolves are federally listed and, in Colorado, managed as a protected experimental population — either way, it is illegal to shoot one. The real risk is mistaking a wolf (~80–120 lbs) for a coyote (~20–35 lbs). If it looks too big to be a coyote, don't shoot.
In 2024 voters rejected Proposition 127, so mountain lion and bobcat hunting continues (regulated). But lynx hunting is illegal — lynx are protected.
That line decides a lot, especially for elk. Nonresidents lost OTC archery elk west of I-25. The eastern plains mean more private land, pronghorn, birds, and plains seasons; the western mountains mean elk, mule deer, and high-country hunts.
There's no over-the-counter mule deer tag. White-tailed deer is the OTC deer.
Most State Wildlife Areas require a hunting/fishing license — or an SWA pass — to even enter, not just to hunt.
Colorado sells licenses per species. Match the license to the animal. (And no furbearer permit is needed for coyotes — but coyote hunters do need a free HIP number.)
A Rocky Mountain bighorn ram or a mountain goat brings a 5-year wait, not a lifetime ban. A bull moose and a desert bighorn are the true lifetime ones. Read the species rules before you apply.
Since a 1996 vote, leghold traps, body-gripping traps, snares, and poisons are off-limits for most hunting, with narrow exceptions. Don't bring trapping habits from other states.
Special groups
The general minimum age for big game and mountain lion is 12 (you can apply at 11 if you'll turn 12 before the season ends). Youth 12–15 need a qualified adult mentor for big game. Tags cost much less, there are special youth seasons, and youth get priority in the secondary draw.
Haven't finished hunter education yet? The free Apprentice license is a one-year waiver so you can try hunting first. You can use it twice in your life, must be at least 12 for big game (10 for small game), and must always be with a qualified mentor.
Active-duty members stationed in Colorado can count as residents for license prices. There are reduced-fee and free options for some disabled veterans and first responders. Check CPW for current programs.
CPW offers accommodation permits (for example, for help with methods or access). The online store is accessible, and phone help is at 1-800-244-5613.
Tag it immediately, then take care of the meat fast. At Colorado elevations, cool the carcass quickly — hang quarters in the shade with air around them, and don't stack warm meat. Caring for the meat is both the law (no wanton waste) and the difference between good and ruined venison.
Have more than you can use? Colorado's Hunters Feeding the Hungry program works with participating processors to turn donated game into meals for food banks across the state — a legal, well-worn way to share a good year.
Plain English
Hunting has its own vocabulary. Here's the plain-English version of the terms in this guide.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife — the state agency that runs hunting. They set seasons, sell licenses, and write the rules.
Game Management Unit — a numbered chunk of the map. Rules, tags, and seasons change unit to unit.
Your tag is usually good only in specific GMUs.
Your permit to hunt a specific animal. Colorado sells them per species — an elk tag won't cover a deer.
The yearly lottery that hands out limited tags. You apply in spring; a computer picks who gets each tag.
A "wait your turn" credit you earn when you apply and don't draw. More points = better odds later.
Drawing a tag usually spends the points you used for it.
"Over the counter" — a tag you just buy, no lottery, but limited to certain units, seasons, and weapons.
A license (usually the annual small-game one) you must already own before you can apply in the big-game draw. A fishing license does not count.
A small yearly stamp (ages 18–64, about $12.50) added to your first license; it funds wildlife habitat.
Harvest Information Program — a free number you must get before hunting small game, coyote, or migratory birds.
State Wildlife Area / State Trust Land / Walk-In Access / Ranching for Wildlife — different kinds of huntable land, each with its own access rules.
Chronic Wasting Disease — a fatal disease in deer, elk, and moose that CPW monitors and sometimes requires you to test for.
Illegally wasting the edible meat of game. Colorado requires you to take and use the meat — it's the law.
FAQ
Figure out whether you need a hunter-education course (required if you were born on or after January 1, 1949), then decide if you're chasing big game (a spring draw with deadlines) or small game (mostly buy-it-now). Everything else flows from there.
Effectively yes — coyotes are a furbearer, but you don't need the furbearer permit for them. You can hunt them with a furbearer or small-game license (or while holding an unfilled big-game license in season), and you must register for a free HIP number first. Coyotes can be hunted year-round.
Sometimes. Nonresidents can no longer buy over-the-counter archery elk in units west of I-25 (those are draw-only), but OTC archery elk still exists in certain units east of I-25, and OTC rifle elk exists in 2nd and 3rd seasons in many units. Hunt codes change yearly — check CPW's current nonresident list.
The primary draw opens around March 1 and closes in early April. Miss it and there's no "buy it later" for limited tags — only leftovers, if any remain, starting in early August.
Size. Wolves run roughly 80–120 pounds; coyotes are about 20–35. Wolves are protected — if it looks too big to be a coyote, don't shoot.
Colorado has more than 23 million acres of public land — national forests, BLM, and CPW lands. But "public" has flavors: some State Wildlife Areas need a license or pass just to enter, and most State Trust Land is closed unless enrolled in CPW's access program. Start with CPW's free Hunting Atlas.
The official signpost
Colorado Porch explains; CPW and Colorado law decide. When you need the exact, current rule, go straight to the source. The brochures (Big Game; Sheep & Goat; Small Game & Waterfowl; Turkey; Mountain Lion) carry the legal detail and update every year.
Use this carefully: Colorado hunting fees, dates, hunt codes, quotas, and unit rules change every year and vary unit to unit. The licenses and rules on this page are plain-English summaries and current-year examples — confirm the exact details in the current CPW brochure before you apply, buy, or hunt.
More CPW links
The fine print lives in Colorado Revised Statutes Title 33 and the CPW Commission rules (2 CCR 406). Phone help: 1-800-244-5613.
Next steps
Hunting is one piece of Colorado's outdoors. Here's where to head next.
Outdoors
More plain-English guides to getting outside in Colorado.
Open the hub →Places
Public land, access, and local notes tied to real Colorado places.
Browse places →Notes
Short notes on State Wildlife Areas, fishing, public land, and access.
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