Reading CPW draw odds

On this page: 2026 examples · 2027 status · Where the reports are · The reports that matter · Reading a recap · Planning your points · Questions

To read your own point level across every 2026 elk, deer and pronghorn hunt code at once, use the draw lookup: pick your points and residency, and it lists what CPW's 2026 recap shows each code drew at exactly that level.

What it took to draw in 2026: six real hunt codes

Every number in this table is CPW's, read from the 2026 primary draw recaps at build time. Each row is one hunt code, shown with its full list of valid GMUs from the 2026 Big Game Brochure. Where a code covers several units, its numbers are for the whole code: CPW does not split them by unit, and neither do we. "Drew at" is CPW's drawn-out level for adult applicants listing the code as their first choice, with how many at that level drew. CPW 2026 Big Game Brochure (valid GMUs, season dates)

How to read one row

Take E-M-076-O1-R, a bull rifle code valid in GMU 76 only. CPW's 2026 recap shows 190 licenses and 1,328 first-choice applicants. Resident adults drew out at 9 points (40 of 151 at 9 drew). Non-resident adults, drawing against their own cap, drew out at 21 points (3 of 10 at 21 drew). That is the whole method: find the drawn-out level for your residency, then see how many at that level actually drew. 2026 draw (CPW 2026 draw recap) elk recap, PDF pp. 1183, 1184

E-M-061-O1-R (GMU 61) shows why the drawn-out level is not the only number. Resident adults drew out at 15 points (20 of 22 at 15 drew), yet the recap also lists 20 licenses drawn through the hybrid draw, and 20 resident adults below 15 points drew this code as a first choice, the lowest holding 5 points. A random allocation sits inside the point draw for codes like this one. 2026 draw (CPW 2026 draw recap) elk recap, PDF pp. 1101, 1102

One recap is one year. A code whose drawn-out level climbs every year (point creep) looks the same in a single report as one that holds steady, so read the same code across several years before you plan around it; CPW keeps the latest six years online. CPW · Elk statistics

2027: what CPW has and has not published

• Application dates. CPW has not published 2027 application dates as of October 17, 2026, when this site last checked. The 2026 dates on the deadline calendar are labeled 2026 and kept for reference. CPW Primary Draw
• Fees. CPW has not published 2027 license fees as of October 17, 2026, when this site last checked. The fee tables say which year they describe.
• Draw statistics. 2027 draw statistics cannot exist until the 2027 primary draw has run. The newest primary-draw recaps are CPW's 2026 reports, run between May 11, 2026 and May 21, 2026; every example above is from them and labeled 2026.

Where to find the reports

CPW keeps draw statistics on each species' own hunting page rather than one combined hub. Elk's page, as a working example, has a dedicated Statistics section: CPW · Elk statistics. Deer has the equivalent CPW · Deer statistics. Bear, pronghorn, moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat each have their own statistics page under CPW · Big Game. Start from your species' main hunting page and look for a "Statistics" link if the exact URL isn't listed here.

The reports that matter

• Draw Recap: the main report. It lays pre-draw application counts by hunt code and preference-point level next to post-draw results, so you can see how many people applied at each point level and how many licenses each level received.
• Drawn Out At (a compressed view): for each hunt code and residency type, the minimum number of preference points that successfully drew in the most recent draw. This is the fastest way to sanity-check "how many points do I need for this unit."
• Secondary Draw Recap: the same format for the June secondary draw, which doesn't use points.
• Harvest, Population Estimates and Over the Counter Sales: separate from draw odds, but worth reading alongside them: a unit that's easy to draw and has a low harvest rate is a different bet than one that's hard to draw with a high harvest rate, and the OTC sales report shows how many people bought into the unlimited hunts you'd be sharing the mountain with.

How to read a Draw Recap in practice

Find your species and hunt code, then look at last year's report: how many applicants applied at your current point total (or the point total you'd have by your target year), and how many of them drew. A hunt code where zero-point applicants routinely draw is functionally over-the-counter with extra steps; a hunt code where even 15-plus-point applicants miss some years is a genuine long-term wait. CPW keeps the latest six years of statistics online and says so; read more than one, because a single year can be noisy if quotas shifted. CPW's own caveat on the reports is the right posture: they are guidelines for filling out an application, since quotas, applicant pools and hunt codes move year to year. CPW · Elk statistics

One structural thing the reports won't tell you: a hunt code that has needed 10 or more resident points is also, by definition, a candidate for the hybrid draw, a small random allocation inside the primary draw open to anyone with five points or more. A "15 points to draw" line in a Drawn Out At report is the preference-point answer, not the only door.

Using odds to plan your points

Once you know roughly how many points a unit has required historically, weigh that against how many years you're willing to spend building points before you apply for a first choice, spending points elsewhere via the point-only code in the meantime. How points accumulate covers the mechanics; the best-elk-units page adds the unit-quality side of the tradeoff so you're not just chasing the easiest draw.

Worked examples: ten GMU pages

These pages apply the method above to CPW's 2026 recap. Draw numbers appear only for codes valid in that one unit; codes that span several units are labeled as code-level.

• GMU 2: Moffat County, limited licenses only; bull and either-sex codes take 25+ points.
• GMU 11: Moffat & Rio Blanco; 2nd and 3rd rifle bull OTC on all land, new for 2026.
• GMU 12: Williams Fork country; rifle bull OTC now on all land, archery by draw.
• GMU 18: Grand County; OTC archery (residents) and 2nd & 3rd rifle bull.
• GMU 55: Gunnison County; 2nd and 3rd rifle bull moved from OTC to limited in 2026.
• GMU 62: Uncompahgre Plateau; OTC archery (residents) and rifle bull, single-unit draw codes.
• GMU 70: Dolores, Montrose & San Miguel; OTC rifle bull, archery by draw, single-unit codes.
• GMU 81: Conejos & Rio Grande; OTC rifle bull, archery and 1st rifle shared with GMU 80.
• GMU 82: Alamosa & Saguache; public lands only, nearly every code GMU 82 alone.
• GMU 201: Moffat County, limited only; its early rifle code took the most resident points of the ten.

Common questions

Where does CPW publish Colorado draw odds?

On each species' own hunting page, under a Statistics section. CPW does not keep one combined odds page for every species. Elk's is at cpw.state.co.us/activities/hunting/big-game/hunting-elk/elk-statistics; deer, bear, pronghorn, moose, sheep and goat each have their own equivalent page.

What is a "Drawn Out At" report?

A CPW report showing, for each hunt code and residency type, the minimum preference-point level that successfully drew a license in the most recent draw. It's the fastest way to check how many points a specific unit has historically required.

How hard is it to draw a Colorado elk tag?

It depends entirely on the hunt code: many over-the-counter and lightly subscribed limited elk hunt codes draw at zero or low points, while a handful of premier units can take well over a decade of points. Check the specific hunt code's Draw Recap rather than relying on Colorado's reputation as a whole.

How many preference points does it take to draw elk in Colorado?

Anywhere from none to well over a decade, by hunt code. In the 2026 draw (CPW 2026 draw recap), every first-choice applicant drew E-M-011-O1-R (GMUs 11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 25, 26, 33, 34, 131, 211, 231), while resident adults needed 15 points (20 of 22 at 15 drew) for E-M-061-O1-R (GMU 61) and non-residents 27 points (6 of 14 at 27 drew). Look up your own code's line in the recap before you apply.

When will 2027 Colorado draw odds be available?

Not until after the 2027 primary draw has run, because the recap reports what happened in that draw. CPW has not published 2027 application dates as of October 17, 2026, when this site last checked. Until then, the 2026 recaps (run between May 11, 2026 and May 21, 2026) are the newest primary-draw statistics, and this page labels every number from them 2026.