Links, below, will help you navigate our Web site to find the critical information you need to plan your hunt. Other resources and tips are available, too, to help make your Colorado hunt successful, memorable, and safe.

Updated for 2010, the Colorado Big Game Hunting Planner, is a one-page summary of season dates, fees, and application dates and deadlines, and can be saved and printed for easy reference as you plan your hunt.

By-the-way, do you know that Colorado is the only state that offers bull elk licenses over the counter? See a map of bull elk units offering over-the-counter licenses available during the 2nd rifle season and the 3rd rifle season.

Check on available leftover licenses on or after August 10, 2010.

Be sure to make full use of the Natural Diversity Information Source interactive maps (NDIS). Some ideas for their use are below.

1. Familiarize yourself with big game license options.
2. Decide which big game species you intend to hunt: Elk, deer, bear, pronghorn and/or moose. 
3. Decide upon when to hunt and the method of take to use.
4. Select your hunt location (GMU) and check public land accessibility. (For some GMU suggestions, read Places to Start. This was written for the 2009 season but should remain valid for the 2010 season.)
5. NEW! Changes Planned for 2010 Gunnison Basin Elk Hunting. Applies to GMUs 54, 55, and 551.
6. Research the preference points needed to apply for Limited Licenses.
7. Examine past success rates for elk and other big game species.
8. Track herd movements on Natural Diversity Information Source (NDIS) maps.
9. Consider over-the-counter (OTC) licenses.

Season Advantages and Methods of Take

Archery

• The archery season typically runs from the last weekend in August each year to the last weekend in September. 
• Weather tends to be milder. 
• Elk rut during this month-long season.
• Either-sex deer and elk draw licenses are available.   
• Over-the-counter for both either-sex elk and pronghorn licenses are available. 

Muzzleloader (check brochure for firearm-type restrictions)

• Typically one week each year in the middle of September.
• All licenses are limited by draw.
• Great time to be in Colorado’s back country! 
• Typically overlaps with the rut.  

Rifle (Four Seasons) 

• First season is restricted to elk limited licenses. Check available leftover licenses. (This information available on or after August 10, 2010.)
         —Typically takes place early to mid-October.
         —Generally fewer hunters in the field.
         —Elk hunters are not sharing the backcountry with deer hunters.
• The second season, typically in mid- to late-October, has elk and deer draws and over-the-counter elk licenses available.
• The third season, typically scheduled for early November, has elk and deer draws and over-the-counter elk licenses available.
         —Cold and snow usually begins to move animals to lower elevations.
• The fourth season is limited to elk and deer draw licenses and takes place in mid-November.
         —Typically colder weather at this time makes animals more accessible.

Which Area to Hunt—Game Management Units (GMUs)

• DOW biologists have divided Colorado into Data Analysis Units, or DAUs, for the purpose of managing wildlife populations. Each DAU represents an area that a herd will utilize throughout the year. DAU's are consist of one or more Game Management Units.
• GMUs are used to manage hunter distribution by setting the number of licenses, and type, that will be made available for sale. Each GMU has a set number of licenses available per season. When applying for a limited license, a GMU must be selected, along with the method of take to be used, and season choice.
• Most western Colorado GMU's also have unlimited over-the-counter (OTC) bull elk licenses available for the 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons. A specific GMU selection is not required when an OTC license is purchased.
• Approximately two-thirds of the GMUs offer either-sex and cow elk OTC archery licenses, and either-sex pronghorn OTC archery licenses.

Preference points needed—Limited Licenses

Preference points affect your ability to draw a limited license. Ninety-five to ninety-eight percent of GMUs require no preference points—or just a single preference point—in order to draw a limited license in those units. Take a look at the number of points required to hunt in the area you selected.

Preference points are earned when you apply for a limited license (by April 6, 2010) but are unsuccessful in drawing a license for your first choice. You can also apply just for the purpose of earning a preference point, but all the hunter education requirements must be successfully completed before applying. (Preference points earned in the current year cannot be applied until the following year.) You can apply for a preference point and still buy an OTC license the same year.

Last Year’s Success Rates—Big Game Harvest Statistics and Herd Status

• Review statistics from previous year's seasons indicating hunter success in specific GMUs using a specific method of take.
• Colorado Outdoors’ Herd Status Issue (January/February) has lists of the mature bull to mature cow and mature buck to mature doe ratios.

Natural Diversity Information Source (NDIS) Maps by GMU

NDIS is a database of information—biological, GMU boundaries, public lands, campgrounds, topography and more—that can be layered onto interactive maps. These maps can depict game habitat and historic migration routes. Use NDIS to narrow your location choices to increase your chances of a successful hunt!

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• Online order form to request a brochure.
• Pick up a copy at any DOW office or license agent.
• Submit an address change to ensure delivery.

  Review the Game Management Unit (GMU) Map. (A larger version of the GMU map can be purchased at Division of Wildlife offices.) Together with the map, unit descriptions may be helpful, too.

  Try "layering" a GMU map with herd information through the Natural Diversity Information System. (After choosing a GMU map and clicking on the "Map It!" button, click the link named "Add Game Maps" near the bottom of the map screen and choose the herd information desired.)

  Look into success rates from last year for elk and other big game species. Success rates for previous years are there, too.

  Some GMUs require one or more preference points in order to apply for a license in those GMUs. Using last year's hunt statistics may increase your chances of getting a license of your choice. 

  Western Slope (NW and SW Colorado) big game hunting guides. These guides provide overviews of hunting information for western Colorado. Included are statistics, directories, and some great hunting tips. (2010 editions available July 1, 2010.)

  Get the latest information from the US Forest Service about pine bark beetle mitigation work that may take place near your planned hunting area. Their regional maps may also be helpful.

  State Wildlife Area Maps. Many Division of Wildlife State Wildlife Areas provide opportunities to hunt (and fish!).

Other Helpful Sources of Information

  Sign up for the (free!) DOW Insider e-news bulletins to stay up-to-date with wildlife news.

  Subscribe to Colorado Outdoors Magazine. A one-year, bi-monthly subscription is only $13! And either the annual Hunting Guide or Fishing Guide (your choice) is included ($5 each if purchased separately)!

  Improve your skills in the field—for before and after the hunt: Buy Down to the Bone and Elk Hunting, Colorado, DVDs, for just $17.95 each.

  Considering the services of an outfitter or guide? A list of state-licensed outfitters and guides is available at http://www.coloradooutfitters.org/

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• To hunt in Colorado, if you were born on or after January 1, 1949, you must have passed a hunter education course (often referred to as a 'hunter safety course') before you can apply for or purchase a hunting license or apply for a preference point. Your hunter education card from your home state is sufficient, with proof, or you may take and pass a course upon your arrival, or even before you leave home!
  • Proving hunter education course completion.
  • Find a hunter education 'CRASH' course to take when you arrive.
  • Find an Internet-based course to start before leaving home, then finishing here.
• Purchase license(s) at a DOW office. (Photo I.D. and proof of residency required.)
• Purchase license(s) from a retail license agents. (Photo I.D. and proof of residency required.)
• Purchase license(s) online (overnight shipping available). The online application and purchasing process leads you through the steps and helps prevent errors. It is up to the buyer to enter the correct hunt code!
  — To apply for or purchase a license online, you’ll need a credit card, your Hunter Education Certificate number (if you were born on or after January 1, 1949), Social Security Number (required by Colorado statute), your Customer Identification Number (CID), and proof of residency. (You must have lived in Colorado for at least 6 months with the intent of being a permanent resident before you can apply as a Colorado resident.)

Note that over-the-counter licenses can be purchased up to the start of the season at license agents, online, and at DOW offices (that is, until midnight of the day before season start). After the season starts, over-the-counter licenses may be purchased at DOW offices only.

(Applications for Big Game Limited Licenses are due by April 6, 2010.)

• Check the list of 2010 leftover licenses. (This information available on or after August 10, 2010.) 

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 Camping? Go to the Colorado State Parks Web site to review their general camping rules. Hunting in a Colorado State Park? The Parks Web site also has important hunting information for each park. The USDA Forest Service Web site also provides camping information for Forest Service lands.

 If you’ll be camping during your hunting trip, please help protect our forests by buying your firewood in Colorado. Firewood can spread harmful insect pests and diseases such as emerald ash borer, sirex wood wasp, gypsy moth, Asian longhorned beetle, and oak wilt disease. If you have brought firewood from another state, please burn it immediately. For more information contact the Colorado Department of Agriculture at 303/239-4140.

 Firebans: A link to information from the Colorado Division of Emergency Management.

 Check with your airline concerning their restrictions about traveling with firearms, and about getting meat and antlers home. For more on firearms policies, see the Transportation Security Administration's Web site and that of the ATF.

 Sight in your rifle. Colorado boasts a number of great public and semi-private shooting ranges to sight-in your rifle. Many private ranges are open to the public for sight-in, too.

 A current Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) registration or non-resident permit is required for all OHVs that are operated on public lands. Registrations and permits, and full program details, are at the Colorado State Parks Web site.

 Motor Vehicle Use Maps from the U.S. Forest Service. Go to the Travel Management & Off-Highway Vehicle Program Web site; click the link under "Motor Vehicle Use Maps"; select a Colorado forest. Another resource for OHV maps is "Stay the Trail".

 Planning to bring a more 'basic' mode of transportation? Horse? Mule? You must contact a veterinarian to get a Certificate of Health Inspection within 30 days before horses enter Colorado. Horses also need a Coggins Blood Test for equine infectious anemia within a year before coming here. For details and procedures, call the Colorado State Veterinarian’s office, 303/239-4161. See also the health requirements statement from the State Veterinarian's office.

Please do not bring forage for your stock to Colorado that has not been certified as weed-free. The Colorado Department of Agriculture's Weed-Free Forage Program maintains a database of approved sources for weed-free forage, listed either by producer or location. Learn about the consequences of using non-certified forage; go the the Division's Weed-Free Forage Program page.

 Check for road/land closures in the area you plan to hunt. This information, from the BLM and USDAFS, changes often so go to their Web sites for current closures: BLM for Colorado, US Forest Service. (You may have to call the main office of the forest in which you will be hunting to get up-to-date information.)

 Important! Use the Hunting Trip Information Form to leave important information about your hunting plans in the event of an emergency.

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• From the Colorado Revised Statutes: "...it is unlawful for any person to hunt or take elk, deer, pronghorn, moose, or black bear with any firearm unless such person is wearing daylight fluorescent orange garments that meet the following requirements:"
• • Garments shall be solid daylight fluorescent orange colored material and shall be of sufficient brightness to be seen conspicuously from a reasonable distance.
  • Garments shall be a minimum of five hundred square inches and shall be worn as an outer garment above the waist, part of which shall be a hat or head covering visible from all directions."

  Archery hunters, please note: All hunters hunting during a rifle season must wear fluorescent orange according to the above regardless of manner of take.

• Baiting of wildlife and party-hunting are unlawful.
• Attach all required carcass tags.
• Enjoy your hunt and your time in the field!
• Leave the woods as you found them. Leave no trace. 
• Be honest and ethical.
• Plan for emergencies. Know basic survival skills.
• Hunt prepared for success.

 Carry DOW telephone numbers with you.

 Carry Colorado State Patrol telephone numbers with you.

 Review key tips for survival in the back country.

 Know the Care and Handling of Game in the Field.

 Report poaching or other illegal hunting activity you personally witness. Call the local sheriff's office or the Colorado State Patrol. Call Operation Game Thief at any time. 

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  If you haven't already, contact your airline for regulations about getting your game and/or antlers home.

  Complete and return any harvest surveys you receive or are requested of you.

  Subscribe to Colorado Outdoors Magazine and receive the special edition Hunting Guide. It's not too early to start working on next year's hunt!

  Be proud—you are helping Colorado manage wildlife resources for many generations to come.

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