GMU 20 Elk Report — 2026 season
17 limited hunt codes valid in this unit. CPW 2026 brochure, 2026 primary draw recap, 2025 harvest survey. Points: resident / nonresident.
Unit harvest trend (2023–2024)
| Year | Harvest | Hunters | Success | Rec. days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 405 (171 bulls / 210 cows / 24 calves) | 822 | 49% | 7,102 |
| 2024 | 355 (152 bulls / 198 cows / 5 calves) | 875 | 41% | 8,492 |
| 2023 Archery | 31 | 118 | 27% | 1,120 |
| 2023 Muzzleloader | 22 | 35 | 62% | 193 |
| 2023 Rifle | 352 | 669 | 53% | 5,788 |
| 2024 Archery | 37 | 116 | 32% | 1,084 |
| 2024 Muzzleloader | 13 | 37 | 36% | 202 |
| 2024 Rifle | 305 | 721 | 42% | 7,205 |
| Season | Antlered harvest / hunters | Success | Antlerless harvest / hunters | Success |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Muzzleloader | 20 / 27 | 75% | 1 / 8 | 17% |
| 2023 Rifle | 119 / 194 | 61% | 209 / 463 | 45% |
| 2024 Muzzleloader | 11 / 27 | 40% | 3 / 10 | 25% |
| 2024 Rifle | 104 / 192 | 54% | 185 / 505 | 37% |
* CPW's antlered/antlerless tables do not include either-sex hunt codes.
All limited + over-the-counter hunters. CPW published unit-level tables for 2023 and 2024; the 2025 report has hunt-code totals only.
Every hunt code in the unit
| Dates | GMUs | Drew out at (pts) | Points 2023–2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-E-020-O1-A | archery | either | Sept. 2–30 | ■20 | A | 105 | 265 | 2 | 7 | 3/3/3/23/5/6/7 | 33% | 34.1 |
| E-F-020-O1-A | archery | female | Sept. 2–30 | 20 | A | 10 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0/00/-/0/0 | 0%* | – |
| E-M-020-O1-A | archery | male | Sept. 2–30 | 20 | A | 10 | 104 | 5 | 14 | 4/4/5/56/7/8/14 | 30%* | 30.7 |
| E-F-020-O1-M | muzzleloader | female | Sept. 12–20 | 20 | A | 10 | 21 | 2 | 6 | 0/0/0/23/-/-/6 | 0%* | – |
| E-M-020-O1-M | muzzleloader | male | Sept. 12–20 | 20 | A | 30 | 105 | 4 | 14 | 3/3/4/411/14/13/14 | 63% | 7.0 |
| E-F-020-L1-R | rifle | female | Dec. 5–16 Late | 20 | A | 10 | 19 | 1 | – | 0/0/1/10/0/1/- | 38%* | 7.7 |
| E-M-020-L1-R | rifle | male | Dec. 5–16 Late | 20 | A | 55 | 272 | 6 | 13 | 5/5/6/67/8/9/13 | 75% | 6.2 |
| E-M-020-L2-R | rifle | male + | Jan. 9–20 Late | 20 | A | 55 | 290 | 8 | 17 | 6/6/7/810/12/16/17 | 74% | 6.2 |
| E-F-020-L3-R | rifle | female | Aug. 15– Jan. 31 Late | ■20 | C | 100 | 41 | 0 (2nd) | 0 (2nd) | 0/0/0/00/0/0/0 | 40% | 27.4 |
| E-M-020-O1-R | rifle | male | Oct. 14–18 | 20 | A | 25 | 206 | 6 | 18 | 5/5/5/69/16/18/18 | 50% | 6.7 |
| E-F-020-O2-R | rifle | female | Oct. 24–Nov. 1 | 20 | A | 10 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0/0/1/10/-/-/1 | 27%* | 8.3 |
| E-M-020-O2-R | rifle | male | Oct. 24–Nov. 1 | 20 | A | 25 | 187 | 5 | 14 | 4/5/5/56/6/11/14 | 71% | 5.2 |
| E-F-020-O3-R | rifle | female | Nov. 7–15 | 20 | A | 10 | 33 | 1 | – | 0/0/0/1-/1/-/- | 40% | 9.2 |
| E-M-020-O3-R | rifle | male | Nov. 7–15 | 20 | A | 25 | 147 | 5 | 10 | 5/5/4/57/5/8/10 | 68% | 8.1 |
| E-F-020-O4-R | rifle | female | Nov. 18–22 | 20 | A | 10 | 7 | 0 | – | 0/0/1/0-/0/1/- | 0%* | – |
| E-M-020-O4-R | rifle | male | Nov. 18–22 | 20 | A | 25 | 121 | 4 | 9 | 3/4/4/46/5/9/9 | 52% | 7.8 |
| E-F-020-P5-RPLO | rifle | female | Sept. 1– Jan. 31, 2027 | 20 | B | 500 | 461 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0/00/0/0/0 | 54% | 22.7 |
* Low sample: CPW flags these hunt codes "few hunters responded".
- either +
- either-sex license; + marks codes where an adult Colorado resident needed on average 6+ preference points to draw over the previous three draws (CPW brochure p.20). Up to 20% of these licenses may go to nonresidents (p.4).
- 0 (2nd)
- the code filled with 2nd-choice applicants: every 1st-choice applicant drew, even with 0 points.
Near-sure draws (0–1 point in 2026)
- E-F-020-P5-R rifle female, Sept. 1– Jan. 31, 2027: 500 tags, 461 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 54%, List B (private land only)
- E-F-020-O3-R rifle female, Nov. 7–15: 10 tags, 33 first-choice apps, drew at 1 res /– nonres, success 40%, List A
- E-F-020-L3-R rifle female, Aug. 15– Jan. 31 Late: 100 tags, 41 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 40%, List C
- E-F-020-L1-R rifle female, Dec. 5–16 Late: 10 tags, 19 first-choice apps, drew at 1 res /– nonres, success 38% (low sample), List A
- E-F-020-O2-R rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1: 10 tags, 30 first-choice apps, drew at 1 res /1 nonres, success 27% (low sample), List A
- E-F-020-O1-A archery female, Sept. 2–30: 10 tags, 20 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 0% (low sample), List A
- E-F-020-O4-R rifle female, Nov. 18–22: 10 tags, 7 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /– nonres, success 0% (low sample), List A
Point creep warnings (resident or nonresident points rose 2+ since 2023)
- E-E-020-O1-Aarchery either:res 3/3/3/2nonres 3/5/6/7
- E-M-020-O1-Aarchery male:res 4/4/5/5nonres 6/7/8/14
- E-F-020-O1-Mmuzzleloader female:res 0/0/0/2nonres 3/-/-/6
- E-M-020-O1-Mmuzzleloader male:res 3/3/4/4nonres 11/14/13/14
- E-M-020-L1-Rrifle male:res 5/5/6/6nonres 7/8/9/13
- E-M-020-L2-Rrifle male:res 6/6/7/8nonres 10/12/16/17
- E-M-020-O1-Rrifle male:res 5/5/5/6nonres 9/16/18/18
- E-M-020-O2-Rrifle male:res 4/5/5/5nonres 6/6/11/14
- E-M-020-O3-Rrifle male:res 5/5/4/5nonres 7/5/8/10
- E-M-020-O4-Rrifle male:res 3/4/4/4nonres 6/5/9/9
Stackable tags (List B and C — can be held alongside a List A tag)
- E-F-020-L3-R rifle female Aug. 15– Jan. 31 Late — drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res / 0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, 100 tags
- E-F-020-P5-R rifle female Sept. 1– Jan. 31, 2027 — drew at 0 res / 0 nonres, 500 tags
With your points
Likely draws (4)
- E-F-020-O1-A needs 0 pts
- E-F-020-L3-R 0 pts, 2nd choice
- E-F-020-O4-R needs 0 pts
- E-F-020-P5-R needs 0 pts
Coin flips (3)
- E-F-020-L1-R needs 1 pt
- E-F-020-O2-R needs 1 pt
- E-F-020-O3-R needs 1 pt
Not this year (10)
- E-E-020-O1-A needs 2 pts
- E-M-020-O1-A needs 5 pts
- E-F-020-O1-M needs 2 pts
- E-M-020-O1-M needs 4 pts
- E-M-020-L1-R needs 6 pts
- E-M-020-L2-R needs 8 pts
- E-M-020-O1-R needs 6 pts
- E-M-020-O2-R needs 5 pts
- E-M-020-O3-R needs 5 pts
- E-M-020-O4-R needs 4 pts
Numbers are the last draw's drawn-out-at points for the chosen residency: the points held by the last applicant who drew. Codes with no drawn-out-at value for that residency are left out. Point creep can move a code up a bucket.
Drawn-out-at = preference points held by the last successful applicant at that residency. "0 (2nd)" = the code filled with 2nd-choice applicants, so any 1st-choice applicant drew with 0 points. Success % and days/harvest are from CPW's 2025harvest survey, by hunt code.
FAQ
- Which elk hunt codes are valid in GMU 20?
- 17 limited codes in the 2026 brochure: E-E-020-O1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-F-020-O1-A (archery female, Sept. 2–30); E-M-020-O1-A (archery male, Sept. 2–30); E-F-020-O1-M (muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20); E-M-020-O1-M (muzzleloader male, Sept. 12–20); E-F-020-L1-R (rifle female, Dec. 5–16 Late); E-M-020-L1-R (rifle male, Dec. 5–16 Late); E-M-020-L2-R (rifle male, Jan. 9–20 Late); E-F-020-L3-R (rifle female, Aug. 15– Jan. 31 Late); E-M-020-O1-R (rifle male, Oct. 14–18); E-F-020-O2-R (rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-M-020-O2-R (rifle male, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-F-020-O3-R (rifle female, Nov. 7–15); E-M-020-O3-R (rifle male, Nov. 7–15); E-F-020-O4-R (rifle female, Nov. 18–22); E-M-020-O4-R (rifle male, Nov. 18–22); E-F-020-P5-R (rifle female, Sept. 1– Jan. 31, 2027).
- What is the easiest elk tag to draw in GMU 20?
- E-F-020-P5-R (rifle, female, Sept. 1– Jan. 31, 2027) drew out at 0 for residents and 0 for nonresidents in the 2026 draw, with 500 tags.
- How many points does it take to draw E-M-020-L2-R?
- In the 2026 primary draw the last E-M-020-L2-R tag went at 8 resident points and 17 nonresident points. Resident history 2023–2026: 6/6/7/8; nonresident: 10/12/16/17.
- What is elk hunting success in GMU 20?
- In 2024, 875 elk hunters in GMU 20 harvested 355 animals (41% success, all seasons and weapons, CPW harvest survey).
- What does "either +" mean in a Colorado hunt table?
- "Either" is an either-sex license. A plus (+) in the sex column marks hunt codes for which an adult Colorado resident needed an average of at least six preference points to draw over the previous three limited draws (CPW brochure p.20). For those codes up to 20 percent of the licenses may go to nonresidents (p.4).
- What does "0 pts (2nd choice)" mean?
- The hunt code filled with second-choice applicants. Every first-choice applicant drew, even with zero preference points, and the remaining licenses went to people who listed it as their second choice.