GMU 49 Elk Report — 2026 season
13 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 | 346 (162 bulls / 146 cows / 38 calves) | 961 | 36% | 5,319 |
| 2024 | 378 (200 bulls / 161 cows / 16 calves) | 971 | 39% | 5,082 |
| 2023 Archery | 36 | 166 | 22% | 1,926 |
| 2023 Muzzleloader | 31 | 123 | 25% | 727 |
| 2023 Rifle | 279 | 672 | 42% | 2,666 |
| 2024 Archery | 53 | 163 | 33% | 1,719 |
| 2024 Muzzleloader | 63 | 132 | 47% | 674 |
| 2024 Rifle | 262 | 676 | 39% | 2,689 |
| Season | Antlered harvest / hunters | Success | Antlerless harvest / hunters | Success |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Muzzleloader | 14 / 59 | 24% | 11 / 64 | 17% |
| 2023 Rifle | 117 / 203 | 57% | 128 / 467 | 27% |
| 2024 Muzzleloader | 42 / 68 | 61% | 21 / 64 | 33% |
| 2024 Rifle | 117 / 203 | 58% | 129 / 472 | 27% |
* 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-049-O1-A | archery | either + | Sept. 2–30 | 49 | A | 170 | 757 | 7 | 13 | 6/7/7/78/9/12/13 | 25% | 45.3 |
| E-F-049-O1-M | muzzleloader | female | Sept. 12–20 | 49 | A | 70 | 132 | 1 | 1 | 0/1/1/11/1/2/1 | 29% | 17.9 |
| E-M-049-O1-M | muzzleloader | male + | Sept. 12–20 | 49 | A | 70 | 307 | 8 | 20 | 7/7/7/815/16/17/20 | 53% | 10.1 |
| E-M-049-O1-R | rifle | male + | Oct. 14–18 | 49 | A | 80 | 751 | 11 | 23 | 9/10/10/1115/17/19/23 | 63% | 5.3 |
| E-F-049-O2-R | rifle | female | Oct. 24–Nov. 1 | 49 | A | 130 | 314 | 1 | 2 | 2/2/1/12/2/2/2 | 33% | 14.3 |
| E-M-049-O2-R | rifle | male | Oct. 24–Nov. 1 | 49 | A | 80 | 531 | 6 | 14 | 5/5/6/66/8/10/14 | 59% | 8.4 |
| E-F-049-O3-R | rifle | female | Nov. 7–15 | 49 | A | 130 | 266 | 1 | 1 | 1/0/0/11/1/2/1 | 42% | 11.6 |
| E-M-049-O3-R | rifle | male | Nov. 7–15 | 49 | A | 40 | 263 | 5 | 8 | 3/3/4/55/5/7/8 | 46% | 11.3 |
| E-F-049-O4-R | rifle | female | Nov. 18–22 | 49 | A | 130 | 167 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0/00/0/0/0 | 31% | 12.1 |
| E-M-049-O4-R | rifle | male | Nov. 18–22 | 49 | A | 20 | 114 | 4 | 7 | 2/3/3/43/5/6/7 | 31% | 10.8 |
| E-F-049-S2-R | rifle | female | Oct. 24–Nov. 1 | 49 Lake Co. portion only | A | 50 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0/02/-/-/0 | 32% | 17.1 |
| E-F-049-S3-R | rifle | female | Nov. 7–15 | 49 Lake Co. portion only | A | 50 | 38 | 0 (2nd) | – | 0/0/0/00/-/0/- | 19% | 31.7 |
| E-F-049-S4-R | rifle | female | Nov. 18–22 | 49 Lake Co. portion only | A | 40 | 9 | 0 (2nd) | – | 0/0/0/0-/0/-/- | 34% | 10.0 |
- 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-049-O3-R rifle female, Nov. 7–15: 130 tags, 266 first-choice apps, drew at 1 res /1 nonres, success 42%, List A
- E-F-049-S4-R rifle female, Nov. 18–22: 40 tags, 9 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /– nonres, success 34%, List A
- E-F-049-O2-R rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1: 130 tags, 314 first-choice apps, drew at 1 res /2 nonres, success 33%, List A
- E-F-049-S2-R rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1: 50 tags, 60 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 32%, List A
- E-F-049-O4-R rifle female, Nov. 18–22: 130 tags, 167 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 31%, List A
- E-F-049-O1-M muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20: 70 tags, 132 first-choice apps, drew at 1 res /1 nonres, success 29%, List A
- E-F-049-S3-R rifle female, Nov. 7–15: 50 tags, 38 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /– nonres, success 19%, List A
Point creep warnings (resident or nonresident points rose 2+ since 2023)
- E-E-049-O1-Aarchery either:res 6/7/7/7nonres 8/9/12/13
- E-M-049-O1-Mmuzzleloader male:res 7/7/7/8nonres 15/16/17/20
- E-M-049-O1-Rrifle male:res 9/10/10/11nonres 15/17/19/23
- E-M-049-O2-Rrifle male:res 5/5/6/6nonres 6/8/10/14
- E-M-049-O3-Rrifle male:res 3/3/4/5nonres 5/5/7/8
- E-M-049-O4-Rrifle male:res 2/3/3/4nonres 3/5/6/7
With your points
Likely draws (4)
- E-F-049-O4-R needs 0 pts
- E-F-049-S2-R needs 0 pts
- E-F-049-S3-R 0 pts, 2nd choice
- E-F-049-S4-R 0 pts, 2nd choice
Coin flips (3)
- E-F-049-O1-M needs 1 pt
- E-F-049-O2-R needs 1 pt
- E-F-049-O3-R needs 1 pt
Not this year (6)
- E-E-049-O1-A needs 7 pts
- E-M-049-O1-M needs 8 pts
- E-M-049-O1-R needs 11 pts
- E-M-049-O2-R needs 6 pts
- E-M-049-O3-R needs 5 pts
- E-M-049-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 49?
- 13 limited codes in the 2026 brochure: E-E-049-O1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-F-049-O1-M (muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20); E-M-049-O1-M (muzzleloader male, Sept. 12–20); E-M-049-O1-R (rifle male, Oct. 14–18); E-F-049-O2-R (rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-M-049-O2-R (rifle male, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-F-049-O3-R (rifle female, Nov. 7–15); E-M-049-O3-R (rifle male, Nov. 7–15); E-F-049-O4-R (rifle female, Nov. 18–22); E-M-049-O4-R (rifle male, Nov. 18–22); E-F-049-S2-R (rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-F-049-S3-R (rifle female, Nov. 7–15); E-F-049-S4-R (rifle female, Nov. 18–22).
- What is the easiest elk tag to draw in GMU 49?
- E-F-049-O3-R (rifle, female, Nov. 7–15) drew out at 1 for residents and 1 for nonresidents in the 2026 draw, with 130 tags.
- How many points does it take to draw E-M-049-O1-R?
- In the 2026 primary draw the last E-M-049-O1-R tag went at 11 resident points and 23 nonresident points. Resident history 2023–2026: 9/10/10/11; nonresident: 15/17/19/23.
- What is elk hunting success in GMU 49?
- In 2024, 971 elk hunters in GMU 49 harvested 378 animals (39% 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.