Which elk hunt codes are valid in GMU 521?

12 limited codes in the 2026 brochure: E-E-521-O1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-E-052-P1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-F-521-O1-M (muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20); E-M-041-O1-M (muzzleloader male, Sept. 12–20); E-F-521-O1-R (rifle female, Oct. 14–18); E-M-041-O1-R (rifle male, Oct. 14–18); E-F-521-O2-R (rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-F-521-O3-R (rifle female, Nov. 7–15); E-F-521-O4-R (rifle female, Nov. 18–22); E-M-041-O4-R (rifle male, Nov. 18–22); E-E-041-P1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-E-041-P4-R (rifle either, Nov. 18–22).

What is the easiest elk tag to draw in GMU 521?

E-F-521-O4-R (rifle, female, Nov. 18–22) drew out at 0 for residents and – for nonresidents in the 2026 draw, with 10 tags.

How many points does it take to draw E-F-521-O2-R?

In the 2026 primary draw the last E-F-521-O2-R tag went at 1 resident points and 4 nonresident points. Resident history 2023–2026: 4/1/2/1; nonresident: 4/4/4/4.

What is elk hunting success in GMU 521?

In 2024, 2,197 elk hunters in GMU 521 harvested 407 animals (19% success, all seasons and weapons, CPW harvest survey).

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.

GMU 521 Elk Report — 2026 season

12 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)

2023

2024

Year	Harvest	Hunters	Success	Rec. days
2023	361 (257 bulls / 93 cows / 10 calves)	2,394	15%	14,454
2024	407 (303 bulls / 88 cows / 16 calves)	2,197	19%	13,050
2023 Archery	161	1,049	15%	8,325
2023 Muzzleloader	36	185	19%	1,019
2023 Rifle	163	1,160	14%	5,110
2024 Archery	191	862	22%	7,038
2024 Muzzleloader	23	99	23%	601
2024 Rifle	193	1,236	16%	5,411

Season	Antlered harvest / hunters	Success	Antlerless harvest / hunters	Success
2023 Muzzleloader	30 / 155	19%	4 / 30	13%
2023 Rifle	123 / 1,022	12%	14 / 69	21%
2024 Muzzleloader	21 / 84	25%	2 / 15	11%
2024 Rifle	147 / 1,079	14%	18 / 92	20%

* 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
			Dates	GMUs						Points 2023–2026
E-E-521-O1-A	archery	either	Sept. 2–30	521	A	750	663	0 (2nd)	0 (2nd)	-/0/0/0-/0/0/0	23%	33.8
E-E-052-P1-APLOLeftover likely	archery	either	Sept. 2–30	52, 411, 521	A	32	17	–	–	–––	23%	30.1
E-F-521-O1-M	muzzleloader	female	Sept. 12–20	521	A	20	40	0	3	0/0/0/00/1/2/3	20%	27.7
E-M-041-O1-M	muzzleloader	male	Sept. 12–20	41, 42, 52, 411, 421, 521	A	500	624	0	0	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	23%	23.4
E-F-521-O1-R	rifle	female	Oct. 14–18	521	A	40	66	0	1	0/1/0/00/1/2/1	16%	24.4
E-M-041-O1-R	rifle	male	Oct. 14–18	41, 42, 52, 411, 421, 521	A	950	932	0 (2nd)	0 (2nd)	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	28%	13.1
E-F-521-O2-R	rifle	female	Oct. 24–Nov. 1	521	A	35	137	1	4	4/1/2/14/4/4/4	25%	24.6
E-F-521-O3-R	rifle	female	Nov. 7–15	521	A	30	61	0	2	3/1/1/03/3/3/2	50%	10.5
E-F-521-O4-R	rifle	female	Nov. 18–22	521	A	10	16	0	–	0/0/0/0-/-/4/-	67%*	5.5
E-M-041-O4-RLeftover likely	rifle	male	Nov. 18–22	41, 42, 52, 411, 421, 521	A	231	120	–	–	–––	12%	28.4
E-E-041-P1-RPLO	rifle	either	Oct. 14–18	41, 42, 52, 411, 421, 521	A	200	169	0 (2nd)	0 (2nd)	0/-/0/00/-/0/0	55%	7.0
E-E-041-P4-RPLOLeftover likely	rifle	either	Nov. 18–22	41, 42, 52, 411, 421, 521	A	122	82	–	–	–––	41%	7.4

* 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-521-O4-R rifle female, Nov. 18–22: 10 tags, 16 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /– nonres, success 67% (low sample), List A
E-E-041-P1-R rifle either, Oct. 14–18: 200 tags, 169 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 55%, List A (private land only)
E-F-521-O3-R rifle female, Nov. 7–15: 30 tags, 61 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /2 nonres, success 50%, List A
E-M-041-O1-R rifle male, Oct. 14–18: 950 tags, 932 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 28%, List A
E-F-521-O2-R rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1: 35 tags, 137 first-choice apps, drew at 1 res /4 nonres, success 25%, List A
E-M-041-O1-M muzzleloader male, Sept. 12–20: 500 tags, 624 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 23%, List A
E-E-521-O1-A archery either, Sept. 2–30: 750 tags, 663 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 23%, List A
E-F-521-O1-M muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20: 20 tags, 40 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /3 nonres, success 20%, List A
E-F-521-O1-R rifle female, Oct. 14–18: 40 tags, 66 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /1 nonres, success 16%, List A

Point creep warnings (resident or nonresident points rose 2+ since 2023)

E-F-521-O1-Mmuzzleloader female:res 0/0/0/0nonres 0/1/2/3

Leftover likely

These codes had licenses left over after the 2026 primary draw:E-E-052-P1-A, E-M-041-O4-R, E-E-041-P4-R.

With your points

Likely draws (8)

E-E-521-O1-A 0 pts, 2nd choice
E-F-521-O1-M needs 0 pts
E-M-041-O1-M needs 0 pts
E-F-521-O1-R needs 0 pts
E-M-041-O1-R 0 pts, 2nd choice
E-F-521-O3-R needs 0 pts
E-F-521-O4-R needs 0 pts
E-E-041-P1-R 0 pts, 2nd choice

Coin flips (1)

E-F-521-O2-R needs 1 pt

Not this year (0)

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 521?: 12 limited codes in the 2026 brochure: E-E-521-O1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-E-052-P1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-F-521-O1-M (muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20); E-M-041-O1-M (muzzleloader male, Sept. 12–20); E-F-521-O1-R (rifle female, Oct. 14–18); E-M-041-O1-R (rifle male, Oct. 14–18); E-F-521-O2-R (rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-F-521-O3-R (rifle female, Nov. 7–15); E-F-521-O4-R (rifle female, Nov. 18–22); E-M-041-O4-R (rifle male, Nov. 18–22); E-E-041-P1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-E-041-P4-R (rifle either, Nov. 18–22).
What is the easiest elk tag to draw in GMU 521?: E-F-521-O4-R (rifle, female, Nov. 18–22) drew out at 0 for residents and – for nonresidents in the 2026 draw, with 10 tags.
How many points does it take to draw E-F-521-O2-R?: In the 2026 primary draw the last E-F-521-O2-R tag went at 1 resident points and 4 nonresident points. Resident history 2023–2026: 4/1/2/1; nonresident: 4/4/4/4.
What is elk hunting success in GMU 521?: In 2024, 2,197 elk hunters in GMU 521 harvested 407 animals (19% success, all seasons and weapons, CPW harvest survey).
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.