Which elk hunt codes are valid in GMU 85?

13 limited codes in the 2026 brochure: E-E-085-V1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-F-085-V1-A (archery female, Sept. 2–30); E-E-085-O1-M (muzzleloader either, Sept. 12–20); E-F-085-O1-M (muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20); E-F-085-L1-R (rifle female, Dec. 15–31 Late); E-E-085-O1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-F-085-O2-R (rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-F-085-O3-R (rifle female, Nov. 7–15); E-E-085-O4-R (rifle either, Nov. 18–22); E-F-085-O4-R (rifle female, Nov. 18–22); E-E-085-P1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-F-085-P5-R (rifle female, Oct. 14–Nov. 30); E-F-085-P6-R (rifle female, Dec. 1–31).

What is the easiest elk tag to draw in GMU 85?

E-E-085-P1-R (rifle, either, Oct. 14–18) drew out at 0 pts (2nd choice) for residents and 0 for nonresidents in the 2026 draw, with 225 tags.

How many points does it take to draw E-E-085-O1-R?

In the 2026 primary draw the last E-E-085-O1-R tag went at 1 resident points and 1 nonresident points. Resident history 2023–2026: 1/1/1/1; nonresident: 1/1/1/1.

What is elk hunting success in GMU 85?

In 2024, 2,875 elk hunters in GMU 85 harvested 614 animals (21% 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 85 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)

2023

2024

Year	Harvest	Hunters	Success	Rec. days
2023	528 (340 bulls / 169 cows / 19 calves)	2,931	18%	17,780
2024	614 (398 bulls / 207 cows / 9 calves)	2,875	21%	17,556
2023 Archery	107	1,051	10%	8,607
2023 Muzzleloader	32	173	18%	951
2023 Rifle	389	1,708	23%	8,222
2024 Archery	183	1,086	17%	8,793
2024 Muzzleloader	22	168	13%	832
2024 Rifle	409	1,621	25%	7,931

Season	Antlered harvest / hunters	Success	Antlerless harvest / hunters	Success
2023 Rifle	147 / 961	15%	102 / 403	25%
2024 Rifle	128 / 870	15%	128 / 397	32%

* CPW's antlered/antlerless tables do not include either-sex hunt codes. The split is hidden where one side is empty, because that usually means the unit’s tags for it are either-sex 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-085-V1-ALeftover likely	archery	either	Sept. 2–30	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	A	575	449	–	–	–-/-/0/-	20%	36.0
E-F-085-V1-ALeftover likely	archery	female	Sept. 2–30	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	B	2	0	–	–	–––	50%*	16.0
E-E-085-O1-M	muzzleloader	either	Sept. 12–20	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	A	120	212	0	2	0/0/0/01/2/2/2	36%	13.7
E-F-085-O1-MLeftover likely	muzzleloader	female	Sept. 12–20	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	B	80	23	–	–	–––	17%	27.6
E-F-085-L1-R	rifle	female	Dec. 15–31 Late	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	B	40	49	0	1	0/0/0/00/1/0/1	41%	16.7
E-E-085-O1-R	rifle	either	Oct. 14–18	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	A	85	281	1	1	1/1/1/11/1/1/1	31%	12.1
E-F-085-O2-R	rifle	female	Oct. 24–Nov. 1	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	B	50	108	0	0	1/0/0/01/0/0/0	24%	19.2
E-F-085-O3-R	rifle	female	Nov. 7–15	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	B	50	41	0 (2nd)	0 (2nd)	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	0%	–
E-E-085-O4-R	rifle	either	Nov. 18–22	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	A	125	137	0	0	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	27%	13.9
E-F-085-O4-R	rifle	female	Nov. 18–22	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	B	50	12	0 (3rd)	0 (2nd)	-/0/0/0-/0/0/0	15%	26.8
E-E-085-P1-RPLO	rifle	either	Oct. 14–18	85, 140, 851	A	225	221	0 (2nd)	0	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	48%	7.6
E-F-085-P5-RPLO	rifle	female	Oct. 14–Nov. 30	85, 140, 851	B	200	237	0	0	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	37%	31.0
E-F-085-P6-RPLO	rifle	female	Dec. 1–31	85, 140, 851	B	225	199	0 (2nd)	0 (2nd)	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	48%	13.9

* 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-E-085-P1-R rifle either, Oct. 14–18: 225 tags, 221 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 nonres, success 48%, List A (private land only)
E-F-085-P6-R rifle female, Dec. 1–31: 225 tags, 199 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 48%, List B (private land only)
E-F-085-L1-R rifle female, Dec. 15–31 Late: 40 tags, 49 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /1 nonres, success 41%, List B
E-F-085-P5-R rifle female, Oct. 14–Nov. 30: 200 tags, 237 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 37%, List B (private land only)
E-E-085-O1-M muzzleloader either, Sept. 12–20: 120 tags, 212 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /2 nonres, success 36%, List A
E-E-085-O1-R rifle either, Oct. 14–18: 85 tags, 281 first-choice apps, drew at 1 res /1 nonres, success 31%, List A
E-E-085-O4-R rifle either, Nov. 18–22: 125 tags, 137 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 27%, List A
E-F-085-O2-R rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1: 50 tags, 108 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 24%, List B
E-F-085-O4-R rifle female, Nov. 18–22: 50 tags, 12 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (3rd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 15%, List B
E-F-085-O3-R rifle female, Nov. 7–15: 50 tags, 41 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 0%, List B

Stackable tags (List B — can be held alongside a List A tag)

No List C hunts in this unit.

E-F-085-V1-A archery female Sept. 2–30 — drew at – res / – nonres, 2 tags
E-F-085-O1-M muzzleloader female Sept. 12–20 — drew at – res / – nonres, 80 tags
E-F-085-L1-R rifle female Dec. 15–31 Late — drew at 0 res / 1 nonres, 40 tags
E-F-085-O2-R rifle female Oct. 24–Nov. 1 — drew at 0 res / 0 nonres, 50 tags
E-F-085-O3-R rifle female Nov. 7–15 — drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res / 0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, 50 tags
E-F-085-O4-R rifle female Nov. 18–22 — drew at 0 pts (3rd choice) res / 0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, 50 tags
E-F-085-P5-R rifle female Oct. 14–Nov. 30 — drew at 0 res / 0 nonres, 200 tags
E-F-085-P6-R rifle female Dec. 1–31 — drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res / 0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, 225 tags

Leftover likely

These codes had licenses left over after the 2026 primary draw:E-E-085-V1-A, E-F-085-V1-A, E-F-085-O1-M.

With your points

Likely draws (9)

E-E-085-O1-M needs 0 pts
E-F-085-L1-R needs 0 pts
E-F-085-O2-R needs 0 pts
E-F-085-O3-R 0 pts, 2nd choice
E-E-085-O4-R needs 0 pts
E-F-085-O4-R 0 pts, 3rd choice
E-E-085-P1-R 0 pts, 2nd choice
E-F-085-P5-R needs 0 pts
E-F-085-P6-R 0 pts, 2nd choice

Coin flips (1)

E-E-085-O1-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 85?: 13 limited codes in the 2026 brochure: E-E-085-V1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-F-085-V1-A (archery female, Sept. 2–30); E-E-085-O1-M (muzzleloader either, Sept. 12–20); E-F-085-O1-M (muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20); E-F-085-L1-R (rifle female, Dec. 15–31 Late); E-E-085-O1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-F-085-O2-R (rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-F-085-O3-R (rifle female, Nov. 7–15); E-E-085-O4-R (rifle either, Nov. 18–22); E-F-085-O4-R (rifle female, Nov. 18–22); E-E-085-P1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-F-085-P5-R (rifle female, Oct. 14–Nov. 30); E-F-085-P6-R (rifle female, Dec. 1–31).
What is the easiest elk tag to draw in GMU 85?: E-E-085-P1-R (rifle, either, Oct. 14–18) drew out at 0 pts (2nd choice) for residents and 0 for nonresidents in the 2026 draw, with 225 tags.
How many points does it take to draw E-E-085-O1-R?: In the 2026 primary draw the last E-E-085-O1-R tag went at 1 resident points and 1 nonresident points. Resident history 2023–2026: 1/1/1/1; nonresident: 1/1/1/1.
What is elk hunting success in GMU 85?: In 2024, 2,875 elk hunters in GMU 85 harvested 614 animals (21% 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.