Colorado Analysis

Wolf Reintroduction
Mountain Lions
TAGHUB

Colorado may be the most beautiful state in the country and it has been one of the top states for big game hunting, but things are heading downhill. Let me count the ways. It will take two hands.

Wildlife management by ballot box means wolves will be reintroduced by 2024. They have already been sighted. Predation by bears and especially mountain lions, remains out of control, chronic wasting disease (CWD) percentages are alarming in some areas and CPW is responding by attempting to reduce the number of older bucks that are more likely to be carriers and year-round backcountry recreation by ever more new residents is stressing game populations and pushing them off of the best habitat.

On the other hand, deer season dates in this second year under the five-year plan have been moved well into November, giving hunters a big advantage that should mean more trophy bucks on the ground and higher success rates. And, Colorado still has the country’s largest elk herd and is still the only state you can drive to in the fall and walk right up to the counter and buy an elk tag. Colorado is king of the West for trophy mule deer and Colorado’s Shiras’ moose section in the Boone and Crockett club record book continues to swell. The sheep hunting is some of the best in the West and the State gives out more mountain goat tags than any other state except Alaska. Colorado is also one of the most generous western states in the number and percentage of nonresident licenses.

Wolf Reintroduction

By less than a 1% margin, Colorado voters passed Proposition 114 that directs the Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) Dept. to come up with a plan to reintroduce wolves into Colorado by 2024. CPW has already confirmed wolf sightings in the northwest corner of the state, so wolves are apparently already making their way into the state from Wyoming.

This is going to be disastrous for Colorado’s moose population, which is centered in the northern part of the state, although other units farther south have small populations. Too bad, because Colorado moose have really been thriving and Colorado is now maybe the best place to shoot a trophy Shiras’ moose the last few years. Wolves are very hard on moose and elk calves, and deer are certainly part of their diet as well. The vast majority of urban dwellers who pushed this through will never see a wolf but people of all sorts throughout the state will see fewer deer, elk and especially moose. That is eventually going to mean fewer licenses and worse point creep.

Mountain Lions

The West Slope Mountain Lion Management Plan from CPW will be implemented. I don’t think it goes far enough but it does make electronic calls legal in units 60, 61, 70-73 and adds a spring lion season for units 43,44,45 and 441.

TAGHUB

If you’re not yet using Eastmans’ exclusive online research tool called TagHub, you should be, especially in Colorado. When you unpack the Colorado mule deer hunts into single units and look at all the available seasons, there are well over 800 antlered hunts. I’ve listed just the very top ones here in print. For everything else, TagHub is where you need to go and because you can sort and filter all the data it is way better than what we can do in print. And, TagHub is quickly up to date with the latest information. In print, the new year’s hunt brochure is often not out by the time we go to print.

Season Date Shifts
Application Strategy
CWD
Misc.

Blue Chip
Units 1, 2, 201, 3
Unit 10
Units 11, 211, 22, 301
Units 21, 22, 30, 40
Unit 44
Units 53, 54, 55, 66
Saguache | Units 67, 68, 681
Unit 76

Green Chip
Units 61, 62, 65, 70, 72, 73
Units 79, 80, 81

Season Date Shifts
The big news in Colorado deer this year is without a doubt, the much later seasons. Colorado, King of Mule Deer, is now a rut hunt state, if you can believe it.

Not everyone is happy with that. Residents especially are upset because it is going to mean much higher success rates and a lot more of the big deer taken out of the herd. One of the other guys at Eastmans’ had an opinion on it too. He just replied, “herd-thinner.”

So, it’s a fair question, and the answer is that yes, CPW is actively trying to bring down the number of older bucks because in CPW’s mind, the biggest wildlife management issue for deer is CWD. They are alarmed at the numbers they’re seeing and know that older bucks are four times as likely to be carriers as other deer. Long-term, that is a real negative. Short term, you might as well apply in Colorado and get in on the action.

Application Strategy
Last year, season dates moved later by three or four days. The result in minimum points needed was generally not significant. They did go up 1 point for most Gunnison units and 1-2 points for Saguache units. Units 2, 10 and 22 also went up a point.

This year, they’re moving later by six days. Second season, which is actually the first season available in most areas, will be October 30 – November 7. Third season, which has roughly as many tags as second, moves to November 13-19 and fourth season is November 24-28. Late season in eastern Colorado is now permanently December 1-14. As you can see, there are also longer breaks between seasons to give deer and elk a chance to settle down some and perhaps make their way back onto public land in some units.

I expect that points to apply for nonresident third season blue and green chip units are going to go up by at least 1 point over what they were last year, maybe more. Third season now is basically the old fourth season where there used to be a huge jump in points needed. Mostly that was because there were so few fourth season tags, but success rates were spectacular and a lot of big bucks hit the ground. This year, third season tag quotas have not been released but they should be more like third season quotas last year than fourth season quotas.
If you have been building points, this is the year to use them. I suspect that because of the demand for third season, demand for second season may actually hold steady or even decrease a bit.

CWD
If later season dates are what’s on the mind of hunters, CWD is what’s on the mind of wildlife managers in Colorado. The CWD incidence map has them super-concerned. CWD becomes a real problem when the incidence gets over 7%. As you can see, that is most of eastern and northern Colorado and in an alarmingly wide area it is way into double digits. When it gets over 27%, the deer herd will decline in numbers. Right now, 19 units are already over that mark and another 9 units are right behind and will probably get there before long. For northwest Colorado the problem area is from unit 12 and north.

The reason CWD is so hard to fight is that it is not just carried by deer but it gets into the soil and stays there and any deer eating things growing in that soil is liable to pick it up and spread it wherever they leave droppings. Because the prion is so small, just a single, misfolded protein, you can’t destroy it with anything tried so far. In 1985 when CPW tried to eliminate CWD from a research facility by treating the soil with chlorine, removing the treated soil, and applying an additional chlorine treatment before letting the facility remain vacant for more than a year, they still could not eliminate it.

Misc.
Unit 40 which has issues with crowding because much of the public land is hard to access gets a 4th season this year. There is a new private land only 4th either sex rifle season in units 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 211, 301 and 441.

Blue Chip

Units 1, 2, 201, 3
The good news is the later season for 2, 201 and 3 but the bad news is that six pairs of wolves have now been positively identified in 201. This is the easiest set of blue chip units you can draw. Maybe trophy quality is borderline blue chip, but success is extremely high and the later season should help unit 3 a lot.

Unit 10
Even though the herd remains way down, quality and success remain high for the few that draw here. It’s a big unit, so get started scouting early because even though there are some big bucks, deer density is very low.

Units 11, 211, 22, 301
Because of the later seasons, units that have migration in got bumped up for trophy quality in 3rd season. So, these get a higher rating for 3rd season and will have better trophy quality for 2nd season as well. There are some good resident deer but you’ll want to focus on the later seasons here as bucks move west from higher elevations. Of this group, 301 has the least public land.

The big downside is the high levels of CWD in all four units, but especially in 211. I am giving blue chip status to these units with higher buck quality this year and high success that will probably be even higher than before. So you have a better chance at very good antlers but meat that you should have tested before you eat it. So, even with blue chip grades, you may want to look elsewhere. Because the brochure this year will have a CWD map, it may dissuade some hunters and help with points.

Units 21, 22, 30, 40
Rio Blanco, Mesa and Garfield Counties are some of the best in the West for Boone and Crockett entries and most of the heads come out of these units bordering Utah. Units 21 and 22 are hardest to draw but 30 and 40 have some giant bucks, they’re just harder to hunt. Unit 40 has the most difficult access and every kind of terrain. Unit 30 is very wrinkled terrain without a lot of roads and how well you hunt depends on how well you glass.

Unit 44
Same theme, different county. Unit 44 doesn’t really come alive for big bucks until 3rd and 4th season but now, with 2nd season being later, that could be a great draw with fewer points. The unit is on the downswing but still a blue chip. Eagle County is #1 in the country for record bucks over the last 10 years with more entries than Arizona’s Kaibab or Strip and six times as many entries as Gunnison County despite being a fraction of the size.

Units 53, 54, 55, 66
Winter hasn’t been too hard so far this year and snowpack is above normal so the Gunnison area continues to recover but it really dropped hard a couple years ago and quotas remain conservative. Later seasons benefit these units a lot and if you have mid-level points, you can’t go wrong here. This is really the western Colorado deer Mecca and November hunts are pretty close to as good as it gets in Colorado.

Saguache | Units 67, 68, 681
Don’t overlook the southern side of the mountains from Gunnison. Saguache doesn’t have the same winters or frustrating up and down. You’ll work harder but this area has as many entries in the books the last 10 years. Unit 67 is not in the same class as the other two and so is a lot easier to draw.

Unit 76
This is a sleeper unit. Contrary to most places, earlier is better here.

Green Chip

So many green chip units, so little space! I really can’t do them justice so I am just going to hit a few I think will benefit the most this year from the November seasons.

Units 61, 62, 65, 70, 72, 73
Yeah, it’s a lot to lump together but November hunts here, starting with second season, are going to mean a lot of big bucks going home with hunters. Pray for snow. If you hunt 70, look in the sage, not on the mountains. If snow doesn’t drive bucks down, hunters will. Same for 61, 62, 711. Unit 74 gets easier later but there is a lot of tree cover.

Units 79, 80, 81
People are just starting to discover these units but you can still hunt with 2 to 5 points and have very low hunter density and good trophy quality. It’s a long way from Denver.

GO TO MAP & CHARTS

2021 Deer Table - Recently updated February 15, 2021

Blue Chip
Unit 1
Units 2, 201
Unit 10
Unit 40
Unit 76
Unit 851
Unit 851 Bosque del Oso

Green Chip
Unit 20
Unit 49
Units 50, 58, 500 & 501
Unit 61
Unit 76

Colorado is home to the largest elk herd in the West but for the most part it is managed for opportunity rather than high end trophy quality. It is mainly for those who want to hunt elk for meat, know that they can hunt elk every year and hunt in beautiful country or who have landowner access or a ton of points. No other state allows you to walk up to the counter during the season and buy an elk tag. A large portion of the state is OTC for archery and also OTC for 2nd and 3rd rifle.

The downsides are low success rates compared to other states and the fact that elk and deer second and third seasons run at the same time which means double the hunters in the woods.

Now having said all that, Colorado is ahead of New Mexico and Idaho the last ten years for record book entries and about even with Wyoming. But that’s because so many elk are being taken and because of the extreme point units, landowner tags and private land only licenses.

Blue Chip

A-rated units for trophy quality make a short list - 2, 201, 10, 40 and 851 and an A- for 1 and 76. Unless you can draw a private land only hunt or buy a landowner tag, you’re looking at well over 20 points for all but 76 and 1.

Unit 1
This is a very small unit on the NW border with Utah, dominated by Diamond Mountain. Hunt the SW slopes and the ridges.

Units 2, 201
Just across the Green River to the north is Cold Springs Mountain, Unit 2. This may be Colorado’s best unit for producing Boone and Crockett bulls aside from the Hill Ranch in 851. Bulls run to about 350. Success runs in the 90%s for rifle and 60% for bow and muzzleloader. It is a hybrid draw, which means some licenses will be drawn at random but normally, this is a 20+ year wait. Your best bet here is the southwestern part of unit 201.

Unit 10
The population here is way above objective. I’d like to see more licenses here but not as much as those waiting 20 years to draw would like it. The northern part getting toward Dinosaur National Monument is best.

Unit 40
There are 400” bulls here. Some come from private ranches, but not all. Despite a fair amount of public land, access is not easy. The Grand Junction office works hard at negotiating access, but it varies from year to year so check with them. The terrain is extremely varied, from steep, deep brushy canyons to dark timber, sage, aspen, P-J.

Unit 76
This is probably the best combination of big elk, high success, abundant public land and not a ridiculous number of points to get drawn. You can actually save up and hunt here, especially if you’re a resident. I’ve rated it excellent for early season, good for the others. Trophy quality is a notch down from the other blue chips.

Unit 851
This is a blue chip mainly for private land. The Hill Ranch is an Eastmans’ favorite and they have taken some monster elk there.

Unit 851 Bosque del Oso
This can be a good hunt. The drought in southern Colorado has been over for a while and BDO should be on the way up again so I’ve upgraded this hunt.

Green Chip

Unit 20
Unit 20 looks really great, bordering Rocky Mountain National Park. The giant Park bulls seem to disappear come heavy snow but the unit does have an extremely high rifle success rate. Fourth season doesn’t take many points.

Unit 49
Unit 49 is the long, high ridge east of the Arkansas River valley and mainly south of 10,000 ft.+ Leadville, highest incorporated town in the U.S. Most of the unit is 10k-14k feet in elevation and steep but the Buffalo Peaks portion to the east that faces South Park is a little gentler. Rifle success runs about 40-50%, archery and muzzleloader about 20%. You’ll find the most elk east and mid-unit to the north. This unit has put a few bulls in the book the last few years.

Units 50, 58, 500 & 501
These units west and northwest of Colorado Springs are great units for only a preference point or two. In 58, rifle success usually runs 30% to 55%, with 1st and 2nd seasons the most consistent. Unit 501 success is slightly lower across the board, has a lot more public land, most of it is wilderness. It’s beautiful country and you could do a lot worse than a high country hunt for a couple points. You’ll probably need horses to get your meat out though. Success rates are a little low for archery and muzzleloader.

Unit 61
The Uncompahgre Plateau. I keep hearing from people I trust that it is overrated based on 20+ points to draw and very few B&C entries in the last few years. Montrose County doesn’t have a single entry in the books in the last 10 years and while part of 61 sits in Mesa County that does have a handful of entries, you don’t know if those came from Unit 40 or 61, probably 40.

Unit 76
This is probably the best combination of big elk, high success, abundant public land and not a ridiculous number of points to get drawn. You can actually save up and hunt here, especially if you’re a resident. Even nonresidents can hunt 76 for low double-digit points. Residents only need single digits. For good Colorado elk hunting, that’s a bargain.

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2021 Elk Table - Recently updated February 15, 2021

Blue Chip
Units 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 211
Units 66, 67, 68, 551
Units 80, 81, 83

Green Chip
Units 201, 4, 5, 6, 7, 161, 9, 87
Units 56, 58, 581
Units 79, 82, 682
Units 84, 85, 133, 134, 135, 140, 141
Unit 142
Units 12, 28, 36

One big change in 2021 is that the pronghorn limited entry archery season has gone from just the second half of August to now running through Sep 20. OTC archery stays with the old, shorter season dates. Muzzleloader follows limited entry archery and any weapon is now an early October hunt, October 2-10.

The only other notable change for pronghorn this year is that units 48, 481, 56 and 561 have been pulled from the over-the-counter list and are now draw only. Since this is the first year, not everyone will be aware of that and you may find that drawing one of those licenses is easier than other normal draw hunts.

You’ll also notice that I changed a lot of marginal units to poor. Many of the poor ratings are OTC units and nearly all have an F for success. They mainly have marginal populations and only a person here and there hunting them and so if you look through the harvest reports you may see no hunters one year in which the table will say N/A and maybe two hunters the following year who both struck out. It doesn’t necessarily mean the trophy quality is bad, though nearly all rate a C for trophy quality, but you can see why the low rating.

You might think Las Animas County would have some blue chips given that it is the top county for Boone and Crockett entries the last ten years, but again, fairly low success rates pull down that A trophy quality grade to a green chip overall. The trophy forecast map also gives the highest graded hunt, so even though the best hunt may be say, good, it may be marginal for another weapon choice.

Blue Chip
Blue Chip

Units 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 211
You need to go more by trophy quality and public land availability when sizing up units, particularly in Moffat County. These all have very good but not great trophy potential but this is probably not their year. Primitive weapons hunters tend to do pretty well considering that all these are not exactly the greenest units. You won’t find a lot of alfalfa, fence rows or other staples of primitive weapons. Water is important and so is wrinkled topography and large sage and you will find some of those.

Believe it or not, you can hunt Unit 1 over the counter archery instead of spending 17 points for rifle. In fact, it is blue chip for archery and green for rifle. Head for the middle and south of this small unit where there is private land surrounded by BLM hills. You might want to ask permission before you buy a tag. Otherwise, you’re going to need 18-21 points as a nonresident even for archery and muzzleloader. As a resident the only draw under 10 points is 11 archery.

Units 66, 67, 68, 551
These units rate an A for trophy quality but they have not put many bucks into Boone and Crockett, they’re pretty much mid-to-high 70” units, excellent bucks, but if you’re looking for a Booner, these are probably not your units despite the blue-chip rating.

Units 80, 81, 83
There continues to be strong demand for licenses in the San Luis Valley. That’s because, like the Saguache units, there are a good number of very good bucks. Between the two, Unit 81 has much higher demand but Unit 80 actually has the higher top end, so I would prefer it over 81.
Don’t be fooled by the decent public land percentage, most of that’s in the hills. Unit 83 is totally private land.

Green Chip

Units 201, 4, 5, 6, 7, 161, 9, 87
Yeah, I know they’re a bit spread out, but they’re all along the Wyoming border, so all but 9 and 87 are just south of some of the best Wyoming units, but not up to that standard, either in trophy quality, which are mainly Bs or in success rate, which are often Cs.

Units 56, 58, 581
These are southwest of Colorado Springs on the way to Canon City and Walsenburg. This is flat, open country with just a few foothills. Unit 56 is best in rifle, units 58 and 581 are best in muzzleloader.

Units 79, 82, 682
These units see a lot of application demand but aren’t quite on the level of the units to the north and south of them. Unit 79 to the west is mainly foothills rising rapidly into some high terrain. Unit 682 contains the Sand Dunes National Park. These hunts are best during muzzleloader season and not many people think of muzzleloaders when they think of pronghorn, so take note.

Units 84, 85, 133, 134, 135, 140, 141
Las Animas County, the southernmost county in east-central Colorado and just above some excellent areas in New Mexico is leading the pack in Colorado for record book pronghorn. Unfortunately, it also has on average about 95% private land, so you have got to get permission. The reason most of these are green chips is poor success. Units 140 and 142 are over the counter for archery but the best success rates are with muzzleloader.

Unit 142
This takes place on a military base and that means you need permission and you are in second place to whatever is going on there, so it can be a bit of a pain and you might find you can’t hunt. But trophy quality is excellent, pressure is low and best of all, this is a green chip unit that is OTC for archery and 0 points for muzzleloader.

Units 12, 28, 36
This is the grab bag group. Unit 12 is just off Moffat County, and is best during…yes, muzzleloader season. Unit 28 makes it in for a private land hunt and unit 36 for a good OTC archery hunt, but both are just C for trophy quality which normally I would not rate green chip but they’re in because on everything else – success, access, low hunter pressure they are solid A’s.

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2021 Pronghorn Table - Recently updated February 15, 2021

Blue Chip
Units 19, 20 | Larimer Co.
Units 14, 181 | Routt Co.
Unit 24
Units 29, 38 | Boulder Co.
Unit 44 | Eagle Co.
Units 46, 49, 500 | Park Co.
Units 55, 66, 67 | Gunnison & Saguache Counties

Green Chip
Unit 8 | Larimer County
Units 15, 27 | Grand and Routt Counties
Units 36, 39
Units 28, 37, 371 | Grand Co & Summit Co.
Unit 45
Unit 74
Units 751, 76, 76 Wilderness

Where should you go for a monster Shiras’ moose? Why, Colorado of course! According to Boone and Crockett, of the top 25 Shiras’ moose entered since 2000, 7 were taken in Colorado, more than any other state, with Wyoming, Idaho and Montana all tied for second place with 5.

Moose are increasing nicely in Colorado as opposed to the decline in other states. Some of this is due to transplantation from Wyoming, but moose are just thriving in Colorado and new units keep opening up. With the looming introduction of wolves, this may only last so long, so let’s hope you get drawn soon. Moose are found from the Wyoming border to the New Mexico border.
So, where in Colorado would you go? I would go for one of the new hunts.

Usually, the first hunters into these new hunts do extremely well on trophy size. There are two new hunts, one in 25, 36, 231 and the other in 47, 471 and 444. If you draw, call CPW and talk to the local biologist about help on which unit to focus on. The population estimates online are by herd area, not by unit. The 25, 36, 231 hunt falls between green chip units while 471 in the 47, 471, 444 group borders a blue chip unit on the south.

Otherwise, since all the units are hard to draw you might as well put in for the blue chip units. All of them have a lot of public land and hunter success tends to be high across the board, so it is basically antler size that makes the difference and these units have the best trophy quality. Notice that there are a lot of areas with insufficient information. That means there was no harvest there in 2017-2019 and we don’t yet have the 2020 harvest info.

I’ve also included a map that shows how many bulls were taken between 2011 and 2019. That shows that many of the best trophy quality units are the ones with moderate to low harvest numbers in terms of bulls taken. The units with a long history and a well-established population and a lot of tags (relatively speaking) tend to be marginal to good overall.

The way moose hunts work in Colorado is different than any other species. You apply for a license and you can hunt archery, muzzleloader or any weapon as long as that season is going on. You might be confused at first by the table here. Each hunt code has multiple lines for multiple weapons because Colorado tracks harvest success by weapon and so to give you that info requires duplicating the draw information.

Blue Chip

Of the 43 units with enough data to get a rating, 19 have yielded bulls with better than a 50” spread and 14 are rated blue chip. The 13 bulls Colorado put into the record book in 2018 came from 8 different counties. The blue on the map covers 16 counties.

Units 19, 20 | Larimer Co.
One of the top 10 counties in the country. Unit 8 has lots of moose and a perfect 100% success record. Moose are all over the unit in 8. In the east, follow the river drainages, in the west you’ll be looking at a series of east-west creeks. You won’t usually find moose far from water. Unit 19 is a very close second place for biggest average spread in Colorado and has produced a bull over 56”. Rifle success has not been quite as high as archery and muzzleloader, maybe because it is the last season. Unit 20 has fewer moose but good size.

Units 14, 181 | Routt Co.
This is tough terrain if you’re hunting the wilderness but you’ll find bulls outside Steamboat Springs and in the far southeast of the unit where this unit shares a herd with 16 and 27.

Unit 24
East of Meeker, 90% of the unit is public land but what isn’t is around the rivers, so access is not quite as easy as you might think. Success is consistently 100% and the terrain difficulty depends on how high you hunt. New units 25, 36 and 231 next door will be similar and are not yet rated but are worth putting in for.

Units 29, 38 | Boulder Co.
Both units have produced bulls over 50” but someone took a bull over 58” in Unit 38. Head for St. Vrain Creek near Peaceful Valley. Both units have a lot of private land, so get your permission before you apply.

Unit 44 | Eagle Co.
Borderline blue-green chip, better for archery than rifle, only two bulls have been taken in the last five years plus what comes in for last year, but with a nearly 45” average I rated it blue.

Units 46, 49, 500 | Park Co.
Fairly new hunts with some of the highest average spreads in the state (Unit 46 – 47+”, Unit 49 – 45+”, Unit 500 – 44+”). Check these out but realize that the volume is still low. More bulls have been taken with primitive weapons than rifles. Just an hour west of Denver, concentrations are along Deer Creek and near Highland Park. In Unit 49, 3 of the 5 nice bulls taken in the last five years were taken by archers. Unit 500 is residents only. Head for the hills around Lininger Lake or the lowlands farther west.

Units 55, 66, 67 | Gunnison & Saguache Counties
Not all counties are top trophy counties for deer, elk and moose (think Unit 201 for moose) but Gunnison is a top producer and is just getting started. Unit 55 has the highest average antler spread in the state. The top end for these units is in the low to mid-50s, but who knows how high it can go? Unit 67 is a notch lower but still high quality. Moose will be found in the drainages to the east, like Taylor River and Willow, Sanford, Cameron and Texas Creek drainages and in the La Garita Wilderness.

Green Chip

Unit 8 | Larimer County
The best of the northern units where moose were first introduced from Wyoming. Success here has been around 100% for all weapon types and a 52” bull came from here recently. About a third of bulls will exceed 45” so be patient.

Units 15, 27 | Grand and Routt Counties
Two solid producers of bulls that are on the edge of being blue chips, especially 27 which is held back by the 45% public land number. They’ve been drawable with 8 points as a resident but 18 as a nonresident. In Unit 15, look around Hwy. 134.

Units 36, 39
Resident-only hunts west of Denver. Unit 36 has slightly higher scores than 39. As always, start with the lower end of drainages and the hillsides above them. One nice thing about a Colorado moose license, you are one of only a handful of hunters.

Units 28, 37, 371 | Grand Co & Summit Co.
Here you go, Grand Co. is the top trophy producer in the West the last 10 years. Unit 28 has by far the most moose and an average spread of nearly 41” but all these units average about 40” with a top end of 50 and in the case of 28 and 37, about 52”. As usual, follow the drainages and look to the Adams Fork Mountains in the south. As for Unit 27, how about an average spread of 47”? Moose are concentrated in the far north and northeast of Gore Pass. Unit 36 has a top end of 46” but 371 goes well over 50”. The biggest concentration is just outside the town of Silverthorne.

Unit 45
Only two bulls shot in the last five years. Rated green because the bulls were good size and in the other years, people didn’t hunt in this unit. It is a small population, so borderline blue-green chip.

Unit 74
Residents-only hunt with only two bulls for horn details, both in the lower 40s.

Units 751, 76, 76 Wilderness
The Weminuche Wilderness-only hunt is in the southern portion of the unit. If you go, take horses and plenty of help because carrying out a moose on your back from deep in the wilderness is a bit much.

GO TO MAP & CHARTS

2021 Moose Table - Recently updated February 15, 2021

2021 Colorado Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep - Recently updated February 15, 2021

Blue Chip
G10 | Ten Mile
G11 | The Raggeds

Green Chip

G4 | Mount Evans
G5 | West Needles
G7, G16 Gray’s Peak and Mt. Guyot

Despite pressure from year-round recreation and a very slow reproduction rate, Colorado mountain goats continue to do well overall. Licenses issued continue to go up in Colorado. Two years ago the state issued 179 billy licenses. This year it is giving out 206. Colorado offers 20 nonresident tags this year, including tags in some of the best units. There are only two units I would rate A for horn size and that may be generous with only 8 5/8 as the average length and 5 2/8 the average base there. But they both have a top end of 10” and 6 3/8 and those are certainly good goats.

Be very careful when applying. Only some of the hunts are available to nonresidents and they don’t stay the same every year.

Blue Chip

G10 | Ten Mile
Ten Mile is near Breckenridge AND continues its streak of 100% total success but the success on billys drops sharply with each of the succeeding four seasons. Terrain difficulty is pretty good for goats and average horn size is the best in the state. This is the best goat hunt in Colorado.

G11 | The Raggeds
The Raggeds is just northwest of Crested Butte above the Gunnison Basin. This herd is doing extremely well both for growth and for horn size.

Green Chip

G4 | Mount Evans
Probably the best-known herd in the state because of their accessibility. Horn size is solid and success is often 100%. This is almost a town hunt. If your idea of goat hunting is wilderness and scary cliffs, this is not it.

G5 | West Needles
G5 near Durango has the second largest herd and is an archery-only hunt open to nonresidents where you can find some very good goats in a very concentrated herd range. Archery success continues to be very good. Please don’t shoot a nanny, though. With success rates this high, make sure of the sex of your target. There have been some better than 10” horns taken in this unit which is terrific for the Lower 48 but horns tend not to have great mass, so they’re a B for average trophy quality.

G7, G16 Gray’s Peak and Mt. Guyot
G7, G16 Gray’s Peak and Mt. Guyot are both south of I-70 in very scenic and very high country. Mt. Guyot is an area better known for Keystone ski resort. One of the state’s bigger, healthier herds. Both these herds are on the fence for being blue chips. The horns are just a bit thin to rank up there with G10 and G11.

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2021 Colorado Table - Recently updated February 15, 2021

Gray Wolf Reintroduction Technical Working Group and Stakeholder Advisory Group

June 10, 2021

DENVER - Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has selected the membership for both the Technical Working Group (TWG) and the Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG) convened to serve as advisory bodies to the agency as the Commission and CPW staff plan the implementation of Proposition 114. 

The combined experience and input of these groups will help guide CPW staff and the Commission in the final direction to restore and manage gray wolves in Colorado no later than December 31, 2023. 

“We want to thank all of those that submitted an application or considered an offer to participate in these important advisory groups,” said CPW Director Dan Prenzlow. “While this is certainly an opportunity to share perspectives and expertise, it’s important to note it is also a significant commitment of time and energy, and we greatly appreciate all those who volunteered their time. We are now eager to get to work with those selected to move forward with us on the implementation process.”

The TWG will review and contribute expertise towards the development of conservation objectives, management strategies and damage prevention and compensation planning. The members selected for the TWG are:

Scott Becker | United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Wyoming Wolf Coordinator

Alan Bitner | Bureau of Land Management, Deputy State Director, Resources

Stewart Breck | National Wildlife Research Center, Research Wildlife Biologist

Roblyn Brown | Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife | Wildlife Biologist

Wayne East | Colorado Department of Agriculture, Agricultural/Wildlife Liaison

Justin Gude | Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Research and Technical Services Bureau Chief

Jonathan Houck | Gunnison County Commissioner

Mike Jimenez | USFWS retired

Merrit Linke | Grand County Commissioner

Steve Lohr | United States Forest Service, Renewable Resources Director Rocky Mountain Region

Martin Lowney | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, State Director

Carter Niemeyer | USFWS retired

Eric Odell | Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Species Conservation Biologist

Mike Phillips | Rocky Mountain Wolf Project

John Sanderson | Center for Collaborative Conservation, CSU, Director

Doug Smith National Park Service | Project Leader Yellowstone/Jennifer Carpenter -Associate Regional Director for Resource Stewardship and Science

Robin Young | Colorado State University Extension Service, Extension Agent

The SAG will provide a range of viewpoints from diverse geographic areas of the state and propose considerations for the plans developed by the TWG. The members selected for the SAG are:

Matt Barnes (W) | Dolores. Runs range science business and works with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative (human/carnivore coexistence)

Donald Broom (W) | Craig. Moffat County Commissioner

Jenny Burbey (W) | Hesperus. President of CO Outfitters Association, Outfitter, livestock producer

Bob Chastain | Colorado Springs. President/CEO of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Renee Deal (W) | Somerset. Rancher, outfitter, member of agricultural groups

Adam Gall (W) | Paonia. Wolf biologist for 5 years in Idaho, employed by Nez Perce tribe

Dan Gates | Canon City.  Chair of Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management

John Howard (W) | Grand Junction. Former CPW commissioner

Francie Jacober (W) | Carbondale. Pitkin County Commissioner

Lenny Klingesmith (W) | Meeker. Rancher and outfitter, member of agricultural groups  

Darlene Kobobel | Divide. Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center

Tom Kourlis | Castle Rock. Rancher and Outfitter, Former Commissioner of Agriculture, member of agricultural groups

Brian Kurzel | Denver. Rocky Mountain Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation

Hallie Mahowald (W) | Salida. Program Director of Western Landowners Alliance 

Jonathan Proctor | Denver. Regional Director for Defenders of Wildlife

Gary Skiba (W) | Durango. Wildlife Program Manager, San Juan Citizen Alliance

Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Dan Gibbs, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Dan Prenzlow and Colorado Department of Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg will serve as ex officio members. 

(W) | Denotes Western Slope representation

For additional information on the next steps and phases of planning for the reintroduction of gray wolves, please visit the Stay Informed page on the CPW website, or sign up for CPW’s Gray Wolf Reintroduction eNewsletter.

<b>1. RFW hunts are not Displayed because the State does not provide mapping data for them. </b><br>

<b>2. Buck:Doe & Population Estimates are By Herd, Not by Unit |</b> Colorado only reports population statistics by Data Analysis Unit (DAU) which can cover several units, the unit figures reflect that. <br>

<b>2. Concurrent Hunts Understate Hunters /100 Sq Mi|</b> This column reports the number of hunters for the species being looked at but there may also be hunters for other species. <br>

<b>3. Buck Success is for Buck Hunters Only |</b> Colorado is great about separating hunter numbers by whether they were pursuing bucks or does, giving more accurate harvest #s than most other states. <br>

<b>4. Archery Harvest May Be Understated |</b> Archery hunts do not currently break out buck from doe hunters so reported harvest rates for bucks may run low because doe hunters are also being counted as hunters but do not harvest bucks.<br>

<b>5. Public & Private Harvest Not Separated |</b> As in most states, hunts on public and private land are not separated for harvest reporting unless it was a private land only hunt, although in eastern Colorado (E. of I-25) private land runs close to 100%. <br>

<b>6. Identical Draw Info for Related Units |</b> Many hunts for deer and elk have more than one valid unit. Each valid unit in that hunt code will have identical draw information. <br>

<b>7. Don’t Add Up the Quotas for Each Unit in a Hunt Code |</b> The tags available are for the hunt code, not each unit under that code.<br>

<b>8. Private land only (PLO) hunts show the unit-wide harvest success for buck deer and bull elk success because the State lumps all seasons and all sexes together in its harvest report for these hunts.</b> Dividing antlered harvest by the listed hunters would give an inaccurate buck or bull success number, so we use unit-wide success for that season as the best approximation. A few archery hunts list N/A because the State lumps antlered, either sex and anterless hunts together. <br>

<b>9. Most RFW hunts are N/A for harvest success because the State uselessly reports success for RFW hunts by unit rather than by ranch. <br></b>
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<b>REMINDER | Colorado Leftover & Over-The-Counter Licenses
Leftover and Over-The-Counter licenses </b> go on sale in August! Leftover licenses are up for grabs beginning August 4th at 9 a.m. MT. OTC (Over-The-Counter) licenses open up for sale on August 6th starting at 9 a.m. MT.