OVER-THE-COUNTER BULL ELK LICENSES OFFER LAST-MINUTE OPPORTUNITIES, HIGH SUCCESS RATES

As far as elk hunting is concerned, Colorado has more opportunity and more elk than any other state or Canadian province. Colorado is also the only state that has over-the-counter bull elk and cow elk tags available.Because Colorado’s elk herd remains over population objective in many areas of the state, it is possible for hunters to have as many as three elk licenses. All of these factors make Colorado the elk hunting mecca of North America.Many hunters take advantage of Colorado’s elk hunting opportunities by purchasing over-the-counter bull tags. These licenses are popular with hunters from across the nation because they require little preparation and no preference points, and they allow hunters to literally plan hunts right up until the opening day of the season. Meanwhile, there are some statistics that may help hunters who plan on buying over-the-counter bull tags be successful if a last-minute opportunity for an elk hunt arises.Hunter success rates for individual game management units (GMUs) are valuable when planning a Colorado hunt. And while there are still some other factors that need to be researched, including the amount of public property and hunting pressure, success statistics can offer some insight to where to hunt with an over-the-counter license.The following are the top 13 GMUs in terms of success rates for over-the-counter bull elk licenses during the second, third and fourth seasons in 2003:
Unit, Success rate, Hunters, Animals Harvested
441* 79% 613 483
13 71% 859 612
741 65% 121 79
301* 56% 599 338
5* 54% 439 238
12 53% 1533 805
75* 53% 391 208
214 51% 335 170
4* 50% 1344 667
211 49% 1159 568
140 49% 100 49
11 48% 1169 566
3* 46% 876 403

*Over-the-counter bull licenses not valid in fourth combined season.

While success rates will vary from year to year, many of the units listed above have success rates well above 50 percent. This is a good indication that a hunter will have ample opportunity to be successful with an over-the-counter bull license. Over-the-counter bull licenses are available from license agents throughout Colorado, Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) offices, and on the DOW Web site at: http://wildlife.state.co.us/total_licensing/. Hunters can also purchase these licenses by calling 1-800-244-5613. The product code for nonresident over-the-counter bull elk licenses is 026. The product code for resident over-the-counter bull elk licenses is 022. A nonresident bull elk license costs $490.25. A resident bull elk license costs $30.25. Hunters born on or after Jan.1, 1949, must have proof of hunter education to purchase a hunting license in Colorado. For additional statistics from the 2003 hunting season visit: http://wildlife.state.co.us/huntrecap/index.asp. # # #For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us/.