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Colorado Draw Odds
Colorado game management unit · herd E-51

Unit 51 elk

Part of the Castle Rock herd. 12 limited elk hunts in the 2026 draw, 8 of them drawable by residents with zero points. The toughest, E-E-051-O1-A, took 1 pt for residents.

Draw hunts
12
11 List A · 1 List B/C
Harvest success 2025
32%
688 hunters · 220 elk (draw hunts only)
Herd estimate 2025
3,480
+80% since 2019
Bulls per 100 cows
40
herd E-51, 2025

Over the counter in Unit 51

No over-the-counter elk licenses are valid in Unit 51 in 2026 — every license here comes through the draw or leftovers.

Draw hunts in Unit 51

Hunt codeHuntListLicensesResidents needNonres. needTrendSuccess
E-E-051-O1-A Either sex · Archery A 120 1 pt 1 pt → steady 27%
E-F-051-O1-M Cow · Muzzleloader A 50 2nd choice 0 pts → steady 2%
E-M-051-O1-M Bull · Muzzleloader A 50 1 pt 3 pts → steady 52%
E-F-051-O1-R Cow · 1st rifle A 40 2nd choice 2nd choice → steady 16%
E-F-051-O2-R Cow · 2nd rifle A 50 2nd choice None drawn → steady 20%
E-F-051-O3-R Cow · 3rd rifle A 40 2nd choice 2nd choice → steady 7%
E-F-051-O4-R Cow · 4th rifle A 35 3rd choice None drawn → steady 18%
E-F-051-P5-R Cow · Private land only (5) rifle B 280 Leftover Leftover → steady 35%
E-M-051-O1-R Bull · 1st rifle A 50 1 pt 1 pt → steady 59%
E-M-051-O2-R Bull · 2nd rifle A 50 0 pts 0 pts → steady 48%
E-M-051-O3-R Bull · 3rd rifle A 30 1 pt 1 pt → steady 41%
E-M-051-O4-R Bull · 4th rifle A 20 0 pts 2 pts → steady 47%

Harvest by year

2019 20% 531 hunters · 55 bulls · 49 cows
2020 23% 506 hunters · 62 bulls · 53 cows
2021 30% 495 hunters · 77 bulls · 65 cows
2022 34% 524 hunters · 81 bulls · 95 cows
2023 28% 578 hunters · 86 bulls · 73 cows
2024 30% 623 hunters · 90 bulls · 88 cows
2025 32% 688 hunters · 117 bulls · 90 cows

All seasons and weapons combined, from CPW harvest surveys. 2025 figures add up the hunt-code estimates CPW published, so they leave out over-the-counter hunters.