Colorado Big Game Application Season: 2025 Updates
Colorado’s Big Game Application Season is just about here. Starting March 1, 2025 you can go online to www.cpwshop.com and start your application process. You have until April 1, 2025 to apply for a license or purchase a preference point.
If you booked a Dark Timber Outfitters hunt with us, I’ll be in touch very soon with application information specific to your hunt.
There are some significant changes that have been implemented by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) recently and more significant changes happening in the future. I’d like to highlight a couple changes that I believe are important for folks to know about. I would highly encourage all of you to do your own homework on these changes and educate yourself as to how the changes may or may not impact your Colorado hunting experience.
I would also suggest staying away from armchair quarterback-type forums and message boards that aren’t validated by CPW or professional hunt services as these can lead to misunderstanding and/or misinterpretation of what’s actually being done. Just my two cents there.
1. Nonresident Archery Elk:
Starting this year, Colorado will no longer offer over-the-counter (OTC) archery elk licenses for nonresidents. Residents will still have opportunities for OTC archery elk hunts. Nonresidents will be required to go through the draw process and apply for all archery hunts, specifying a unit. These licenses will still be either sex for elk. It’s unclear as to how many archery licenses will be made available on a unit-by-unit basis for nonresidents however I believe many previously OTC units will be “managed for opportunity” meaning most NR archery hunters will be able to draw their license with zero preference points. With reference specifically to where Dark Timber Outfitters operates, unit 62 will certainly be one of these “managed for opportunity” units. It will likely take a year or two to see how the state determines license quotas, which units have leftover licenses available, etc. What’s important to note here is when a NR archery hunter enters their desired hunt code for their 1st Choice in their application, it will use whatever preference points they have banked. If I had to make a suggestion to nonresidents, it would be to plan ahead. Know where you want to hunt and which unit you want to apply for well in advance…like a year out. Then apply in the primary draw that spring. If you wait until the last minute for secondary draw licenses or leftover licenses, your desired unit may not have licenses available.
2. Split Draw:
Starting in 2028, licenses for elk, deer, and other species applied for in the primary draw will be split into two categories: the normal preference point draw pool and a new bonus draw pool. The split into each pool will be 50/50 for each hunt code. There are pros and cons to this. One pro is now everybody will have a chance to draw a limited license for elk. Whether you have points or not doesn’t matter, everyone can apply and have a shot at drawing. So this pool could be likened to a straight up lottery where a hunter could draw a muzzle loader bull license in unit 61 on their first try, when currently this unit requires 29 points for a nonresident. But there’s a flip side and it mostly impacts those who have been diligently accruing preference points for an elk hunt. Unfortunately, these hunters are going to get screwed starting in 2028. The quota of licenses available in the preference point pool will be cut in half which will make drawing one of those licenses more difficult. Odds of drawing will be lower as there will be the same number of point holders but half the licenses available. What this will hopefully encourage high point holders to do, or really any point holder, is to burn their points on a hunt sometime in the next 3 years. I believe the goal CPW is striving for here is to reduce the number of high point holders in the system and slow down/potentially stop the highly frustrating issue of preference point creep. Is this going to make everyone happy? Nope. But I’m glad to see CPW providing some alternative approaches to licensing and hopefully put an end to point creep…and who knows, maybe it’ll actually lower the points required for some units over time. So, you’ve got three years to use your points before your draw odds will likely go down. If you’re one of those mid to high point holders, make a plan and go on a great elk hunt!
If you’d like to use those preference points on a hunt in unit 61 or 62, give us a call or shoot an email to book a hunt with Dark Timber Outfitters! If you don’t have any preference points you’re still in luck because we have OTC archery and rifle hunts right now. We’d love to guide you on a memorable hunt in some beautiful elk country. And if all this confuses the hell out of you, call or email me…I’m always happy to answer questions.
Again, to our currently booked hunters, I’ll be in touch soon with application information for the 2025 application period. Thank you.