Unit 3 cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 1
How many preference points it took to draw this hunt in 2026, and your estimated chance at every point level.
39 adult residents put this hunt first; 18 drew (46%). Drawn out at 1 preference point: 1 of 10 applicants with 1 drew. 85% of applicants with more points drew.
Drawn out at 1 points
No adult nonresidents put this hunt as their first choice.
Compare every Colorado elk hunt at your point level →
Odds by preference points
Residents
| Preference points | Applicants | Drew | Actual odds | Estimated chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 3 | 9 | 8 | 1 in 1.1 | |
| 2 | 7 | 6 | 1 in 1.2 | |
| 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 in 10.0 | |
| 0 | 9 | 0 | — | |
| All | 39 | 18 | 1 in 2.2 |
Nonresidents
No applicants in this group.
Trends, 2024–2026
"Cutoff" is the preference point level where licenses ran out that year (CPW's "drawn out at" level).
| Year | Applicants | Drew | Odds | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 28 | 10 | 1 in 2.8 | 2 |
| 2025 | 28 | 13 | 1 in 2.2 | 2 |
| 2026 | 39 | 18 | 1 in 2.2 | 1 |
Drawn out at: 2 in 2024, 2 in 2025, 1 in 2026. The bar has been falling. Applicants rose 39% since 2024.
How this draw works
Colorado draws limited licenses by preference points, and only your first choice uses them. Licenses go to the applicants with the most points first; at the level where they run out (the "drawn out at" level) applicants are drawn at random. If you don't draw your first choice, you gain a point. CPW big game hunting.
About the numbers. These are adult first-choice applicants, straight from CPW's 2026 draw recap. Youth and landowner licenses are drawn separately. The estimated chance is the share who actually drew at each point level, filled in from the cutoff where nobody held that many points. Applicant pools change every year. How we check and estimate.
Other hunts in Unit 3
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- Cow elk, 2nd rifle season EF003O2R · 55 applicants
- Cow elk, 3rd rifle season EF003O3R · 188 applicants
- Cow elk, 4th rifle season EF003O4R · 24 applicants
- Cow elk, private land only, season 5, rifle EF003P5R · 235 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 3, rifle EF003W3R · 9 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 5, rifle EF003W5R · 26 applicants
- Either-sex elk, muzzleloader season EE003O1M · 18 applicants
- Either-sex elk, 1st rifle season EE003O1R · 1,075 applicants
- Either-sex elk, 4th rifle season EE003O4R · 134 applicants
- Either-sex elk, private land only, season 1, archery EE003P1A · 15 applicants