Unit 5 cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 3
How many preference points it took to draw this hunt in 2026, and your estimated chance at every point level.
121 adult residents put this hunt first; 15 drew (12%). Drawn out at 6 preference points: 5 of 20 applicants with 6 drew.
Drawn out at 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 6 | 20 | 5 | 1 in 4.0 | |
| 5 | 25 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | 14 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | 19 | 0 | — | |
| 2 | 10 | 0 | — | |
| 1 | 14 | 0 | — | |
| 0 | 9 | 0 | — | |
| All | 121 | 15 | 1 in 8.1 |
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 | 194 | 10 | 1 in 19.4 | 5 |
| 2025 | 235 | 30 | 1 in 7.8 | 6 |
| 2026 | 121 | 15 | 1 in 8.1 | 6 |
Drawn out at: 5 in 2024, 6 in 2025, 6 in 2026. If that trend holds, expect about 6 points to be needed in 2027. Applicants fell 38% 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 5
- Cow elk, 2nd rifle season EF005O2R · 52 applicants
- Cow elk, 3rd rifle season EF005O3R · 23 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 2, rifle EF005W2R · 77 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 4, rifle EF005W4R · 22 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 5, rifle EF005W5R · 84 applicants
- Either-sex elk, 4th rifle season EE005O4R · 9 applicants
- Either-sex elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 1, rifle EE005W1R · 163 applicants
- Either-sex elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 2, rifle EE005W2R · 54 applicants
- Buck deer, 2nd rifle season DM005O2R · 81 applicants
- Buck deer, 3rd rifle season DM005O3R · 38 applicants
- Buck deer, 4th rifle season DM005O4R · 30 applicants
- Buck deer, Ranching for Wildlife, season 1, rifle DM005W1R · 110 applicants