Unit 28 cow elk, private land only, season 5
How many preference points it took to draw this hunt in 2026, and your estimated chance at every point level.
109 adult residents put this hunt first; 8 drew (7.3%). Drawn out at 3 preference points: 7 of 16 applicants with 3 drew.
Drawn out at 3 points
10 adult nonresidents put this hunt first; 0 drew (0%). None drew.
Compare every Colorado elk hunt at your point level →
Odds by preference points
Residents
| Preference points | Applicants | Drew | Actual odds | Estimated chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 3 | 16 | 7 | 1 in 2.3 | |
| 2 | 47 | 0 | — | |
| 1 | 23 | 0 | — | |
| 0 | 22 | 0 | — | |
| All | 109 | 8 | 1 in 13.6 |
Nonresidents
| Preference points | Applicants | Drew | Actual odds | Estimated chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| 1 | 2 | 0 | — | |
| 0 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| All | 10 | 0 | — |
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 | 142 | 7 | 1 in 20.3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 128 | 8 | 1 in 16.0 | 2 |
| 2026 | 109 | 8 | 1 in 13.6 | 3 |
Drawn out at: 1 in 2024, 2 in 2025, 3 in 2026. The bar is rising at least one point a year, as fast as applicants earn points. Applicants fell 23% since 2024.
| Year | Applicants | Drew | Odds | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | 1 | 1 in 6.0 | 1 |
| 2025 | 13 | 0 | — | — |
| 2026 | 10 | 0 | — | — |
Applicants rose 67% 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 28
- Cow elk, muzzleloader season EF028O1M · 7 applicants
- Cow elk, 1st rifle season EF028O1R · 17 applicants
- Cow elk, 2nd rifle season EF028O2R · 142 applicants
- Cow elk, 3rd rifle season EF028O3R · 98 applicants
- Cow elk, 4th rifle season EF028O4R · 6 applicants
- Either-sex elk, muzzleloader season EE028O1M · 150 applicants
- Either-sex elk, 1st rifle season EE028O1R · 235 applicants
- Either-sex elk, 4th rifle season EE028O4R · 90 applicants
- Either-sex elk, private land only, season 1, archery EE028P1A · 5 applicants
- Either-sex elk, private land only, season 1, rifle EE028P1R · 5 applicants
- Either-sex elk, private land only, season 4, rifle EE028P4R · 6 applicants
- Either-sex elk, nonresident archery season EE028V1A · 0 applicants