Unit 49 cow elk, 3rd rifle season
How many preference points it took to draw this hunt in 2026, and your estimated chance at every point level.
227 adult residents put this hunt first; 95 drew (42%). Drawn out at 1 preference point: 58 of 89 applicants with 1 drew. 86% of applicants with more points drew.
Drawn out at 1 points
16 adult nonresidents put this hunt first; 8 drew (50%). Drawn out at 1 preference point: 3 of 4 applicants with 1 drew. 83% of applicants with more points drew.
Drawn out at 1 points
Compare every Colorado elk hunt at your point level →
Odds by preference points
Residents
| Preference points | Applicants | Drew | Actual odds | Estimated chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 in 2.0 | |
| 4 | 8 | 8 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 3 | 11 | 7 | 1 in 1.6 | |
| 2 | 20 | 19 | 1 in 1.1 | |
| 1 | 89 | 58 | 1 in 1.5 | |
| 0 | 95 | 0 | — | |
| All | 227 | 95 | 1 in 2.4 |
Nonresidents
| Preference points | Applicants | Drew | Actual odds | Estimated chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | 0 | — | |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 in 1.3 | |
| 0 | 6 | 0 | — | |
| All | 16 | 8 | 1 in 2.0 |
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 | 130 | 99 | 1 in 1.3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 180 | 97 | 1 in 1.9 | 0 |
| 2026 | 227 | 95 | 1 in 2.4 | 1 |
Drawn out at: 0 in 2024, 0 in 2025, 1 in 2026. If that trend holds, expect about 2 points to be needed in 2027. Applicants rose 75% since 2024.
| Year | Applicants | Drew | Odds | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 11 | 5 | 1 in 2.2 | 2 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 in 4.0 | 2 |
| 2026 | 16 | 8 | 1 in 2.0 | 1 |
Drawn out at: 2 in 2024, 2 in 2025, 1 in 2026. The bar has been falling. Applicants rose 45% 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. Nonresidents could get at most 25% of this hunt's licenses. 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 49
- Bull elk, muzzleloader season EM049O1M · 200 applicants
- Bull elk, 1st rifle season EM049O1R · 524 applicants
- Bull elk, 2nd rifle season EM049O2R · 350 applicants
- Bull elk, 3rd rifle season EM049O3R · 193 applicants
- Bull elk, 4th rifle season EM049O4R · 86 applicants
- Cow elk, muzzleloader season EF049O1M · 104 applicants
- Cow elk, 2nd rifle season EF049O2R · 254 applicants
- Cow elk, 4th rifle season EF049O4R · 151 applicants
- Cow elk, split season 2, rifle EF049S2R · 50 applicants
- Cow elk, split season 3, rifle EF049S3R · 36 applicants
- Cow elk, split season 4, rifle EF049S4R · 9 applicants
- Either-sex elk, archery season EE049O1A · 470 applicants