Unit 74 bull elk, 1st rifle season
How many preference points it took to draw this hunt in 2026, and your estimated chance at every point level.
124 adult residents put this hunt first; 121 drew (98%). Drawn out at 0 preference points: 95 of 95 applicants with 0 drew. 90% of applicants with more points drew.
Any points drew
195 adult nonresidents put this hunt first; 139 drew (71%). Drawn out at 0 preference points: 75 of 128 applicants with 0 drew. 96% of applicants with more points drew.
Any points 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 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 2 | 6 | 6 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 1 | 20 | 18 | 1 in 1.1 | |
| 0 | 95 | 95 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| All | 124 | 121 | 1 in 1.0 |
Nonresidents
| Preference points | Applicants | Drew | Actual odds | Estimated chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 2 | 11 | 10 | 1 in 1.1 | |
| 1 | 49 | 47 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 0 | 128 | 75 | 1 in 1.7 | |
| All | 195 | 139 | 1 in 1.4 |
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 | 101 | 99 | 1 in 1.0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 132 | 129 | 1 in 1.0 | 0 |
| 2026 | 124 | 121 | 1 in 1.0 | 0 |
Drawn out at: 0 in 2024, 0 in 2025, 0 in 2026. The bar has held steady at about 0 points. Applicants rose 23% since 2024.
| Year | Applicants | Drew | Odds | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 195 | 165 | 1 in 1.2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 204 | 133 | 1 in 1.5 | 0 |
| 2026 | 195 | 139 | 1 in 1.4 | 0 |
Drawn out at: 0 in 2024, 0 in 2025, 0 in 2026. The bar has held steady at about 0 points.
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 74
- Bull elk, archery season EM074O1A · 114 applicants
- Bull elk, muzzleloader season EM074O1M · 56 applicants
- Bull elk, 4th rifle season EM074O4R · 4 applicants
- Bull elk, private land only, season 1, rifle EM074P1R · 4 applicants
- Bull elk, private land only, season 4, rifle EM074P4R · 5 applicants
- Cow elk, archery season EF074O1A · 12 applicants
- Cow elk, muzzleloader season EF074O1M · 11 applicants
- Cow elk, 1st rifle season EF074O1R · 40 applicants
- Cow elk, 2nd rifle season EF074O2R · 28 applicants
- Cow elk, 3rd rifle season EF074O3R · 39 applicants
- Cow elk, 4th rifle season EF074O4R · 10 applicants
- Either-sex elk, private land only, season 1, archery EE074P1A · 11 applicants