The Colorado 2025 hunting brochures are out. Colorado issues two sets of regulations – one for big game (antelope, bear, deer, elk, and moose) and a separate one for sheep and goat. You can request a hard copy by calling 303-297-1192, or they are available online at http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/BigGame.aspx.

The application deadline is 8 p.m. (MDT) on April 1, 2025. Sheep and goat licenses must be paid for by April 28th. Deer, elk, antelope, and moose licenses must be paid for by June 13th. Failure to collect payment will result in forfeiture of any accumulated preference points used to draw said permit as well as loss of license.

Visa, MasterCard, or Discover will be accepted. Corrections or modifications to applications are accepted in Colorado and can be made until the April 1st application deadline.

Group applications are accepted for all species, except for moose or Desert bighorn sheep. The number of applicants allowed within a group application is unlimited, except for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goat, which allow a maximum number of two. Non-residents and residents may not apply together for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep or mountain goat. If non-residents and residents apply together and draw, the permits will count against the non-resident allocation. Group applicants go into the draw with the lowest number of points of any individual in the group. For example, three applicants in a group with 1, 6, and 7 points will go into the draw with a group preference point total of 1. Group members must apply for the same species, hunt code, order, season, and method of take.

You can choose to build points only, but you still have to pay the non-refundable hunting license, application, habitat stamp, and point fee (if required). The preference point only code for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is S-P-999-99-P, for mountain goat is G-P-999-99-P, for moose is M-P-999-99-P, for deer is D-P-999-99-P, for elk is E-P-999-99-P, and for antelope is A-P-999-99-P. The preference point fee is $100 for sheep, moose, and mountain goat, but it is free for youth.

Deer, elk, antelope, and bear non-resident hunters are limited to up to 25% of the total permit numbers per hunt code unless the hunt has taken residents 6 or more points to draw on average for a previous three-year period. For those units, non-residents will be limited to 20% of those permits. The old non-resident quota for non-high-demand hunts was 35%. Non-residents are limited to 10% of the total number of sheep, mountain goat, and moose permits.

Colorado has a true preference point system for elk, deer, antelope, and bear. For those species, permits are allocated to the applicants with the most preference points within the non-resident quota. There is no maximum number of preference points for these species.

The odds we list for sheep, moose, and goat are based upon the number of non-resident applicants with 3 preference points. The odds are simple odds and are calculated without consideration of weighted points. If you want to see your exact draw odds based off the number of weighted points you have, you can use the research tool at research.huntinfool.com. Select the hunt you wish to apply for, enter the number of weighted points you have, and this will give your exact draw odds from the previous year. The elk, deer, and antelope odds are listed as the minimum number of preference points an applicant drew with in the 2024 draw.

Any eligible hunter age 12-17 will receive preference in the secondary draw for elk, deer, antelope, and bear licenses. Preference point fees are waived for all species for youth applicants. Youth hunters, 12-17 years of age, may receive up to 15% of the limited doe antelope, antlerless and either-sex deer, or antlerless elk licenses established for each unit during the regular rifle and private land-only rifle seasons. In addition, Colorado is offering late season antlerless elk and doe antelope opportunities. Group applications will not be accepted. Licenses not drawn by youth will be available to the public. The permit prices for youth are considerably less expensive. We have some great youth hunting resources. You can also check out the Colorado website for more Colorado Youth Hunting Information. 

In-line muzzleloaders are legal. Muzzleloader hunters cannot use pelletized powder, smokeless powder, or sabots. Open or “iron” sights are mandatory with no scopes of any kind. Fiber optic sights or fluorescent paint incorporated into or on open or iron sights are legal. Electronic or battery-powered devices cannot be incorporated onto or attached to the muzzleloading firearm. A minimum of .40 caliber is required to hunt deer and antelope, and a minimum of .50 caliber is required to hunt elk and moose. Archery equipment may not be used during muzzleloader seasons.

Only hand-held bows may be used during the archery season; this excludes crossbows from being used during the archery seasons. Scopes or magnifying sights cannot be used on bows in the archery-only season. Bows must be drawn or held by hand without the aid of any mechanical device. The bow’s draw weight must be a minimum of 35 pounds, and broadheads must have at least two steel cutting edges.

Firearms and bows carried on an OHV must be fully enclosed in a hard or soft case, and rifles must be unloaded in the chamber and magazine when on an OHV. A muzzleloader is considered unloaded when it does not have a primer or percussion cap on.

Colorado has raffle and auction Governor type permits. For more information, go to http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/RaffleAuction.aspx. You can also refer to our January 2025 issue in the “Governor, Commissioner, and Conservation Tags” article.

Throughout much of Western Colorado, there are ample amounts of public land to hunt. The Eastern Plains portion of the state has very little public land. A GPS with a landownership layer is highly recommended if you are planning to hunt anywhere in Colorado.

CPW has a big game pilot program. This allows public access to some WIA properties for deer, elk, and antelope hunting. Specific information will be available in the WIA brochure that will be out in August.

Money from the sale of the habitat stamps is used to acquire and manage habitat for hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing. Colorado Parks and Wildlife participates in the State Trust Lands Public Access Program. Not all state trust land is in this program. CPW has a brochure identifying properties open for wildlife recreation that will be out in August.

Colorado is currently at 973,000 acres and hoping to expand this program to over 1 million acres in the future. For a current map of acres enrolled in this program, go to https://ndismaps.nrel.colostate.edu/index.html?app=HuntingAtlas.