Unit 6 either-sex elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 1
How many preference points it took to draw this hunt in 2026, and your estimated chance at every point level.
78 adult residents put this hunt first; 5 drew (6.4%). Drawn out at 21 preference points: 1 of 1 applicants with 21 drew. 4 drew below the cutoff, through the hybrid random draw (about 10% of eligible applicants with 5+ points).
Drawn out at 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 11 | 2 | 0 | — | |
| 10 | 7 | 0 | — | |
| 9 | 3 | 0 | — | |
| 8 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| 7 | 6 | 0 | — | |
| 6 | 8 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | 6 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | 5 | 0 | — | |
| 2 | 9 | 0 | — | |
| 1 | 13 | 0 | — | |
| 0 | 8 | 0 | — | |
| All | 78 | 5 | 1 in 15.6 |
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 | 96 | 7 | 1 in 13.7 | 17 |
| 2025 | 94 | 7 | 1 in 13.4 | 11 |
| 2026 | 78 | 5 | 1 in 15.6 | 21 |
Drawn out at: 17 in 2024, 11 in 2025, 21 in 2026. The bar is rising at least one point a year, as fast as applicants earn points. Applicants fell 19% 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 6
- Cow elk, muzzleloader season EF006O1M · 36 applicants
- Cow elk, 1st rifle season EF006O1R · 63 applicants
- Cow elk, 2nd rifle season EF006O2R · 204 applicants
- Cow elk, 3rd rifle season EF006O3R · 47 applicants
- Cow elk, private land only, season 5, rifle EF006P5R · 53 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 1, rifle EF006W1R · 16 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 2, rifle EF006W2R · 18 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 3, rifle EF006W3R · 16 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 4, rifle EF006W4R · 15 applicants
- Either-sex elk, muzzleloader season EE006O1M · 286 applicants
- Either-sex elk, 1st rifle season EE006O1R · 522 applicants
- Either-sex elk, 4th rifle season EE006O4R · 40 applicants