Unit 851 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.
174 adult residents put this hunt first; 2 drew (1.1%). Drawn out at 30 preference points: 1 of 6 applicants with 30 drew.
Drawn out at 30 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 | |
| 30 | 6 | 1 | 1 in 6.0 | |
| 29 | 10 | 0 | — | |
| 28 | 5 | 0 | — | |
| 27 | 5 | 0 | — | |
| 26 | 3 | 0 | — | |
| 25 | 2 | 0 | — | |
| 24 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| 23 | 3 | 0 | — | |
| 22 | 9 | 0 | — | |
| 21 | 7 | 0 | — | |
| 20 | 7 | 0 | — | |
| 19 | 7 | 0 | — | |
| 18 | 3 | 0 | — | |
| 17 | 6 | 0 | — | |
| 16 | 3 | 0 | — | |
| 15 | 1 | 0 | — | |
| 14 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| 13 | 6 | 0 | — | |
| 12 | 6 | 0 | — | |
| 11 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| 10 | 3 | 0 | — | |
| 9 | 8 | 0 | — | |
| 8 | 3 | 0 | — | |
| 7 | 7 | 0 | — | |
| 6 | 5 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | 8 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | 10 | 0 | — | |
| 2 | 9 | 0 | — | |
| 1 | 8 | 0 | — | |
| 0 | 7 | 0 | — | |
| All | 174 | 2 | 1 in 87.0 |
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 | 220 | 2 | 1 in 110.0 | 29 |
| 2025 | 171 | 2 | 1 in 85.5 | 30 |
| 2026 | 174 | 2 | 1 in 87.0 | 30 |
Drawn out at: 29 in 2024, 30 in 2025, 30 in 2026. If that trend holds, expect about 30 points to be needed in 2027. Applicants fell 21% 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. This hunt also has a hybrid draw: up to 20% of licenses go at random to applicants with 5 or more points who fall below the cutoff. 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 851
- Bull elk, muzzleloader season EM851O1M · 12 applicants
- Bull elk, 1st rifle season EM851O1R · 37 applicants
- Bull elk, 2nd rifle season EM851O2R · 26 applicants
- Bull elk, 3rd rifle season EM851O3R · 30 applicants
- Bull elk, 4th rifle season EM851O4R · 59 applicants
- Cow elk, late season, rifle EF851L1R · 5 applicants
- Cow elk, late season 2, rifle EF851L2R · 10 applicants
- Cow elk, late season 3, rifle EF851L3R · 6 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 1, rifle EF851W1R · 84 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 2, rifle EF851W2R · 33 applicants
- Cow elk, Ranching for Wildlife, season 6, rifle EF851W6R · 37 applicants
- Either-sex elk, archery season EE851O1A · 26 applicants