Updated: May 24th 2019 @ 5:55pm
Colorado holds more elk and issues more permits for elk than any other state. It’s no surprise Colorado has a serious amount of great elk hunting outfitters. Over 250,000 hunters go each year between draw tags and over-the-counter opportunities.
And why not, Colorado holds some of the best wilderness style hunting. Rugged mountains, rich forests, and beautiful desert plains. All for what makes up some of the best elk hunting territory in the country.
Applications are easy with a period that opens in February and deadline in early April. They will completed online and results shown June.
There are 4 rifle season dates and an early rifle season (Oct - Nov). Muzzle-loader and Archery which both come at a great time, unfortunately they both overlap a bit (Aug - Sept).
That said, some units differ. You are best to ask your preferred outfitter for the best units and strategies.
Keep in mind, Elk are quantity over quality. So picking your outfitter is important. Only a handful of units provide bulls that exceed 330”. These guides can lead you to the right place.
That give their clients the best chances to Colorado’s legendary elk.
Here are some tips you should do before or after you contact them.
You can do this by going to Colorado’s department of Regulatory Agencies website.
https://apps.colorado.gov/dora/licensing/Lookup/LicenseLookup.aspx
Look up the outfitter by License Type: “outfitter” and either Business Name or License Number.
The beautiful part of that is you’ll see the original issue date of their license too. Some of the outfitters we mentioned have had licenses since 1988!
Contact us and we’ll review and add you.