Colorado 2026 Draw Results: What Hunters Do This Week
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is posting Colorado 2026 draw results for big game between Tuesday, May 26, and Friday, May 29 — the four days that decide whether tens of thousands of nonresident hunters spend September in the high country or stay home and refresh the CPW portal at 9 a.m. on August 4 with twelve thousand other people. However, what you do this week, whether the tag came or not, decides the season.
Here is the week-of-results plan, on both sides of the email: the five things to do if your name came up, the five things to do if it didn’t, and the four 2026 changes nonresidents need to read before they touch a credit card.
When Colorado 2026 draw results post
Colorado runs a four-day rolling release for its primary draw. Elk, deer, antelope, bear, and moose results post in waves between May 26 and May 29, with the species order set by CPW and announced day-of. Meanwhile, sheep and goat results posted earlier on April 23, 2026, on the agency’s separate sheep/goat draw timeline. The 2026 application window closed April 7. The payment deadline for any drawn tag is June 12 — miss the date and the license goes back into the pool.
Results live in two places. The official check is at CPW’s limited-license draw results and preference-point lookup. Most hunters also see an automated email from the agency. In short, the email tells you what you drew. It does not tell you what to do next, and the next steps matter as much as the Colorado 2026 draw results themselves.
Drew a tag? Five moves after the Colorado 2026 draw results
1. Pay before June 12 or your Colorado 2026 draw results tag is gone
The payment deadline for drawn elk, deer, antelope, moose, and bear licenses in 2026 is Friday, June 12. Importantly, CPW does not chase you. The card on file gets charged on the agency’s schedule if you opted in; otherwise the responsibility is yours. A drawn license from the Colorado 2026 draw results that goes unpaid is reissued through the leftover sale, which means a hunter who waited four years for the unit watches the tag walk out the door. Set a calendar reminder for June 11 and verify the charge.
2. Read the hunt code on your Colorado 2026 draw results line carefully
Read the hunt code on the result line, then open the 2026 Big Game Brochure to the matching unit page. Confirm three things: the season dates, the legal weapon (rifle, muzzleloader, archery), and the bag — bull-only, antlerless, or either-sex. In other words, the cover-letter species name is not enough. A nonresident who drew a “second-season rifle elk” tag in Unit 24 is hunting a different forest, a different elevation, and a different gear list than a hunter who drew “fourth-season rifle elk” in the same unit.
3. Lock the habitat stamp and small-game license on the receipt
Every Colorado hunter age 18 to 64 needs a habitat stamp ($12.76 in 2026) and a qualifying small-game license ($104.86 nonresident) to apply, hold, or use a big-game license. Typically, most hunters bought these as part of the application stack. Pull the receipts before payment day and confirm both line items are active — CPW will not process a drawn tag without them, and a frozen account two days before a season opener is a particular brand of preventable pain.
4. Map the unit while you have time
From here on, the next twelve weeks are for boots, not browsers. By July you should know three things about the unit by memory: the access points your tag actually allows, the boundary lines between public and private, and the bailout drainage if weather closes the high country. Specifically, Onyx, Gaia, BaseMap — pick one and start drawing. The hunters who do this in May are the hunters who fill tags in October. The hunters who do it the night before opening day are not.
5. Start the gear-and-travel timeline now
For example, if you flew last year, book the flight in June, not August. If you drove, the rig, the tire, the spare belt, the cooler count, the meat bags, the kill-kit knife — all of it goes on the calendar this week. The biggest filling-a-tag failure mode for first-time western hunters is not shooting, it is logistics: a four-day rifle elk hunt with a 36-hour drive each way leaves no time for the cooler you forgot to buy. The PopularOutdoorsman Memorial Day public-land prep checklist covers the gear inventory line by line.
Didn’t draw? Five moves after the Colorado 2026 draw results
1. Buy the 2027 preference point now (the Colorado 2026 draw results are final)
First, if you missed the tag, the point you applied for in April is already in your account. But if you did not apply at all, CPW lets you purchase a preference-point-only application for $40.49 per species (nonresident) — and you still need the small-game license and habitat stamp on file. However, the window for points-only is narrow. Read the agency’s primary draw page for the exact cut-off this year and treat the deadline like a tag opener — once it passes, you are a year behind everybody who acted.
2. Build the leftover-license shortlist before August
Colorado’s leftover-license sale runs August 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. — same day and same time as the over-the-counter sale. Generally, the unit list publishes about two weeks ahead. Watch CPW’s leftover and reissued licenses page from mid-July onward, then build a ranked shortlist of three or four units before sale day. In practice, the popular tags sell in minutes. The hunters who know exactly which hunt code they want, in what order, are the hunters who walk away with a license.
3. Pivot to where OTC still exists in Colorado — and where it doesn’t
The 2026 change nonresidents need to read alongside the Colorado 2026 draw results: over-the-counter archery elk licenses are no longer available to nonresidents for game-management units west of Interstate 25 and for GMU 140. As a result, CPW created limited nonresident archery elk hunt codes for those units, and they are applied for in the draw, not the OTC stack. On the other hand, OTC nonresident archery elk still exists for eligible GMUs east of I-25. If you have been buying the same August archery tag for five years, verify the unit’s 2026 status before you assume the stack still works. Several thousand nonresidents will discover the change at 9:01 a.m. on August 4. Do not be one of them.
4. Cross-state strategy: Wyoming and Montana still have moves
Moreover, Colorado is not the only draw running this month. Wyoming’s nonresident deer and antelope results post June 18. Montana’s deer, elk, and antelope (Type B) results land between late May and early June. A hunter who came up empty in Colorado can still apply for Wyoming nonresident antelope, watch Montana surplus tag releases, and stack a leftover license shortlist in a fourth state. The PopularOutdoorsman 2026 western draw timeline tracks the rolling calendar across Utah, Montana, and Wyoming.
5. The August 4 9 a.m. window — what to know now
Colorado’s leftover sale is online-only, first-come-first-served. The system queues you on entry. Three rules: log in early, have the hunt-code numbers memorized in priority order, and have a backup payment card on file. Additionally, the OTC sale runs the same morning at the same hour, so if you are buying both types of licenses, your sale order matters. Walk the path once on the CPW portal in July with a dummy cart so the August 4 click pattern is muscle memory, not a panic scroll. While you’re getting ready for the field, brushing up on your elk calling is the highest-leverage September prep most hunters skip.
What’s new for nonresident Colorado draw applicants in 2026
Four 2026 Colorado draw rules matter for every nonresident reading this:
- Nonresident archery elk OTC ended west of I-25 and in GMU 140. Hunt codes for those units now run through the draw. If you used to buy a Unit 24 or Unit 711 archery elk OTC license over a coffee in July, your 2026 path is different.
- Preference-point-only fee: $40.49 nonresident per species, plus the $104.86 small-game license and $12.76 habitat stamp every applicant carries.
- Payment deadline for drawn licenses: June 12, 2026. Same calendar moment as Memorial Day weekend’s first paychecks — set the reminder.
- Leftover and OTC sales: August 4, 2026, 9 a.m. Mountain Time. One window, two product types, the entire western nonresident community in the same queue. Visit the agency’s nonresidents hunting page for current eligibility detail.
Colorado 2026 draw results: dates and prices in one table
| Action | Date / fee (2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary draw application window | March 1 – April 7 | Closed |
| Sheep and goat results | April 23 | Posted on separate timeline |
| Elk, deer, antelope, bear, moose results | May 26 – 29 | Rolling release across four days |
| Payment deadline for drawn license | June 12 | Unpaid licenses go to leftover sale |
| Leftover license sale + OTC sale | August 4, 9 a.m. MT | Online, first-come-first-served |
| Preference point fee (nonresident) | $40.49 per species | Moose, sheep, goat carry $100 NR PP fee |
| Small-game license (nonresident) | $104.86 | Required to apply or buy big-game |
| Habitat stamp | $12.76 | Required for ages 18–64 |
Frequently asked questions about Colorado 2026 draw results
When do Colorado 2026 draw results post?
Colorado Parks and Wildlife posts 2026 big-game draw results for elk, deer, antelope, bear, and moose between Tuesday, May 26, and Friday, May 29. Sheep and goat results posted on April 23, 2026, on the agency’s separate timeline. Hunters can check status through CPW’s online limited-license lookup or wait for the agency’s automated email.
When is the payment deadline for a drawn Colorado tag?
In summary, the 2026 payment deadline is Friday, June 12. Any drawn elk, deer, antelope, bear, or moose license that is not paid by that date goes back into the pool and is reissued through the August 4 leftover sale.
When do Colorado leftover licenses go on sale in 2026?
Colorado’s 2026 leftover and reissued licenses go on sale Tuesday, August 4, at 9 a.m. Mountain Time, on the same morning and at the same hour as the over-the-counter license sale. Both run online, first-come-first-served, through CPW’s portal.
Can nonresidents still buy over-the-counter archery elk licenses in Colorado in 2026?
Not for game-management units west of Interstate 25 and not for GMU 140. CPW created limited nonresident archery elk hunt codes for those units, and they are applied for through the spring draw rather than purchased over the counter. Eligible OTC archery elk hunts for nonresidents still exist for GMUs east of I-25 — verify the unit’s 2026 status on the CPW Big Game Brochure before buying.
How much does a Colorado preference point cost for a nonresident in 2026?
A points-only application for a nonresident is $40.49 per species in 2026. Applicants also need a qualifying small-game license ($104.86 nonresident) and a habitat stamp ($12.76) on file. Moose, sheep, and goat carry a separate $100 nonresident preference-point fee.
What time of day do Colorado draw results post?
CPW does not publish a fixed hour for results. The agency loads results in waves across the May 26–29 window and announces day-of which species posted that morning. Hunters typically see status updated before the automated email lands. Refresh the limited-license lookup rather than waiting on the inbox.
Can I check my preference points without paying for an application?
Yes. The CPW limited-license lookup shows preference-point balances year-round once an account exists, separate from any active application. The lookup is the fastest way to verify that a 2026 application registered correctly and that the point either updated or was burned.
What if I missed the April 7 application deadline?
The 2026 primary draw is closed. The remaining paths in Colorado this season are the August 4 leftover and OTC sale, the over-the-counter archery elk units east of I-25 that still allow nonresident purchase, and any reissued licenses CPW announces between June 13 and August 3 from unpaid drawn tags. None of these require a 2026 application, but all of them require the small-game license and habitat stamp on file before the sale opens.
Methodology and sources
All 2026 dates, fees, and rule changes in this article are pulled directly from Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s published 2026 Big Game Brochure, the agency’s primary draw page, the leftover and reissued licenses page, and the nonresident hunting page, accessed on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Dates and fees are current as of that pull. CPW updates its fee schedule annually, and any rule change after publish date is captured in the agency’s news feed first — the verification path is CPW’s own portal, not a secondhand source. Updated May 26, 2026. Hero image: bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, by Mark Byzewski, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
The next checkpoint
Finally, August 4, 9 a.m. Mountain Time. One window, two sale types, every hunter who came up empty this week typing into the same queue. The draw decides a season; the leftover sale decides a year. Plan accordingly.
