Elk Hunting in Colorado GMU 43 - Garfield, Pitkin, Eagle, and Gunnison Counties

With increased hunting pressure and snow, herds tend to move to remote areas or private lands - away from roads and hunters. The wilderness areas are a good bet for success but hunters must hike or horseback as motorized travel is prohibited.

GMU 43 - Garfield, Pitkin, Eagle, and Gunnison Counties

Scores


Scores
User Scores
Ease of Drawing
92
 
92
Success
29
 
29
Trophy Potential
6
 
6
Public Access
100
 
100
Ease of Terrain
68
 
68
Room to Breathe
2
 
2
Opportunity
30
 
30
Convenience
46
 
46
Ease of Effort
46
 
46
66
HuntScore

Access Notes


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Bounded on N by Colorado River; on E by Roaring Fork and Castle Creek; on S by divide between Roaring Fork-Crystal River drainages and East River-Muddy Creek drainages and McClure Pass; on W by Muddy Creek-Crystal River divide, divide between Roaring Fork-Crystal River drainages and Divide Creek-Baldy Creek drainages and S Canyon Creek.

About 40% of the area is wilderness (Hunter-Fryingpan, Maroon Bells, Raggeds, Collegiate Peaks) and vehicles are not allowed. These rugged areas offer increased hunting success, but require horseba... Create a free account to read the rest of this access note!

County

Garfield, Pitkin, Eagle, Gunnison

Size

746 Square Miles (477,214 Acres)

Land Ownership

26% Private, 74% Public, 65% USFS, 8% BLM, 37% Wilderness, 1% Other

Latitude/Longitude

39.2260, -107.1373

Amenities

There are 0 hospitals, 1 hotels, 29 campgrounds, and 1 grocery stores within a 20 mile radius.

Elk Notes


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Early seasons find elk anywhere from 7500ft to above timberline. With increased hunting pressure and snow, herds tend to move to remote areas or private lands - away from roads and hunters. The wil... Create a free account to read the rest of this elk hunting note!

HuntScore Tip

Public land and private land percentages can sometime be misleading. A unit may have 80% public land, but a particluar species may only occupy 20% on the entire area. And that 20% species distribution may lie 100% within private lands. Does that sound confusing? Just remember that there are always exceptions to the rule, and land ownership is just one piece of the puzzle.

Management Plan

Elk Management Plan

State Agency Website

Visit Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Businesses Serving Elk Hunters In GMU 43 - Garfield, Pitkin, Eagle, and Gunnison Counties


CustomBilt

Category: Other

: 9132041353

: [email protected]

: https://custombiltguns.com/

About

CustomBilt Firearms builds high-quality, duty-grade rifles and pistols out of Kansas City. Founded in 2016, CustomBilt uses high quality components to build each rifle to exceptional standards, with extremely tight tolerances, which are backed by a lifetime warranty. Whether you are a serious hunter, a competitive shooter, or simply someone who wants a reliable and accurate rifle, CustomBilt has the perfect rifle for you.

Photos and Terrain Notes


This area encompasses the Roaring Fork, Frying Pan and Crystal River drainages. The lower elevations (6500ft) are primarily developed or agricultural. Timberline is around 11,500ft and there are 14... Create a free account to read the rest of this terrain note!

Elk Over The Counter Hunts (2021)


There are 4 OTC hunts in this unit. Get a free account to view the details!

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    • Season Dates

Elk Drawing Stats (2021)


Total Quota
3,110
Licenses Drawn
2,804
Licenses Surplus
306
Resident Quota
2,194
Nonresident Quota
610
Landowner Quota
397
Youth Quota
397
92.5%
Overall Unit
1st Choice Draw Odds
Choose a hunt below to take a deeper dive into quotas, drawing odds, drawing trends, and harvest data.
Stats Apply For Sex Manner Season Type Draw Odds HuntScore Notes
EF043O1R
F
R
O1
LL
100%
76 Permit Type B; License Valid for Units: 43, 471;
EE043O4R
E
R
O4
LL
100%
76
EE043P1R
E
R
P1
LL
100%
72 Permit Type A; License Valid for Units: 43, 471; 471 private land only
EF043O1M
F
M
O1
LL
90.9%
75 Permit Type B; License Valid for Units: 43, 471;
EM043O1M
M
M
O1
LL
100%
79 Permit Type A; License Valid for Units: 43, 471;
EF043O2R
F
R
O2
LL
100%
81
EF043O3R
F
R
O3
LL
100%
81
EF043O4R
F
R
O4
LL
100%
81
EF043P5R
F
R
P5
LL
74.9%
73 private land only
EE043O1R
E
R
O1
LL
70.5%
77 Permit Type A; License Valid for Units: 43, 471;
HuntScore Tip: For bear, elk, deer and pronghorn, you will accumulate preference points until you are successful in drawing a first-choice license. If you draw your first choice, your preference points drop to zero. There is no ?banking? of preference points.

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Elk Harvest Stats (2021)


Total Hunters
3,389
Total Harvest
465
Harvest Male
261
Harvest Female
174
14%
Average Success
Manner Season Type Sex Hunters Harvest Male Female Youth
A
A
NA
N/A 1135 87
40
35
0
ALL
ALL
NA
N/A 3389 465
261
174
0
M
M
NA
N/A 198 46
46
0
0
R
D
R
N/A 5 4
0
4
0
R
O1
LL
E
205 55
36
19
0
R
O1
LL
F
55 7
0
7
0
R
O1
NA
N/A 270 70
40
30
0
R
O2
LL
F
372 37
0
25
0
R
O2
NA
N/A 1035 121
84
25
0
R
O3
LL
F
204 16
0
10
0
R
O3
NA
N/A 525 65
49
10
0
R
O4
LL
E
56 16
2
14
0
R
O4
LL
F
84 22
0
22
0
R
PLO
PLO
N/A 81 34
0
34
0
R
PLO
PLO
N/A 91 42
4
38
0
R
R
NA
N/A 2056 332
175
139
0
HuntScore Tip: With more than 300,000 hunting licenses sold in Colorado each year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife thinks it's impossible to contact every hunter. So, harvest data is not actual. It's a statistical sample calculation based on license sales data and an estimate of hunter numbers and hunter success. Hunter activity and success is gathered through the hunter survey sent to all Colorado licensed hunters. Response is voluntary and therefore not complete.

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Weather Insights


Weather can vary by elevation. See how weather varies by elevation within a unit by selecting an elevation range. Elevation ranges are based on weather stations in or near the unit. Not all weather elements are available within the unit.

Average Temps

Use temperature ranges to plan and prepare for your hunt. Large swings indicate a good layering system should be used. Be sure to make note of the extreme temperatures as these often pose the greatest risk to hunters. If you plan on hunting in higher elevation, as a rule of thumb, expect the tempture to decrease roughly 5° for every 1000' in elevation gain.

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  • Probability of other weather events (thunder, hail, etc...) by by month

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