Colorado OTC Elk Units 2026: 2nd and 3rd Rifle

Every Colorado OTC bull elk unit for 2nd and 3rd rifle 2026, from the CPW brochure. What changed, who can buy, prices and rules, plus a free hunt plan.

In 2026, Colorado sells an unlimited, over-the-counter (OTC) bull elk license for the 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons in 90 game management units. No draw is needed. This page lists every valid unit and the rules that come with the license, taken from the 2026 Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Big Game brochure.

Season dates

Both are bull only, List A, unlimited in number, and not available through the draw. Both have the same valid units.

2026 OTC bull elk units (2nd and 3rd rifle)

3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 52, 53, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 85, 86, 131, 133, 134, 140, 141, 142, 161, 171, 181, 211, 214, 231, 301, 361, 371, 411, 421, 431, 441, 444, 471, 511, 521, 581, 591, 681, 691, 711, 741, 751, 771, 851, 861

Exceptions written into the list:

• Unit 82: public land only.
• Unit 851: not valid on Bosque del Oso SWA.

What changed for 2026

• Units 54, 55 and 551 (northern Gunnison Basin) are no longer OTC. Their 2nd and 3rd rifle bull licenses moved to the limited draw for 2026. If you hunted there OTC in past years, you needed to apply in the draw this year.
• Antler point restrictions were removed in unit 82 for 2026.

Who can buy and what it costs

• The brochure lists no residency limit on the OTC rifle bull license.
• Nonresidents can no longer buy OTC archery elk licenses west of I-25 or in GMU 140. That change does not apply to the rifle bull license.
• The license is List A. You can hold only one List A elk license a year, so you cannot buy both the 2nd and 3rd rifle OTC licenses, or add one to a drawn List A elk license.
• Buy before opening day if you can. The brochure gives two different answers on where List A rifle licenses can be bought after a season starts, so call CPW if you are buying late.

Antler point restrictions

A legal bull in these units must have four points or more on one antler, or a brow tine at least 5 inches long, except in units the brochure does not list as restricted. In the OTC list, those are 82 (restriction removed for 2026), 133, 134, 141 and 142. Every bull must have antlers at least 5 inches long. Check the brochure's antler point section for your unit.

Is there OTC cow or either-sex elk for rifle?

Not in these mountain units. The 2nd and 3rd rifle OTC license is bull only. Antlerless and either-sex rifle licenses in these units come through the draw, or as leftover or reissued licenses if any remain.

There are two other OTC rifle elk licenses, both on the eastern plains, where most land is private:

• Plains either-sex (E-E-087-U5-R): Sept. 1, 2026 to Jan. 31, 2027, List C, unlimited. Units 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130, 132, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 951.
• Unit 128 bull (E-M-128-U5-R): bulls only, List A. CPW advises getting landowner permission first because most of unit 128 is private. Cow licenses in 128 are draw only.

What about mule deer?

There is no mule deer version of this. CPW says most deer licenses are limited and available only through the draw. The only OTC deer licenses are for white-tailed deer in certain units. For a 2nd or 3rd rifle mule deer hunt in 2026 (Oct. 24 to Nov. 1 and Nov. 7 to 15), your options now are a license you drew or a leftover or reissued license from CPW.

Rules you must not miss

• Wear at least 500 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange or pink above the waist, plus an orange or pink hat.
• Sign and attach your carcass tag only after the kill, to the carcass.
• Keep evidence of sex naturally attached to the carcass.
• New in 2026: elk taken in any rifle season on selected hunt codes must have the head submitted for free CWD testing. Many OTC units are in the selected GMUs, but not every hunt code was selected. Check whether your hunt code is shaded green in the brochure tables (pages 41 to 52) or ask CPW.

More detail on each season: 2nd rifle elk 2026 and 3rd rifle elk 2026.

Get an exact plan for your OTC tag

Pick a unit and FilledTag builds a free, exact plan for your tag: where to park, where to camp, and where to sit. It is free for the first 75 hunters this season.

This is our first season, so the plans are unproven. Treat the plan as a starting point and verify everything on the ground, including access, closures and land ownership. No plan can promise an elk.

Get my free plan

Sources

• Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 2026 Colorado Big Game Hunting brochure: OTC 2nd and 3rd rifle bull licenses and valid units (page 40), plains and unit 128 OTC licenses (page 41), new for 2026, units 54, 55, 551 and unit 82 (pages 1, 35), nonresident archery reminder (page 1), List A rules and antler point restrictions (page 36), fees (page 5), sales dates and leftover licenses (page 4), hunter education and qualifying licenses (page 6), deer license note and deer season dates (page 20), hunter orange and pink (page 15), carcass tags and evidence of sex (page 16), CWD mandatory GMUs (page 41).
• Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Chronic Wasting Disease: https://cpw.state.co.us/cwd
• Colorado Outdoors (CPW), "2026 Colorado Big Game Hunting: Why GMUs 54, 55, 551 Move to Limited," Feb. 17, 2026: https://coloradooutdoorsmag.com/2026/02/17/2026-colorado-big-game-hunting-why-gmus-54-55-551-move-to-limited/