Colorado legal shooting hours, for your unit and your date
Big game may be hunted in Colorado from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. Sunrise is not the same across the state: the west slope runs several minutes behind the plains, and the time moves a minute or two every day of a season. Pick your unit and a date and this works it out.
Opening morning of each 2026 rifle season
Legal shooting light on opening day, for the middle of six units from the north-west corner to the eastern plains.
| Unit | 1st rifle Wed, Oct 14 | 2nd rifle Sat, Oct 24 | 3rd rifle Sat, Nov 7 | 4th rifle Wed, Nov 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 201 (Moffat) | 6:56 AM to 7:06 PM | 7:07 AM to 6:52 PM | 6:23 AM to 5:35 PM | 6:36 AM to 5:25 PM |
| Unit 12 (Moffat, Routt) | 6:50 AM to 7:01 PM | 7:00 AM to 6:47 PM | 6:16 AM to 5:30 PM | 6:29 AM to 5:21 PM |
| Unit 37 (Summit, Grand) | 6:44 AM to 6:56 PM | 6:54 AM to 6:42 PM | 6:10 AM to 5:26 PM | 6:23 AM to 5:17 PM |
| Unit 59 (Pueblo, Fremont) | 6:38 AM to 6:52 PM | 6:48 AM to 6:39 PM | 6:03 AM to 5:23 PM | 6:15 AM to 5:14 PM |
| Unit 76 (Hinsdale, Mineral) | 6:46 AM to 7:02 PM | 6:56 AM to 6:49 PM | 6:10 AM to 5:34 PM | 6:22 AM to 5:25 PM |
| Unit 87 (Larimer, Weld) | 6:38 AM to 6:49 PM | 6:50 AM to 6:34 PM | 6:06 AM to 5:17 PM | 6:19 AM to 5:07 PM |
Clocks go back an hour on Sunday, November 1, 2026, which is why the 3rd and 4th rifle times are earlier on the clock.
How to use it
- Be seated before legal light starts, not walking in. Work back from that time by the length of your walk in the dark, then add a margin.
- In the evening, legal light ends half an hour after sunset. Know that time before you sit down, and know how far the animal would have to be carried.
- Small game and birds have their own hours, and some differ from big game. Check the rules for your species.
What this is, and what it is not
The times are worked out from the position of the sun for the middle of the unit, on the Colorado clock, to within about a minute. They are a planning aid. The sunrise and sunset table printed in the Colorado Parks and Wildlife brochure is the rule, and a wildlife officer goes by it.
Have a tag for this fall?
A FilledTag plan works these times back for you: the exact minute to leave camp for every seat, each day of your hunt, with the walk already measured. It also gives the truck spot, camp, and morning and evening seats, every pin checked against land records. The check is free.
Check your hunt, free