Colorado elk unit · GMU 84
Wet Mountains · Greenhorn
Wet Mountains and Greenhorn — high all-manner success that rides on private ground; do your access homework.
About GMU 84
Colorado Game Management Unit 84 sits in the Wet Mountains (south), spanning Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Pueblo counties near Florence, Cañon City, Colorado City, Walsenburg. The terrain runs from 4,600 – 12,400 ft, with the primary big game being Rocky Mountain Elk, Mule Deer.
Shortgrass prairie and dry washes climb through piñon-juniper, oakbrush, and ponderosa into spruce-fir and alpine basins under 12,400-ft Greenhorn Peak, with the Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness in the high southwest.
Elk success rates (CPW 2024)
Published by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in the CPW 2024 Elk Harvest Estimates for the 2024 season — the percentage of hunters who harvested an elk. Success swings with weather and pressure year to year; this is the most recent published data.
| Season | Success |
|---|---|
| Archery | 29% |
| Muzzleloader | 33% |
| 1st rifle | 48% |
| 2nd rifle | 34% |
| 3rd rifle | 34% |
| All seasons | 38% |
Tags & draw odds
Tag type: Limited draw (all seasons).
Limited draw, not OTC. With low overall harvest and quality concentrated on private, bull tags have been realistically low-point to leftover-attainable — but the headline success leans heavily on private access. Verify current-year odds with CPW.
Access & crowding
Highway access off US 50 and I-25 with Forest Service roads into the high country, but the public blocks are islands in private ground — the Wilderness is the main walk-in public option.
Light on public, because most of the unit (and most of the bulls) is private; the public Forest sees modest pressure.
Who GMU 84 is for
The 38% all-manner success is real but misleading on its own — it rides on private-land bull quality. On public ground this is a lower-density, work-for-it unit. Honest read: excellent with access, tough without it.
In a line: The hunter with private permission (or an outfitter) chasing a quality south-Wet-Mountains bull — or the public-land hunter who accepts lower odds for solitude.
Recent changes: Long-standing limited unit; unaffected by the OTC changes.
Where Elk Glade fits in
Elk Glade Outfitters runs primarily in GMU 59, not this unit — but we know the surrounding country and the regional draw landscape. If you have a tag here or you’re building points toward one, get in touch and we’ll talk through the strategy. If you don’t draw, we may have a 59 slot.
Data sources: elk success rates from CPW Colorado Elk Harvest Estimates (year labeled above). Public-land percentages are approximate. Draw point requirements shift every year and are described as ranges only — always verify the current-year figures in the CPW big game brochure and draw recap before applying.
Plan a hunt
Need help with the 84draw, or want a 59 slot if it doesn’t come through?
Send us a note with what tag you’re applying for and your dates — we’ll walk through the draw strategy and let you know what’s open at Elk Glade.
