Season structure · Confirm dates with CPW
One archery season, one muzzleloader, four rifle seasons, plus deer and spring turkey — Colorado's big-game calendar has more moving parts than most states. Here's how it's structured, what overlaps, the typical windows, and where each one fits.
The shape of it
Colorado runs its elk hunting across six distinct seasons from early September to late November — one archery, one muzzleloader, and four rifle seasons — plus a spring turkey season. The four-rifle structure is unusual and powerful: it lets a hunter choose the exact slice of the rut and weather cycle that fits their goal, from the post-rut quiet of Rifle 1 to the cold-driven concentration of Rifle 3.
The exact dates rotate a few days every year. The windows below are typical; always pull the current-year calendar from the CPW big game brochure before you plan around a date.
The calendar
| Season | Typical window | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Archery (elk + deer) | Early September – end of September | The rut window. Bow only. Long season; the prime stretch is roughly Sep 10–20. |
| Muzzleloader (elk + deer) | Mid-September (~9 days) | Limited entry / draw. Falls inside the archery season; iron sights, primitive arms. |
| Rifle 1st (elk) | Mid-October (~5 days) | Limited entry, elk-focused. Lower pressure; post-rut bulls still callable in pockets. |
| Rifle 2nd (elk + deer) | Late October (~9 days) | Combined deer + elk. The highest-density season; more tags available. |
| Rifle 3rd (elk + deer) | Early-to-mid November (~7 days) | Combined. Cold concentrates elk; often the highest single-season success rate. |
| Rifle 4th (elk + deer) | Mid-to-late November (~5 days) | Combined, often limited entry. Lowest density; snow-dependent and higher-variance. |
| Spring turkey (Merriam's) | Mid-April – end of May | Private-land seasons open about a week ahead of public. Gobbling toms, calling game. |
Typical windows only — exact dates are set annually by CPW. Many elk seasons and all deer seasons are limited entry, requiring a draw application (usually due the first week of April).
The other calendar
The season dates are only half the calendar. To hunt most Colorado seasons you first have to draw the tag, and the primary draw application closes the first week of April — six months before the hunt. Miss it and you wait a year. Some units and seasons still sell over-the-counter, but the good limited-entry tags run through the spring draw.
So plan backward: pick the season, confirm it's a draw or OTC, and if it's a draw, get the April application in. The full walkthrough is in the draw guide.
Frequently asked
Colorado elk seasons run from early September through late November. Archery is roughly September 2–30, muzzleloader is a ~9-day window in mid-September, and the four rifle seasons run from mid-October (Rifle 1) through late November (Rifle 4). Exact dates shift slightly each year — confirm the current-year calendar in the CPW big game brochure before planning.
Colorado has four separate rifle elk seasons. Rifle 1st (mid-October, ~5 days, elk-focused, limited entry), Rifle 2nd (late October, ~9 days, combined deer + elk), Rifle 3rd (early-mid November, ~7 days, combined), and Rifle 4th (mid-late November, ~5 days, combined, often limited). The four-season structure lets hunters target different points in the rut and weather cycle.
Rifle 3rd in mid-November typically posts the highest success rate, because cold weather concentrates elk on south-facing slopes and rifle range covers the most country. Rifle 1st offers the lowest pressure; Rifle 2nd has the most tags; Rifle 4th has the lowest density but the highest weather variance. The best season depends on whether you optimize for harvest odds, access, or solitude.
Colorado spring turkey season runs from roughly mid-April through the end of May, targeting the breeding season when Merriam's toms gobble and strut. Private-land seasons open about a week ahead of public-land seasons. There is also a limited fall turkey season in some areas. Confirm exact dates with CPW.
Yes. Archery and muzzleloader run concurrently for elk and deer, and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rifle seasons are combined deer-and-elk seasons, so a hunter holding both tags can pursue both at once. Rifle 1st is elk-only. This overlap makes combination hunts — elk plus mule deer in the same trip — straightforward in Colorado.
