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Before she was big enough to carry a gun, Melissa Johnson would follow her father through the grasslands surrounding Trinchera, the rural southeast Colorado community where her family has hunted for decades. But when she turned 14, Johnson approached her dad. “I’m not going to be able to hunt,” she told him. “I just cannot pull the trigger. I cannot kill something.” He conceded to her conscience, and Johnson retired her rifle.
About 15 years later, the Colorado Springs resident returned to Trinchera to interview ranching families for her master’s degree at Colorado College, which focused on Southwest studies. Through her research, Johnson came to understand that hunting provided food for locals’ tables and connected them to the land and each other. She started stalking again, this time with gratitude for the animals’ sacrifice.
Johnson’s daughter Clara, on the other hand, never shied away from the gruesome realities of the sport. “My grandpa used to call me ‘heart-ripper,’ ” Clara says. That’s because when he removed the entrails during field dressings, young Clara was always eager to extract the organ. “I thought it was super cool,” she says. “To be able to see all the anatomy and the valves was interesting to me.”
The Johnsons’ backstories reveal a truism about hunting. Even people who share DNA—and a long familial history of harvesting animals—can have very different sensibilities when it comes to the pursuit. Wherever you think you stand on the subject, one thing is for certain: Hunting is a popular endeavor here in Colorado, and it’s only been gaining interest. Applications for licenses have increased for five years running, a result of the pandemic and the state’s growing population. “There was a huge push to get people outdoors,” says Joey Livingston, a public information officer with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), “as well as, I think, a push for people that wanted to have their own meat for storage.”
Hunting, however, is a far more intimidating pastime to pick up than, say, pickleball. Not only are novices venturing into wild terrain with loaded weapons, but they must also traverse CPW’s licensing program, which can feel byzantine to the uninitiated. If you’re successful, harvesting an animal—a requirement, in most cases, if you kill something—can be physically demanding and alarmingly grisly.
On the following pages, you’ll find lessons rookies should learn to ensure they become ethical, safe sportspeople. But the first tenet is simple: Hunting is not a hobby to undertake lightly. “You’ve got to know your ‘why,’ ” Melissa says. “You’ve got to know your motivation—because it’s hard, but it’s also so rewarding.” Melissa has overcome her aversion to hunting because she believes it’s the most ethical way to provide meat for her family. Clara simply loves the opportunity to be outside that hunting affords her. Although their “whys” are different, their bounty is the same. Together, they have hunted pronghorn antelope along the Eastern Plains near Trinchera, moose in the frigid mountains of Grand County, and, after Clara graduated from high school in 2023, springbok, warthog, and other animals in South Africa. “When we’re hunting,” Melissa says, “I’m not the mom, and she’s not the kid.” They’re both hunters.
Jump Ahead:
1. Get a Hunting License.
To ensure hunters don’t kill off certain species, as they did during the early white settlement of North America, state governments have instituted animal protections, creating an overarching philosophy called the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. What that means is that Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) imposes strict controls over who can hunt and how many animals can be harvested. It’s a simple strategy but one achieved through a complex, red-tape-lined labyrinth you’ll need to know how to navigate.
To buy a license in Colorado, CPW requires applicants to complete a hunter education course, which explains things such as basic firearm safety, the role hunting plays in wildlife management, and the ethics of the sport. The agency offers two ways to graduate: a 12- to 14-hour in-person version (max $10), usually over two days, and an online option that culminates with a written test and a range session ($29.50 for the class; $10 for the final).
A Colorado hunting license does not grant immunity for killing all animals at all times. Hunters have to purchase a license specific to the big-game species they want to take. (The exception: A generic small-game license is all you need to stalk undersize critters.) For example, in 2024, spring turkey applications ($35.76) opened on January 2 and closed on February 6, and the season ran from April 13 to May 31.
3 Types of Colorado Hunting Licenses
- Small-Game License: Grants access to the diminutive wildlife you can bag anywhere hunting is permitted in Colorado for the entire year, though different animals have different seasons. $15.55 for one day; $33.96 for the season
- Limited License: A big-game permit procured via a draw that specifies species, GMU, sex, dates, and weapon (such as rifle or archery). Deer $47.91; elk $66.12; pronghorn antelope $47.91; moose $366.13; bear $60.05 (prices for adult residents)
- Over-The-Counter (OTC) License: Sometimes called “unlimited licenses” because there’s no cap on the number CPW sells. But these big-game passes do specify species, sex, and weapon and are available only for certain GMUs. Prices are the same as limited licenses
2. Enter the Lottery
Much of the big-game hunting in Colorado is managed through a draw. Not only do sportspeople have to name the animal they hope to harvest, but they also must input where they’d like to hunt it: CPW breaks the state into 185 game management units (GMUs). If the elk in an area are spawning like rabbits, CPW might grant more tags to help control the wildlife population there.
In Colorado’s big-game lotto, many hunters aren’t able to score the limited licenses they wanted because they applied for an animal in a game management unit (GMU) where requests exceeded quotas. But every time you whiff, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) gifts you a preference point, which you can bank and use later to improve your odds of securing tags in coveted grounds.
For those who’d rather not spend decades waiting, we combed CPW’s 2024 data to find GMUs that offer good shots at licenses for the seasons directly ahead of you.
Rocky Mountain Elk
GMU 18: This Grand County unit is managed for opportunity. Its high quota for each season means you’re likely to snag a tag—but its close-to-Denver location means you’re also bound to bump into other hunters. Seek out the east fork of Troublesome Creek to avoid the crowds. Other options: GMUs 86 and 371
Pronghorn Antelope
GMU 106: GMU 106 boasts large quotas—if you can access it. The entire area (like most of the Eastern Plains) is private land, but you’re allowed to hunt as long as you get the landowners’ permission. (They’re often eager to have someone eradicate these crop-munchers.) A guide with rights to a parcel can also escort you to your prey. Other option: GMU 133
Wild Turkey
GMU 34: Turkeys may not be big game, but CPW uses the same GMUs to regulate their draws. (Bighorn sheep and mountain goats have completely different GMUs.) There is a cornucopia of tags available in this section, and you can soak your blues away at Glenwood Hot Springs should you leave the field empty-handed. Other options: GMUs 33 and 58 (both are OTC units)
Moose
GMU 16: There’s simply no surefire way to land a moose tag, even with bunches of points. In 2024, for example, only four percent of applicants for GMU 16, which contains part of the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness, got one of its 15 licenses. Believe it or not, that’s a solid success rate for moose. Other option: GMU 4
Deer
GMU 103: Surrounded by private land, GMU 103’s South Republican State Wildlife Area offers 18,365 acres of public deer-hunting opportunities, including lots of does and a few trophy bucks. Other options: GMUs
39 and 92
3 Animals That Are Overpopulated in Colorado
Hunters don’t have a great track record of conservation throughout history. Thanks to oversight from agencies such as Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), however, animals that were once driven to the brink of extinction by overhunting are thriving in Colorado—and actually require harvesting to prevent their populations from overrunning their habitats.
1. Wild Turkey:
- Backstory: These Thanksgiving treats were nearing extinction in North America during the Great Depression, but CPW managed a reintroduction in the 1980s, and there are now more than 35,000 gobblers in the state.
- Why you might want to hunt them: Found almost everywhere in Colorado, turkeys are accessible. Spring turkey season starts in April, presenting the first opportunity for hunters to chase something other than small game. And hunting turkeys allows sportspeople to practice a skill—calling to lure the animals into range—that’s also useful for stalking elk.
- How you can hunt them: There are two turkey seasons: one in the spring and one in the fall. Both require draws. Over-the-counter (OTC) licenses are also available for certain game management units (GMUs). Hunters usually take the birds with shotguns, but you can also loose an arrow at them. Rifles and handguns, however, are illegal during the spring season.
2. Rocky Mountain Elk:
- Backstory: Just like turkeys, elk almost went the way of the dodo, with fewer than 40,000 roaming the continent in the early 1900s. Today, Colorado boasts the largest population of elk in the world, with about 280,000 animals. They’re found everywhere in the Centennial State, but the majority hang out on the Western Slope.
- Why you might want to hunt them: With all due respect to Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (the state animal), there’s no better emblem of Colorado’s rugged character than elk. Their numbers have grown so dramatically here that hunters are necessary to help reduce the species’ competition among itself for resources—especially during winter.
- How you can hunt them: Archery and muzzleloader seasons come first, opening and closing in September, followed by four rifle seasons, starting in October and running through November. These all require limited licenses via draws, but OTC licenses for certain GMUs are also available. (For more tips, study CPW’s exhaustive online curriculum, Elk Hunting University.)
3. Moose:
- Backstory: In the 1970s, CPW began importing these massive mammals—typically ranging from 800 to 1,200 pounds—from Utah and Wyoming to generate revenue from hunting licenses. The imports’ offspring have rutted like crazy, and their descendants now number an estimated 3,000in Colorado.
- Why you might want to hunt them: Bull moose are a once-in-a-lifetime quarry, literally: CPW limits hunters to just one male, though there’s no quota on cows. They usually travel alone, and are typically spotted in riparian zones (along rivers, streams, and lakes), where they can be difficult to see while munching on brush in shaded areas.
- How you can hunt them: You can take a moose with a bow or muzzleloader in September or with a rifle in October. You must enter a draw to receive a license; CPW doesn’t offer OTCs for the mammal. Even in the lottery, the chances of receiving a tag are slim: In 2024, less than one percent of the hunters who entered the moose draw received a tag.
3. Consider Taking a Class
For rookies who are light on skills, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) Hunter Outreach Program includes educational offerings, from in-person clinics to online curricula. The agency also organizes mentor hunts, during which a seasoned stalker guides novices on an outing. Perhaps no Coloradan has embraced these opportunities more than Cheryl Varela, 53, who attended her first class as a beginner in 2016 and became CPW’s first woman mentor this summer. We recently spoke with the Longmont resident about the importance of proper schooling.
Editor’s note: The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
5280: Why did you want to start hunting?
Cheryl Varela: Being a mom of two boys, one of them with special needs, hunting is just a good way for me to get outdoors. It’s not even about the harvest. It’s about enjoying nature and being part of conservation.
How did you get connected with CPW’s Hunter Outreach Program?
I was looking on CPW’s website, and it has all these learn-to-hunt classes. I think I did every class they had. Then, I went on a mentored pheasant hunt. I remember there was a lot of snow and it was really tiring because I hadn’t trudged through knee-deep snow before. The great thing was having the mentor walking the field with you, helping you, and reminding you of safety and a lot of the different things you don’t know.
That was your first hunt. Were you nervous?
Oh, I was extremely nervous. My biggest fear was, Can I positively identify a rooster from a hen before I take the shot? Because in Colorado, you’re only allowed to shoot the roosters, not the hens. Having mentors hollering “Rooster!” or “No shot!” was beneficial to building my confidence.
What’s an example of a time when a CPW class helped in the field?
A friend and I went on our first big-game hunt in GMU 27 [in Routt and Grand counties]. We got out there at about two o’clock and sat until sunset. All of a sudden, we heard this sound, like King Kong crashing through the forest. The next thing you know, I see a bull elk. I’m like, “Tiffany, you shoot him.” She was so nervous, she missed, and I dropped him. We both looked at each other, like, Oh, my God, what do we do now? Fortunately, I had taken a class in field dressing in Colorado Springs. We worked till midnight gutting him out. I’ve never worked so hard in my entire life. I equate it to childbirth. But we actually did it, two girls by themselves.
2 Places to Practice Hunting on the Front Range
- The Family Shooting Center: Located inside Cherry Creek State Park, the Family Shooting Center in Aurora offers a firearm safety course that decreases in price if you bring more people (starting at $60 per person). Once you’re comfortable, move to the rifle or skeet ranges to scope in for the season.
- Empty Quiver Archery: This Broomfield archery range organizes beginner classes ($22, plus $8 for equipment rental) twice on Thursdays (4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.) and three times on Saturdays (9 a.m., 12 p.m., and 3 p.m.). You’ll still want to book some private lessons with one of Empty Quiver’s instructors before letting loose on any elk.
4. Consider a Guiding Service
While digesting Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) curriculum is important, nothing can fully prepare you for the experience of your first excursion into the wild—which is why it’s a good idea to hire a guide. These seasoned stalkers will point out where to go and teach you practical tracking skills while offering various levels of amenities.
- Highlands Unlimited: Based near Durango, Jennifer and Geoff Burbey have been stalking the San Juan Mountains since 1988. The couple’s Highlands Unlimited sets up its drop-camp wall tents on rugged public land that’s part of the San Juan National Forest. That means motorized transportation is prohibited, so plan on hoofing it—literally. With 35 horses and mules, Highlands specializes in equine treks to environs rich with elk, bear, deer, and turkey.
- Great Western Hunting Camps: Colorado’s ample public lands are thick with wildlife. They’re also thick with other hunters trying to harvest your animal. Great Western Hunting Camps leases a combined 120,000 acres of private ranches, split between two camps—one near Trinidad and one near Montrose—so your only competition will be the other sportspeople with you (the outfit takes a max of six hunters at a time). These quests sometimes occur in the mountains and foothills but often find their way to flat land, where elk, pronghorn antelope, and white-tailed deer loiter in the brush and scrub oak. Because you’re on private property, a truck will ferry you and your trophy back to your temporary digs: a plain but comfortable ranch house.
- C Lazy U Ranch: The 8,500-acre-plus C Lazy U Ranch borders Rocky Mountain National Park, though elk, deer, and pronghorn antelope have no clue where the boundary begins. Guests of the resort’s outfitter wing benefit from the wildlife’s GPS-less navigation, just one of many rewards at the upscale ranch. Guides work one-on-one with hunters, who are treated to luxe accommodations in the log-cabin-chic lodge and three daily meals as part of the all-inclusive hunting package. And while your children might not be keen to join you in a wall tent in the San Juans, they’ll likely register little complaint about tagging along to C Lazy U for complimentary admission into the resort’s Kids Club, which features horseback riding, zip-lining, and, for the very little ones, scavenger hunts.
3 Questions to Ask Your Guide
Jennifer Burbey, president of the Colorado Outfitters Association, zeroes in on the questions you should ask to ensure you find the right guide for you.
- Are They Bona Fide?: Any outfitter who hunts on land they don’t own must be licensed by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), whose website allows you to search by name. The results will show whether a license is valid and whether any complaints have been lodged against the company. If an outfitter operates on public land, the local U.S. Forest Service office should know whether it is bonded, insured, and approved to lead parties into the area.
- Are They Your Kind Of Guide?: Some outfitters specialize in rough backcountry hunts, others in what could be called glamping expeditions. Some stalk one-on-one with their clients, others take a dozen or so customers with them. None of these options is wrong, but they might not be what you want. So ask how far into the bush their camps are located, what type of gear they use, and how many hunters they accommodate at a time.
- Are They Skilled?: Almost all guides will wow you with photos of their kills, but remember: You have no idea if they had any hand in those hunts. To get a true barometer of their skills in the wild, ask for references and give greater weight to outfitters that seem to attract clients who return year after year.
