Which elk hunt codes are valid in GMU 851?

24 limited codes in the 2026 brochure: E-E-851-O1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-E-085-V1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-F-085-V1-A (archery female, Sept. 2–30); E-E-085-O1-M (muzzleloader either, Sept. 12–20); E-F-085-O1-M (muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20); E-M-851-O1-M (muzzleloader male, Sept. 12–20); E-E-851-K2-R (rifle either, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-E-851-K3-R (rifle either, Nov. 7–15); E-F-085-L1-R (rifle female, Dec. 15–31 Late); E-F-851-L1-R (rifle female, Nov. 28–Dec. 6 Late); E-F-851-L2-R (rifle female, Dec. 12–20 Late); E-F-851-L3-R (rifle female, Dec. 26–Jan. 3 Late); E-E-085-O1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-M-851-O1-R (rifle male, Oct. 14–18); E-F-085-O2-R (rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-M-851-O2-R (rifle male, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-F-085-O3-R (rifle female, Nov. 7–15); E-M-851-O3-R (rifle male, Nov. 7–15); E-E-085-O4-R (rifle either, Nov. 18–22); E-F-085-O4-R (rifle female, Nov. 18–22); E-M-851-O4-R (rifle male, Nov. 18–22); E-E-085-P1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-F-085-P5-R (rifle female, Oct. 14–Nov. 30); E-F-085-P6-R (rifle female, Dec. 1–31).

What is the easiest elk tag to draw in GMU 851?

E-E-085-P1-R (rifle, either, Oct. 14–18) drew out at 0 pts (2nd choice) for residents and 0 for nonresidents in the 2026 draw, with 225 tags.

How many points does it take to draw E-M-851-O4-R?

In the 2026 primary draw the last E-M-851-O4-R tag went at 20 resident points and 28 nonresident points. Resident history 2023–2026: 19/21/21/20; nonresident: 28/29/27/28.

What is elk hunting success in GMU 851?

In 2024, 579 elk hunters in GMU 851 harvested 175 animals (30% success, all seasons and weapons, CPW harvest survey).

GMU 851 Elk Report — 2026 season

24 limited hunt codes valid in this unit. CPW 2026 brochure, 2026 primary draw recap, 2025 harvest survey. Points: resident / nonresident.

Unit harvest trend (2023–2024)

Year	Harvest	Hunters	Success	Rec. days
2023	186 (124 bulls / 62 cows)	545	34%	2,586
2024	175 (111 bulls / 63 cows)	579	30%	3,110
2023 Archery	30	147	20%	1,014
2023 Muzzleloader	11	29	39%	158
2023 Rifle	145	370	39%	1,414
2024 Archery	32	156	20%	1,226
2024 Muzzleloader	3	43	7%	188
2024 Rifle	140	380	37%	1,696

Season	Antlered harvest / hunters	Success	Antlerless harvest / hunters	Success
2023 Muzzleloader	4 / 5	80%	0 / 12	0%
2023 Rifle	40 / 142	28%	32 / 99	32%
2024 Muzzleloader	0 / 4	0%	0 / 22	0%
2024 Rifle	43 / 152	28%	27 / 92	29%

* CPW's antlered/antlerless tables do not include either-sex hunt codes.

All limited + over-the-counter hunters. CPW published unit-level tables for 2023 and 2024; the 2025 report has hunt-code totals only.

Every hunt code in the unit

			Dates	GMUs						Pts 23→26 res / nonres
E-E-851-O1-A	archery	either +	Sept. 2–30	851 Bosque del Oso SWA only	A	8	34	6	8	5/5/6/612/13/17/8	0%*	–
E-E-085-V1-ALeftover likely	archery	either	Sept. 2–30	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	A	575	449	–	–	–-/-/0/-	20%	36.0
E-F-085-V1-ALeftover likely	archery	female	Sept. 2–30	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	B	2	0	–	–	–––	50%*	16.0
E-E-085-O1-M	muzzleloader	either	Sept. 12–20	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	A	120	212	0	2	0/0/0/01/2/2/2	36%	13.7
E-F-085-O1-MLeftover likely	muzzleloader	female	Sept. 12–20	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	B	80	23	–	–	–––	17%	27.6
E-M-851-O1-M	muzzleloader	male	Sept. 12–20	851 Bosque del Oso SWA only	A	5	15	7	15	3/4/2/713/14/22/15	33%	22.0
E-E-851-K2-R	rifle	either	Oct. 24–Nov. 1	851 Bosque del Oso SWA youth	A	2	33	–	–	–––	0%*	–
E-E-851-K3-R	rifle	either	Nov. 7–15	851 Bosque del Oso SWA youth	A	2	39	–	–	–––	50%	10.0
E-F-085-L1-R	rifle	female	Dec. 15–31 Late	85, 140, 851 Except Bosque d	B	40	49	0	1	0/0/0/00/1/0/1	41%	16.7
E-F-851-L1-R	rifle	female	Nov. 28–Dec. 6 Late	851 Bosque del Oso SWA only	B	10	10	0	–	0/0/0/00/-/-/-	30%*	11.0
E-F-851-L2-R	rifle	female	Dec. 12–20 Late	851 Bosque del Oso SWA only	B	15	14	0	0	0/0/0/0-/-/0/0	30%	17.0
E-F-851-L3-R	rifle	female	Dec. 26–Jan. 3 Late	851 Bosque del Oso SWA only	B	25	14	0 (2nd)	0	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	20%	20.8
E-E-085-O1-R	rifle	either	Oct. 14–18	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	A	85	281	1	1	1/1/1/11/1/1/1	31%	12.1
E-M-851-O1-R	rifle	male +	Oct. 14–18	851 Bosque del Oso SWA only	A	5	53	17	29	17/19/13/1716/-/23/29	0%*	–
E-F-085-O2-R	rifle	female	Oct. 24–Nov. 1	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	B	50	108	0	0	1/0/0/01/0/0/0	24%	19.2
E-M-851-O2-R	rifle	male +	Oct. 24–Nov. 1	851 Bosque del Oso SWA only	A	5	36	14	–	17/15/15/1419/19/29/-	25%*	13.0
E-F-085-O3-R	rifle	female	Nov. 7–15	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	B	50	41	0 (2nd)	0 (2nd)	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	0%	–
E-M-851-O3-R	rifle	male +	Nov. 7–15	851 Bosque del Oso SWA only	A	5	39	19	23	20/19/18/1924/24/26/23	50%	12.5
E-E-085-O4-R	rifle	either	Nov. 18–22	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	A	125	137	0	0	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	27%	13.9
E-F-085-O4-R	rifle	female	Nov. 18–22	85, ■140, 851 Except Bosque	B	50	12	0 (3rd)	0 (2nd)	-/0/0/0-/0/0/0	15%	26.8
E-M-851-O4-R	rifle	male +	Nov. 18–22	851 Bosque del Oso SWA only	A	5	73	20	28	19/21/21/2028/29/27/28	0%	–
E-E-085-P1-RPLO	rifle	either	Oct. 14–18	85, 140, 851	A	225	221	0 (2nd)	0	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	48%	7.6
E-F-085-P5-RPLO	rifle	female	Oct. 14–Nov. 30	85, 140, 851	B	200	237	0	0	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	37%	31.0
E-F-085-P6-RPLO	rifle	female	Dec. 1–31	85, 140, 851	B	225	199	0 (2nd)	0 (2nd)	0/0/0/00/0/0/0	48%	13.9

* Low sample: CPW flags these hunt codes "few hunters responded".

Near-sure draws (0–1 point in 2026)

E-E-085-P1-R rifle either, Oct. 14–18: 225 tags, 221 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 nonres, success 48%, List A (private land only)
E-F-085-P6-R rifle female, Dec. 1–31: 225 tags, 199 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 48%, List B (private land only)
E-F-085-L1-R rifle female, Dec. 15–31 Late: 40 tags, 49 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /1 nonres, success 41%, List B
E-F-085-P5-R rifle female, Oct. 14–Nov. 30: 200 tags, 237 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 37%, List B (private land only)
E-E-085-O1-M muzzleloader either, Sept. 12–20: 120 tags, 212 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /2 nonres, success 36%, List A
E-E-085-O1-R rifle either, Oct. 14–18: 85 tags, 281 first-choice apps, drew at 1 res /1 nonres, success 31%, List A
E-F-851-L1-R rifle female, Nov. 28–Dec. 6 Late: 10 tags, 10 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /– nonres, success 30% (low sample), List B
E-F-851-L2-R rifle female, Dec. 12–20 Late: 15 tags, 14 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 30%, List B
E-E-085-O4-R rifle either, Nov. 18–22: 125 tags, 137 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 27%, List A
E-F-085-O2-R rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1: 50 tags, 108 first-choice apps, drew at 0 res /0 nonres, success 24%, List B
E-F-851-L3-R rifle female, Dec. 26–Jan. 3 Late: 25 tags, 14 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 nonres, success 20%, List B
E-F-085-O4-R rifle female, Nov. 18–22: 50 tags, 12 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (3rd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 15%, List B
E-F-085-O3-R rifle female, Nov. 7–15: 50 tags, 41 first-choice apps, drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res /0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, success 0%, List B

Point creep warnings (rose 2+ points since 2023)

E-M-851-O1-Mmuzzleloader male:res 3/4/2/7nonres 13/14/22/15
E-M-851-O1-Rrifle male:res 17/19/13/17nonres 16/-/23/29
E-M-851-O2-Rrifle male:res 17/15/15/14nonres 19/19/29/-

Stackable tags (List B/C — hold alongside a List A tag)

E-F-085-V1-A archery female Sept. 2–30 — drew at – res / – nonres, 2 tags
E-F-085-O1-M muzzleloader female Sept. 12–20 — drew at – res / – nonres, 80 tags
E-F-085-L1-R rifle female Dec. 15–31 Late — drew at 0 res / 1 nonres, 40 tags
E-F-851-L1-R rifle female Nov. 28–Dec. 6 Late — drew at 0 res / – nonres, 10 tags
E-F-851-L2-R rifle female Dec. 12–20 Late — drew at 0 res / 0 nonres, 15 tags
E-F-851-L3-R rifle female Dec. 26–Jan. 3 Late — drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res / 0 nonres, 25 tags
E-F-085-O2-R rifle female Oct. 24–Nov. 1 — drew at 0 res / 0 nonres, 50 tags
E-F-085-O3-R rifle female Nov. 7–15 — drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res / 0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, 50 tags
E-F-085-O4-R rifle female Nov. 18–22 — drew at 0 pts (3rd choice) res / 0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, 50 tags
E-F-085-P5-R rifle female Oct. 14–Nov. 30 — drew at 0 res / 0 nonres, 200 tags
E-F-085-P6-R rifle female Dec. 1–31 — drew at 0 pts (2nd choice) res / 0 pts (2nd choice) nonres, 225 tags

Leftover likely

These codes had licenses left over after the 2026 primary draw:E-E-085-V1-A, E-F-085-V1-A, E-F-085-O1-M.

With your points

Likely draws (12)

Coin flips (1)

E-E-085-O1-R (1)

Not this year (6)

Based on the last draw's drawn-out-at points. Codes with no draw at that residency are left out. Point creep can push a code up a bucket.

Drawn-out-at = preference points held by the last successful applicant at that residency. "0 (2nd)" = the code filled with 2nd-choice applicants, so any 1st-choice applicant drew with 0 points. Success % and days/harvest are from CPW's 2025harvest survey, by hunt code.

FAQ

Which elk hunt codes are valid in GMU 851?: 24 limited codes in the 2026 brochure: E-E-851-O1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-E-085-V1-A (archery either, Sept. 2–30); E-F-085-V1-A (archery female, Sept. 2–30); E-E-085-O1-M (muzzleloader either, Sept. 12–20); E-F-085-O1-M (muzzleloader female, Sept. 12–20); E-M-851-O1-M (muzzleloader male, Sept. 12–20); E-E-851-K2-R (rifle either, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-E-851-K3-R (rifle either, Nov. 7–15); E-F-085-L1-R (rifle female, Dec. 15–31 Late); E-F-851-L1-R (rifle female, Nov. 28–Dec. 6 Late); E-F-851-L2-R (rifle female, Dec. 12–20 Late); E-F-851-L3-R (rifle female, Dec. 26–Jan. 3 Late); E-E-085-O1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-M-851-O1-R (rifle male, Oct. 14–18); E-F-085-O2-R (rifle female, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-M-851-O2-R (rifle male, Oct. 24–Nov. 1); E-F-085-O3-R (rifle female, Nov. 7–15); E-M-851-O3-R (rifle male, Nov. 7–15); E-E-085-O4-R (rifle either, Nov. 18–22); E-F-085-O4-R (rifle female, Nov. 18–22); E-M-851-O4-R (rifle male, Nov. 18–22); E-E-085-P1-R (rifle either, Oct. 14–18); E-F-085-P5-R (rifle female, Oct. 14–Nov. 30); E-F-085-P6-R (rifle female, Dec. 1–31).
What is the easiest elk tag to draw in GMU 851?: E-E-085-P1-R (rifle, either, Oct. 14–18) drew out at 0 pts (2nd choice) for residents and 0 for nonresidents in the 2026 draw, with 225 tags.
How many points does it take to draw E-M-851-O4-R?: In the 2026 primary draw the last E-M-851-O4-R tag went at 20 resident points and 28 nonresident points. Resident history 2023–2026: 19/21/21/20; nonresident: 28/29/27/28.
What is elk hunting success in GMU 851?: In 2024, 579 elk hunters in GMU 851 harvested 175 animals (30% success, all seasons and weapons, CPW harvest survey).