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Colorado GMU 391 elk: terrain, access and seasons

Unit 391's terrain, access, seasons and CPW elk figures, with Conditions rebuilt nightly.

By Bryson, co-founder Updated

2026 season

Second rifle Oct 24–Nov 1

Every section below follows this season.

Decide

The season's licenses, draw results and harvest figures.

At a glance

Second rifle runs Oct 24–Nov 1, 2026; CPW's 2024 harvest survey put success at 37% for 19 hunters.

Size
278 sq mi
CPW unit boundary, 2025
Counties
Jefferson, Denver, Araphoe, Douglas
Elevation
5,140–9,130 ft
USGS 3DEP, 2026-10-19
Huntable public land
0%
COMaP, 2026-10-12
Second rifle license, 2026
Draw bull
CPW 2026 big game brochure
Success
37%
CPW harvest survey, 2024
Hunters
19
CPW harvest survey, 2024
Hunter-days per sq mi
0.4
CPW, 2024
Road miles, any vehicle
1,020 mi
MVUM + CDOT, open on the Oct 24 opener

In short

A low-elevation, half-open draw-only unit with more hunters than in 2022. Most of Unit 391 sits between 5,000 and 6,000 feet, with more conifer than anything else and grass and meadow next. Almost none of the unit is huntable public land. CPW's survey counted 181 hunters across all seasons in 2024, up from 148 in 2022. Every license here is drawn.

Licenses and draw

Second rifle in Unit 391, 2026: a draw bull license (E-M-391-O2-R).

  • E-M-391-O2-R bull, draw 2026 draw: licenses left over for residents and nonresidents

CPW 2026 big game brochure; CPW primary-draw recap and drawn-out-at reports, 2024–2026, adult licenses. Every year of draw results is under Hunt codes and draw results.

Plan

The map, Conditions, access, hunt codes and draw results for the season, and what the research says.

Map

The interactive map (public land by manager, roads by vehicle class, burns, trailheads, SNOTEL stations, terrain and CPW's mapped ranges) needs JavaScript. The outline shows where Unit 391 sits among its neighbors.

461 38 51 104 39 391

Public data only. The plan lives in the app. Map sources

Conditions

As of Oct 21: no SNOTEL station sits within 6 mi of the unit; severe drought (D2) on the US Drought Monitor over 100% of the unit.

Rebuilt nightly; sources at the end of the page.

Item Value Data
SNOTEL No SNOTEL station within 6 mi of the unit
Drought D2, Severe droughtShare of the unit: D0 or worse 100% · D1 or worse 100% · D2 or worse 100% USDM 2026-10-13 USDM 2026-10-13
Greenness vs normal, Sep 14–29 102% of the September normal (2014–2023), MODIS 16-day composite 2026-09-29 2026-09-29

7-day forecast

NWS 7-day gridpoint forecast for 8,000–9,000 ft, issued Oct 21; the second rifle opener, Oct 24, is marked, and the front is shaded.

8,000–9,000 ft NWS BOU gridpoint 53,56, issued 2026-10-21. Gusts and lows: gridpoint only. Front Sat 10/24: BOU: cold front Saturday (discussion of 10/21).
Wed 10/21 Thu 10/22 Fri 10/23 Sat 10/24 Front Opener Sun 10/25 Mon 10/26 Tue 10/27
High / low 66° 42°65° 47°66° 49°48° 39°46° 38°46° 36°51° 35°
Precip 0 in0 in0 in0.1 in0 in0 in0 in
Snow 0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in
Gusts 13 mph13 mph24 mph16 mph13 mph12 mph10 mph

Access

Unit 391 has 68 trailheads and about 1,020 miles of road any vehicle may drive on the second rifle opener, plus 19 more that need high clearance.

Trailheads
68
COTREX, computed 2026-10-19
Road miles open, second rifle opener Oct 24–Nov 1, by the smallest vehicle allowed. MVUM plus county and state roads.
Vehicle Miles
Any vehicle
1,020 mi
High clearance
19 mi
4x4
0 mi

Hunt codes and draw results

1 hunt code for second rifle, 2026, with CPW's primary-draw results for 2024–2026.

Hunt code Year Licenses Residents Nonresidents
1st-choice applicants Drawn Drawn out at 1st-choice applicants Drawn Drawn out at
E-M-391-O2-R bull 2024 20 6 10 Leftover 0 0 Leftover
2025 20 3 5 Leftover 1 1 Leftover
2026 15 3 5 Leftover 0 0 Leftover

Hunt codes from the CPW 2026 big game brochure. A code valid in several units counts every hunter in all of them.

Draw results are CPW's primary-draw recap and drawn-out-at reports, 2024–2026, adult licenses. "Drawn out at" is the lowest preference-point level that drew a license; "Leftover" means licenses remained after the draw. A code valid in several units counts every applicant for all of them. Source: CPW draw reports, 2024–2026.

What the research says for this season

Findings from published studies and agency work, as tendencies. They describe how elk have behaved where they were studied, not where they are in Unit 391.

  • In Montana GPS work, rifle-season elk tended to hold about a mile or more from open motorized routes, in blocks of 5,000 acres or more.

    Ranglack et al., 2017 Established finding

  • At Oregon's Starkey Experimental Forest, bulls chose more canopy and kept away from open roads by day during hunts, and the shift was stronger in rifle seasons than in archery.

    Smith et al., 2022 Single study

  • In Montana, collared elk shifted onto ground closed to public hunting once rifle seasons opened, ahead of security cover on public land.

    Proffitt et al., 2013 Established finding

Read next: Colorado second rifle elk, 2026 · How to e-scout a Colorado elk unit

Build a plan for Unit 391, free.

Start free

POIs are terrain candidates — places worth checking, not animal locations.

Reference

Terrain, the multi-year numbers, neighbors and sources. Each opens in place.

Terrain and habitat

5,140–9,130 ft; developed 65.5% and conifer 17.1%; burns: Bear Creek Fire (2021).

Unit-wide figures, computed 2026-10-19.

Elevation Acres per 1,000 ft band. USGS 3DEP.
  1. 5k–6k ft 113,670 ac
  2. 6k–7k ft 20,020 ac
  3. 7k–8k ft 37,580 ac
  4. 8k–9k ft 5,510 ac
Table view
BandAcres
5,000–6,000 ft113,670 ac
6,000–7,000 ft20,020 ac
7,000–8,000 ft37,580 ac
8,000–9,000 ft5,510 ac
Slope Share of the unit per slope class.
  1. Under 5° 57.8%
  2. 5–15° 23.7%
  3. 15–25° 12.4%
  4. 25–35° 5.3%
  5. 35°+ 0.9%
Table view
Slope classShare
Flat (under 5°)57.8%
Gentle (5–15°)23.7%
Moderate (15–25°)12.4%
Steep (25–35°)5.3%
Very steep (35° and up)0.9%
Aspect Share of non-flat ground facing each way.
  1. N 12.9%
  2. NE 17.4%
  3. E 15.8%
  4. SE 11%
  5. S 12.8%
  6. SW 12.4%
  7. W 9.7%
  8. NW 8%
Table view
AspectShare
North12.9%
Northeast17.4%
East15.8%
Southeast11%
South12.8%
Southwest12.4%
West9.7%
Northwest8%
Vegetation LF2024 existing vegetation, groups of 1% or more.
  1. Developed 65.5%
  2. Conifer 17.1%
  3. Grass & meadow 7.9%
  4. Shrubland 4.7%
  5. Riparian & wetland 1.8%
  6. Water 1.8%
  7. Pinyon-juniper 1%
Table view
Vegetation groupShare
Developed65.5%
Conifer17.1%
Grass & meadow7.9%
Shrubland4.7%
Riparian & wetland1.8%
Water1.8%
Pinyon-juniper1%
Item Value Data
Burned 4–10 years ago 600 acBear Creek Fire (2021), 600 ac NIFC since 2020 NIFC since 2020
Openings in timber 2,149 openings of 1–40 ac, from lidar covering 99.8% of the unit 2026-10-19 2026-10-19

No Habitat Score distribution for this season.

The numbers

CPW harvest estimates 2022–2024 for the chosen season and all seasons, the Mt Evans herd (E-39) estimate for 2025 and hunter density, 2024.

CPW counted 19 second rifle hunters in 2024; on so few, the success rate swings widely from year to year. Across all seasons, hunters rose by about a fifth between 2022 and 2024. Unit 391 is one of 4 units in CPW's Mt Evans herd unit (E-39), estimated at about 2,200 elk after the 2025 hunt, with 28 bulls per 100 cows.

Hunters, harvest and success
Season Year Hunters Harvest Success
Second rifle 2022 14 6 44%
2023 15 6 37%
2024 19 7 37%
All seasons 2022 148 65 44%
2023 214 81 38%
2024 181 66 37%

CPW elk harvest reports, 2022–2024. A dash: not reported.

Item Value Data
Hunter density 10 hunter-days per sq mi, all seasons CPW 2024 CPW 2024
Herd estimate (Mt Evans, E-39) 2,180 post-hunt · 2,230 in 2019 CPW 2025 CPW 2025
Bull:cow ratio 28 bulls per 100 cows CPW 2025 CPW 2025

CPW harvest figures are survey estimates, not counts, and they cover the whole unit, private land included. Source: CPW harvest reports, 2022–2024.

Herd numbers cover the whole Mt Evans herd unit (E-39), which also takes in Units 39, 46 and 461: CPW manages herds, not units. Source: CPW post-hunt population estimate, 2025.

Neighbors

Units 461, 38, 51, 104 and 39, nearest first.

From each unit's own page; dates there.

What this page can't tell you

Closures, private ground, this year's pressure and animal locations.
  • Closures. Forest, fire and road closure orders change through the season and aren't checked here. The managing agency's current order governs.
  • Private ground. Land with no public hunting access is hunted only with the owner's permission, and the public-land share above leaves it out.
  • This year's pressure. CPW's hunter numbers run a year or more behind the season you're planning.
  • Animal locations. These are terrain, access, harvest and herd figures, and CPW's mapped ranges are range lines; none of them places an animal. Finding elk is still your job.

Sources

24 datasets and studies, dated where the source dates them.
  1. Elk statistics: population estimates and harvest reports — Colorado Parks and Wildlife
  2. Colorado big game hunting: brochure, seasons and hunt codes — Colorado Parks and Wildlife
  3. Game Management Unit boundaries (Hunting Atlas) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife On the map: unit boundaries, 2025.
  4. COMaP: Colorado Ownership, Management and Protection — Colorado Natural Heritage Program, 2026-10-12 On the map: public land by manager, mapped 2026-07-29.
  5. 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), 1/3 arc-second — U.S. Geological Survey On the map: shaded relief from 5 m and 10 m lidar elevation, mapped 2026-10-04; elevation bands and slope, mapped 2026-10-04.
  6. LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Type (LF 2024) — U.S. Geological Survey / USDA Forest Service, LF2024
  7. Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) fire perimeters — National Interagency Fire Center On the map: burns over 100 acres since 2020, mapped 2026-06-29.
  8. 3DEP lidar point clouds (canopy height model) — U.S. Geological Survey
  9. COTREX: Colorado Trail Explorer — Colorado Parks and Wildlife On the map: trailheads, 2024.
  10. Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) — USDA Forest Service On the map: roads by vehicle class, drawn as open on the selected season's opener, mapped 2026-08-22.
  11. Highways and major roads — Colorado Department of Transportation On the map: highways, mapped 2026-07-31.
  12. U.S. Drought Monitor — National Drought Mitigation Center, 2026-10-13
  13. MOD13Q1 vegetation indices (NDVI), 250 m 16-day — NASA LP DAAC, 2026-09-29
  14. National Weather Service 7-day gridpoint forecast — National Weather Service, 2026-10-21
  15. National Weather Service Area Forecast Discussion (BOU, GJT, PUB) — National Weather Service, 2026-10-21
  16. Effects of bull age on conception dates and pregnancy rates of cow elk — Noyes, Johnson, Bryant, Findholt and Thomas, Journal of Wildlife Management 60(3), 1996
  17. Security areas for elk during archery and rifle hunting seasons — Ranglack, Proffitt, Canfield, Gude, Rotella and Garrott, Journal of Wildlife Management 81(5), 2017
  18. Wildfire extends the shelf life of elk nutritional resources regardless of fire severity — Snobl, Proffitt and Millspaugh, Ecosphere 13(7), 2022
  19. Behavioral responses of male elk to hunting risk — Smith, Spitz, Brown, Wisdom, Rowland, Forrester, Johnson and Clark, Journal of Wildlife Management 86, 2022
  20. Effects of hunter access and habitat security on elk habitat selection in landscapes with a public and private land matrix — Proffitt, Gude, Hamlin and Messer, Journal of Wildlife Management 77(3), 2013
  21. Plasticity in elk migration timing is a response to changing environmental conditions — Rickbeil, Merkle, Anderson, Atwood, Beckmann, Cole, Courtemanch, Dewey, Gustine, Kauffman, McWhirter, Mong, Proffitt, White and Middleton, Global Change Biology 25, 2019
  22. SNOTEL network: daily snow depth and snow water equivalent — USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service On the map: SNOTEL stations.
  23. Gazetteer files, places — U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 On the map: towns, 2024.
  24. Species Activity Mapping: elk seasonal ranges — Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 2025 On the map: CPW mapped ranges, 2025.

Build a plan for Unit 391, free.

Start free

POIs are terrain candidates — places worth checking, not animal locations.