Colorado Unit 42 — Rifle Elk draw odds & public land
The numbers that decide your hunt — how hard the tag is to draw, how much of the unit is public, how often hunters fill — all real, all cited. No login.
The real signals
Real numbers, kept separate
Land character from USGS 3DEP elevation — a coarse read of how steep and high the unit is, not a substitute for the topo. Flip on satellite + 3D on the map to see it.
Hunt codes
Every elk code in this unit
| Hunt code | Season | NR draw | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| EF042O2R | limited | 0 pts · leftover | 15.9% |
| EF042O3R | limited | 0 pts · leftover | 15.3% |
| EF042O4R | limited | 0 pts · leftover | 15% |
| EF042P5R | limited | 0 pts · leftover | 32.1% |
Hawk, your AI guide
These four numbers tell you which tag. Hawk turns it into a hunt — a day-by-day plan tied to weather and elk movement, e-scouted glassing spots, your gear list, and navigation. (A product feature — not unit statistics.)
Free to start · no credit cardHomework
Listen before you go
Podcasts
Scout & plan this unit
Your Unit 42 hunt, start to finish
Everything you need once you've drawn — the "okay, now what?" sorted. We build this dossier deeper every season.
Draw or buy the tag, add the habitat stamp, and read this unit's regs before you bank on it.
Open →Basecamp a motel/Airbnb in the nearest town, or camp on public land closer to the action — drive time matters at 4 a.m. (We're mapping nearest towns + lodging per unit.)
Trailheads, parking, how far you pack in and out, where to drop camp. Public-land access mapping for this unit is in the build.
Line your dates up with the rut window and a cold front; check daily conditions once you're close.
Open →In the field, log your hunt and snap photos right in HuntVibe — even landscape shots earn AI credits, and your success helps the next hunter scout Unit 42. We record the unit, but your exact GPS coordinates are stripped on upload — your precise spot stays yours.
Be the first to log a elk hunt in Unit 42. As HuntVibe hunters tag out, their wins show up here at the unit level — we know the unit, but exact GPS coordinates are stripped from photos on upload, so the precise kill spot is never known or exposed. Real results, not rumors; spots stay private.
We're gathering what hunters say about Unit 42 across the web — aggregated, attributed, and labeled as opinion, never treated as fact.
- Draw odds: CPW 2025 Drawn-Out / Draw Recap reports
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 HUNTABLE public land — national forest, BLM, state game lands/WMAs & state forest (national/state parks, military & permit-only refuges shown but excluded) ∩ official unit boundaries (EPSG:5070)
- Harvest success: CPW 2025 Elk Harvest Estimates
- Herd bull:cow: CPW 2025 Post-Hunt Population & Sex Ratio Estimates
2025 season data. Draw odds reflect past results and are not a guarantee of future draws — regulations and quotas change every year. Always verify on the official Colorado wildlife agency site before you apply.
Common questions
Colorado Unit 42 — straight answers
What are the 2025 nonresident draw odds for Colorado Unit 42 rifle elk?
Drawable at 0 pts. Based on real 2025 Colorado preference-point results across 4 hunt codes in the unit.
How much of Colorado Unit 42 is public land?
55% of Unit 42 is huntable public land — national forest, BLM, state game lands or state forest you can hunt without permission (national parks and permit-only refuges are not counted), measured from USGS PAD-US boundaries.
Can a nonresident draw Colorado Unit 42 elk with no points?
Yes — a 0-point or leftover tag is available, so a nonresident can draw Unit 42 now.
Compare this against every other state
See where your points draw a better bull this year.