Hunt Codes
Every limited license draw revolves around hunt codes. These codes are found in our brochures and represent licenses that are available to you. A hunt code is what you enter when applying for the draw. Every hunt code is unique, but they are all structured the same way, so if you know how to read them, you can understand what every unique hunt code means.
The table above shows you what a list of hunt codes will look like in a brochure. We will use the hunt code D-M-030-O2-R as our example.
The first letter of every hunt code represents the species you can hunt with that license. In our example, D-M-030-O2-R, D stands for deer licenses. Deer licenses are good for mule deer and whitetail unless otherwise noted on your license. Other indicators of species are:
- D — deer
- E — elk
- A — pronghorn
- M — moose
- B — black bear
- S — rocky mountain bighorn sheep
- G — mountain goat
- C — desert bighorn sheep
The next letter in every hunt code stands for the sex of the animal you can harvest with that license. In our example D-M-030-O2-R, M stands for male. This is a buck license, and you’d only be legally allowed to harvest a buck with it.
- M — male
- F — female
- E — either sex (An either sex license allows you to harvest either a male or a female.)
The next portion of the code indicates the GMU the license is valid in. Colorado is split up into dozens of GMUs, and limited licenses are valid in just a few of them, or sometimes only a single GMU. Below is a map of Colorado showing you all the GMUs. The borders for these GMUs are also described in detail in every hunting brochure.
Our sample hunt code, D-M-030-O2-R, is only valid in GMU 30. To see which GMUs a hunt code is valid in, you need to check the hunt code list in a brochure.
The second column in those tables will list every GMU the license is valid in. As you can see above, our example only lists unit 30 as valid. However, some hunt codes are valid in multiple units.
In the image, you can see that multiple GMUs are listed in the “valid units” column. When licenses are valid in multiple units, like you see above, the GMU with the lowest number is used in the hunt code. If you look back at the previous image, hunt code D-M-012-O2-R is valid in GMUs 12, 13, 23, and 24, but only unit 12 (012) is listed in the hunt code. Hunt code D-E-011-P2-R is valid in GMUs 11, 12, 13, 22, 23, 24, and 211, but only 11 (011), the lowest number, is listed in the code.