Colorado Moose

Possibly the greatest wildlife success story of the last half century that no one talks about is the Colorado moose. Growing from being nearly nonexistent in the seventies and eighties to an estimated 3,600 animals in 2025, the moose population has really ballooned in the last twenty-five years—mainly due to sound management, prime habitat, and a low number of large carnivores allowing for high calf recruitment. Compared to its neighbors to the north, all of whom are dealing with wolves and grizzly bear predation of moose, Colorado has a very high percentage of bulls and cows reaching their prime years and reproducing. The downside of this is that more hunters are looking at and applying in Colorado for that coveted once-in-a-lifetime tag, leading to steeper draw odds in the state.

With moose numbers continuing to increase, more non-resident hunting opportunities are becoming available every year. There is definitely a lot to be excited about when it comes to moose in Colorado, but wolves have the potential to dampen that excitement. CPW has been reintroducing gray wolves into the state since 2023, giving the moose a new predator. It’s obvious what will happen to moose if a wolf population establishes itself and grows—just look at its northern neighbor, Wyoming. Wolves and grizzlies taken down more moose than all hunters combined each year. As of early 2026, Colorado has put a halt on reintroducing any more wolves. Add to that the fact that, to date, eleven of the original twenty-five have died, and it starts to seem that the Pinnacle the moose population in the Centennial State may still be ahead of us. For now, Colorado remains a great place to try and draw a Shiras moose tag if that is on your bucket list.

Colorado currently has thirteen data analysis units statewide with huntable moose populations. Every single one of them is capable of producing 40”+ bulls, with some pushing the 50” mark each season. Most of these units are higher elevation mountain basins with high riparian willow and aspen stands lining the canyon bottoms (a.k.a. ideal moose habitat). Pay attention to unit comments to figure out which units have the type of terrain that will suit your hunting style and have access to enough public land if you plan to self-guided. Breaking down and hauling a moose out for miles from above 10,000 feet can be an overwhelming task for hunters who are not prepared for it.

Colorado has a reissue policy for limited licenses that are turned in after the draw. A returned license that took five or more preference points to draw will be manually reissued to the next eligible person. CPW will start by contacting the next five people from the current year’s draw order and attempt to reissue it. If none of those five accept, the license will be added to the leftover list. If a non-resident returns a license, it will be reallocated to a non-resident. Any returned license that took fewer than five preference points to draw will be placed on the leftover list. Colorado will issue any tag surrendered after the initial leftover license availability webpage. They will release a list of available permits each Tuesday and transfer them to the leftover list for purchase each Wednesday at 11 a.m. MT.

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