Colorado Unit 104 Elk Hunting Guide

Colorado Unit 104 is a limited-quota elk unit sitting between 4,952 and 7,878 feet in elevation, spanning 930,768 acres of mixed terrain. Hunters researching this unit will find a landscape defined by scarce public access — only 13% of the unit is public land — and a draw-only structure that governs every hunt here. For anyone building a Colorado elk hunting strategy, understanding how Unit 104 actually performs on harvest and herd metrics matters more than assumptions carried over from other units in the state.

Unlike many Colorado elk units that offer over-the-counter opportunity alongside limited draws, Unit 104 has no general season at all. Every hunt — including hunts for antlered bulls — is issued through the draw. That's a meaningful distinction for hunters used to picking up an OTC tag and showing up. In Unit 104, there's no walk-in option; a hunter's entire season hinges on drawing a specific hunt code.

This article breaks down what the harvest data, herd survey numbers, and trophy history actually say about Unit 104, and lays out how the application structure works so hunters can decide whether to spend points or preference here.

HuntPilot Analysis: Is Unit 104 Worth Applying For?

The harvest numbers for Unit 104 tell a story of a unit that swings meaningfully year to year. In 2024, 864 hunters took to the field and posted a 53% success rate — a strong number for elk hunting by any standard. That success rate held nearly identical in 2023 (53% among 832 hunters) and was close behind in 2022 (49% among 758 hunters) and 2021 (52% among 331 hunters). That's four consecutive years of success rates in the high-40s to low-50s range, which is a genuinely good and consistent track record for a draw unit.

Then 2025 tells a different story: only 370 hunters afield and a 38% success rate — a notable drop from the prior years both in hunter numbers and in success. That decline, paired with a nearly 60% reduction in hunter numbers compared to 2024, suggests a tag-count adjustment or a tougher season rather than a permanent unit-wide decline, but it's worth flagging. Hunters relying on this data should treat 2025 as a data point to watch rather than dismiss, especially since it's the most recent year available.

The bull:cow ratio averaged 27:100 across six survey years from 2018-2024. That's a modest ratio by elk management standards — it points to a herd with more cows relative to bulls, which is typical of units managed for sustained hunting pressure rather than trophy bull escapement. It's not an alarming number, but it doesn't suggest an abundance of mature bulls surviving to older age classes either.

On trophy potential, the counties overlapping Unit 104 carry a moderate history of producing trophy-class elk. That means hunters can find quality bulls here, but this isn't a unit with an exceptional or heavily documented trophy pedigree. It's worth remembering that trophy records are logged by county, not by unit boundary, so any trophy history attributed to this area is shared with neighboring units that overlap the same counties — it doesn't mean those animals came specifically from within Unit 104's lines.

The single biggest limiting factor for Unit 104 is access. With only 13% public land, the overwhelming majority of this 930,768-acre unit is private property. That's a critical number for any hunter planning a DIY approach — this is not a unit where a hunter can show up, park at a trailhead, and hike into public ground with confidence. Access will likely require either landowner permission, a leased hunting arrangement, or careful identification of the limited public parcels that do exist. Hunters without a private land connection or a guide relationship should factor this heavily into their decision before applying.

Put together: Unit 104 is worth applying for if a hunter has secured access to private ground or has done the legwork to identify the public fragments within the unit, and if they're comfortable with a herd that runs slightly bull-light but has posted strong success rates in most recent years. It is not a unit to blindly apply for based on success-rate numbers alone — the access reality has to work for a hunter's specific situation.

Harvest Success Rates

Recent harvest data for Unit 104 shows a mostly strong run of seasons, followed by a sharp downturn:

• 2024: 864 hunters, 460 harvested — 53% success
• 2023: 832 hunters, 440 harvested — 53% success
• 2022: 758 hunters, 370 harvested — 49% success
• 2021: 331 hunters, 173 harvested — 52% success
• 2025: 370 hunters, 142 harvested — 38% success

Four straight years of success in the high-40s to low-50s percent range is a solid indicator that hunters who draw a tag here and put in the effort have historically found elk. The drop to 38% in 2025, on a much smaller hunter turnout, is the outlier in this data set. Whether that reflects a tighter tag allocation, a tougher season, or a temporary dip in elk distribution isn't something the harvest numbers alone can explain — but it's the most current data point and deserves attention from anyone applying based on Unit 104's historical reputation.

Herd Health & Population Trends

The bull:cow ratio for Unit 104 averaged 27:100 across six survey years spanning 2018 through 2024. This is a below-average ratio compared to units managed more conservatively for bull escapement, and it suggests a herd structure with a healthy cow population but a comparatively light representation of bulls relative to cows. For hunters targeting antlered bulls, this ratio doesn't scream trophy potential on its own — it's a management signal more than a red flag, and it lines up with a unit that issues draw tags rather than unlimited OTC pressure.

There isn't a multi-year trend broken out here beyond the six-survey average, so hunters should treat 27:100 as the reliable baseline rather than expecting year-to-year swings toward higher ratios.

Trophy Quality

Trophy potential in the area overlapping Unit 104 is best described as moderate. The counties that overlap this unit have produced trophy-class elk over time, but the record isn't extensive enough to call it a top-tier trophy destination. Hunters should go into Unit 104 expecting a legitimate chance at a mature bull rather than expecting the unit to be a record-book factory. Given that trophy entries are tracked at the county level and shared across every unit that overlaps those counties, any bull that shows up in the record books from this area could have come from Unit 104 or from an adjacent unit sharing the same county lines — it's not evidence specific to Unit 104's boundaries alone.

Combined with the modest 27:100 bull:cow ratio, hunters should calibrate expectations toward a solid, representative Colorado bull rather than banking on trophy-caliber odds.

Access & Terrain

This is the defining challenge of Unit 104. With public land making up just 13% of the unit's 930,768 acres, the vast majority of this ground is privately held. That reality changes the entire hunt-planning calculus. DIY hunters accustomed to public-land access in Colorado's national forest units will find Unit 104 a different animal — locating huntable public parcels requires careful mapping work, and many of the unit's better elk habitat may sit behind private boundaries that require permission or a lease arrangement to access.

Elevation in the unit ranges from 4,952 to 7,878 feet, putting Unit 104 on the lower end of Colorado's elk-country elevation spectrum compared to high-alpine units that top 10,000-11,000 feet. Lower elevation terrain here likely means a mix of foothill and transitional habitat rather than deep alpine basins, though hunters should rely on their own mapping and scouting to confirm specific terrain features within the unit — the structured data doesn't break down vegetation type or drainage-specific detail beyond the elevation band and acreage figures.

There is no wilderness acreage recorded for Unit 104, so wilderness-specific access rules and guide requirements don't apply here. That said, the low public-land percentage is arguably a bigger access constraint than wilderness designation would be. Hunters serious about scouting Unit 104 should lean on HuntPilot's public land layer and mapping tools to identify exactly where the 13% public ground sits relative to elevation bands and water sources, since that groundwork will determine whether a hunt here is even feasible without a private land connection.

How to Apply

Because Unit 104 has no general season, every hunt in this unit — including hunts for antlered bulls — runs through Colorado's limited-quota draw system. There is no over-the-counter option and no walk-in tag available for this unit. Hunters must apply and be drawn for a specific hunt code before they can hunt here.

Colorado's draw operates on a true preference-point system: hunters who accumulate the highest number of points in a given hunt code's applicant pool draw first, meaning a high enough point total can effectively guarantee a tag over time. This is different from a weighted lottery — points here function as a genuine queue rather than just improving odds incrementally.

Residents and nonresidents apply through separate pools, and nonresidents should expect the point thresholds required to draw a bull tag in a unit like 104 to run higher than resident thresholds, given the typical demand differential in Colorado's limited-quota system. Because Unit 104 offers no general-season fallback, a hunter who doesn't draw simply doesn't hunt this unit that year — there's no OTC tag to fall back on the way there might be in units with general seasons.

Application dates, fees, and current draw odds change every cycle. For the most current numbers on Unit 104 specifically, see HuntPilot's Colorado page at /states/CO, where hunters can check up-to-date draw odds by hunt code before deciding how many points to commit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Colorado Unit 104 a good unit to apply for? Unit 104 has posted strong harvest success in most recent years — 53% in both 2023 and 2024 — which is a compelling number for a draw unit. But the unit's 13% public land figure means access is the real gating factor. Hunters with a private land connection or the willingness to do detailed public-parcel scouting will get more out of this unit than someone expecting open public access.

What is harvest success like in Unit 104? Success rates ran from 49% to 53% across 2021 through 2024, before dropping to 38% in 2025 on a much smaller hunter turnout. The multi-year trend through 2024 is strong; 2025 is worth monitoring as the most recent data point available.

What is the terrain like in Colorado Unit 104? The unit spans an elevation range of 4,952 to 7,878 feet across 930,768 acres, putting it on the lower end of Colorado's elk elevation range compared to high-alpine units. There's no wilderness acreage recorded in this unit. Beyond elevation and acreage, hunters should use mapping tools to identify specific drainage and habitat features, since detailed terrain breakdowns aren't part of the available data.

How big are the elk in Unit 104? Trophy production in the counties overlapping Unit 104 is moderate — the area has produced trophy-class bulls historically, but it's not among Colorado's premier trophy units. Combined with a bull:cow ratio averaging 27:100 across recent surveys, hunters should expect a realistic shot at a mature bull rather than betting on exceptional trophy odds.

Why is public land access so limited in Unit 104? Only 13% of the unit's acreage is public land, meaning the large majority of the 930,768 total acres is privately held. This is one of the lower public-land percentages among Colorado elk units and should be the first thing any prospective applicant investigates before committing points to a hunt code here — a drawn tag doesn't guarantee accessible ground without a plan already in place.