Youth Hunting - Flat Tops

Youth Big Game Licenses

The youth license program has expanded to include 16 and 17 year olds. Youths must be at least 12 and meet hunter education requirements. An 11 year old can buy or apply for a license if he/she turns 12 before the end of hunting season on the license. However, youths cannot hunt with the license until they turn 12. License fees are reduced for deer, elk and pronghorn licenses for youths, ages 12-17. Hunters under 16 must be accompanied by a mentor that is at least 18 or older and who meets hunter education requirements. Mentors don’t have to hunt. Youths and mentors must be able to see and hear each other while hunting. Youths cannot apply for a reduced-cost license in the limited license drawing if they turn 18 on or before Feb. 15 this year. Youths must be 12-17 to buy a reduced cost unlimited or leftover license.

Youth Small Game Licenses

Youths under age 18 can buy a youth small game license for $1. All youths must meet hunter education requirements. Those under 16 must be accompanied by a mentor while hunting. A mentor must be 18 or older and must meet hunter education requirements. Mentors aren’t required to hunt. While hunting, youths and mentors must be able to see and hear each other without binoculars, radios or other aids. Youths under 18 also can buy an adult license as long as they meet hunter education requirements. At age 18, youths must buy an adult license.

Youth Preference

Up to 15 percent of limited doe pronghorn, doe and either-sex deer, and cow elk licenses for each unit during regular rifle and private-land-only rifle seasons (except late rifle, muzzleloading, Ranching For Wildlife and Air Force Academy) are available for youths. Youths must be 12-17 and meet hunter education requirements. These licenses are available through the limited license drawing. Licenses not drawn by youths are available to the public.
Group applications are not accepted unless all on application meet the youth requirements listed above.

Youth Elk Hunts Now Expanded

Colorado offers youth hunters, age 12-17, a second opportunity to hunt if they are unsuccessful in harvesting an animal during the season listed on their original license.

The former late-season elk hunts are now an extended season, giving youths a chance to harvest antlerless deer or elk throughout the rifle seasons, and doe pronghorn during December.

Elk and Deer

The biggest changes allow youths to continue hunting deer or elk during an antlerless hunt in any regular rifle season, with a few exceptions. Youths may choose to hunt in multiple antlerless rifle hunts to take full advantage of the extended season. If a youth doesn’t harvest with the original license, they have the potential to continue hunting the first-rifle season, second-rifle season, third-rifle season and fourth-rifle season (as long as there are eligible hunts available) until they harvest an animal.

Here’s how to get the most out of the extended season:

Choose your species. Decide before you buy your original limited license what species you want to hunt in the extended season. If you buy an elk tag, you can only hunt elk in the extended season. If you buy a deer tag, you’ll hunt deer in the extended season.
Buy your tag. Purchase a limited license that meets the requirements listed above.To help plan where to buy your original license, these lists compare where your original license is good and where you’ll be able to hunt in the extended season:-2015 Elk - extended season hunts
- 2015 Deer - extended season hunts

Conversely, if you already know where you’d like to hunt during the extended seasons — and you’ve made sure there’s an antlerless season going on there — then these lists will tell you which limited license you should purchase in order to get the extended hunt you want:
- 2015 Elk - What to buy first?
- 2015 Deer - What to buy first?

Choose when to hunt. If your original license remains unfilled when your season ends, you then have the option to hunt an antlerless animal during any open rifle season where there is an antlerless hunt taking place for the species on your original license. (Does not include Ranching For Wildlife.)
Choose where to hunt. Extended season hunting is outlined on these maps. Youths may hunt during the extended season in any GMU within the red border that also contains the GMU where their original license was valid. This information is on page 6 of the Big Game brochure.

View Deer Map View Elk Map

Follow the rules! No matter what the original license, youths must follow all the rules of rifle hunting if they participate in the extended season. This includes wearing legal hunter orange and following any unit restrictions where they choose to hunt (such as descriptions of hunting boundaries, private-land-only and Whitetail only designations). Remember, unfilled either-sex elk licenses must be taken to a CPW office for conversion to an antlerless license before hunting any extended seasons.

Pronghorn

Rules for youths hunting pronghorn in the December season have not changed from years past. View a list of eligible youth late pronghorn hunts.

Youths must purchase an original license for doe or either-sex pronghorn for anywhere in the state. Buck licenses are not eligible.
If that season ends and the license remains unfilled, then the youth may hunt in any December doe pronghorn season in the following units: 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 145, 146 or 147.
Unfilled either-sex licenses must be taken to a CPW office to be converted to a doe license before hunting in a December season. Doe licenses do not need to be converted and may continue to be used as-is during the December season.
Youths must follow all of the rules for the December season they hunt, including unit boundaries and private-land designations.