Colorado Rifle Elk Hunting

Rifle Hunting and Guide Options

Join AEI Outfitter for an amazing adventure! We are prepared to hike you deep into wild elk country or to set you up in established stand sites. Our guides will ensure you a first class hunt and we promise to work as hard to give you the best opportunity at success. If you are fortunate to harvest an animal, your guide, along with AEI Outfitter staff, will field dress and pack your animal out for you. Food, lodging and pack outs are included with all AEI Outfitter base camp hunting packages. Gunnison offers quality meat processing and taxidermy services to get your trophy ready for travel.

CURRENTLY, AEI IS ONLY OFFERING 1ST RIFLE ELK HUNTS. NON-RESIDENTS WANTING TO HUNT 1ST RIFLE WILL NOW NEED 3 PREFERENCE POINTS TO DRAW. In the winter of 2023/24, CPW changed tag allocations to give more tags and preference to Colorado residents, consequently, non-residents only receive 25% of limited license allocations. What that created was a jump in preference points needed to draw each elk tag. 

Fully-Guided Rifle Elk Hunt
Our fully-guided elk hunts gives you the opportunity to hunt 1-on-2 or 1-on-1 with an experienced Colorado elk guide. This hunt package is our most successful option and offers the best opportunity for harvesting big game animals. This hunt takes place on nearly 360,000 acres of surrounding Gunnison National Forest and the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. 

Private Land-Stand Elk Hunt
The private land, stand hunt allows you to hunt on established stands and blinds on both private (~2,000 acres) lands. This is a stand-hunt only, but we provide transportation to and from stand locations each hunt and suggest hunt locations throughout the week based on elk movements and sightings.

Semi-Guided Rifle Elk Hunt
For more experienced hunters, the semi-guided hunt is another hunt option with AEI. We will look over maps with you daily, helping you come up with a game plan and strategy. Though physically, this is not a guided hunt, we help you as much as possible to find the elk and give advice on how to hunt certain areas. This hunt takes place on nearly 360,000 acres of surrounding Gunnison National Forest and the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness.

* All of our hunting options include food, lodging and pack-out services!

*1st Season Rifle Elk Tags in CO GMU 55 are by drawing only. Non-residents need a minimum of 2 elk preference points to draw a tag in our area while residents need a minimum of 1 point.  You must submit a drawing application before the deadline in early April of each year. Applications for tags are available at the beginning of March each year through the CPW website. See below for more information.

Rifle Elk Hunting Rates 2024

5-Day Hunting Packages

First Rifle Season: October 12-16, 2024

If you drew a unit 55 1st Rifle season elk tag, we have openings, give us a call! 

Guided                                      Private-Stand                Semi-Guided
1 X 2     $6,000 per gun            $5,000 per gun              $3,700 per gun
1 X 1     $7,200 per gun            

This is a limited tag hunt. See below for details. 1st Deposits, which are 1/3 of the hunt cost are required to lock in your spots. The deposit is non-refundable unless extraneous circumstances are approved by outfitter or if the hunter does not draw the tag applied for. 

First Rifle Season: October 11-15, 2025

ALL  HUNT OPTIONS ARE FULL

Guided                                        Private-Stand                Semi-Guided
1 X 2     $6,000 per gun             $5,000 per gun              $3,700 per gun
1 X 1     $7,200 per gun            

First Rifle Season: October 10-14, 2026

Guided                                        Private-Stand                Semi-Guided
1 X 2     $6,500 per gun             $5,500 per gun              $4,200 per gun
1 X 1     $7,700 per gun            

This is a limited tag hunt. See below for details. 1st Deposits, which are 1/3 of the hunt cost are required to lock in your spots. The deposit is non-refundable unless extraneous circumstances are approved by outfitter or if the hunter does not draw the tag applied for. 

Second Rifle Season

We may open up 2nd Rifle Hunting options in the future if the season structure dates become earlier. However, at this time, we are not offering 2nd rifle elk hunts. 

Non-Hunters: $1,000 per person. 

*Prices do not include license fees or gratuity.

*Gratuity is not mandatory but is an industry standard and MUCH appreciated!

Recommended Gratuity - Guides: 15%-20% of Hunt Cost, Support Staff/Packout Crew: $30 p/p, Head Chef: $50-$100, Asst. Chef: $25-$50.

**All hunts require a deposit of 1/2 the total cost of the hunt unless reserving a hunt beyond the current year. All deposits for future hunts beyond the current upcoming year are $500. The deposit is non-refundable unless extraneous circumstances are approved by outfitter or if the hunter does not draw the tag applied for.

Application & Licenses

First Season Rifle Licenses are available by drawing only. The drawing deadline is the first Tuesday of April each year and licenses go on sale online in August. We recommend that you have 1 elk preference point if you are a resident and 2 preference points if you are a non-resident to book a 1st rifle season hunt. 

Second Rifle is over-the-counter. Applications are available through the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife. You can apply for your tag online or call to request an application. We can assist you in this process upon request.

Reservation

To make a hunt reservation, we require a deposit of one-third the total hunt cost. The second payment is due by June 15 and final payment is due 30 days prior to the start of your hunt. Deposits are non-refundable.

Please be aware that any person born in 1949 or after must have a current Hunter Safety Card to purchase a hunting license in CO.

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