Colorado Muzzleloader Rules: Equipment, Seasons, and Licenses

To hunt Colorado’s muzzleloader season legally, your gun must be a shoulder-fired, single-barrel muzzleloader with open or iron sights and a percussion, flintlock, or matchlock ignition; you must load a single non-sabot bullet of the right caliber and weight for your species over loose black powder or an approved substitute; and you need a limited license, which almost always means applying through the primary draw. The Colorado muzzleloader rules below walk through each of those pieces in the order you’ll run into them.

What Counts as a Legal Muzzleloader

The firearm must have a single barrel at least 18 inches long, fire from the shoulder, and load only through the muzzle. It cannot be capable of breech loading in any form. Ignition must be a percussion cap, flintlock, or matchlock. Standard 209 shotshell primers are allowed because they qualify as percussion caps. Electronic ignitions are banned, and no battery-powered or electronic device of any kind may be attached to or built into the gun.¹

In-line muzzleloaders are legal. That surprises hunters coming from neighboring states that ban them, but as long as the gun meets every other requirement, the action design doesn’t matter.¹

Sights must be open or iron. Fiber-optic inserts and fluorescent paint are fine. Telescopic scopes, red dots, and any sight that uses artificial light or batteries are prohibited.¹

Projectile, Caliber, and Weight

You load one round ball or one conical bullet per shot. Sabots are prohibited. Cloth patches are not considered sabots and remain legal, and bullets like the Powerbelt that use a plastic gas check rather than a full plastic sleeve are also legal.

The minimum caliber depends on your species and on whether you’re shooting a conical or a round ball:

Deer, pronghorn, or bear with a conical bullet: .40 caliber minimum
Deer, pronghorn, or bear with a round ball: .50 caliber minimum
Elk or moose with a conical bullet: .50 caliber minimum
Elk or moose with a round ball: .54 caliber minimum

Bullet weight has its own floor. Firearms from .40 through .50 caliber must shoot a projectile of at least 170 grains. Anything larger than .50 caliber must shoot at least 210 grains.¹

Powder: Loose Only

Black powder and black powder substitutes like Pyrodex or Triple Seven are the only legal propellants. Smokeless powder is prohibited because muzzleloader barrels aren’t built for the pressures it generates.¹

Pelletized powder is also prohibited during muzzleloader seasons. This is the rule that catches more out-of-state hunters than any other, because pellets are legal in most states and many modern inline muzzleloaders are designed around them. In Colorado, you measure and pour loose powder.

When the Seasons Run

Muzzleloader seasons are short, typically nine days, and they fall before the general rifle seasons. The 2026 dates by species are:

Deer and elk (west of I-25 and GMU 140): September 12–20
Plains deer: October 10–18
Plains elk: September 12–20
Moose: September 12–20
Pronghorn: September 21–29
Black bear: September 12–20

These are part of a five-year season structure running 2025 through 2029, so the exact dates shift slightly each year. Confirm the dates for your specific hunt code in the annual big game brochure before you plan travel.²

Getting a Muzzleloader License

Anyone born on or after January 1, 1949, must complete an approved hunter education course before applying for or buying any Colorado hunting license.³ You also need a current-year qualifying license to enter the big game draw. An annual small game license, spring turkey license, or fall turkey license will all qualify, among other options.⁴

Residency matters for fees. To claim Colorado residency, you need a valid Colorado driver’s license or state ID active for at least six consecutive months. If yours was issued or renewed more recently, you’ll have to show additional proof you’ve actually lived in the state that long.⁵

The Primary Draw

Most muzzleloader tags are limited licenses awarded through the primary draw. You apply on the CPW Shop online portal, selecting hunt codes that specify species, game management unit, and season. You can list up to four hunt codes ranked by preference. The 2026 primary draw deadline is April 7, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. MDT.⁶

Application fees are charged when you submit: $8.93 for residents and $11.49 for nonresidents, per species. These are nonrefundable regardless of outcome.⁷

Preference Points

Colorado prioritizes applicants who have waited longest. You earn one point per species each year you’re unsuccessful on your first-choice hunt code, or you can apply for a point only by entering hunt code P-999-99-P as your first choice. Points apply only to the primary draw and don’t carry over to the secondary draw, leftover sales, or over-the-counter licenses.⁷ For competitive units, building points over several years is often the only realistic path to a tag, and an application error can cost you your point for the year, so verify every hunt code before the deadline.

License Costs

Draw fees and license fees are billed separately; the license fee hits only if you draw. Resident over-the-counter prices give a rough sense of scale: $66.12 for elk and $47.91 for pronghorn or white-tailed deer. Every hunter also buys an annual habitat stamp at $12.15.⁸ Nonresident fees are significantly higher across all species.

Leftover Licenses

Tags unclaimed after both the primary and secondary draws go on sale first-come, first-served. In 2026, leftover sales open August 4. You can buy online, by phone, or at a sales agent. Buying a leftover license doesn’t spend any accumulated preference points. New hunt codes are added to the leftover list around 11:00 a.m. MT each Wednesday after the initial sale date.⁶

In the Field

While hunting deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, or bear with any firearm license, you must wear at least 500 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink on an outer garment above the waist, plus a fluorescent orange or pink hat or head covering visible from all directions.⁹ You must carry the physical license on your person while hunting.

After You Harvest an Animal

As soon as you harvest an animal, sign, date, and detach the carcass tag from your license and attach it to the carcass. Signing the tag before the harvest is illegal and voids the license. The tag stays on the carcass through transportation, in camp, and in storage until the meat is fully processed and consumed. If you break the carcass into pieces, CPW recommends attaching the tag to the piece with evidence of sex still naturally attached. Removing anything else from the license after the harvest voids the whole license.¹⁰

In 2026, mandatory chronic wasting disease testing applies only to elk taken during certain rifle season hunt codes, not muzzleloader hunters. Voluntary testing is still available, and CPW waives the testing fee for elk taken during muzzleloader seasons in game management units selected for mandatory rifle testing.¹¹

What a Violation Costs

Colorado enforces hunting rules through fines plus a suspension-point system. Every conviction for a Parks and Wildlife violation carries at least 5 suspension points. Accumulating 20 or more points in a five-year window triggers a license suspension hearing, and a third suspension results in a lifetime ban from hunting and fishing in Colorado.¹²

Fines scale with seriousness. Hunting big game without a valid license brings a fine equal to twice the cost of the most expensive license for that species plus 15 suspension points, and the same formula applies to false statements on a license application. Even failing to carry your habitat stamp in the field costs $50 and 5 points.¹³

Equipment mistakes during muzzleloader season (a scope, a sabot, pelletized powder) are treated as method-of-take violations. You get the fine, and you get points that stack. Two or three careless seasons can shut you out of Colorado hunting for years.

1
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Chapter W-0 Final Regulations, As Approved March 2026
2
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 2025-2029 Big Game Season Structure
3
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. New to Hunting
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Qualifying License
5
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Colorado Residency
6
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Big Game
7
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Primary Draw
8
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Over-the-Counter (OTC) Licenses
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Deer – In the Field
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Elk – In the Field
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Chronic Wasting Disease
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Suspending Hunting and Fishing Privileges
13
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 33 Section 33-6-107 – Penalties