Unit S53 ewe bighorn sheep, rifle
- Hunt code
- SFS53O1R
- Unit
- S53
- Weapon
- Rifle
- Draw years
- 2021–2026
In 2026, 3 of 12 residents drew (25%). A weighted random draw among applicants with 3 or more preference points, so there is no single point cutoff.
No nonresidents applied in 2026.
Harvest success in 2025 was 100%.
2026 draw by point level
First-choice applicants at each point level, and how many of them drew.
| Points | Residents | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied | Drew | Rate | |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| 1 | 4 | 0 | 0% |
| 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| All | 12 | 3 | 25% |
Residents: A weighted random draw among applicants with 3 or more preference points, so there is no single point cutoff.
Nonresidents: No first-choice applicants.
Year by year
| Year | Permits | Residents | Nonresidents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied | Drew | Pts needed | Applied | Drew | Pts needed | ||
| 2026 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 3+ Pref Points | 0 | 0 | No Apps |
| 2025 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 3+ Pref Points | 0 | 0 | No Apps |
| 2024 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 3+ Pref Points | 0 | 0 | No Apps |
| 2023 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 3+ Pref Points | 0 | 0 | No Apps |
| 2022 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 3+ Pref Points | 0 | 0 | No Apps |
| 2021 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 3+ Pref Points | 0 | 0 | No Apps |
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 100% |
Reading these numbers
Colorado ranks first-choice applicants by preference points (one point for each year you miss your first choice), with nonresidents capped at a share of each hunt's licenses. Hunts that took 10+ resident points the year before and have 5+ licenses also run a hybrid draw: up to 20% of licenses go at random to applicants with at least 5 points. For moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat, each miss after 3 preference points adds a weighted point that improves a random draw instead; for those species the point level shown is preference plus weighted points. Numbers are adult first-choice applicants; youth and landowner (LPP) applicants are reported separately by CPW and left out.
Sources
- 2026PostDrawRecapReport_SHEEP-26_04222026_1349_wCoverSheet(draw)
- 2025PostDrawRecapReport_SHEEP-25_04142025_1550(draw)
- 20252025 Statewide Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Harvest(harvest)
- 20242024-Primary-RM-Bighorn-Sheep-Post-Draw-Report(draw)
- 20232023RMSheepDrawRecap(draw)
- 20222022RMSheepDrawRecap(draw)
- 20212021RMSheepDrawRecap(draw)
See a number that doesn't match the report? Tell us.
Other hunts in unit S53
Units listed next to it
In CPW's unit order, which often but not always means nearby.
- Unit S50 ram bighorn sheep, rifle (hunt code SMS50O1R)
- Unit S51 ewe bighorn sheep, rifle (hunt code SFS51O1R)
- Unit S51 ewe bighorn sheep, rifle (hunt code SFS51W1R)
- Unit S54 ram bighorn sheep, rifle (hunt code SMS54O1R)
- Unit S57 ewe bighorn sheep, archery (hunt code SFS57O1A)
- Unit S57 ram bighorn sheep, archery (hunt code SMS57G1A)