Colorado Bear Hunting Regulations: Seasons, Weapons, and Penalties

Colorado allows black bear hunting each fall under a tightly managed system run by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). Colorado bear hunting regulations require a limited-draw or over-the-counter license, ban baiting and hound hunting outright, set minimum caliber and draw-weight standards for weapons, and demand a physical inspection of the head and hide within five business days of the kill. Violations range from a $100 fine for removing evidence of sex to $10,000 per animal and a possible lifetime loss of hunting privileges.

Getting a License

There are two ways to end up with a Colorado bear license. You can enter the limited draw, or you can buy an over-the-counter (OTC) license for units and seasons where OTC tags are offered. OTC licenses aren’t capped in quantity but are restricted to specific units, seasons, and methods of take.¹

For the 2026 limited draw, applications open March 1 and close April 7 at 8 p.m. Mountain Time, with primary results posted between May 26 and May 29.² If you don’t draw, a secondary draw opens June 18, applications are due June 30, and results post July 7. Anything left after that goes on a leftover list sold first-come, first-served.³

Fees

A resident adult bear license through the draw costs $64.01. A resident youth license is $19.93.² Resident OTC bear tags run $60.05.¹ Nonresident fees are substantially higher. All prices include a search-and-rescue fee and a Wildlife Council surcharge, and CPW can change the schedule between seasons.

Anyone aged 18 through 64 also needs a Wildlife Habitat Stamp before applying for or buying a hunting license. The annual stamp is $12.47, or $374.47 for a lifetime.⁴

Hunter Education and Age

If you were born on or after January 1, 1949, you must finish an approved hunter education course before you can apply for or buy any Colorado hunting license.⁵ Colorado does not require a separate bear identification course. The general hunter education course is what covers you.

Youth hunters must be 12 to 17 to hunt big game. An 11-year-old can apply if they will turn 12 before the season ends, but cannot hunt until their birthday.⁶ Youth hunters also need hunter education completed before going afield.

2026 Bear Seasons

Bear seasons run from early September into late November and overlap various deer and elk seasons. The 2026 dates are:⁷

Archery: September 2–30
Muzzleloader: September 12–20
September rifle: September 2–30
Concurrent rifle: October 14–18, October 24–November 1, November 7–15, and November 18–22
Plains rifle: September 2–November 22

Private-land-only licenses follow their own calendar, generally spanning September 2 through the end of the fourth combined deer/elk rifle season. Colorado does not have a spring bear season.

No Bait, No Dogs

Colorado law prohibits taking a black bear with bait or with dogs at any point in the year.⁸ Bait includes salt, minerals, grain, animal parts, or any other food placed to attract bears in an area where hunting is happening. If dogs you’re legally using on other game accidentally chase a bear, you won’t be charged as long as you call them off immediately and the bear isn’t harmed. Spot-and-stalk and calling are the legal approaches.

Weapons and Clothing

Colorado sets minimums for each weapon type to ensure a clean harvest.

Rifles

Centerfire rifles must be .24 caliber or larger, firing expanding bullets of at least 70 grains producing a manufacturer-rated minimum of 1,000 foot-pounds of energy at 100 yards. Semiautomatic rifles are legal but cannot hold more than six rounds total between magazine and chamber.⁹

Muzzleloaders

Muzzleloaders must be at least .40 caliber. From .40 through .50 caliber, bullets must weigh 170 grains or more; above .50 caliber, 210 grains minimum. No pelletized or smokeless powder, no sabots (cloth patches are fine), no breech-loading designs, no scopes or electronic sights, and no battery-powered attachments.⁹

Archery

Bows need a minimum draw weight of 35 pounds with a let-off no greater than 80 percent. Arrows must carry broadheads with an outside cutting diameter of at least 7/8 of an inch, fitted with two or more steel cutting edges running the full length of the cutting surface. Mechanical broadheads are legal. Scopes, electronic devices, and hydraulic or pneumatic systems are prohibited.⁹

Fluorescent Clothing

When hunting bear with any firearm, you must wear at least 500 square inches of solid fluorescent pink or daylight fluorescent orange as an outer garment above the waist, including a hat or head covering visible from all directions.¹⁰ The statute says “with any firearm,” so archery-only hunters during archery-only seasons aren’t covered by the requirement.

After the Kill

Post-harvest rules are enforced. Each step matters both legally and biologically, since inspection data drives future season planning.

Tag and Evidence of Sex

Fill out and attach the carcass tag from your license immediately, before you transport the animal. Evidence of sex must stay naturally attached to the carcass until inspection: the testicle or penis on a male, the vulva on a female. Removing evidence of sex before inspection is a misdemeanor carrying a $100 fine and 10 license suspension points.

Five-Day Inspection

Bring the pelt and head of any harvested bear to a CPW office within five business days of the kill. You must be present, and the head and hide must be unfrozen. Staff pull a small tooth for aging, record harvest location, date, and method, and seal the hide. You cannot transport a bear out of Colorado until the head and hide have been inspected and sealed.¹¹ Nonresidents should book the inspection before leaving the state.

Waste of Game

Colorado law requires a reasonable attempt to dress, care for, and use the edible portions of any game animal you harvest. Wasting bear meat carries a $300 fine and 15 license suspension points. Bear is not a trophy-only species in Colorado.

Trichinellosis

Bear meat can carry Trichinella, a parasitic roundworm.¹² Cook all bear meat to an internal temperature of at least 165°F throughout. Freezing does not reliably kill Trichinella in bear meat the way it does in pork. If you suspect you’ve eaten undercooked bear meat, antiparasitic treatment within six days can reduce the chance of clinical infection.

Penalties and the Point System

Colorado ties every wildlife conviction to a fine and to license suspension points that accumulate across all violations.

Illegal Take

Illegally possessing or taking a bear is a misdemeanor carrying a $1,000 fine and 15 license suspension points per animal.¹³ When a violation involves three or more animals in any combination, fines scale up to $10,000 per animal, with jail up to one year, and the wildlife commission can suspend hunting privileges for anywhere from one year to life.

Vehicle and Aircraft

Hunting from or with a motor vehicle, or shooting from a vehicle, carries a $200 fine and 10 suspension points. Using an aircraft to spot wildlife and relay its location to a ground hunter draws a $2,000 fine and 15 points; both the spotter and the ground hunter are also barred from pursuing that animal on the same day or the next.¹⁴

How the Point System Works

Every wildlife conviction adds points that stay on your record for a rolling five-year window. Hit 20 or more points in any consecutive five-year period, and the wildlife commission can suspend all license privileges for up to five years, meaning you cannot apply for, purchase, or use any hunting or fishing license during that time.¹⁵

Three or more suspensions become a lifetime ban.¹⁵ A single illegal bear at 15 points is three-quarters of the way to a suspension on its own. Add a vehicle violation or an evidence-of-sex charge and you’re over the threshold.

1
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Over-the-Counter (OTC) Licenses
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Hunting Bear
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Secondary Draw
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Habitat Stamp
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Education and Outreach
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Youth Hunting
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 2025-2029 Big Game Season Structure
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Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-4-101.3 – Black Bears
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Colorado Secretary of State. Chapter W-2 – Big Game Regulations
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Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-6-121 – Hunters to Wear Fluorescent Colors
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Bear – In the Field
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Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Trichinellosis (aka Trichinosis)
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Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-6-109 – Wildlife Illegal Possession
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FindLaw. Colorado Code 33-6-124 – Use of a Motor Vehicle or Aircraft Rules
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Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-6-106 – Suspension of License Privileges