Colorado Muzzleloader Rules: Equipment, Seasons, and Licenses

Colorado muzzleloader rules cover four things at once: what your gun and load have to look like, when you can hunt, how you get a tag, and what happens if you get any of it wrong. Colorado Parks and Wildlife enforces the equipment side strictly, and several of the requirements differ from neighboring states, so an out-of-state hunter cannot assume a rig that works elsewhere is legal here.

Legal Muzzleloader Equipment

Your muzzleloader must have a single barrel at least 18 inches long, fire from the shoulder, and load only through the muzzle. A firearm that can be breech-loaded at all is not legal for the season, regardless of how it is being used at the moment.¹

Ignition must be percussion cap, flintlock, or matchlock. Electronic ignition is prohibited, and no electronic or battery-powered device of any kind can be built into or attached to the gun. Standard 209 shotshell primers count as percussion caps and are legal.¹

In-line muzzleloaders are legal in Colorado. Several western states ban them, so hunters coming in from out of state sometimes assume the same rule applies here. It doesn’t. Any action design is fine as long as every other requirement is met.¹

Sights must be open or iron. Fiber-optic inserts and fluorescent paint are allowed. Telescopic scopes, red dots, and any sight using artificial light or batteries are not.¹

Caliber, Projectile, and Bullet Weight

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

Minimum caliber depends on the species and the projectile:

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 matters too. Firearms from .40 through .50 caliber must shoot a projectile of at least 170 grains. Anything larger than .50 caliber requires at least 210 grains.¹

Powder Rules

The only legal propellants are black powder and black powder substitutes such as Pyrodex or Triple Seven. Smokeless powder is prohibited because muzzleloader barrels are not built for the pressures it generates.¹

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

Muzzleloader Season Dates

Seasons are short, typically nine days, and they fall before the general rifle seasons. The 2026 dates 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 dates come from a five-year season structure running 2025 through 2029 and shift slightly each year, so confirm the specific dates for your hunt code in the annual big game brochure before you apply.²

Getting a Muzzleloader License

Prerequisites

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

Residency affects the fee you pay. To claim Colorado residency, you need a valid Colorado driver’s license or state ID that has been active for at least six consecutive months. If yours was issued or renewed more recently, expect to provide additional proof of residence.⁵

The Primary Draw

Most muzzleloader tags are limited licenses awarded through the primary draw. You apply through the CPW Shop online portal and can list up to four hunt codes in ranked order. The 2026 primary draw deadline is April 7, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. MDT.⁶

Application fees are charged at submission and are nonrefundable: $8.93 for residents and $11.49 for nonresidents per species.⁷ License fees are separate and charged only after you draw. As a rough benchmark, resident over-the-counter prices run $66.12 for elk and $47.91 for pronghorn or white-tailed deer, and every hunter must also buy an annual habitat stamp at $12.15. Nonresident fees are significantly higher.⁸

Preference Points

Colorado’s preference point system gives priority to hunters who have waited longest. You earn one point per species each year you go 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 to the primary draw and do not carry over to the secondary draw, leftover sales, or over-the-counter licenses.⁷

For competitive units, points are the only realistic path to a tag. An application error can cost you your point for the year, so verify every hunt code before you submit.

Leftover Licenses

Tags unclaimed after both draws are sold first-come, first-served. In 2026, leftover licenses go on sale August 4, and new hunt codes are added around 11:00 a.m. MT each Wednesday after that. Buying a leftover license does not spend any accumulated preference points.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 your physical license on you in the field.

Immediately after a harvest, sign, date, and detach the carcass tag from your license and attach it to the animal. Signing the tag before you harvest is illegal and voids the license. The tag stays on the carcass through transport, camp, and storage until the meat is processed and consumed. Removing anything else from the license after harvest voids it entirely.¹⁰

Penalties for Violations

Colorado enforces hunting rules through a combined fine and suspension point system. Every conviction under Parks and Wildlife regulations carries at least 5 suspension points. Reaching 20 or more points within a five-year window triggers a suspension hearing, and a third suspension results in a lifetime ban from hunting and fishing in Colorado.¹¹

Fines scale with the offense. Hunting big game without a valid license carries a fine equal to twice the cost of the most expensive license for that species, plus 15 suspension points. A false statement on a license application draws the same formula. Failing to carry your habitat stamp in the field is a $50 fine and 5 points.¹²

Equipment violations during muzzleloader season are treated as method-of-take offenses. Using a scope, sabots, or pelletized powder means the fine, the points, and the accumulation toward suspension. Two or three careless seasons can end your ability to hunt in Colorado 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
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Big Game
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Primary Draw
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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. Suspending Hunting and Fishing Privileges
12
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 33 Section 33-6-107 – Penalties