A Colorado deer hunt can cost a nonresident well under $2,000 if you draw a tag and hunt public land on your own, or more than $10,000 for a guided buck hunt on a private ranch. Here is where the money goes.

License costs (2026)

These fixed costs come from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Item	Nonresident	Resident
Qualifying license (annual small game, adult)*	$104.86	$38.49
Habitat Stamp (ages 18–64)	$12.76	$12.76
Deer application fee	$11.49	$8.93
Adult deer license	$506.92 (deer/fishing combo)	$51.25
Total for one deer license	about $636	about $111

*Required to apply in the primary draw. You don’t need it for a leftover or OTC license. Youth licenses cost much less: $130.07 for a nonresident youth deer/fishing combo and $20.30 for a resident youth.

Two notes on fees:

• Preference points are free for deer in 2026. Building a point costs only the qualifying license, Habitat Stamp, and application fee. CPW plans to add a point fee with its new draw system starting in 2028.
• Nonresident licenses include fishing. Bring a rod, because your deer license doubles as an annual Colorado fishing license.

DIY hunt: what to budget

On a DIY hunt, the license is often less than half the trip. A typical nonresident week:

Expense	Typical range
Licenses and fees	about $636
Travel (gas or flights, rental)	$400–$1,500
Food and camp supplies for a week	$150–$400
Lodging if not camping	$0–$1,000
Meat processing	$150–$350
Cooler and ice, or shipping meat home	$50–$300
Trip total, not counting gear	about $1,400–$4,200

These ranges are estimates. A mule deer is much easier to pack out than an elk, so most DIY deer hunters do not need horses. A good pack frame, optics for glassing, and quality boots are the gear that matters most.

Landowner vouchers and private-land access

Private land can add a lot to the price. If an outfitter supplies a landowner voucher, you still buy the license from CPW, but the voucher itself costs extra. Published examples run around $750 for a mountain mule deer voucher and $1,500 for a plains voucher, on top of the hunt price.

If you’d rather find your own ground, a hunting lease or trespass fee on plains farmland is another option. Browse hunting leases.

Guided hunt prices

Here are example prices from Colorado outfitters’ published rates:

Hunt type	Example price
Semi-guided whitetail on private river-bottom land, 5 days	$3,500
Guided buck hunt on a private ranch, 2 hunters per guide, 5 days	$5,500
Guided private-land archery mule deer, 5 days, lodging and meals	$6,500 + $600 harvest fee
Guided any-weapon buck on the eastern plains, 1 hunter per guide, 6 days	$7,000
Guided private-land archery mule deer, 1 hunter per guide, 6 days	$8,750 + landowner tag
Guided private-ranch rifle mule deer, 2 hunters per guide, 5 days	$10,500

Prices depend on private vs. public land, the unit, the season (late rifle and the rut cost more), how many hunters share a guide, and the size of bucks the outfitter usually takes.

What’s usually NOT included in a guided hunt

• Your deer license, application fee, qualifying license, and Habitat Stamp
• Landowner vouchers, if the hunt needs one
• Harvest or trophy fees, which some outfitters charge on top
• Travel to Colorado, and sometimes airport pickup
• Meat processing and taxidermy
• Extra days or a non-hunting guest
• Tips. Outfitters commonly suggest 10% to 20% of the hunt price for your guide, plus something for the cook.

Ways to save

• Hunt does or plains licenses. They often draw with few or no points, and some outfitters charge less for doe hunts.
• Combine deer and elk. A 2nd or 3rd rifle season trip with both tags spreads your travel cost over two animals. See our Colorado elk hunt cost guide.
• Watch for leftovers and cancellations. Leftover licenses go on sale in August, and outfitters sometimes have open dates. See discount guided hunts.
• Go semi-guided. Some outfitters offer lodging and access without a full-time guide. Browse DIY and self-guided hunts.
• Build points cheaply. Points are free for deer until the new system arrives, so you can build toward a better unit for the cost of the application.

Related: How Colorado draw points work · Draw odds by unit · Colorado Deer Hunting Guide · Guided vs. DIY deer hunting · How to apply for the deer draw

License fees are from Colorado Parks and Wildlife for 2026. Guided hunt examples are from outfitters’ published price lists and can change at any time.