Much like California, all of Colorado’s bear hunting will take place in the fall. All of the bear seasons follow along with the rest of the big game season structure, i.e. archery, muzzleloader, and 1st-4th rifle. However, when it comes to bear, there are some additional seasons thrown in such as a September rifle season as well as a Plains rifle season that starts in September and runs through the end of November. There are two ways to get a bear permit in Colorado. You can draw the tag/pick up a leftover, or you can purchase an over-the-counter permit. The only caveat to the OTC permit is that you can purchase an add-on over-the-counter archery, muzzleloader or rifle bear license only if you have a deer or elk license for the same method of take. The units that are available are listed in the big game brochure, both under the Bear section of the regs as well as identified by a bear paw symbol by the deer and elk hunt code tables.
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