Are Crossbows Legal in Colorado?

Can You Legally Own a Crossbow in Colorado?

Owning a crossbow in Colorado is completely legal. You can walk into any sporting goods shop, purchase a model off the shelf, and carry it home without registering it. The state does not require background checks, special owner permits, or waiting periods for archery gear. You can also order one online and have it delivered directly to your doorstep.

Under Colorado law, a crossbow counts as sporting equipment rather than a firearm. Because it does not fire a projectile using burning powder, state sales laws do not treat it like a handgun or rifle. Any adult who can legally buy sporting goods can purchase and keep one at home.

However, owning equipment is very different from using it outdoors. Once you take the bow outside your home, other rules begin to apply. Target practice on private ground involves local town safety codes. Taking the bow into the woods to pursue game falls under the authority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, known as CPW.

Many hunters get confused because they assume basic ownership gives them the right to hunt anywhere. While you can keep a crossbow in your home without asking for state permission, you must follow strict wildlife codes before taking it into the field. Knowing the difference between simple ownership and hunting regulations keeps you out of legal trouble.

Can You Hunt Archery Season With a Crossbow?

You cannot use a crossbow during regular archery season in Colorado with a standard hunting license. This rule often catches out-of-state hunters by surprise. In many parts of the country, crossbows share the exact same seasons and tags as vertical compound bows. Colorado keeps them strictly separate.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife reserves standard archery season exclusively for handheld vertical bows. That group includes compound bows, recurve bows, and longbows. To hunt in regular archery season, you must pull and hold the bowstring entirely with your own muscular effort. A crossbow uses a mechanical latch that holds the string at full draw for you. Because of that mechanical advantage, state wildlife rules exclude crossbows from regular archery seasons.

You can legally hunt with a crossbow during regular rifle seasons. Colorado permits hunters holding a rifle license to carry modern firearms, muzzleloaders, or archery gear, including crossbows. If you draw a regular elk rifle tag, you can carry a crossbow instead of a rifle. If you plan to hunt modern rifle season with a bow, researching the best TenPoint crossbow for hunting will help you find a platform capable of handling long shots across open mountain valleys.

When hunting with a crossbow in a rifle season, you must follow all standard firearm rules. You must wear daylight fluorescent orange or pink clothing, and you must hunt only during your rifle dates. You cannot hunt muzzleloader season with a crossbow because that season requires a muzzle-loading gun.

Taking a crossbow into the timber during archery season without an approved exemption is an illegal act. Wildlife officers will cite you for hunting out of season and attempting to take (pursue, shoot, or harvest an animal) game with illegal weapons. This leads to heavy fines, loss of your animal, and license penalty points that can ban you from hunting nationwide.

How Do You Get a Disability Crossbow Permit?

Colorado allows an exemption for hunters who cannot pull a normal bow due to physical limitations. This permission comes through a mobility permit (a doctor-certified state medical pass officially issued by CPW). If approved, this accommodation lets you hunt with a crossbow during regular archery-only seasons.

The state sets clear medical rules for who can qualify. You must have a physical impairment that prevents you from pulling and holding a handheld bow with a pull weight (how much muscular effort it takes to pull the bowstring back) of at least 35 or 40 pounds. Qualifying conditions include severe shoulder injuries, torn rotator cuffs, joint replacements, spinal trauma, or nerve conditions affecting arm strength. General fatigue or age alone will not qualify you.

To secure an accommodation permit, follow these sequential steps:

1. Download the hunter accommodation permit form from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website.
2. Visit a licensed medical physician for a complete physical examination of your upper body strength and range of motion.
3. Have your physician fill out and sign the medical statement, explaining your specific physical diagnosis and confirming why you cannot operate a vertical bow.
4. Submit the completed application packet to the CPW Special Licensing unit in Denver well ahead of your hunt.
5. Carry the physical approval document together with your standard archery license whenever you are hunting in the field.

Processing your application can take four to six weeks, so send your paperwork in during early spring or summer. If an officer checks your license in the field, you must present the official permit card on the spot. Leaving the document in your vehicle or cabin can result in an equipment citation.

This accommodation does not grant you an extra tag or bypass license lotteries. You still draw or purchase a regular archery license through the normal state system. The permit simply allows you to hold a crossbow rather than a vertical bow.

What Gear Rules Apply to Big Game Crossbows?

If you use a crossbow for big game like elk, deer, pronghorn, or bear, your equipment must satisfy state physical rules. You cannot hunt big game with compact pistol bows or weak target models. Colorado Parks and Wildlife sets equipment minimums to make sure every shot produces a clean, ethical harvest.

Review your setup against this legal equipment checklist before heading into the woods:

• Minimum pull weight: The bow must deliver a pull weight (bow pulling force) of at least 125 pounds. This force generates enough arrow energy to punch through heavy muscle and bone.
• Minimum bolt length: Your hunting bolts must measure at least 16 inches long from the string nock to the base of the broadhead. When looking over gear options like the TenPoint TX Ultra 265 package, confirm that the arrow shaft length meets the minimum sixteen-inch rule before buying broadheads.
• Broadhead cutting width: Broadheads (the sharp cutting blade at the arrow tip) must have a cutting diameter of at least 7/8 of an inch when open, with at least two sharp steel cutting blades. Expandable mechanical blades are legal if they open to this size.
• Safety switch: The bow must feature a functioning mechanical safety switch that prevents accidental firing when fully cocked.
• No electronics or light beams: Colorado bans electronic attachments on hunting bows. You cannot use scopes with built-in rangefinders, cameras, or projecting red dots. Magnified optical scopes without electronics are legal.

Battery-powered lighted nocks are the only permitted electronic item on the bolt. These small glowing nocks help you follow bolt flight and find your arrow in thick brush, as long as they do not project light forward onto the game animal.

Always inspect your bolts before shooting. Flex-testing carbon arrows by bending each shaft gently and listening for cracking sounds prevents dangerous shaft failures during a shot.

Can You Shoot a Crossbow in Your Backyard?

Target practice in your own yard sounds simple, but local city laws often prohibit it. While Colorado state law does not restrict backyard target shooting on private land, municipal codes across the state heavily regulate weapon discharge. Major cities like Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins classify crossbows alongside firearms and pellet guns.

Under most city charters, discharging any projectile weapon within city limits is illegal. Even with a tall wooden fence, shooting in a suburban backyard can bring a police citation for discharging a dangerous weapon. Cities enforce these bans because a stray bolt easily pierces wooden fence boards and poses a serious threat to neighbors.

Shooting on private land in unincorporated county areas is usually permitted, but you remain fully liable for every shot. You must keep every bolt safely within your own boundary lines. If a bolt crosses your property line onto someone else's land, you can face criminal charges for reckless endangerment or property damage.

To practice safely in an allowed rural location, follow these basic steps:

• Shoot only into commercial target blocks designed specifically for high-speed hunting bolts.
• Place your target against a solid dirt hill or earthen berm that stops misses immediately.
• Never aim toward roads, walking paths, houses, or pastures holding livestock.
• Keep pets and family members behind the firing line whenever you draw or load the bow.

If you are unsure whether your property falls within city boundaries, contact your local police department or county sheriff on their non-emergency phone line. Ask dispatch directly about local projectile discharge rules before firing your first practice bolt.

FAQs

Can you hunt small game with a crossbow in Colorado?

Yes, you can use a crossbow for small game species like rabbits, squirrels, and wild turkeys during open seasons. For wild turkeys, your bolts must use broadheads that meet state cutting edge regulations. Check the current CPW small game brochure for specific season dates and license requirements before hunting.

Do you need to wear orange while crossbow hunting?

Yes, you must wear fluorescent orange or pink if you hunt big game with a crossbow during regular rifle season. State law requires at least 500 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent material above your waist, including a visible hat. If you hunt archery season with an approved medical mobility permit, orange clothing is not mandatory, but wearing it remains a sensible precaution.

Can you carry a cocked crossbow in a vehicle?

No, you cannot transport a cocked crossbow with a bolt loaded on the rail inside any motor vehicle in Colorado. Wildlife regulations treat a loaded, cocked bow inside a vehicle as a dangerous hunting violation. Always decock your bow or remove the bolt from the rail before placing it inside a truck, car, or utility vehicle.

Are mechanical broadheads legal on crossbows in Colorado?

Yes, mechanical expandable broadheads are legal on crossbow bolts for big game hunting across Colorado. The blades must open to a minimum cutting diameter of at least 7/8 of an inch and feature sharp steel edges. Make sure your mechanical broadheads are rated for modern crossbow speeds so they do not open prematurely in flight.