Wyoming Elk 117-2
Antlered elk five (5) points or less on either antler or antlerless elk in Hunt Area 117 — South Black Hills, any legal weapon, Oct 15 – Jan 31, 2024. 23% public land, mostly Forest Service. Type 2.
No longer drawn. The last draw was 2023.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department held its 2026 elk draw without 117-2. The odds, costs and history below are that record, not an offer.
Your odds at 0 points · 2023 draw
about 1 in 9, from the random pass
You're 1 point below the 2023 cut of 1, which has risen from 0 to 1 point since 2021.
Years to draw on points: 4 yrs (at least 2)
- NR Tags
- 24
- Applicants
- 70
- Success
- 47%
First-choice nonresidents, regular draw. Success: all hunters in Hunt Area 117, 2025.
Points Needed to Draw, 2021–2023
The cut has risen from 0 to 1 point since 2021. Applicants per tag: 0.3:1 in 2021, 2.9:1 in 2023.
Point creep: drew out at 0 → 0 → 1 point (2021–2023), +0.5 points/yr (range +0.0 to +1.0). Years to draw project that pace (the median of the last five draws, capped at 2 points/yr); the agency sets quotas and demand sets the cut.
What It Costs · 2026 NR Fees
The $15 nonresident big game application fee (per species applied for) is not refunded. Drawing adds the $21.50 conservation stamp (annual; required with any hunting license). The $692 nonresident elk license (regular), includes fishing privileges is refunded if you miss. A nonresident elk preference point is $52, bought separately.
▸ Every Fee, With Sources
- Nonresident big game application fee (per species applied for) · paid at application $15 WGFD 2026 License Fee List
- Conservation stamp (annual; required with any hunting license) · paid if drawn $21.50 WGFD 2026 License Fee List
- Nonresident elk license (regular), includes fishing privileges · paid at application, refundable $692 WGFD 2026 License Fee List
- Nonresident elk preference point · bought separately, not counted above — an unsuccessful applicant gets no point without it $52 WGFD 2026 Game and Fish Commission Chapter 44
Details
Odds by Point Level · 2023 Draw
| Points | Chance | Applied | Drew |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 ← you | 12% counted in one band: under 1 point | 47 | 0 |
| 1 | 56% the cut | 10 | 5 |
| 2 | 100% | 9 | 9 |
| 3 | 100% | 1 | 1 |
| 4–10 | 100% same at every level | — | — |
Points pass + random pass, from published pools. A dash means Wyoming Game and Fish Department did not publish a count for that level: it prints exact counts around the cut and folds the rest into a band. Wyoming runs a second, random pass after the points pass. As a lower choice, 117-2 drew no one in 2023, so lower-choice odds are left out.
Draw results: WGFD 2023 Demand Report, p. 22, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
Seasons, 2023
- Sep 1–30, 2023 Archery only. Needs a $72 archery license on top. Special archery season (archery license required): Antlered elk five (5) points or less on either antler or antlerless elk Wyoming Game and Fish Commission 2023 Chapter 7, p. 22
- Oct 15 – Jan 31, 2024 Antlered elk five (5) points or less on either antler or antlerless elk Wyoming Game and Fish Commission 2023 Chapter 7, p. 22
How It Hunted, 2025
| Who | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| All of Hunt Area 117 | 1,417 | 664 | 47% |
Across every license type in Hunt Area 117, Wyoming Game and Fish Department counted 1,417 hunters and 664 elk taken in 2025, and 47% of them took an elk. Wyoming's figures are estimates from a voluntary post-season survey of license holders, extrapolated to every license issued — not a count of animals checked in. Source: WGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Report; WGFD 2024 Elk Harvest Report.
▸ Year-by-Year Numbers 3 draws
The regular draw for nonresidents, one row per year. Wyoming runs a second, random pass after the points pass; it is shown beside the year it belongs to.
| Year | Tags | Applicants | Per Tag | Points Needed | Random Pass | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 24 | 70 | 2.9 | 1 | 6 tags of 133 | WGFD 2023 Demand Report, p. 22 |
| 2022 | 23 | 16 | 0.7 | 0 | 5 tags of 38 | WGFD 2022 Demand Report, p. 20 |
| 2021 | 23 | 8 | 0.3 | 0 | 5 tags of 36 | WGFD 2021 Demand Report, p. 20 |
Other Licenses Valid in Hunt Area 117
- 117-1 Any elk Oct 15 – Nov 30 · 35 tags · cut 9 4%
- 117-3 Spike or antlerless elk Oct 15 – Jan 31 · 52 tags · cut 0 100%
- 117-4 Antlerless elk Oct 15 – Jan 31 · 14 tags · cut 0 100%
- 117-6 Cow or calf Oct 15 – Jan 31 · Reduced price · 22 tags · 111 applied 20%
- 117-7 Cow or calf valid off national forest Aug 15 – Jan 31 · Reduced price · 117 tags · 253 applied 46%
- 117-8 Cow or calf valid on private landPrivate land only — you need landowner access Aug 1 – Jan 31 · Reduced price · 1,597 tags · 40 applied 100%
Odds at your points, nonresident, regular class where offered. * fewer than 5 tags.
▸ Legal Cartridges 21 on file for Wyoming elk
21 cartridges on file are legal for elk with a rifle in Wyoming (this license takes any legal weapon). Rules and sources: Wyoming hunting laws.
▸ Sources 13
- WGFD 2023 Demand Report, p. 22 · draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2022 Demand Report, p. 20 · earlier draws, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2021 Demand Report, p. 20 · earlier draws, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- WGFD 2026 Game and Fish Commission Chapter 44 draw rules, fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2026 License Fee List fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Wyoming Game and Fish Commission 2023 Chapter 7, p. 22 · seasons, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2024 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2023 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2022 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2021 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2026 Elk Hunt Areas boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office 2026 BLM WY Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- wy_blm_sma_2026 map shading
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2023 draw, the latest on file, computed from Wyoming Game and Fish Department's published results (points pass + random pass, from published pools). They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
Report an error on this page
We don't take applications: check Wyoming Game and Fish Department's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Wyoming Game and Fish Department's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Wyoming elk hunts