Wyoming Elk 117-3
Spike or antlerless elk in Hunt Area 117 — South Black Hills, any legal weapon, Oct 15 – Jan 31, 2027. 23% public land, mostly Forest Service. Type 3.
Your odds at 0 points · 2026 draw
18 first-choice applicants for 52 tags
18 first-choice applicants for 52 tags in 2026, so every first-choice applicant drew and 34 tags went to the leftover draw. The 100% reflects low demand that year, and a code like this can flip the year demand catches up.
Years to draw on points: now
- NR Tags
- 52
- Applicants
- 18
- Success
- 29%
First-choice nonresidents, regular draw. Success: Type 3 hunters, 2025.
Points Needed to Draw, 2024–2026
The cut has been 0 points every year since 2024. Applicants per tag: 0:1 in 2024, 0.3:1 in 2026.
The cut has been 0 points in each of the last 3 draws (2024–2026), so there is no creep to project.
What It Costs · 2026 NR Fees
Closes Feb 1 · 106 daysThe $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. Wyoming prices a license by its type number, not by the animal it takes: Type 3 is a full-price license, while the reduced-price licenses (Types 6, 7 and 8) take the same antlerless animal for $288, in a drawing of their own.
- Opens
- Jan 2, 2027
- Closes
- Feb 1, 2027
- Results
- about May 20
Next application window: Open Jan 2 – Feb 1, 2027 (expected). Dates are last cycle's, rolled forward until Wyoming Game and Fish Department publishes 2027.
▸ 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 · 2026 Draw
| Points | Chance | Applied | Drew |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 ← you | 100% the cut plus 5 party applications averaging under 1 point | 9 | 9 |
| 1 | 100% | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 100% | 2 | 2 |
| 3–10 | 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.
Draw results: WGFD 2026 Demand Report, p. 26, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
As a Lower Choice
Tags left after higher choices ÷ applicants at this choice: 13 tags left after higher choices. Points do not help a lower choice.
Tags left after higher choices ÷ applicants at this choice: none left after higher choices. Points do not help a lower choice.
Seasons, 2026
- Sep 1–30, 2026 Archery only. Needs a $72 archery license on top. Special archery season (archery license required): Spike or antlerless elk Wyoming Game and Fish Commission 2026 Chapter 7, p. 21
- Oct 15 – Jan 31, 2027 Spike or antlerless elk Wyoming Game and Fish Commission 2026 Chapter 7, p. 21
How It Hunted, 2025
| Who | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type 3 | 299 | 88 | 29% |
| 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. The first rows are hunters holding this license type; the rest of the area's hunters held something else. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 52 | 18 | 0.3 | 0 | 13 tags of 61 | WGFD 2026 Demand Report, p. 26 |
| 2025 | 52 | 9 | 0.2 | 0 | 13 tags of 50 | WGFD 2025 Demand Report, p. 27 |
| 2024 | 55 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 tags of 7 | WGFD 2024 Demand Report, p. 25 |
Tags left over after the main draws: 2026: 126 tags.
Other Licenses Valid in Hunt Area 117
- 117-1 Any elk Oct 15 – Nov 30 · 35 tags · cut 9 4%
- 117-2 Antlered elk five (5) points or less on either antler or antlerless elk Oct 15 – Jan 31 · 24 tags · cut 1 12%
- 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 2026 Demand Report, p. 26 · draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2025 Demand Report, p. 27 · earlier draws, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2024 Demand Report, p. 25 · earlier draws, retrieved Aug 31, 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 2026 Chapter 7, p. 21 · 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 2026 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