No longer drawn. The last draw was 2023.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department held its 2026 elk draw without 53-1. The odds, costs and history below are that record, not an offer.
Your odds at 0 points · 2023 draw
no one below 11 points drew in 2023
You're 11 points below the 2023 cut of 11, which has fallen from 14 to 12 points since 2021.
Years to draw on points: 12 yrs (at least 12)
- NR Tags
- 1
- Applicants
- 17
- Success
- 63%
First-choice nonresidents, regular draw. Success: Type Full 1 hunters, 2023.
Points Needed to Draw, 2021–2023
The cut has fallen from 14 to 12 points since 2021. Applicants per tag: 4:1 in 2021, 17:1 in 2023.
Point creep: drew out at 14 → 7 → 11 points (2021–2023), +0.0 points/yr (range +0.0 to +2.0). 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
Wyoming Game and Fish Department publishes no mapped boundary for Hunt Area 53.
Hunt Area 53 in full →Details
Odds by Point Level · 2023 Draw
| Points | Chance | Applied | Drew |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–11 ← you | 0% (small sample) same at every level counted in one band: 11 points or fewer | 2 | 2 |
| 12–14 | 100% (small sample) 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, 53-1 drew no one in 2023, so lower-choice odds are left out.
Draw results: WGFD 2023 Demand Report, p. 13, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
How It Hunted, 2023
| Who | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type Full 1 | 8 | 5 | 63% |
| All of Hunt Area 53 | 125 | 60 | 48% |
Across every license type in Hunt Area 53, Wyoming Game and Fish Department counted 125 hunters and 60 elk taken in 2023, and 48% 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 2023 Elk Harvest Report; WGFD 2022 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 | 1 | 17 | 17 | 11 | 0 tags of 33 | WGFD 2023 Demand Report, p. 13 |
| 2022 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 0 tags of 32 | WGFD 2022 Demand Report, p. 12 |
| 2021 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 0 tags of 11 | WGFD 2021 Demand Report, p. 12 |
Other Licenses Valid in Hunt Area 53
- 53-2 Any elk Nov 1–30 · 2 tags · cut 9 0% (small sample)
- 53-4 Antlerless elk Oct 1 – Dec 15 · 4 tags · no first-choice applicants 100% (small sample)
- 53-6 Cow or calf valid in the North Fork Shoshone River Drainage Oct 15 – Dec 21 · Reduced price · 16 tags · 9 applied 100%
- 53-7 Cow or calf valid on private landPrivate land only — you need landowner access Sep 1 – Dec 21 · Reduced price · 4 tags · no first-choice applicants 100% (small sample)
- 53-9 Any elk, archery only Sep 1–30 · 1 tag · cut 12 0% (small sample)
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 9
- WGFD 2023 Demand Report, p. 13 · draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2022 Demand Report, p. 12 · earlier draws, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2021 Demand Report, p. 12 · 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. 9 · seasons, 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
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.
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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