Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 116

North Black Hills

Wyoming Hunt Area 116 covers 1,469,984 acres and lies 19 miles north-west of Sundance and 32 miles north-east of Moorcroft. 21% of it is public land, mostly state land (8%) and national forest (7%). In 2025, 1,353 people hunted elk here and took 451 — 33% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 1,600 nonresident tags here for 56 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):3,225 Applicants:185 Hunter success (2025):33% Public land:21% Size:1,469,984 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 116, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

116-1 Any elk valid off national forest 7 tags · 108 applicants · needed 7 pts · Regular

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
116-1 Any elk valid off national forest 6 tags · 21 applicants · needed 3 pts · Special

7% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
116-1 Any elk valid off national forest 12 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
116-8 Cow or calf valid on private land 1,600 tags · 56 applicants · Reduced price

100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
116-8 Cow or calf valid on private land 1,600 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
116-1 ↗ Any elk valid off national forest	2% Point builder	0%	7 +4 since 2021	7 / 108	Regular	Oct 15 – Dec 31, 2026
116-1 ↗ Any elk valid off national forest	7% Point builder	0%	3 +3 since 2021	6 / 21	Special	Oct 15 – Dec 31, 2026
116-1 ↗ Any elk valid off national forest	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	12 / 0	Landowner	Oct 15 – Dec 31, 2026
116-8 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	100% Undersubscribed	100%	—	1,600 / 56 undersubscribed	Reduced price	Aug 1 – Jan 31, 2027
116-8 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	1,600 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Aug 1 – Jan 31, 2027

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
The badge: plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
As 2nd choice: Wyoming lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
Tags / applicants: tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.

1 hunt not offered in 2026 is hidden — show discontinued hunts.

What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Regular license	$707	$15	$728.50
Special license	$1,965	$15	$1,986.50
Reduced price license	$303	$15	$324.50
Landowner license	$15	$15	$36.50
Landowner reduced price license	$15	$15	$36.50

Application window: opens Jan 2, closes Feb 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Other licenses valid in Hunt Area 116

Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.

Type 7 — Cow or calf valid off national forest Reduced price

The country

Hunt Area 116 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 116 and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

Private 1,160,668 ac · 79%
State land 110,401 ac · 8%
National Forest 101,404 ac · 7%
BLM 84,904 ac · 6%
Bureau of Reclamation 2,438 ac · 0%
National Park Service 1,334 ac · 0%
County or city land 1,067 ac · 0%
Other public 155 ac · 0%
Department of Defense 9 ac · 0%

Source: BLM WY Surface Management Agency (land ownership / SMA)

Nearby areas

How the hunting has gone

What Wyoming Game and Fish Department publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. 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.