Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 117

South Black Hills

Wyoming Hunt Area 117 covers 485,655 acres and lies 18 miles east of Upton. 23% of it is public land, mostly national forest (10%) and state land (10%). In 2025, 1,417 people hunted elk here and took 664 — 47% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 1,600 nonresident tags here for 3 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):3,446 Applicants:510 Hunter success (2025):47% Public land:23% Size:485,655 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 117, 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

117-1 Any elk 27 tags · 248 applicants · needed 9 pts · Regular

4% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
117-1 Any elk 18 tags · 64 applicants · needed 8 pts · Special

14% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
117-1 Any elk 60 tags · 21 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
117-3 Spike or antlerless elk 39 tags · 18 applicants · needed 0 pts · Regular

100% Undersubscribed 31% as 2nd choice
117-3 Spike or antlerless elk 17 tags · 0 applicants · Special

100% No first-choice applicants
117-3 Spike or antlerless elk 42 tags · 3 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
117-6 Cow or calf 22 tags · 111 applicants · Reduced price

20% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
117-6 Cow or calf 24 tags · 2 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% Undersubscribed
117-8 Cow or calf valid on private land 1,597 tags · 40 applicants · Reduced price

100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
117-8 Cow or calf valid on private land 1,600 tags · 3 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% Undersubscribed

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
117-1 ↗ Any elk	4% Point builder	0%	9 +3 since 2021	27 / 248	Regular	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
117-1 ↗ Any elk	14% Point builder	0%	8 +3 since 2021	18 / 64	Special	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
117-1 ↗ Any elk	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2024	60 / 21 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
117-3 ↗ Spike or antlerless elk	100% Undersubscribed	31%	0 steady since 2024	39 / 18 undersubscribed	Regular	Oct 15 – Jan 31, 2027
117-3 ↗ Spike or antlerless elk	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	17 / 0	Special	Oct 15 – Jan 31, 2027
117-3 ↗ Spike or antlerless elk	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2025	42 / 3 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 15 – Jan 31, 2027
117-6 ↗ Cow or calf	20% Long shot	0%	—	22 / 111	Reduced price	Oct 15 – Jan 31, 2027
117-6 ↗ Cow or calf	100% Undersubscribed	—	—	24 / 2 undersubscribed	Landowner reduced price	Oct 15 – Jan 31, 2027
117-8 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	100% Undersubscribed	100%	—	1,597 / 40 undersubscribed	Reduced price	Aug 1 – Jan 31, 2027
117-8 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	100% Undersubscribed	—	—	1,600 / 3 undersubscribed	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.

3 hunts not offered in 2026 are 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 117

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

Type 2 — Antlered elk five (5) points or less on either antler or antlerless elk Special Type 4 — Antlerless elk Special Type 7 — Cow or calf valid off national forest Reduced price

The country

Hunt Area 117 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 117 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 375,095 ac · 77%
National Forest 47,215 ac · 10%
State land 46,243 ac · 10%
BLM 16,079 ac · 3%
County or city land 1,024 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.