Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 120

Buffalo Creek

Wyoming Hunt Area 120 covers 929,684 acres and lies 30 miles north-west of Bar Nunn. 62% of it is public land, mostly BLM (48%) and state land (13%). In 2025, 344 people hunted elk here and took 192 — 56% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 21 nonresident tags here for 3 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):103 Applicants:264 Hunter success (2025):56% Public land:62% Size:929,684 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 120, 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

120-1 Any elk 12 tags · 138 applicants · needed 13 pts · Regular

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
120-1 Any elk 8 tags · 42 applicants · needed 12 pts · Special

6% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
120-1 Any elk 21 tags · 3 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
120-4 Antlerless elk 12 tags · 15 applicants · needed 0 pts · Regular

100% Likely draw 4% as 2nd choice
120-4 Antlerless elk 6 tags · 0 applicants · Special

100% No first-choice applicants
120-4 Antlerless elk 12 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
120-6 Cow or calf 16 tags · 66 applicants · Reduced price

24% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
120-6 Cow or calf 16 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
120-1 ↗ Any elk	2% Point builder	0%	13 +2 since 2021	12 / 138	Regular	Oct 9–31, 2026
120-1 ↗ Any elk	6% Point builder	0%	12 +3 since 2021	8 / 42	Special	Oct 9–31, 2026
120-1 ↗ Any elk	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2024	21 / 3 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 9–31, 2026
120-4 ↗ Antlerless elk	100% Likely draw	4%	0 steady since 2021	12 / 15	Regular	Oct 9 – Dec 15, 2026
120-4 ↗ Antlerless elk	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	6 / 0	Special	Oct 9 – Dec 15, 2026
120-4 ↗ Antlerless elk	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	12 / 0	Landowner	Oct 9 – Dec 15, 2026
120-6 ↗ Cow or calf	24% Long shot	0%	—	16 / 66	Reduced price	Oct 9 – Dec 15, 2026
120-6 ↗ Cow or calf	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	16 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Oct 9 – Dec 15, 2026

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.

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.

The country

Hunt Area 120 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 120 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

BLM 445,965 ac · 48%
Private 359,546 ac · 39%
State land 120,632 ac · 13%
County or city land 4,820 ac · 1%
Other public 293 ac · 0%
Bureau of Reclamation 159 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.