Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 123

Black Thunder

Wyoming Hunt Area 123 covers 401,325 acres and lies 21 miles east of Wright and 30 miles south of Moorcroft. 32% of it is public land, mostly national forest (17%) and BLM (8%). In 2025, 436 people hunted elk here and took 266 — 61% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 1,600 nonresident tags here for 4 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):3,295 Applicants:178 Hunter success (2025):61% Public land:32% Size:401,325 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 123, 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

123-1 Any elk 9 tags · 111 applicants · needed 16 pts · Regular

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
123-1 Any elk 6 tags · 26 applicants · needed 11 pts · Special

10% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
123-1 Any elk 18 tags · 5 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
123-4 Antlerless elk 12 tags · 4 applicants · needed 0 pts · Regular

100% Undersubscribed 36% as 2nd choice
123-4 Antlerless elk 6 tags · 0 applicants · Special

100% No first-choice applicants
123-4 Antlerless elk 12 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
123-6 Cow or calf 16 tags · 28 applicants · Reduced price

57% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
123-6 Cow or calf 16 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants
123-8 Cow or calf valid on private land 1,600 tags · 4 applicants · Reduced price

100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
123-8 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
123-1 ↗ Any elk	2% Point builder	0%	16 +1 since 2023	9 / 111	Regular	Sep 15 – Oct 20, 2026
123-1 ↗ Any elk	10% Point builder	0%	11 −5 since 2023	6 / 26	Special	Sep 15 – Oct 20, 2026
123-1 ↗ Any elk	100% Undersubscribed	—	0	18 / 5 undersubscribed	Landowner	Sep 15 – Oct 20, 2026
123-4 ↗ Antlerless elk	100% Undersubscribed	36%	0 steady since 2021	12 / 4 undersubscribed	Regular	Sep 15 – Nov 30, 2026
123-4 ↗ Antlerless elk	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	6 / 0	Special	Sep 15 – Nov 30, 2026
123-4 ↗ Antlerless elk	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	12 / 0	Landowner	Sep 15 – Nov 30, 2026
123-6 ↗ Cow or calf	57% Real chance	0%	—	16 / 28	Reduced price	Sep 15 – Nov 30, 2026
123-6 ↗ Cow or calf	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	16 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Sep 15 – Nov 30, 2026
123-8 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	100% Undersubscribed	100%	—	1,600 / 4 undersubscribed	Reduced price	Sep 1 – Jan 31, 2027
123-8 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	1,600 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Sep 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 123

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

The country

Hunt Area 123 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 123 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 271,396 ac · 68%
National Forest 68,423 ac · 17%
BLM 33,672 ac · 8%
State land 27,705 ac · 7%
Other public 133 ac · 0%
County or city land 1 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.