Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 129

Non-Herd Unit

Wyoming Hunt Area 129 covers 4,963,381 acres and lies 23 miles west of Gillette and 38 miles east of Buffalo. 19% of it is public land, mostly BLM (10%) and state land (7%). In 2025, 2,346 people hunted elk here and took 1,087 — 46% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 1,600 nonresident tags here for 13 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):3,471 Applicants:90 Hunter success (2025):46% Public land:19% Size:4,963,381 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 129, 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

129-6 Cow or calf 135 tags · 76 applicants · Reduced price

100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
129-6 Cow or calf 136 tags · 1 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% Undersubscribed
129-8 Cow or calf valid on private land 1,600 tags · 13 applicants · Reduced price

100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
129-8 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
129-6 ↗ Cow or calf	100% Undersubscribed	100%	—	135 / 76 undersubscribed	Reduced price	Sep 1 – Dec 15, 2026
129-6 ↗ Cow or calf	100% Undersubscribed	—	—	136 / 1 undersubscribed	Landowner reduced price	Sep 1 – Dec 15, 2026
129-8 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	100% Undersubscribed	100%	—	1,600 / 13 undersubscribed	Reduced price	Sep 1 – Jan 31, 2027
129-8 ↗ 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.

What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Reduced price license	$303	$15	$324.50
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 129 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 129 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 4,046,547 ac · 82%
BLM 505,013 ac · 10%
State land 357,190 ac · 7%
National Forest 54,226 ac · 1%
County or city land 8,065 ac · 0%
Other public 2,510 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.