Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 16

Shirley Mountain

Wyoming Hunt Area 16 covers 1,125,082 acres and lies 20 miles north of Hanna and 43 miles north-east of Rawlins. 55% of it is public land, mostly BLM (45%) and state land (7%). In 2025, 990 people hunted elk here and took 562 — 57% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 48 nonresident tags here for 212 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):323 Applicants:1,613 Hunter success (2025):57% Public land:55% Size:1,125,082 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 16, 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

16-1 Any elk 11 tags · 602 applicants · needed 18 pts · Regular

<1% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
16-1 Any elk 8 tags · 126 applicants · needed 17 pts · Special

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
16-1 Any elk 33 tags · 20 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
16-2 Any elk 9 tags · 430 applicants · needed 18 pts · Regular

<1% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
16-2 Any elk 6 tags · 91 applicants · needed 18 pts · Special

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
16-2 Any elk 15 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
16-4 Antlerless elk valid on private land 30 tags · 56 applicants · needed 0 pts · Regular

60% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
16-4 Antlerless elk valid on private land 15 tags · 6 applicants · needed 0 pts · Special

100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
16-4 Antlerless elk valid on private land 36 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
16-6 Cow or calf valid on private land 48 tags · 212 applicants · Reduced price

23% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
16-6 Cow or calf valid on private land 48 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants
16-7 Cow or calf 32 tags · 70 applicants · Reduced price

46% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
16-7 Cow or calf 32 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
16-1 ↗ Any elk	<1% Point builder	0%	18 +4 since 2021	11 / 602	Regular	Oct 1–31, 2026
16-1 ↗ Any elk	2% Point builder	0%	17 +3 since 2021	8 / 126	Special	Oct 1–31, 2026
16-1 ↗ Any elk	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2024	33 / 20 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 1–31, 2026
16-2 ↗ Any elk	<1% Point builder	0%	18 +5 since 2021	9 / 430	Regular	Nov 1–30, 2026
16-2 ↗ Any elk	2% Point builder	0%	18 +3 since 2021	6 / 91	Special	Nov 1–30, 2026
16-2 ↗ Any elk	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	15 / 0	Landowner	Nov 1–30, 2026
16-4 ↗ Antlerless elk valid on private land	60% Real chance	0%	0 steady since 2021	30 / 56	Regular	Aug 15 – Sep 30, 2026
16-4 ↗ Antlerless elk valid on private land	100% Undersubscribed	100%	0 −3 since 2021	15 / 6 undersubscribed	Special	Aug 15 – Sep 30, 2026
16-4 ↗ Antlerless elk valid on private land	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	36 / 0	Landowner	Aug 15 – Sep 30, 2026
16-6 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	23% Long shot	0%	—	48 / 212	Reduced price	Aug 15 – Sep 30, 2026
16-6 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	48 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Aug 15 – Sep 30, 2026
16-7 ↗ Cow or calf	46% Real chance	0%	—	32 / 70	Reduced price	Dec 1 – Jan 31, 2027
16-7 ↗ Cow or calf	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	32 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Dec 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
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 16 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 16 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 509,771 ac · 45%
BLM 504,319 ac · 45%
State land 74,684 ac · 7%
Other public 18,456 ac · 2%
Bureau of Reclamation 15,651 ac · 1%
County or city land 1,770 ac · 0%
National Wildlife Refuge 432 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.