Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 21

Baggs

Wyoming Hunt Area 21 covers 641,184 acres and lies 19 miles north-east of Baggs and 31 miles west of Encampment. 74% of it is public land, mostly BLM (37%) and national forest (26%). In 2025, 3,121 people hunted elk here and took 1,400 — 45% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 32 nonresident tags here for 217 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):94 Applicants:267 Hunter success (2025):45% Public land:74% Size:641,184 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 21, 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

21-6 Cow or calf 32 tags · 217 applicants · Reduced price

15% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
21-6 Cow or calf 32 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants
21-7 Cow or calf valid on private land 14 tags · 48 applicants · Reduced price

29% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
21-7 Cow or calf valid on private land 16 tags · 2 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% Undersubscribed

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
21-6 ↗ Cow or calf	15% Point builder	0%	—	32 / 217	Reduced price	Oct 15 – Nov 20, 2026
21-6 ↗ Cow or calf	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	32 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Oct 15 – Nov 20, 2026
21-7 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	29% Long shot	0%	—	14 / 48	Reduced price	Aug 15 – Dec 31, 2026
21-7 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land	100% Undersubscribed	—	—	16 / 2 undersubscribed	Landowner reduced price	Aug 15 – Dec 31, 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
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 21 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 21 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 238,399 ac · 37%
Private 166,915 ac · 26%
National Forest 165,542 ac · 26%
State land 65,494 ac · 10%
County or city land 3,766 ac · 1%
Bureau of Reclamation 557 ac · 0%
Other public 332 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.