Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 23

Rattlesnake

Wyoming Hunt Area 23 covers 810,586 acres and lies 28 miles west of Mills. 51% of it is public land, mostly BLM (42%) and state land (9%). In 2025, 479 people hunted elk here and took 204 — 43% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 32 nonresident tags here for 80 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):172 Applicants:303 Hunter success (2025):43% Public land:51% Size:810,586 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 23, 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

23-1 Any elk 10 tags · 154 applicants · needed 13 pts · Regular

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
23-1 Any elk 7 tags · 27 applicants · needed 7 pts · Special

10% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
23-1 Any elk 21 tags · 6 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
23-4 Antlerless elk 24 tags · 6 applicants · needed 0 pts · Regular

100% Undersubscribed 33% as 2nd choice
23-4 Antlerless elk 10 tags · 0 applicants · Special

100% No first-choice applicants
23-4 Antlerless elk 24 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
23-6 Cow or calf 32 tags · 80 applicants · Reduced price

40% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
23-6 Cow or calf 32 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants
23-9 Any elk, archery only 3 tags · 22 applicants · needed 7 pts · Regular

6% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
23-9 Any elk, archery only 3 tags · 7 applicants · needed 6 pts · Special

0% Point builder
23-9 Any elk, archery only 6 tags · 1 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
23-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	2% Point builder	0%	13 +3 since 2021	10 / 154	Regular	Oct 1–21, 2026
23-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	10% Point builder	0%	7 −2 since 2021	7 / 27	Special	Oct 1–21, 2026
23-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2024	21 / 6 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 1–21, 2026
23-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% Undersubscribed	33%	0 steady since 2022	24 / 6 undersubscribed	Regular	Oct 1–21, 2026
23-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	10 / 0	Special	Oct 1–21, 2026
23-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	24 / 0	Landowner	Oct 1–21, 2026
23-6 ↗ Cow or calf Any legal weapon	40% Real chance	0%	—	32 / 80	Reduced price	Oct 1–21, 2026
23-6 ↗ Cow or calf Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	32 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Oct 1–21, 2026
23-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	6% Point builder	0%	7 −5 since 2025	3 / 22	Regular	Sep 1–30, 2026
23-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	0% Point builder	—	6 +2 since 2025	3 / 7	Special	Sep 1–30, 2026
23-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2025	6 / 1 undersubscribed	Landowner	Sep 1–30, 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.

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 23

Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.

Type 7 — Cow or calf Reduced price

The country

Hunt Area 23 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 23 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 398,558 ac · 49%
BLM 337,634 ac · 42%
State land 71,643 ac · 9%
County or city land 1,760 ac · 0%
Other public 980 ac · 0%
Bureau of Reclamation 10 ac · 0%
National Wildlife Refuge 0 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.