Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 40

Horse Creek

Wyoming Hunt Area 40 covers 296,068 acres and lies 14 miles north-east of Greybull and 27 miles south-east of Lovell. 83% of it is public land, mostly BLM (50%) and national forest (29%). In 2025, 441 people hunted elk here and took 131 — 30% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 21 nonresident tags here for 4 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):135 Applicants:320 Hunter success (2025):30% Public land:83% Size:296,068 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 40, 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

40-1 Any elk 11 tags · 142 applicants · needed 10 pts · Regular

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
40-1 Any elk 8 tags · 52 applicants · needed 9 pts · Special

5% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
40-1 Any elk 21 tags · 4 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
40-4 Antlerless elk 15 tags · 14 applicants · needed 0 pts · Regular

100% Undersubscribed 14% as 2nd choice
40-4 Antlerless elk 6 tags · 0 applicants · Special

100% No first-choice applicants
40-4 Antlerless elk 15 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
40-6 Cow or calf valid off national forest 20 tags · 55 applicants · Reduced price

36% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
40-6 Cow or calf valid off national forest 20 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants
40-9 Any elk, archery only 6 tags · 40 applicants · needed 12 pts · Regular

3% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
40-9 Any elk, archery only 4 tags · 13 applicants · needed 7 pts · Special

11% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
40-9 Any elk, archery only 9 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
40-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	2% Point builder	0%	10 +3 since 2021	11 / 142	Regular	Oct 15 – Nov 4, 2026
40-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	5% Point builder	0%	9 +3 since 2021	8 / 52	Special	Oct 15 – Nov 4, 2026
40-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2024	21 / 4 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 15 – Nov 4, 2026
40-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% Undersubscribed	14%	0 steady since 2021	15 / 14 undersubscribed	Regular	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
40-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	6 / 0	Special	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
40-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	15 / 0	Landowner	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
40-6 ↗ Cow or calf valid off national forest Any legal weapon	36% Long shot	0%	—	20 / 55	Reduced price	Sep 1 – Nov 4, 2026
40-6 ↗ Cow or calf valid off national forest Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	20 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Sep 1 – Nov 4, 2026
40-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	3% Point builder	0%	12 +3 since 2021	6 / 40	Regular	Sep 1–30, 2026
40-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	11% Point builder	0%	7 +2 since 2021	4 / 13	Special	Sep 1–30, 2026
40-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	9 / 0	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 40

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

Type 5 — Antlerless elk Special

The country

Hunt Area 40 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 40 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 149,047 ac · 50%
National Forest 85,695 ac · 29%
Private 49,331 ac · 17%
State land 8,686 ac · 3%
National Park Service 2,300 ac · 1%
Other public 976 ac · 0%
County or city land 25 ac · 0%
Bureau of Reclamation 2 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.