Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 45

Paint Rock Creek

Wyoming Hunt Area 45 covers 497,940 acres and lies 26 miles north-east of Worland and 35 miles south-east of Greybull. 84% of it is public land, mostly BLM (43%) and national forest (36%). In 2025, 903 people hunted elk here and took 314 — 35% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 36 nonresident tags here for 1 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 3 points.

Nonresident tags (2026):272 Applicants:629 Hunter success (2025):35% Public land:84% Size:497,940 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 45, 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

45-1 Any elk 21 tags · 224 applicants · needed 13 pts · Regular

3% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
45-1 Any elk 15 tags · 64 applicants · needed 9 pts · Special

8% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
45-1 Any elk 36 tags · 1 applicants · needed 3 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
45-4 Antlerless elk 27 tags · 45 applicants · needed 0 pts · Regular

67% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
45-4 Antlerless elk 12 tags · 0 applicants · Special

100% No first-choice applicants 40% as 2nd choice
45-4 Antlerless elk 30 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
45-5 Antlerless elk 23 tags · 45 applicants · needed 1 pts · Regular

32% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
45-5 Antlerless elk 10 tags · 0 applicants · Special

100% No first-choice applicants 100% as 2nd choice
45-5 Antlerless elk 24 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
45-6 Cow or calf 8 tags · 65 applicants · Reduced price

12% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
45-6 Cow or calf 8 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants
45-7 Cow or calf valid on or within one (1) mile of irrigated land 8 tags · 14 applicants · Reduced price

57% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
45-7 Cow or calf valid on or within one (1) mile of irrigated land 8 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants
45-9 Any elk, archery only 12 tags · 115 applicants · needed 12 pts · Regular

4% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
45-9 Any elk, archery only 9 tags · 56 applicants · needed 12 pts · Special

6% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
45-9 Any elk, archery only 21 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
45-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	3% Point builder	0%	13 +2 since 2021	21 / 224	Regular	Oct 15 – Nov 4, 2026
45-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	8% Point builder	0%	9 −1 since 2021	15 / 64	Special	Oct 15 – Nov 4, 2026
45-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	100% Undersubscribed	—	3 +3 since 2024	36 / 1 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 15 – Nov 4, 2026
45-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	67% Real chance	0%	0 steady since 2021	27 / 45	Regular	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
45-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	40%	—	12 / 0	Special	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
45-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	30 / 0	Landowner	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
45-5 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	32% Long shot	0%	1 +1 since 2021	23 / 45	Regular	Oct 1–10, 2026
45-5 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	100%	— steady since 2021	10 / 0	Special	Oct 1–10, 2026
45-5 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	24 / 0	Landowner	Oct 1–10, 2026
45-6 ↗ Cow or calf Any legal weapon	12% Point builder	0%	—	8 / 65	Reduced price	Dec 1–21, 2026
45-6 ↗ Cow or calf Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	8 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Dec 1–21, 2026
45-7 ↗ Cow or calf valid on or within one (1) mile of irrigated land Any legal weapon	57% Real chance	0%	—	8 / 14	Reduced price	Sep 1 – Oct 14, 2026
45-7 ↗ Cow or calf valid on or within one (1) mile of irrigated land Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	8 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Sep 1 – Oct 14, 2026
45-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	4% Point builder	0%	12 +4 since 2021	12 / 115	Regular	Sep 1–30, 2026
45-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	6% Point builder	0%	12 +2 since 2021	9 / 56	Special	Sep 1–30, 2026
45-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	21 / 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.

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 45 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 45 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 213,991 ac · 43%
National Forest 180,046 ac · 36%
Private 79,404 ac · 16%
State land 22,878 ac · 5%
Other public 1,398 ac · 0%
County or city land 221 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.