Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 51

Sunlight-Crandall

Wyoming Hunt Area 51 covers 415,880 acres and lies 36 miles north-west of Cody and 45 miles west of Powell. 98% of it is public land, mostly national forest (97%). In 2025, 281 people hunted elk here and took 120 — 43% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 12 nonresident tags here for 0 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):57 Applicants:514 Hunter success (2025):43% Public land:98% Size:415,880 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 51, 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

51-1 Any elk south and west of the Clark's Fork River 7 tags · 335 applicants · needed 16 pts · Regular

<1% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
51-1 Any elk south and west of the Clark's Fork River 6 tags · 68 applicants · needed 15 pts · Special

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
51-1 Any elk south and west of the Clark's Fork River 12 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
51-2 Any elk north and east of the Clark's Fork River 2 tags · 24 applicants · needed 11 pts · Regular

0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
51-2 Any elk north and east of the Clark's Fork River 2 tags · 6 applicants · needed 7 pts · Special

0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
51-2 Any elk north and east of the Clark's Fork River 4 tags · 1 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
51-4 Antlerless elk 3 tags · 30 applicants · needed 2 pts · Regular

4% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
51-4 Antlerless elk 2 tags · 0 applicants · Special

0% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
51-4 Antlerless elk 3 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
51-9 Any elk, archery only 5 tags · 37 applicants · needed 9 pts · Regular

3% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
51-9 Any elk, archery only 3 tags · 13 applicants · needed 5 pts · Special

10% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
51-9 Any elk, archery only 8 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
51-1 ↗ Any elk south and west of the Clark's Fork River Any legal weapon	<1% Point builder	0%	16 +5 since 2021	7 / 335	Regular	Oct 1 – Nov 5, 2026
51-1 ↗ Any elk south and west of the Clark's Fork River Any legal weapon	2% Point builder	0%	15 +4 since 2021	6 / 68	Special	Oct 1 – Nov 5, 2026
51-1 ↗ Any elk south and west of the Clark's Fork River Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	12 / 0	Landowner	Oct 1 – Nov 5, 2026
51-2 ↗ Any elk north and east of the Clark's Fork River Any legal weapon	0% Point builder	0%	11 +4 since 2021	2 / 24	Regular	Oct 1 – Nov 5, 2026
51-2 ↗ Any elk north and east of the Clark's Fork River Any legal weapon	0% Point builder	0%	7 +2 since 2021	2 / 6	Special	Oct 1 – Nov 5, 2026
51-2 ↗ Any elk north and east of the Clark's Fork River Any legal weapon	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2024	4 / 1 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 1 – Nov 5, 2026
51-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	4% Point builder	0%	2 +2 since 2021	3 / 30	Regular	Nov 16 – Dec 15, 2026
51-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	0% No first-choice applicants	0%	—	2 / 0	Special	Nov 16 – Dec 15, 2026
51-4 ↗ Antlerless elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	3 / 0	Landowner	Nov 16 – Dec 15, 2026
51-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	3% Point builder	0%	9 +2 since 2021	5 / 37	Regular	Sep 1–30, 2026
51-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	10% Point builder	0%	5 steady since 2021	3 / 13	Special	Sep 1–30, 2026
51-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	8 / 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
Landowner license	$15	$15	$36.50

Application window: opens Jan 2, closes Feb 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

Hunt Area 51 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 51 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

National Forest 404,000 ac · 97%
Private 7,332 ac · 2%
State land 1,411 ac · 0%
Other public 1,378 ac · 0%
National Park Service 214 ac · 0%
County or city land 7 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.