Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 8

Boulder Ridge

Wyoming Hunt Area 8 covers 241,005 acres and lies 15 miles south-west of Laramie and 49 miles west of Cheyenne. 23% of it is public land, mostly BLM (10%) and state land (9%). In 2025, 377 people hunted elk here and took 189 — 50% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 1,600 nonresident tags here for 15 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):3,236 Applicants:57 Hunter success (2025):50% Public land:23% Size:241,005 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 8, 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

8-1 Any elk 12 tags · 35 applicants · needed 2 pts · Regular

13% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
8-1 Any elk 6 tags · 2 applicants · needed 0 pts · Special

100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
8-1 Any elk 18 tags · 5 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
8-8 Cow or calf 1,600 tags · 15 applicants · Reduced price

100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
8-8 Cow or calf 1,600 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
8-1 ↗ Any elk	13% Point builder	0%	2 steady since 2021	12 / 35	Regular	Oct 1 – Jan 31, 2027
8-1 ↗ Any elk	100% Undersubscribed	100%	0 steady since 2021	6 / 2 undersubscribed	Special	Oct 1 – Jan 31, 2027
8-1 ↗ Any elk	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2024	18 / 5 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 1 – Jan 31, 2027
8-8 ↗ Cow or calf	100% Undersubscribed	100%	—	1,600 / 15 undersubscribed	Reduced price	Aug 1 – Jan 31, 2027
8-8 ↗ Cow or calf	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	1,600 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Aug 1 – Jan 31, 2027

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.

2 hunts not offered in 2026 are 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 8

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

Type 6 — Cow or calf Reduced price Type 7 — Cow or calf valid on private land Reduced price

The country

Hunt Area 8 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 8 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 185,330 ac · 77%
BLM 24,214 ac · 10%
State land 22,062 ac · 9%
County or city land 7,907 ac · 3%
National Wildlife Refuge 1,451 ac · 1%
Other public 545 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.