New Or Noteworthy For This Year

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State Information

January 6, 2025, Wyoming snow water equivalent percent of normal.

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January 6, 2024, Wyoming snow water equivalent percent of normal.

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January 6, 2023, Wyoming snow water equivalent percent of normal.

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The Wyoming Draw System

How to access second choice draw odds on our standalone Draw Odds page.

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Viewing designated wilderness areas in Wyoming on GOHUNT Maps.

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Wyoming grizzly bear range in 1990 and 2020.

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Wyoming Elk Breakdown

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The Points System

Wyoming's 2025 Elk Application Overview

Wyoming is known for having some of the best elk hunts that the West has to offer. Whether you’re after limited quota hunts or general season fun, the Cowboy State is full of quality hunts that satisfy your interests. The application deadline for nonresident Wyoming elk is Jan. 31, 2025, by 11:59 p.m. MT. The application is entirely done online and you can apply here. Resident elk limited quota applications are due by June 2, 2025.

This article will provide you with all of the latest and greatest information that you need to know about when applying for elk in Wyoming for the 2025 hunting season. Dive in and start your research today on Insider!

Not much has changed going into the 2025 Wyoming elk hunting season. We now have a year under our belts with the new general region elk licenses and there were some surprisingly good things that came from it. In the general elk section below, we will break down the data from this last year.

Nonresident applicants have until May 8 to modify or withdraw their applications. Draw results will be posted on May 22. Wyoming’s draw system still requires you to front the entire cost of licenses with your application by Jan. 31 at 11:59 pm. Those funds will not be refunded to your card until late May if you are unsuccessful in the draw.

Preference point reminder: Unsuccessful applicants will not automatically be given a preference point if unsuccessful in the draw. You must purchase a point during the point only timeframe, which is July 1 to Oct. 31, 2025. The cost is $52 for adults and $10 for youth.

Visit our State Profile to view important information and an overview of the Wyoming rules/regulations, the draw system, preference points, SuperTag/SuperTag Trifecta tag and license fees and an interactive boundary line map. You can also view the Wyoming Elk Profile to access historical and statistical data to help you find trophy areas.

Important dates and information

* The costs above do not include a 2.5% processing fee on the total transaction amount. For example, if you applied for special full price elk, you will pay an additional $32.45 in fees.

** Nonresident youth who apply in the special draw will pay the full special license cost.

Note: Even if you are unsuccessful in the draw, you will not automatically be given a preference point. Preference points must be bought during the summer/fall point only time frame.

Snow water equivalent 2025 vs 2024 vs 2023

2025

2024

2023

Insider features

Point Tracker

Point Tracker allows you to enter the number of points you have for each state and species and, as you research through Filtering and Draw Odds, your point total will automatically be highlighted. Learn more about using Point Tracker below:

Draw Odds

GOHUNT displays the number of applicants at each point level below the cut-off draw line for each hunt on the detailed draw odds page. This gives applicants a much greater understanding of point creep for each hunt and allows them to apply with a much better understanding of their chances. Check out a great article on point creep here and how to find the detailed draw odds page for each hunt.

Whether you’re a first timer or have been applying for years, Wyoming’s draw system can still be a bit confusing. Below you’ll find in detail how it works and, hopefully, it will make your application process easier.

Point system

The nonresident elk draw works on a modified preference point system where 75% of the licenses are allocated to applicants with the most preference points, and the other 25% are randomly allocated. The Wyoming preference point system is a true preference point system, meaning that the licenses for any given hunt are allocated to the applicants with the most points who apply. Basically, they work from the top down. 

After the preference point licenses are allocated, all unsuccessful applicants have a chance in the random draw. There is no weight given to the number of points you have in the random draw. For example, an applicant with 10 points and an applicant with one point have the same odds in the random draw.

There is no point system for resident elk. The draw is completely random for resident elk applicants.

Regular vs. special draw

Wyoming offers two separate draws for nonresidents: the regular draw and the special draw. Nonresidents can apply in either the regular draw or the special draw, but they cannot apply in both. The special draw license is $1,258 more than the regular draw license. The potential benefit of applying for hunts in the special draw is that the odds of drawing may be better (or potentially take fewer points) due to the fact that, often, fewer people are willing to pay the higher price. However, this is not always the case, especially for a lot of the more highly sought after licenses.

Review the Draw Odds to see if the odds are actually better in the special draw and worth the added cost. In some cases, it is. For example, the western region general season elk license in the special draw had random odds of 25% while the random odds in the regular draw were 9.8%. That is a 15.2% increase in odds for the special draw at a cost difference of $1,258. That may or may not be worth it to you, but it’s worth considering for the hunt(s) you apply for.

Elk license splits

Wyoming’s elk licenses are split between residents and nonresidents: 84% are allocated to residents, and 16% allocated to nonresidents. Out of the nonresident licenses, 60% of those are allocated to the regular draw and 40% are allocated to the special draw. One additional split offers 75% of licenses to the highest preference point applicants, and the other 25% are randomly allocated.

Note: There must be at least four licenses for any given hunt to offer one in the random draw. When reviewing the odds, if you have fewer than maximum points for the hunt you are considering, make sure there are odds displayed all the way to the zero point level, which means there was at least one random license available. This should be a good indicator that there will also be a random tag available going into this year's draw. Every year, applicants apply for tags without random tags available, and it’s pretty much a wasted application at that point.

Group applications

Wyoming will allow up to six people to apply on a party application for elk. The party is treated as a single application and, if it’s drawn, all members of the party will receive a license. Party applications have their preference points averaged out to the fourth decimal point. For example, if three hunters apply together with seven, five and two preference points, then the party will enter the draw with 4.6666 points. Wyoming will over allocate licenses to cover a party application, so there is no decrease in odds for a group application. For instance, if there is only one license remaining in the draw and a group application with three people is selected for that license, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) will over-allocate and grant all three members of the group a license. Residents and nonresidents may not apply together in a party application.

When applying as a party, you will need one member to apply as the Party Organizer. When they apply, they will select “Party Organizer” and receive a party ID number. The party ID includes the last name of the organizer and the six digit assigned number. You will have to give this party ID to the members of your party so they can use it to apply. The rest of your party should select “Party Member,” and enter in the party ID. Once you enter the party ID, you will be taken to the application screen, but will not be able to change the hunt area or type since party applications are required to have the same species, drawing (special versus regular), hunt area and type as the party organizer.

Hunt choices

Applicants have three choices when they apply: first, second and third. Every applicant's first choice is considered before moving to any applicant's second or third choice. In essence, to draw a hunt as a second or third choice, there must be licenses remaining after every applicant's first choice has been considered. Your preference points will only be purged if you draw your first choice (reduced price licences are not affected by this). I would suggest using your Insider account to see what hunts could be available this year for a second choice option. You can see those by filtering by “second choice” in the standalone Draw Odds page.

Full price and reduced price licenses

The full price and reduced price hunts are separate draws. The full price draw works on the preference point system. The reduced price draw is completely random. Reduced price licenses are Types 6, 7 and 8, which are all antlerless (cow/calf) licenses. Full price licenses are Type 1, 2, 9, 4, 5 and 0. Preference points will not be impacted if you apply for and draw a reduced price license. Applicants can apply for both the full price and reduced price draw.

Hunt types

TYPE 1 LICENSE

A Type 1 is a rifle license valid for the season and weapon as indicated within the Wyoming regulations. In addition, most Type 1 licenses will also allow hunters to purchase an over-the-counter (OTC) archery stamp and bowhunt during the entire month or a portion of September.

TYPE 2 LICENSE Most often, a Type 2 license will vary by season or boundary. For example, some areas may have both a Type 1 and a Type 2 license where the only difference is the start and ending season dates. Other units may have a Type 1 and Type 2 license where the difference is that they are valid for different portions of the area. A Type 2 is also a rifle hunt. Hunters may be able to purchase an OTC archery stamp and hunt all or a portion of the archery season. See regulations for details.

TYPE 9 LICENSE

Archery only hunts that are valid in the hunt area and during the archery dates indicated.

GENERAL LICENSE

The general season license allows hunters to rifle hunt in any or all general hunt areas within their region. Successful applicants can also buy an OTC archery stamp that will allow them to hunt with a bow and arrow in general season areas during all or a portion of September. See rules and regulations for details.

TYPE 4 AND 5

These are full priced cow/calf licenses. One thing to be aware of is that if you apply for one of these licenses as your first choice and draw it, you will lose any preference points you have accrued. So if you are in the mode of building elk points for a more desirable unit, then a Type 4 or 5 license should be a second choice option only.

TYPE 6 AND 7 

Type 6 and Type 7 are reduced price licenses and will not utilize preference points. You can apply for those on a separate application within the state draw system. The drawing for reduced price licenses is random with no point system.

Leftover draw

Any remaining licenses after the resident and nonresident draws will be available in a leftover draw. Residents and nonresidents can apply. There is no application fee and no point system. You must front the cost of the license when you apply. Unsuccessful applicants will be refunded back to the card used to apply. The leftover draw time frame is June 24 to 28, 2025 and results should be available July 9 (tentative).

USFS Designated Wilderness Areas (DWA)

Every year, we talk to nonresident applicants who unknowingly select a license for an area that is mostly or entirely within a Designated Wilderness Area (DWA). Before applying, it’s crucial to understand that nonresidents are not allowed to hunt within a DWA on their own; they must be accompanied by a licensed Wyoming outfitter or a licensed Wyoming resident guide. A DWA is a designation by the United States Forest Service (USFS). If a Wyoming resident is willing to guide you into the DWA, they must visit a WGFD office in person to obtain a resident guide license. This cannot be done online.

A Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is a BLM designation and a nonresident can hunt those areas without a guide.

Before applying, be aware that there are large tracts of USFS DWAs in many hunt areas. Use the GOHUNT Maps platform to upload hunt areas, land ownership and wilderness layers to review areas with DWAs. Hunting within many of the DWAs can be very good, but if you plan to apply and draw a hunt for one of these areas, you should have an agreement with a guide/outfitter or a plan to hunt with a Wyoming resident at your side. Please do some research and apply accordingly.

Grizzly country

Since 2000, the grizzly population has continued to grow and expand well beyond the Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone. The most recent population estimate was well over 1,000 grizzly bears just in the greater Yellowstone region.

Hunting in grizzly country can be intimidating and is a cause for concern. My biggest piece of advice would be to take the proper precautions needed and give them the respect they deserve. If hunting in occupied grizzly bear areas is something you do not want to do, please do some research and apply for areas where that is not an issue.

Wyoming is still an incredible elk state and it’s worth applying in the 2025 draw. At a minimum, we highly recommend buying a preference point for elk during the summer/early fall point only purchase timeframe. Almost every area of the state is above population objective and Wyoming still offers the best mix of trophy potential and opportunity. Wyoming is not a hub for trophy bulls that score north of 350”, but most units have bulls that will hit the 300” mark and there is always a decent number of 330” to 350” bulls that are killed every year.

With data from the three new general regions now available, we can observe that point creep remained relatively consistent in the regular draw across all three regions. However, the special draw actually saw a decrease in both the southern and eastern regions. It's also important to consider the random odds for these new regions. In the random draw, every applicant — regardless of their point total — has an equal chance of being selected. For those who are successful in the draw, the hunting experience is excellent! 

One of the biggest advantages of a Wyoming elk license is the longer seasons. Many Type 1 and some Type 2 hunts allow you to bowhunt during the peak of the rut with the option to return in October for a rifle hunt if you weren't successful with your bow. For dedicated bowhunters, there are also several Type 9 archery only hunts, which are generally easier to draw. Additionally, full priced Type 4 and 5 cow elk hunts provide good antlerless options, and many of these are available as a second choice hunt. Don't overlook the reduced price Type 6 and 7 hunts, which are valid for cow or calf elk. These hunts have a separate draw and are random, so your preference points won’t be affected if you draw a reduced price license.

Limited quota hunts

Going into the 2025 draw, the maximum number of preference points for full priced elk is 19. Many of the best hunts in the state will require maximum points and even most of those hunts are back to a random draw due to the number of maximum point holders. 

When it comes to hunts that can provide the best chance at a trophy bull, it’s worth calling out the factors that most often yield those types of bulls. The hunt areas that regularly offer big bulls in Wyoming are either areas with limited access and/or ones that offer very few licenses. Private land limits access in several areas as do the DWAs. Those areas often provide refuge and allow more bulls to reach an older age class. For nonresident hunters, those hunts often have better draw odds. Less access and lower amounts of public land equates to better draw odds for obvious reasons. If an applicant's objective is to hunt bigger bulls and they have fewer than the maximum number of points, they might consider a guided/outfitted hunt on private land or within a DWA. 

There are hunts that are managed for quality bulls that have large amounts of public land and good access. These areas will be the hardest to draw. Be aware that if you apply for the areas where the trophy quality, access and amount of public land are good, your odds of drawing are going to be very low. 

In the table below, we break out the best trophy units with the associated number of points/odds to draw those hunts.

Note: the hunts in the table above did not offer randomly allocated licenses, so if you’re not anywhere near the point break level, then you are wasting your application.

How to uncover Wyoming's hidden gems

While there are plenty of hunts available with fewer than maximum points, finding them requires some effort and research. These hidden gems are typically linked to factors such as lower trophy potential, limited public land access, archery only Type 9 hunts or nontraditional elk habitats. The tables below highlight the top hunts for applicants with mid-tier point levels.

Note: Some of these areas have some portion that is within DWAs. Before applying, research the availability of land to hunt and access if you are unguided.

Additional information is available in the Insider Unit Profiles and in the map portion of your account. Insiders should cross reference the odds and units they are interested in with the unit profiles and mapping platform to find the best fit for their specific situations. Use all of the tools available: trophy potential, season, public land percentage and harvest success to explore the possibilities.

General season elk license

The general season elk license is one of the best opportunities for applicants who do not have many points. Many of the general units also hold some phenomenal quality bulls that you typically wont find with other states' general hunts. 

2024 was the first year of the general elk region draw and it yielded some pretty interesting results. The biggest take away is how much the eastern and southern region special point threshold dropped. Another big takeaway is the random odds associated with all regions. It’s pretty clear to see that not many folks were willing to fork up the extra cash for these elk licenses.

As you can see, there was minimal point creep across the board and the special odds even dropped point levels in two of the regions. As a reminder, if you plan to apply for a general region elk license, you are actually applying for the rifle license. There is no archery general elk license to apply for. You apply for the rifle license, then purchase the archery stamp in order to bowhunt during the general season. 

In the table below, we break down the top general season units based on trophy potential, harvest success, branch antlered bull success, public land and whether or not the area is within occupied grizzly habitat.

Wyoming works on a preference point system. You can earn a preference point by purchasing one between July 1 and October 31, 2025. Points are not automatically awarded if you're unsuccessful in the draw. For nonresidents, an elk preference point costs $52. The maximum number of points for elk heading into the 2025 draw is 19. It's worth noting that the youth preference point fee for elk is just $10, making Wyoming an excellent state to start building points for young hunters.

Comparing the 2024 point totals with the totals going into the 2025 draw, there was a 9.2% increase, increasing from 181,815 to 195,882. 

Residents: The Wyoming resident draw process is 100% random for deer, elk and antelope. There are no preference points for residents.

Point creep

Point creep is a topic that comes up every year and I’ll do my best to explain it. As previously noted in this article, Wyoming implemented a preference point draw system for nonresidents 19 years ago and there are thousands of applicants with preference points within the elk draw. As such, point creep is a very real problem. Point creep, simply defined, is where there are fewer licenses issued than there are applicants and, because of that, it requires one additional point every year to draw. In addition, in a preference point system like Wyoming uses, there are applicants who have been buying and banking points without actually applying for years. Another factor that adds to point creep happens when applicants get tired of chasing a top-tier hunt and they change their hunt choice to one that they have enough points to draw. The addition of applicants who have been banking points and/or applicants who adjust their strategy on any given year can further propel point creep.

It’s important to understand that GOHUNT Draw Odds show the breakdown of applicants at each point level, specifically below the threshold needed to guarantee a license in previous years. This feature helps you assess how many applicants at your current point level might be entering the draw, giving you a clearer idea of your chances of drawing a preference point license. It's crucial to review the detailed draw odds pages for the hunts you're interested in. If you choose not to, I recommend targeting hunts that were awarded with one or two points fewer than what you currently have.

Conclusion

To wrap this article up, Wyoming should definitely remain at the top of your list. Whether you're targeting limited quota units or general areas, the elk quality and numbers in the Cowboy State are unmatched, in my opinion. Elk populations remain strong across the state and, with longer hunting seasons, Wyoming belongs in your "must-apply" category. Be sure to utilize the tools available to you through the Insider platform to really maximize your research prior to applying. Good luck to all in 2025.