Can a hunter take elk on a general licence in hunt area 105?

Yes. Wyoming residents buy a general elk licence over the counter with no draw and no points required. Nonresidents cannot purchase a general licence; a nonresident must draw a Region S general licence, which is valid across all general-licence hunt areas in that region. Lottery odds for nonresidents depend on the number of applicants in the draw pool for that region.

Which areas are available to walk onto without permission or application?

Lincoln County Walk In Area 6 and Uinta County Walk In Areas 11 and 12 are open-access parcels during their posted seasons. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so a hunter should check the current status on the hunt planner map before planning a trip. Walk-in areas require no permission slip, but posted rules on each parcel must be followed.

What does a hunter need to cross private land in hunt area 105?

Landowner permission is required to cross all private land, even to reach public BLM checkerboard sections. Many roads in the area are private industrial roads that also require permission. A hunter should contact landowners or check the hunt planner map for enrolled Hunter Management Areas (Bear River Divide and Knight Ridge West), where a printed permission slip from WGFD allows access to private land managed for public hunting.

When does the rut occur during the hunt season in hunt area 105?

Archery seasons in September coincide with rut onset and the primary rut, when bulls are responsive to calls and bugling. The regular rifle season in October falls during the late rut and post-rut recovery phases. The November antlerless season occurs as elk move into winter range patterns.

How much snow or rain affects hunting in hunt area 105?

Snowfall ranges from nearly zero in September to about 5.5 inches on average in December. October typically receives about 0.8 inches, November about 3.9 inches. Wet ground and snow make most roads difficult or impassable, which can trap hunters and limit access to public land.

Wyoming Hunt Area 105 (Carter Lease) elk hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

52%

Elevation

6,200–8,600 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Elk region

Hunt area 105 is sagebrush country broken by low hills and ridges, with scattered juniper, aspen and serviceberry covering higher ground. Riparian cottonwood lines the rivers and larger creeks. The terrain is rolling and gentle, rising from 6,200 feet in the lower valleys to around 8,600 feet on the ridges, with typical ground around 6,800 feet. Very little of the area sees irrigated private land; most private ground is dry. Elk are managed intentionally for low densities here and are concentrated in the northern and western portions. Hunters will find them primarily in the Bear River Divide country, where mountain shrub, juniper and aspen habitat concentrates the herd. The terrain east of Highway 189 holds few elk. Roads across the area become difficult or impassable when wet, muddy or snowy, which affects hunting access and exit.

Public land comprises about 52 percent of the hunt area, though access to it is complicated. The northwestern portion is primarily BLM ground. The remainder is a checkerboard of alternating public and private sections, with most BLM land in that zone locked behind private inholdings. An Access Yes program opens some parcels through walk-in areas and Hunter Management Areas. Hunters crossing any private land—and most routes to the public checkerboard will cross private ground—must obtain landowner permission. Many roads that appear to lead into the area are private industrial roads requiring permission. Walk-in areas offer entry without permission or application, provided hunters follow posted rules. Hunter Management Areas require a printed permission slip before hunting.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 105 (Carter Lease) is a general-licence hunt area, and how a hunter gets a licence for it depends on where they live.

A Wyoming resident buys a general elk licence over the counter — unlimited statewide, on sale from mid-July. No draw, no application, no preference points.
A nonresident cannot buy one. They must draw a Region general licence — for this hunt area, elk region S, which is valid across the general-licence hunt areas of that region and nowhere else.

Wyoming residents have no preference points for elk — the resident elk draw is random, and no resident point cutoff exists for any hunt area in the state. For nonresidents points matter a great deal: Wyoming awards 75% of each nonresident pool through the preference-point draw, top-down by points, and the remaining 25% at random. Nonresidents also choose between the Regular and Special pools — the same hunts at two price points, competing separately.

Seasons (2026)

Type Gen — general licence · Any elk
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 31
Type Gen — general licence · Antlerless elk
Regular November 1 – November 30
Type 6 · Cow or calf
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – December 31

The wording of each hunt is the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s and is legally exact — a “cow or calf” hunt is not a elk hunt in general, and a hunt limited to part of the area is not valid across it. Confirm every hunt in the current regulations before applying.

Hunting each season

Type Gen — Any elk (September–October)

The archery season from September 1–30 and the rifle season from October 1–31 together offer two windows into the rut cycle. Early September archery coincides with rut onset, when bulls begin responding to bugles and cow calls. By mid-September and through the primary rut, bull activity is intense. Weather is mild in early September, with highs near 70 degrees and overnight lows around 37 degrees, making for comfortable hunting conditions and visibility. October grows colder, with highs dropping to the mid-50s and lows near 27 degrees, while snowfall increases modestly. The hunt focuses on the northern and western portions of the area where elk concentrate; pressure in the sagebrush flats and hill country will be heaviest near BLM access points and walk-in areas. These seasons are valid for any elk.

Type Gen — Antlerless elk (November)

The November antlerless season runs from November 1–30 and targets cows and calves as elk settle into winter movement patterns. November weather grows significantly harder, with highs dropping to the low 40s, lows falling to near 17 degrees, and monthly snowfall averaging nearly 4 inches. Snow and wet conditions make many roads impassable or difficult, narrowing vehicle access and pushing hunters toward easier terrain on public land that can be reached on foot. Access remains limited to the same public parcels and enrolled private areas available in earlier seasons. This season is valid for antlerless elk only.

Type 6 — Cow or calf (September–December)

The Type 6 season spans September 1–December 31, allowing either archery or rifle hunting for cows or calves across four months and all rut phases. Archery from September 1–30 occurs during rut onset and the primary rut, when visual hunting conditions and weather (highs near 70 degrees) are most favorable. The rifle portion from October 1–December 31 carries hunters through late rut, post-rut recovery, migration transition and into winter range behavior, as conditions cool steadily and snow accumulates. By late fall and December, with highs dropping toward freezing and over 5 inches of monthly snow common, access by road becomes unreliable and foot travel dominates. This hunt targets cows and calves only and uses the same public and private access parcels available to other seasons.

Land and access

private land48%

Private

BLM47%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land4%

Generally open to public hunting

About 52% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 876 square miles. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.

State trust land counts toward the open figure above. Wyoming extends hunting on legally accessiblestate trust land to the public unless a parcel is specifically closed — the catch is the access itself, since crossing private ground to reach it still needs the landowner’s permission. Camping, fires and off-road vehicles are not allowed on it.

This hunt area has 3 enrolled walk-in areas. It also holds 2 Hunter Management Areas. Both are private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. A Hunter Management Area requires a printed permission slip from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before hunting it. A Walk-In Area needs no permission slip — a hunter may walk in during the open period, subject to its posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated every year, so check current status before counting on either.

Where elk are mapped

Summer Range23%

used in summer

Winter Range14%

used in winter

Yearlong Range12%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range2%

the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it

Each figure is the share of the hunt area that layer covers. It says where elk are mapped, not where inside the area they are, and not when they move.

Habitat and cover

Across the unit

Sagebrush85%

Other cover8%

Grass and meadow5%

Riparian1%

Shares are of each elevation band, not of the whole hunt area — they describe what grows up there, not how much of the area sits at that elevation.

Weather through the season

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Snowfall
January	31°F	8°F	5.3 in
February	33°F	9°F	5.1 in
March	43°F	18°F	3 in
April	52°F	25°F	2 in
May	62°F	33°F	0 in
June	73°F	40°F	0 in
July	82°F	47°F	0 in
August	80°F	45°F	0 in
September	70°F	37°F	0.2 in
October	56°F	27°F	0.8 in
November	41°F	17°F	3.9 in
December	31°F	8°F	5.5 in

Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.

Common questions

Can a hunter take elk on a general licence in hunt area 105?: Yes. Wyoming residents buy a general elk licence over the counter with no draw and no points required. Nonresidents cannot purchase a general licence; a nonresident must draw a Region S general licence, which is valid across all general-licence hunt areas in that region. Lottery odds for nonresidents depend on the number of applicants in the draw pool for that region.
Which areas are available to walk onto without permission or application?: Lincoln County Walk In Area 6 and Uinta County Walk In Areas 11 and 12 are open-access parcels during their posted seasons. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so a hunter should check the current status on the hunt planner map before planning a trip. Walk-in areas require no permission slip, but posted rules on each parcel must be followed.
What does a hunter need to cross private land in hunt area 105?: Landowner permission is required to cross all private land, even to reach public BLM checkerboard sections. Many roads in the area are private industrial roads that also require permission. A hunter should contact landowners or check the hunt planner map for enrolled Hunter Management Areas (Bear River Divide and Knight Ridge West), where a printed permission slip from WGFD allows access to private land managed for public hunting.
When does the rut occur during the hunt season in hunt area 105?: Archery seasons in September coincide with rut onset and the primary rut, when bulls are responsive to calls and bugling. The regular rifle season in October falls during the late rut and post-rut recovery phases. The November antlerless season occurs as elk move into winter range patterns.
How much snow or rain affects hunting in hunt area 105?: Snowfall ranges from nearly zero in September to about 5.5 inches on average in December. October typically receives about 0.8 inches, November about 3.9 inches. Wet ground and snow make most roads difficult or impassable, which can trap hunters and limit access to public land.

Sources

Wyoming Game & Fish — Hunting & Trapping — licence types, general and limited-quota hunts, and season structure
WGFD Hunt Planner — hunt-area boundaries, season dates and the unit descriptions
WGFD — Draw results and odds — how the resident random draw and the nonresident preference-point draw work
WGFD — Regulations — the legal limitations on each hunt, and the statewide licence rules
USGS National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2021) and 3DEP elevation — land cover and terrain by elevation band

Seasons, licence types and boundaries change. Confirm every detail with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before applying or hunting.

All Wyoming elk hunt areas