Can a hunter draw a region licence for hunt area 108?

No. Hunt area 108 is a limited-quota area drawn individually for residents and nonresidents alike. A region licence is valid only in general-licence areas of that region, never in a limited-quota area.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points for hunt area 108?

No. Wyoming residents have no elk preference points at all; the resident elk draw is random. Nonresidents, however, benefit greatly from preference points—three quarters of nonresident licences are awarded to the preference-point draw, ranked by points, while the remaining quarter go to a random draw.

How much of hunt area 108 can a hunter actually count on accessing?

About 60 percent of the area (roughly 345 square miles) is dependably open public land, but much of it lies in the checkerboard pattern where public and private land alternate. Public tracts without road access are generally unavailable without crossing private land. Good road access reaches approximately 40 square miles in the southeast corner, and the Red Rim/Daley WHMA opens additional public ground in the north.

What seasons run in hunt area 108?

Five seasons run here: Type 1 Any Elk (archery September 1–30, regular October 1–31); Type 1 Antlerless Elk (regular November 1–January 31); Type 4 Antlerless Elk (archery September 1–30, regular October 15–January 31); Type 6 Cow or Calf (archery September 1–30, regular October 15–December 31); and Type 6 Cow or Calf valid west of Twentymile Road only (regular January 1–31).

What happens to elk hunting opportunities in a heavy snow year?

Significant snowfall may push elk north from the inaccessible southern portions of the hunt area or from neighboring Area 21 into the Red Rim/Daley WHMA in the north, where late-season cow hunting opportunities may emerge. Heavy snow conditions do not occur every year and may also make travel difficult when they do.

Wyoming Hunt Area 108 (South Rawlins) elk hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

60%

Elevation

6,600–8,500 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 108 divides into two distinct landscapes separated by elevation and timber. The northern half is open high desert—sagebrush prairie, alkaline flats, and scattered rock rims—with riparian ground along only a few creeks. Atlantic Rim rises through this country and supports aspen, mountain shrub and conifer. The southern half climbs higher toward the Continental Divide along Miller Hill, where sagebrush steppe gives way to pockets of aspen, shrub and occasional conifer alongside meadow valleys. Elevation ranges from 6,600 to 8,500 feet, with typical ground around 7,200 feet and slopes averaging 5.8 degrees—almost entirely gentle terrain.

Elk concentrate in the timbered habitats of Atlantic Rim and Miller Hill, but their extreme mobility makes them hard to pin down; open terrain allows them to travel miles when disturbed. The challenge here is not the country itself but getting to it: while 60 percent of the area is dependably open public land—roughly 345 square miles of BLM, State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Land—much of it sits in the checkerboard pattern where private and public land alternate, and public tracts that do not border a public road are cut off. Good road access reaches about 40 square miles in the southeast corner. The Red Rim/Daley Wildlife and Habitat Management Area in the north opens approximately 50 square miles of public ground but offers limited elk habitat. Desert clay portions become impassable when wet, while higher rocky areas may stay drivable through wet weather. Access requires careful attention to land ownership; many hunters use GPS to navigate the patchwork.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 108 (South Rawlins) is limited quota. A licence for it must be drawn for this hunt area specifically, by resident and nonresident alike. A region licence does not reach it — a region licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region, so there is no fallback for this hunt.

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 1 · Any elk
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 31
Type 1 · Antlerless elk
Regular November 1 – January 31
Type 4 · Antlerless elk
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – January 31
Type 6 · Cow or calf
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – December 31
Type 6 · Cow or calf valid west of the Twentymile Road (Carbon County Rd 605 N)
Regular January 1 – January 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 6 — Cow or calf valid west of the… (January)

The January cow-or-calf hunt is restricted to the country west of the Twentymile Road in the northern portion of the area, where sagebrush prairie and scattered riparian ground dominate. Weather is cold, with highs around 31 degrees and snowfall averaging 5.5 inches for the month. This season follows the winter range phase, when elk are settled into their seasonal grounds. Access is limited to that western zone, and a hunter must know the exact location of the Twentymile Road boundary to stay legal.

Type 1 — Any elk (September–October)

Early September brings the onset of the rut, when bulls are becoming responsive, while the October regular season falls into the late rut and early post-rut period as bulls drop their guard following peak breeding. September archery hunts open onto comfortable weather—highs around 71 degrees and minimal snow—across the full area and all its timbered ridges. October regular hunting shifts into cooler conditions, with highs dropping to 56 degrees and snowfall increasing to around 1.5 inches, but thermal conditions often favor active hunting. Elk in the timbered habitats of Atlantic Rim and Miller Hill are the main target. This any-elk hunt allows a hunter to pursue either sex without restriction.

Type 1 — Antlerless elk (November–January)

The November-through-January antlerless hunt spans the late rut, post-rut recovery, migration transition, and winter-range phases. November opens mild relative to December and January, with highs around 41 degrees and 4.3 inches of snowfall; December and January grow colder and snowier, with highs near 31 degrees and monthly snowfall of 6.9 and 5.5 inches respectively. Elk move toward and settle into winter range as temperatures drop and snow accumulates. Access remains a primary constraint throughout this long season—many areas remain in the checkerboard or connected only through private land—but the Red Rim/Daley WHMA may become more productive in late season if heavy snow pushes animals north into accessible country. A hunter is limited to antlerless elk.

Type 4 — Antlerless elk (September–January)

This hunt opens with September archery during rut onset and primary rut phases, when bulls are highly responsive in the timbered ridges and meadow pockets of Atlantic Rim and Miller Hill. Archery hunting begins in mid-September comfort—highs around 71 degrees with almost no snow—and continues into early October as temperatures begin to fall. The regular season then runs from mid-October through January, following the late rut and post-rut recovery phases into migration transition and winter range. October weather turns cool and increasingly snowy, while November and December bring steadily lower temperatures and heavier snow, averaging 4.3 to 6.9 inches monthly. The long regular-season window requires managing access challenges across the full breadth of the area; late-season snow may open the Red Rim/Daley WHMA region to easier elk encounters. A hunter may take only antlerless elk.

Type 6 — Cow or calf (September–December)

Archery opens in early September during rut onset and primary rut, when bulls are active in and around timbered areas, while the regular season spans late rut, post-rut recovery, and migration transition through the end of December. September brings warm weather—highs around 71 degrees—ideal for working the timbered ridges and meadows of Atlantic Rim and Miller Hill. October regular hunting begins in mild conditions (highs around 56 degrees) but increasingly cooler weather with modest snowfall; November and December grow progressively colder and snowier, reaching 6.9 inches of monthly snowfall by December and highs near 31 degrees. Elk shift toward winter habitats as snow accumulates. Access constraints are most acute in the southern high-elevation portions around Miller Hill, where most public land lies disconnected from public roads. A hunter is limited to cows and calves, making this a good late-season option when bulls are out of range legally.

Land and access

BLM46%

Generally open to public hunting

private land40%

Private

State Wildlife Areas10%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land4%

Generally open to public hunting

About 60% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Land, roughly 345 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.

the Wyoming Game & Fish Department publishes 55% public land for this hunt area. That counts public ownership; the figure above counts ground a hunter can depend on getting onto. They answer different questions, so both are shown rather than blended.

Where elk are mapped

Winter Range45%

used in winter

Yearlong Range15%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range8%

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

Summer Range4%

used in summer

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

Lower elevations

Sagebrush97%

Other cover3%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush97%

Other cover2%

Grass and meadow1%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush88%

Conifer5%

Grass and meadow5%

Aspen1%

Other cover1%

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	14°F	5.5 in
February	34°F	15°F	5.5 in
March	44°F	22°F	3.9 in
April	52°F	28°F	2.9 in
May	63°F	36°F	0 in
June	75°F	45°F	0 in
July	83°F	52°F	0 in
August	81°F	51°F	0 in
September	71°F	42°F	0.1 in
October	56°F	32°F	1.5 in
November	41°F	22°F	4.3 in
December	31°F	14°F	6.9 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a region licence for hunt area 108?: No. Hunt area 108 is a limited-quota area drawn individually for residents and nonresidents alike. A region licence is valid only in general-licence areas of that region, never in a limited-quota area.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points for hunt area 108?: No. Wyoming residents have no elk preference points at all; the resident elk draw is random. Nonresidents, however, benefit greatly from preference points—three quarters of nonresident licences are awarded to the preference-point draw, ranked by points, while the remaining quarter go to a random draw.
How much of hunt area 108 can a hunter actually count on accessing?: About 60 percent of the area (roughly 345 square miles) is dependably open public land, but much of it lies in the checkerboard pattern where public and private land alternate. Public tracts without road access are generally unavailable without crossing private land. Good road access reaches approximately 40 square miles in the southeast corner, and the Red Rim/Daley WHMA opens additional public ground in the north.
What seasons run in hunt area 108?: Five seasons run here: Type 1 Any Elk (archery September 1–30, regular October 1–31); Type 1 Antlerless Elk (regular November 1–January 31); Type 4 Antlerless Elk (archery September 1–30, regular October 15–January 31); Type 6 Cow or Calf (archery September 1–30, regular October 15–December 31); and Type 6 Cow or Calf valid west of Twentymile Road only (regular January 1–31).
What happens to elk hunting opportunities in a heavy snow year?: Significant snowfall may push elk north from the inaccessible southern portions of the hunt area or from neighboring Area 21 into the Red Rim/Daley WHMA in the north, where late-season cow hunting opportunities may emerge. Heavy snow conditions do not occur every year and may also make travel difficult when they do.

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