Can a hunter in hunt area 31 use a general or region licence?

No. Hunt area 31 is limited quota and drawn individually for this area. A general licence or region licence does not cover it, and a hunter must draw a licence specific to hunt area 31.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points for elk in hunt area 31?

No. Wyoming residents have no elk preference points at all. The resident elk draw is random, with no points system and no point cutoff for any hunt area in the state.

How many preference points does a nonresident need for hunt area 31?

The nonresident draw does not work purely by points. Three quarters of nonresident licences go to a preference-point draw, awarded top-down by points; the remaining quarter enter a random draw open to all nonresident applicants. A hunter with no points can be drawn in the random pool.

What percentage of hunt area 31 is public land a hunter can depend on?

About 92 percent of the area—roughly 259 square miles—is public land (BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land) that a hunter can generally count on. Roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings still apply. Most roads here become nearly impassable when wet due to clay soils.

When do the archery and regular seasons run in hunt area 31?

Type 1 (Any elk): archery September 1–30, regular October 1–31. Type 4 (Antlerless elk): archery September 1–30, regular October 6–November 15.

Wyoming Hunt Area 31 (Little Mountain) elk hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

92%

Elevation

6,000–9,200 ft

Terrain

Moderate

Hunt area 31 spans 280 square miles of mixed terrain between 6,000 and 9,200 feet, with typical ground around 7,000 feet. The country transitions from open sagebrush flats near Flaming Gorge Reservoir through juniper-covered slopes to aspen and subalpine fir at higher elevations. Deep draws and canyons cut through the landscape. Slopes average 11 degrees and grade moderate: the hills are not tall but can be fairly steep.

Public land comprises about 92 percent of the area—roughly 259 square miles of BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land that a hunter can generally count on. Private ground makes up the remaining 8 percent, and the northern portion contains checkerboard sections where alternating public and private parcels often allow crossing. Access depends on roads, trailheads and seasonal conditions, and most roads here become nearly impassable when wet and muddy due to clay soils.

Elk inhabit most of hunt area 31 through the hunting season, but hunting pressure concentrates them unevenly. The dark timber and aspen on Little Mountain's higher elevations resemble typical elk country but hold fewer animals than the juniper-covered west and southwest slopes, where pressure from roads and hunters concentrates the elk. The most consistent hunting comes from traveling on foot away from the road network to areas like Iron Mountain, the west slope of Little Mountain, and the country between Cherokee Trail and Sage Creek.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 31 (Little Mountain) 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 4 · Antlerless elk
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 6 – November 15

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 1 — Any elk (September–October)

Archery hunting in September and rifle hunting in October both fall during the rut, when bulls are actively seeking cows and the landscape becomes more animated. September archery begins as the rut is setting on and escalates through its primary phase as the month progresses; highs around 71 degrees and negligible snow make the early month pleasant for moving through sagebrush and juniper, though midday heat pushes activity to morning and evening. October rifle hunting arrives as the rut peaks then subsides into recovery; temperatures cool from the high 50s to the low 50s, and the first measurable snow (averaging 1.7 inches for the month) may appear mid-month or later. Access via road is good throughout, but the best hunting requires leaving the roads and traveling on foot into the less-pressured country away from the main network. This licence allows any elk.

Type 4 — Antlerless elk (September–November)

Antlerless hunting spans archery in September and rifle in October and into November, opening opportunities to hunt cows and calves when pressure from the rut phases makes them mobile. September archery overlaps the rut's onset and primary phase, when temperatures near 71 degrees allow sustained foot travel. October rifle hunting continues through the late rut and early recovery as temps slide into the 50s; by November, cooling continues (highs around 44 degrees) and snowfall deepens (averaging 3.2 inches for the month), increasing the odds of encountering animals that may shift from higher to lower ground. Roads remain the primary access route, but the most productive hunting relies on foot travel away from the roaded network to reach areas where elk concentrate under hunting pressure. This licence is valid for cow or calf only.

Land and access

BLM71%

Generally open to public hunting

National Forest15%

Generally open to public hunting

private land8%

Private

State Trust Land6%

Generally open to public hunting

About 92% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land, roughly 259 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 87% 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

Yearlong Range69%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range31%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range31%

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

Parturition Areas18%

spring birthing ground, months before any hunting season

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

Sagebrush94%

Grass and meadow3%

Other cover2%

Riparian1%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush93%

Grass and meadow5%

Conifer1%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush85%

Grass and meadow7%

Conifer7%

Other cover2%

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	35°F	11°F	4.6 in
February	38°F	13°F	4.5 in
March	46°F	21°F	2.6 in
April	53°F	27°F	1.8 in
May	63°F	35°F	0 in
June	75°F	43°F	0 in
July	83°F	50°F	0 in
August	80°F	49°F	0 in
September	71°F	40°F	0 in
October	58°F	30°F	1.7 in
November	44°F	19°F	3.2 in
December	34°F	11°F	4.4 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter in hunt area 31 use a general or region licence?: No. Hunt area 31 is limited quota and drawn individually for this area. A general licence or region licence does not cover it, and a hunter must draw a licence specific to hunt area 31.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points for elk in hunt area 31?: No. Wyoming residents have no elk preference points at all. The resident elk draw is random, with no points system and no point cutoff for any hunt area in the state.
How many preference points does a nonresident need for hunt area 31?: The nonresident draw does not work purely by points. Three quarters of nonresident licences go to a preference-point draw, awarded top-down by points; the remaining quarter enter a random draw open to all nonresident applicants. A hunter with no points can be drawn in the random pool.
What percentage of hunt area 31 is public land a hunter can depend on?: About 92 percent of the area—roughly 259 square miles—is public land (BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land) that a hunter can generally count on. Roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings still apply. Most roads here become nearly impassable when wet due to clay soils.
When do the archery and regular seasons run in hunt area 31?: Type 1 (Any elk): archery September 1–30, regular October 1–31. Type 4 (Antlerless elk): archery September 1–30, regular October 6–November 15.

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