Do Wyoming residents need preference points for an elk draw in hunt area 34?

No. Wyoming residents have no elk preference points and do not build or use them. The resident elk draw for hunt area 34 is entirely random. Nonresidents, by contrast, do use preference points in a draw where three-quarters of the licences go to the preference-point pool and one-quarter to a random pool.

Can a hunter reach elk on public land in hunt area 34?

Elk occupy all the occupied habitat in the area, but most elk are found on private land where access is severely limited. The Bighorn National Forest in the northwest corner is publicly accessible but comprises a small portion of the hunt area and receives heavy pressure. Most other public land is either scattered in small parcels or not readily accessible to public hunters.

How do seasons differ on hunt area 34?

The area offers four seasons with different legal animals and locations. A private-land cow-or-calf season runs August 15 to October 8. An off-national-forest cow-or-calf season spans archery from September 1–30 and regular hunting October 9 to December 31. An any-elk season covers archery September 1–30 and regular October 9 to November 15. An antlerless-only season runs November 16 to December 31. The off-national-forest cow-or-calf seasons reflect that most elk use private land.

What weather should a hunter prepare for in hunt area 34?

August starts warm, with highs around 79 degrees and virtually no snow. September cools to highs around 68 degrees with trace snowfall. October drops sharply to highs around 53 degrees and sees an average of 2.5 inches of snow. By November and December, highs fall to 41 and 33 degrees respectively, with 5.3 and 6.7 inches of snow on average each month.

Wyoming Hunt Area 34 (Upper Powder River) elk hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

41%

Elevation

4,600–10,500 ft

Terrain

Moderate

Hunt area 34 occupies the Bighorn Mountains and their foothills, ranging from 4,600 feet in the lower country to 10,500 feet in the high peaks. Typical elevation is around 6,200 feet. The terrain is predominantly gentle to moderate—roughly 62 percent gentle slopes, 31 percent moderate, and 6 percent steep. The northwest corner includes the Hazelton Peaks with steeper ground, and the eastern face drops into steep terrain broken by canyons. Lower elevations are sagebrush country with grass and meadow interspersed, while the mid and higher elevations transition to conifer-dominated forest with sagebrush and meadow openings. The Bighorn National Forest portion of the area contains extensive lodgepole pine stands crossed by established roads. Outside the national forest, the country opens into mountain grassland ridges with timbered canyons and scattered timber stands. The area spans roughly 827 square miles.

Public land that a hunter can dependably access makes up about 41 percent of the area—roughly 337 square miles of BLM, state trust land, and national forest. The Bighorn National Forest in the northwest corner is the largest public holding and contains the most accessible habitat, but it accounts for a small share of the total area. Most BLM lands here are not readily accessible to public hunters. Private land comprises the remaining 59 percent and holds the majority of occupied elk habitat. Access to private ground is restricted; most hunting there requires outfitter arrangements or fee agreements. Hunters planning to use public land should consult current Bighorn National Forest and BLM travel maps for motorized routes, as dispersed access is limited and early-season pressure concentrates on the few accessible areas.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 34 (Upper Powder River) 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 9 – November 15
Type 1 · Antlerless elk
Regular November 16 – December 31
Type 7 · Cow or calf valid on private land on or within one (1) mile of irrigated land
Regular August 15 – October 8
Type 7 · Cow or calf valid off national forest
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 9 – 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 7 — Cow or calf valid off national… (September–December)

The early-season cow-or-calf hunt on private land valid within one mile of irrigated ground runs August 15 to October 8 and spans the tail of velvet season into the pre-rut and early rut. August weather is warm with highs near 79 degrees and no snow; September cools to highs around 68 degrees as animals begin to shift behavior. Elk are widely scattered in summer patterns across private land in the lower and mid elevations. This hunt requires prior permission to access private ground and is the only season where irrigated-land proximity defines the hunting area—hunters must confirm the specific boundaries with landowners. Legal game is cow or calf only.

Type 1 — Any elk (September–November)

Hunting an any-elk licence in hunt area 34 spans September 1 to November 15, combining archery from September 1–30 with rifle hunting October 9 to November 15. The archery portion opens at rut onset and extends through the primary rut as bull and cow activity peaks; September weather is cool but dry, with highs around 68 degrees. The rifle season begins in late rut and post-rut recovery, when bulls are exhausted and shifting ground, and extends into migration transition as animals move toward winter range. October sees highs drop to 53 degrees with an average 2.5 inches of snow, while November brings colder weather and roughly 5.3 inches of snow. The any-elk licence is open to the entire hunt area without location restriction. Success depends on accessing the country where elk are found—mostly private land where permission is required.

Type 1 — Antlerless elk (November–December)

Antlerless-only hunting runs November 16 to December 31 during migration transition and winter range as elk concentrate in lower country and on accessible grounds. November begins around 41 degrees with 5.3 inches of average snow, and December grows colder with highs near 33 degrees and 6.7 inches of snow; this is the harshest season weather-wise. As elk shift toward lower elevations and pressure builds, some animals move onto more accessible private land and onto the lower portions of public ground, though access to private land still requires permission. This season is area-wide without location restriction.

Type 7 — Cow or calf valid on private land… (August–October)

The off-national-forest cow-or-calf hunt runs from archery September 1–30 through rifle hunting October 9 to December 31 across two distinct windows. September archery opens at rut onset and covers the primary rut in mild weather with highs near 68 degrees; bulls are active and attracted to cows, making calling effective in timber and open ridges. The rifle season spans late rut through winter range: October hunts exhausted bulls in cool weather with averaging 2.5 inches of snow, while November and December bring cold and increasingly heavy snow (5.3 and 6.7 inches monthly), pushing elk movements. This hunt is restricted to lands outside the Bighorn National Forest because most elk use private land in this area; hunters must confirm they are off national forest ground. Legal game is cow or calf only.

Land and access

private land59%

Private

BLM22%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land11%

Generally open to public hunting

National Forest8%

Generally open to public hunting

About 41% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Trust Land and National Forest, roughly 337 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 20% 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

Summer Range28%

used in summer

Yearlong Range14%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range13%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range13%

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

Parturition Areas9%

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

Sagebrush65%

Grass and meadow26%

Other cover4%

Riparian3%

Conifer2%

Mid elevations

Conifer49%

Sagebrush35%

Grass and meadow16%

Higher elevations

Conifer45%

Sagebrush29%

Grass and meadow25%

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	33°F	12°F	4.5 in
February	34°F	13°F	5.6 in
March	44°F	21°F	5.8 in
April	50°F	27°F	3.7 in
May	60°F	36°F	0.2 in
June	71°F	45°F	0 in
July	80°F	52°F	0 in
August	79°F	50°F	0 in
September	68°F	41°F	0.1 in
October	53°F	30°F	2.5 in
November	41°F	20°F	5.3 in
December	33°F	12°F	6.7 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter use a region licence in hunt area 34?: No. Hunt area 34 is limited-quota and must be drawn for individually. A region licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region, not in any limited-quota hunt area. A hunter must draw a licence specific to hunt area 34.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points for an elk draw in hunt area 34?: No. Wyoming residents have no elk preference points and do not build or use them. The resident elk draw for hunt area 34 is entirely random. Nonresidents, by contrast, do use preference points in a draw where three-quarters of the licences go to the preference-point pool and one-quarter to a random pool.
Can a hunter reach elk on public land in hunt area 34?: Elk occupy all the occupied habitat in the area, but most elk are found on private land where access is severely limited. The Bighorn National Forest in the northwest corner is publicly accessible but comprises a small portion of the hunt area and receives heavy pressure. Most other public land is either scattered in small parcels or not readily accessible to public hunters.
How do seasons differ on hunt area 34?: The area offers four seasons with different legal animals and locations. A private-land cow-or-calf season runs August 15 to October 8. An off-national-forest cow-or-calf season spans archery from September 1–30 and regular hunting October 9 to December 31. An any-elk season covers archery September 1–30 and regular October 9 to November 15. An antlerless-only season runs November 16 to December 31. The off-national-forest cow-or-calf seasons reflect that most elk use private land.
What weather should a hunter prepare for in hunt area 34?: August starts warm, with highs around 79 degrees and virtually no snow. September cools to highs around 68 degrees with trace snowfall. October drops sharply to highs around 53 degrees and sees an average of 2.5 inches of snow. By November and December, highs fall to 41 and 33 degrees respectively, with 5.3 and 6.7 inches of snow on average each month.

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