Can a hunter use a region licence in hunt area 77?

No. Hunt area 77 is a limited-quota hunt area and must be drawn individually by residents or nonresidents. A region licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region, never in a limited-quota area. A hunter standing in this hunt area without a specific licence for it is not legally authorized to be hunting there.

How many preference points do Wyoming residents need for elk in this hunt area?

Wyoming residents do not earn, bank or use preference points for elk draws. The resident elk draw is random, with no point system. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a preference-point draw where three quarters of licences go to the highest-point applicants and a quarter to random draw.

How much of hunt area 77 is open to walk-on hunting?

All hunting in hunt area 77 occurs on the National Elk Refuge, which is enrolled as a Hunter Management Area. A printed permission slip, obtained in advance from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, is required to access and hunt the area. The refuge issues limited numbers of permission slips for each time period.

When do elk typically arrive in hunt area 77?

Elk migrate onto hunt area 77 during November and December as snow accumulates in higher country, so the timing and numbers of elk present depend on the snowfall pattern each year. The area sees very little use by elk outside the winter season.

What seasons run in hunt area 77?

Hunt area 77 has five seasons: antlerless elk November 1–25, youth only November 26–29, antlerless elk November 30–December 6, cow or calf December 7–18, and cow or calf January 5–14. All seasons except the youth hunt allow a general licence or unused limited-quota licences; the December and January cow or calf seasons require a permission slip for refuge access.

Wyoming Hunt Area 77 (National Elk Refuge) elk hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

<1%

Elevation

6,200–7,300 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Elk region

Hunt area 77 is a 39-square-mile parcel of sagebrush grassland and low rolling country, with winter elevations averaging 6,500 feet and ranging from 6,200 to 7,300 feet. The landscape is dominated by open sagebrush at 78% of cover, with riparian cottonwood and willow bottoms making up 14%, particularly along the Gros Ventre River in the north. The terrain is uniformly gentle—79% of ground slopes gently, 19% moderately, and just 2% steeply. Several large valleys bisect the area, some lacking permanent water. The hunt area lies entirely within the National Elk Refuge and is classified as winter range for 99% of its extent, with crucial winter range covering 98%. Elk do not occupy this ground in summer or early fall; they migrate onto it during November and December as snow accumulates at higher elevations, meaning the number of animals present and their timing depend heavily on snowfall patterns and migration triggers.

Access to hunt area 77 requires a printed permission slip obtained through the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Hunter Management Area system before entering the refuge. Permission slips are limited in number for any single time period, so advance planning is necessary. Designated parking areas exist along Highway 89, Gros Ventre Road, Elk Refuge Road, and Flat Creek Road. Once afield, hunters move on foot or horseback; vehicles may be used only for retrieving animals via several designated dirt roads. The refuge's flat to rolling character makes travel manageable for those willing to cover ground by leg, though the open sagebrush offers little relief from weather.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 77 (National Elk Refuge) 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 · General license and unused limited quota licenses; antlerless elk
Regular November 1 – November 25
Type · General license and unused limited quota licenses, antlerless elk
Regular November 30 – December 6
Type 6 · Cow or calf; permission slip required
Regular December 7 – December 18
Type 6 · Cow or calf; permission slips for the National Elk Refuge may be available through the Department's Jackson Regional Office until the season closes or conditions dictate that supplemental feeding is necessary
Regular January 5 – January 14

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 — General license and unused limited quota licenses; antlerless elk (November)

November's early antlerless season runs as elk are migrating onto the winter range and before the rut has fully ended. The weather remains relatively mild, with average highs near 39 degrees and snowfall around 11 inches for the month. Hunters access the refuge via foot or horseback from designated parking areas after obtaining a permission slip; only antlerless elk may be taken on a general licence or unused limited-quota licence.

Type — General license and unused limited… (November–December)

The late-November and early-December antlerless seasons span the transition into full winter range occupancy, when newly arrived elk are settling into their winter distribution. Temperatures cool from the 39-degree highs of November to 28 degrees by early December, and snowfall increases sharply to an average of 20 inches in December. Access remains the same—foot or horseback from marked parking areas with a required permission slip—and again only antlerless animals are legal.

Type 6 — Cow or calf (December)

The December cow or calf season takes place on the winter range as elk have fully migrated in and are in winter range phase. Cold temperatures average 28-degree highs and 7-degree lows, with heavy snow at 20 inches for the month making travel more challenging. A permission slip is required for all refuge access; hunters may pursue cow or calf only, with foot and horseback travel primary and vehicle retrieval permitted on designated dirt roads.

Type 6 — Cow or calf; permission slips for the National Elk Refuge may be available through the… (January)

January's late-season cow or calf hunt occurs entirely on the winter range when elk are settled and snow cover is deepest, with average highs staying near 28 degrees and lows dropping to 6 degrees amid 20.5 inches of monthly snowfall. Permission slips for the refuge may be available through the Department's Jackson Regional Office through the hunt's close on January 14 or until conditions dictate that supplemental feeding is necessary. As with the December season, cow or calf are the legal animals, and hunters access the area on foot or horseback from marked parking, with vehicle retrieval permitted via designated dirt roads.

Land and access

unclassified ownership98%

Ownership unclassified

private land1%

Private

About <1% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, roughly 0 square miles. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.

the Wyoming Game & Fish Department publishes 95% 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.

It also holds 1 Hunter Management Area. That is 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. Enrollment is renegotiated every year, so check current status before counting on either.

Where elk are mapped

Winter Range99%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range98%

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

Summer Range1%

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

Across the unit

Sagebrush78%

Riparian14%

Conifer6%

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	28°F	6°F	20.5 in
February	33°F	8°F	13.7 in
March	42°F	16°F	9.9 in
April	50°F	25°F	2.7 in
May	61°F	32°F	0.1 in
June	71°F	38°F	0 in
July	80°F	43°F	0 in
August	79°F	41°F	0 in
September	69°F	35°F	0 in
October	55°F	26°F	1.2 in
November	39°F	16°F	11.1 in
December	28°F	7°F	20 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter use a region licence in hunt area 77?: No. Hunt area 77 is a limited-quota hunt area and must be drawn individually by residents or nonresidents. A region licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region, never in a limited-quota area. A hunter standing in this hunt area without a specific licence for it is not legally authorized to be hunting there.
How many preference points do Wyoming residents need for elk in this hunt area?: Wyoming residents do not earn, bank or use preference points for elk draws. The resident elk draw is random, with no point system. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a preference-point draw where three quarters of licences go to the highest-point applicants and a quarter to random draw.
How much of hunt area 77 is open to walk-on hunting?: All hunting in hunt area 77 occurs on the National Elk Refuge, which is enrolled as a Hunter Management Area. A printed permission slip, obtained in advance from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, is required to access and hunt the area. The refuge issues limited numbers of permission slips for each time period.
When do elk typically arrive in hunt area 77?: Elk migrate onto hunt area 77 during November and December as snow accumulates in higher country, so the timing and numbers of elk present depend on the snowfall pattern each year. The area sees very little use by elk outside the winter season.
What seasons run in hunt area 77?: Hunt area 77 has five seasons: antlerless elk November 1–25, youth only November 26–29, antlerless elk November 30–December 6, cow or calf December 7–18, and cow or calf January 5–14. All seasons except the youth hunt allow a general licence or unused limited-quota licences; the December and January cow or calf seasons require a permission slip for refuge access.

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