Wyoming elk draw odds
Wyoming runs two different draws. Residents draw elk licenses at random. Nonresidents get three quarters of their licenses by preference points and the rest at random. Here's how the 2026 draw looked across the state.
Build your Wyoming elk application
Three choices, in order. Most of the work is deciding which region or hunt area, which draw, and how many points you have.
Wyoming resident? Open the resident guide
Residents draw at random with no points, and can buy a general elk license over the counter with no draw. Resident general elk licenses go on sale starting July 16. Wyoming doesn't cap how many it sells.
Limited quota licenses are for one specific hunt area, so they're drawn. The resident draw is random and everyone has the same chance. In 2026, resident elk applications closed Jun 1, 2026. You can have up to three elk licenses in a year, and only one can be a general or bull-type limited quota license (Types 0, 1, 2, 3 or 9).
In 2026, 31% of resident applications for full-price limited quota elk licenses drew, and 73% of applications for reduced-price cow/calf licenses drew. Those are averages across all hunt areas: the popular ones draw far less often. A resident elk license is $57 plus the $21.50 conservation stamp, and the application fee is $5.
Choose a region or hunt area
Wyoming is divided into numbered hunt areas. A limited quota license is good only in the hunt area it names, within that license's season dates and sex limits. A general license covers every hunt area that's open to general license hunting, so you can hunt more than one area on a single license, and each area keeps its own season dates and rules.
Nonresidents don't buy a general license for the whole state. You pick a region, and a region license is good in any hunt area in that region that isn't totally limited in quota. For elk the regions are E, S and W. To apply for a limited quota license instead, you apply for the specific hunt area and license type. The Region W example below shows how a region contains its hunt areas.
Choose regular or special
Nonresidents applying for elk pick the regular or the special draw, not both. The two run separately and cost different amounts, and you can't switch after you submit. Everyone in a group has to apply in the same draw.
| Regular draw | Special draw | |
|---|---|---|
| Elk license | $692 | $1,950 |
| Share of nonresident licenses | 60% | 40% |
| How licenses are awarded | 75% points, 25% random | 75% points, 25% random |
| Random-draw odds, 2026 | 5.8%18,362 applications | 13%4,120 applications |
| Hunts that took 10+ points | 58 of 144 | 44 of 105 |
The 40/60 split is taken after the landowner draw, and special licenses that aren't drawn roll over to the regular draw. Wyoming Game and Fish describes the special draw as a premium draw with frequently better odds; the random-draw numbers above are what that looked like in 2026. Prices are the 2027 fee schedule.
Understand how points and the random draw work
Wyoming sets aside 84% for residents and 16% for nonresidents. Nonresidents are drawn in three steps (landowner, special, regular). In each, 75% of the licenses go to the applicants with the most points and 25% are drawn at random. For a full-price elk license you can list up to three choices, reduced-price cow/calf licenses allow two, and in the points draw only your first choice counts.
- Applying and paying up front. A nonresident pays the full license fee plus the application fee when they apply, and the license fee is refunded if they don't draw. Nonresident elk applications are due February 2, 2027. Residents have until June 1, 2027.
- Buying points. Nonresidents buy elk points on their own, without applying, from July 1 to October 31. Applying doesn't earn you one, and missing the draw doesn't either. You can get one point per species per year, and if you go two years in a row without buying one, you lose all your points.
- After you draw. If you draw your first choice in the initial draw, you lose your points for that species. If you draw a second or third choice, you keep them.
- Groups. Up to six people can apply together for elk. The group uses the average of its members' points.
- Second chance. Licenses left after the draws go to a leftover draw. It's random, open to residents and nonresidents together, and doesn't use or change preference points. In 2026 it opened Jun 22, 2026.
In 2026, the nonresident elk application closed Feb 2, 2026, and resident elk closed Jun 1, 2026. The 2027 dates are in the costs section below.
Sources: Wyoming Game and Fish's Understanding the Draw, its preference points page and the application handbook.
Example: a nonresident with 5 points applies for Region W elk
An illustration using 2026 results from Hunt Plan. Your region, points and odds will differ.
Choose Region W
You put in for Region W. That one license works in the general-season hunt areas inside it, and each hunt area keeps its own season dates and rules. A hunt area that's totally limited in quota isn't covered.
Compare your two options
You entered the draw holding 5 points. You bought your fifth point in the July to October window before the draw, because applying doesn't earn one. (Hunt Plan lists it as "4 pts + 1": four earlier points plus that one.) Here is the same hunter and region in each draw. Click either picture for the full table.
What it shows
- Lower points did the job. In 2026, every applicant at 5 points drew in the special draw, while the regular draw's points pool stopped at 6 points. The special draw reached two points lower that year. One year doesn't tell you how many years you'd save in a future draw.
- A better random draw. The special draw's random pool drew 30.3% against 9.0%, more than three times as often.
- It costs more. A nonresident special elk license is $1,950 against $692. The license fee is refunded if you don't draw, but the application fee isn't.
These are 2026 results for one region. They change every year and aren't a promise about the next draw. Hunt Plan shows the same table for every region and hunt area, at your own point level.
Costs and applying
The license fee is charged when you apply. If you don't draw, it's refunded; the application fee isn't.
- Pay the license up front. You pay the full license fee plus the application fee when you apply. If you don't draw, the license fee is refunded.
- Still buy your point. Missing the draw doesn't earn a point. To keep building, buy your elk preference point for that year by October 31, even if you were unsuccessful.
2027 Wyoming fees. A nonresident elk preference point costs $75 starting January 1, 2027, and reduced-price cow/calf licenses cost $288. Outfitters, travel and gear cost extra. Fee schedule: Wyoming Game and Fish.
2027 season dates
| What | Date | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Application opens | January 2, 2027 | Residents and nonresidents |
| Application deadline | February 2, 2027 | Nonresident elk |
| Application deadline | June 1, 2027 | Resident elk |
| Change or withdraw an application | May 8, 2027 | Nonresident elk |
| Leftover draw | About June 22–26, 2027 | Remaining licenses |
| Buy a preference point | July 1 – October 31 | Nonresidents, each year |
Dates can move, so confirm them with Wyoming Game and Fish before you apply.
Your checklist, in order
Wyoming compared with Colorado and Idaho
In Wyoming and Colorado nonresidents build preference points over the years, and a large share of licenses go to the people with the most. Idaho has no points: every year is a fresh random draw. Wyoming also keeps a quarter of nonresident licenses for a random draw that everyone who didn't draw in the points draw can enter, so a nonresident with no points still has a small chance. Colorado's random hybrid draw needs at least five points.
| State | How the draw works | Nonresident elk license | Also required | Application fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | Nonresident draw: most tags by preference points, the rest random | $692 | $21.50 conservation stamp + $75 per preference point (optional) | $15 | $728.50 |
| Colorado | Preference points; hybrid points-and-random draw | $845.16 | $104.86 small game license + $12.76 habitat stamp | $11.49 | $974.27 |
| Idaho | Random draw, no points | $651.75 | $185 hunting license + $10 access fee | $18 (controlled hunts) | $864.75 |
Nonresident prices from each state's own fee schedule. Totals add the license, required stamps and fees, and the application fee. Smaller stamps may be missing, so use these to compare states, not as a quote. See our Colorado elk guide and Idaho elk guide.
The numbers behind the draw
Out of every 100 first-choice applications, how many got a license. These are statewide averages across many hunts, so your odds on a specific hunt will differ.
| Year | Nonresident random | Resident | Nonresident cow/calf |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7.2%21,721 applications | 32%41,413 applications | 43%7,507 applications |
| 2025 | 7.6%21,586 applications | 31%41,749 applications | 48%7,437 applications |
| 2026 | 7.1%22,482 applications | 31%42,983 applications | 46%7,877 applications |
The nonresident random draw gets 25% of a nonresident's licenses, and everyone who didn't draw in the points draw is in it. The resident draw is random and uses no points. The reduced-price cow/calf licenses are cheaper and use no points. In 2024, 7.2% of nonresident random-draw applications drew; in 2026, 7.1%.
How many points did the hunts take?
Nonresidents get 75% of their full-price elk licenses through the points draw. This shows the 249 nonresident hunts that gave out licenses in the points draw in 2026, by the lowest whole point level that drew.
| Lowest level that drew | Hunts (of 249) |
|---|---|
| Down to 0 points | 51 |
| 1–5 points | 53 |
| 6–9 points | 43 |
| 10 or more points | 102 |
A hunt in the "10 or more points" row left everyone with fewer points than that to the random draw. Group applications use the group's average points, so a few results sit between whole numbers; we count whole point levels only. Reduced-price cow/calf licenses are left out because they use no points.
How the nonresident elk regions drew in 2026
| Region | Applicants | Points it took | Random odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region E | 1,268 | 3 points | 30%528 applications |
| Region S | 3,273 | 6 points | 6.8%2,221 applications |
| Region W | 7,342 | 6 points | 9.0%4,444 applications |
Applicants are first-choice applications in the points draw, regular and special together. "Points it took" is the lowest whole point level that drew in the regular draw's points pool. "Random odds" is the regular draw's random pool.
Harvest success: what to expect once you draw
These are Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 statewide estimates from its hunter survey. Nonresident elk hunters did a little better than residents on success, and they hunt fewer days per elk. Success varies a lot by hunt area, season and weapon, so treat it as a baseline, not a forecast for one hunt. Source: WGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Report.
FAQs
Quick answers about Wyoming elk draw odds.
Do I need preference points for a Wyoming elk license?
Only if you're a nonresident, and only for full-price licenses. Nonresidents earn points for elk, deer and antelope, and 75% of a nonresident's licenses go to the applicants with the most points. The other 25% are drawn at random. Residents draw elk licenses at random, with no points. Reduced-price cow/calf licenses don't use points either.
How are the odds on this page figured?
For each draw we took every first-choice application in the 2026 results and counted how many got a license. The numbers come from Wyoming Game and Fish's published draw results. They're averages across many hunts, so they show the overall picture and not your chance on one hunt. They count applications, not people.
What happens to my points if I draw?
If you're a nonresident and you draw your first choice in the initial draw on a full-price elk license, you lose all your points. If you draw your second or third choice, you keep them. Drawing a reduced-price cow/calf license doesn't use points.
Do I get a point for applying?
No. Wyoming doesn't award a nonresident a point for applying and not drawing. You buy points yourself, without applying for a license, from July 1 to October 31 each year. You can get one point per species per year, and if you go two years in a row without buying one you lose all your points. Since 2019 you can't buy elk points during the initial draw, and the price goes to $75 on January 1, 2027.
Why are resident and nonresident odds so different?
Wyoming sets aside 84% for residents and 16% for nonresidents. Nonresidents are drawn in their own pools, and the amount of competition in each pool differs a lot from hunt to hunt.
Sources: 2026 draw results from Wyoming Game and Fish, rules from its draw and preference point pages, fees for 2027. The odds count applications, not people. Hunting guides for each hunt area are on the Wyoming elk hub.