Wyoming hunt Planner

Welcome to our Hunt Planner. In the sections that follow you will find interactive maps, species specific hunt information, drawing odds, harvest information, public access and much more.

Please begin by selecting a species from the drop down menu below.

Resident status:

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Elk range from mountainous wilderness areas to lowland deserts and plains, and are plentiful on public and private lands. Every national forest has elk, and herds are present on mountain ranges and desert areas administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

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Hunt Area 16

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Apply For Season Dates Archery Dates License Limitations
016-1 Oct. 1 - Oct. 31 Sep. 1 - Sep. 30 Any elk
016-1 Dec. 1 - Jan. 31 - Antlerless elk
016-2 Nov. 1 - Nov. 30 Sep. 1 - Sep. 30 Any elk
016-2 Dec. 1 - Jan. 31 - Antlerless elk
016-4 Aug. 15 - Sep. 30 - Antlerless elk valid on private land; also valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land
016-4 Oct. 1 - Jan. 31 Sep. 1 - Sep. 30 Antlerless elk valid in the entire area
016-6 Aug. 15 - Sep. 30 - Cow or calf valid on private land; also valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land
016-6 Oct. 1 - Nov. 30 - Cow or calf valid in the entire area
016-7 Dec. 1 - Jan. 31 - Cow or calf
* Difficult Public Access
huntarea-deer-sample

Approx. % of Public Land: 50%
Access to Public Land: Good
Access Notes: The southern half of the area occurs within a checkerboard of alternating public and private lands. Some of the checkerboard lands in this area are currently enrolled in the Access Yes- Hunter Management Area (HMA) program. Permission slips are issued on a limited draw basis for elk in some of these HMAs. The majority of public lands in the northern half of the area can be legally accessed from the Hanna Leo Draw Road (County Road 291), Leo Shirley Basin Road (County Road 102), Dry Creek Road (County Road 103), Shirley Ridge Road (County Road 2), Highway 77, and Highway 487. The public land in this area is predominately administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Several sections of State Trust Land are also accessible for elk hunting.
Mapping Resources: Medicine Bow and Shirley Basin

Additional Information: None
USFS Designated Wilderness Areas: None
Hunting Access in Wyoming - Public Access Summary

Parcels of land where Game and Fish facilitates management of hunters for access to hunt.


Available Hunter Management Areas for this Hunt Area

Hanna Draw More Info
Hanna Draw West More Info
Shirley Basin More Info
Muddy Mountain More Info
Beer Mug More Info
East Division More Info

  • Nonresident Deadlines
  • Applications Open: January 2, 2026
  • Application Deadline: February 2, 2026
  • Modify & Withdrawal Deadline: May 8, 2026
  • Tentative Draw Results Available: May 21, 2026
  • Preference Point Only***: July 1, 2026 - November 2, 2026
  • Resident Deadlines
  • Applications Open: January 2, 2026
  • Application Deadline: June 1, 2026
  • Modify & Withdrawal Deadline: June 1, 2026
  • Tentative Draw Results Available: June 18, 2026

  • Nonresident Fees
  • Full Price Landowner License: $692.00
  • Full Price Landowner Youth License**: $275.00
  • Full Price License: $692.00
  • Full Price Youth License**: $275.00
  • Preference Point Only Youth***: $10.00
  • Preference Point Only: $52.00
  • Reduced Price Cow/Calf License: $288.00
  • Reduced Price Landowner Doe/Fawn License: $288.00
  • Reduced Price Landowner Youth Doe/Fawn License**: $100.00
  • Reduced Price Youth Cow/Calf License**: $100.00
  • Special License: $1,950.00
  • Resident Fees
  • Full Price Landowner License: $57.00
  • Full Price Landowner Youth License**: $25.00
  • Full Price License: $57.00
  • Full Price Youth License**: $25.00
  • Reduced Price Cow/Calf License: $43.00
  • Reduced Price Landowner Doe/Fawn License: $43.00
  • Reduced Price Landowner Youth Doe/Fawn License**: $20.00
  • Reduced Price Youth Cow/Calf License**: $20.00

** An applicant may apply for any big game license if he/she is eleven (11) years of age and has not attained eighteen (18) years of age at the time of application. Any person may take a big or trophy game animal at eleven (11) years of age if the person will attain twelve (12) years of age by the end of that calendar year. Persons who are less than eighteen (18) years of age and at least eleven (11) years of age at the time of application may apply for a youth license and remit youth fees. Applicants must be at least fourteen (14) years of age prior to September 15 of the application year in order to hunt wild bison. Applicants under the age of eighteen (18) may have their parent or legal guardian submit an application on their behalf.

Reduced Price Cow/Calf Licenses

2025 Drawing odds

Resident Landowner

Hunt Type Total Quota Landowner Licenses Issued Landowner License Odds
6 252 4 100.00%
7 168 0 100.00%

Resident

Hunt Type Total Quota First choice Applicants First choice odds
6 248 638 38.87%
7 168 161 100.00%

Full Price Licenses

2025 Drawing odds

Resident Landowner

Hunt Type Total Quota Landowner Licenses Issued Landowner License Odds
1 210 27 100.00%
2 84 7 100.00%
4 252 0 100.00%

Resident

Hunt Type Total Quota First choice Applicants First choice odds
1 183 1976 9.26%
2 77 703 10.95%
4 252 247 100.00%

Topography and Vegetation: The area is topographically diverse with broad, rolling plains dominated by sagebrush, grasslands, and saltbushes in the Shirley Basin and I-80 corridor steep irregular mountains, rugged canyons, breaks, and draws in the Shirley and Pedro Mountains and broken rimrock along the Medicine Bow River and south of the Shirley Mountains. Elevation ranges from 5,300 feet to 9,100 feet. This hunt area contains the Shirley, Bennett, Freezeout, Chalk and Pedro Mountains. Habitats occupied by elk include montane forests (lodgepole pine), aspen, mountain shrublands, sagebrush-grasslands, grasslands, riparian, agricultural croplands and reclaimed mine lands.
General Statement Regarding this Hunt Area: Many elk in this hunt area will summer in the Shirley Mountains. Smaller herds will summer in the Bennett and Pedro Mountains. During the fall, elk can usually be found in the Shirley Mountain area. There is a well-established road network on Shirley Mountain and because of this elk can easily be displaced off the mountain onto private lands. During winter, elk will occupy the Pedro, Chalk, and Freezeout Mountains around the Leo area. The topographic relief is dramatic in some parts of the hunt area which can offer quality hiding and escape terrain for elk. The September archery season in this area offers hunters an opportunity to take advantage of rut activity. The rut usually peaks between the third and last week of September. Elk are typically more accessible on public lands earlier in the season. Type 2, 4, and 6 license holders will be able to take advantage of elk transitioning to winter range and late-season behaviors. Starting in November, hunters can typically find elk in more open country, feeding for longer periods during the day. However, access to elk may be more difficult for hunters later in the season. Many roads in this hunt area become nearly impassable when wet and muddy.
Additional Hunting Opportunities: Cottontail rabbit are most abundant in sagebrush / greasewood habitats and around rock outcrops in this area. Sage-grouse can be found in parts of this area, usually in association with wet meadows. Consult the Chapter 11 Upland Game Bird and Small Game Hunting Regulation for season dates, license requirements and bag/possession limits. Mountain lion may be found in the rocky breaks (see Chapter 42). Black bear can occasionally be found in the forested areas (see Chapter 3). The area is bounded by the North Platte River to the west. The North Platte River and Medicine Bow River offer excellent trout fishing and limited waterfowl hunting (Chapters 46 and 14) opportunities.
Herd Unit Job Completion Report: See the EL534 (Shirley Mountain) Job Completion Report for more detailed information on the management of this elk herd.

Area 16 - Type 1
2025 HARVEST REPORT
Hunt Area 16
# Days Hunted 2414
Days/Hunter 14.2
Total Area Harvest 170
Hunter Success 68.50%
View Full Harvest Report
Area 16 - Type 2
2025 HARVEST REPORT
Hunt Area 16
# Days Hunted 876
Days/Hunter 34.5
Total Area Harvest 70
Hunter Success 68.60%
View Full Harvest Report
Area 16 - Type 4
2025 HARVEST REPORT
Hunt Area 16
# Days Hunted 2464
Days/Hunter 16.6
Total Area Harvest 148
Hunter Success 53.40%
View Full Harvest Report
Area 16 - Type 6
2025 HARVEST REPORT
Hunt Area 16
# Days Hunted 2219
Days/Hunter 24.1
Total Area Harvest 92
Hunter Success 35.00%
View Full Harvest Report
Area 16 - Type 7
2025 HARVEST REPORT
Hunt Area 16
# Days Hunted 502
Days/Hunter 6.1
Total Area Harvest 82
Hunter Success 57.30%
View Full Harvest Report

Hunter Education Requirements

No person born on or after January 1, 1966, may take any wildlife by the use of firearms on land other than that of his own family, unless the person possesses or can demonstrate they have obtained a certificate of competency and safety in the use and handling of firearms.

All Elk Hunt Area 75 and 79 (Grand Teton National Park) hunters, regardless of age, must possess and exhibit a valid hunter safety certificate.

Compliance will be checked in the field.

Hunter Education Exemptions

If you meet the Armed Forces/Wyoming Peace Officer exemption requirements or you have obtained special 1 year authorization through the Hunter Mentor Program, you are exempt from hunter education.

Hunter Mentor Program

Any person born on or after January 1, 1966, who has not received a certificate of competency and safety in the use and handling of firearms, may apply to the Department for a special authorization to take wildlife with the use of a firearm while being accompanied by a mentor. A special authorization issued to an individual shall be valid for one (1) year from the date of issue and shall be in the possession of the recipient at all times while in the field.

Animal carcasses must be disposed of properly at designated sites that allow for it. Please click on this link to locate an area near you and check with the disposal site for details regarding your carcass disposal.

Carcass Disposal Sites in Wyoming

Laramie Regional Office
1212 S. Adams St.
Laramie WY 82070
(307) 745-4046

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About Elk Hunting in Wyoming

Applying for a License

The total limit for elk licenses a person may possess differs from deer and antelope in that full price elk licenses and reduced price cow/calf elk licenses are combined together to calculate the total number of elk licenses allowed by any one person. An applicant shall apply for or receive no more than a total of three (3) elk licenses in any one (1) calendar year.

 

An applicant may apply for and receive one (1) general or limited quota full price elk license and one (1) limited quota reduced price cow/calf elk license through the initial license drawing. After the initial drawing, a person may apply for and receive up to a total of three (3) elk licenses, of which no more than one (1) shall be a General, Type 0, 1, 2, 3 or 9 license. However, no person shall apply for and receive more than a total of three (3) elk licenses which shall include not more than one (1) General, Type 0, 1, 2, 3 or 9 license in a single hunting season.

General Elk Licenses

General elk licenses are full-price licenses that are unlimited in the number of licenses issued statewide and are available for purchase "over-the-counter" for Wyoming residents.  Hunters may apply for or purchase a maximum of one general elk license per year.  General elk licenses may be used in any hunt area open to general license hunting and are subject to the season dates and limitations for that hunt area as set forth in the Chapter 7 Elk Hunting Season Regulation.    


 

Nonresident elk hunters wishing to hunt a general area must obtain a Region General License specific to a select region. Region General Licenses allow a nonresident to hunt elk in any hunt area within that region that is open to general license hunting and are subject to the season dates and limitations for that hunt area as set forth in the Chapter 7 Elk Hunting Season Regulation.  For example, nonresident Region S Licenses are valid in Elk Hunt Areas 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 21, 105, 106, 107, 110, and 130, which are open to general license hunting. However, Region S licenses are NOT valid in Elk Hunt Areas 8, 11, 30, 31, 32, 108, 124, and 125 (although these eight hunt areas fall within Region S) as these hunt areas are limited quota. Many general license elk hunt areas also have additional limited quota full-price and/or reduced-price licenses available.

Grand Teton National Park and National Elk Refuge

A person may apply for a reduced price cow/calf elk license without applying for a full price elk license. However, no hunter may take more than one (1) elk in Grand Teton National Park (Elk Hunt Areas 75 and 79) regardless whether he/she possesses both a full price elk license and a reduced price cow/calf elk license valid for the hunt area in Grand Teton National Park. Applicants desiring to hunt within Grand Teton National Park must apply for Elk Hunt Area 75.

 

After the first week of the National Elk Refuge (Elk Hunt Area 77) season, all unused full price elk and reduced price cow/calf elk licenses, excluding limited quota archery only licenses, are eligible for the National Elk Refuge drawing in Elk Hunt Area 77.

 

The Department of the Interior requires hunter safety certification of all hunters, regardless of age, to hunt in Grand Teton National Park (Elk Hunt Areas 75 and 79). The Hunter Mentor Program and Hunter Safety Exemption are not valid in Grand Teton National Park.

Annual Fishing

All nonresident full price elk licenses include an annual fishing privilege. Any hunter who is issued a full price elk license does not need to purchase an additional fishing license once their license is received in June. If you wish to fish prior to receiving your full price elk license, you must purchase a nonresident fishing license. Reduced price cow/calf elk licenses do not include fishing privileges.

General Hunting Information

What do I need to go hunting in Wyoming
Guide to Hunting Access in Wyoming

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