2025 Wyoming Nonresident Elk Application

This episode of the Western Rookie Podcast focuses on the Wyoming non-resident elk application process for 2025. Host Brian Krebs discusses important deadlines, the modified preference point system, application strategies, and the various types of elk licenses available. He emphasizes the significance of understanding the draw system, managing points effectively, and utilizing resources like Go Hunt to enhance the hunting experience. The episode concludes with a reminder of the importance of planning and preparation for successful elk hunting in Wyoming.

Application Deadline:

January 31st at 11:59 PM MT

Application Style:

Modified Preference Point System

Application Cost:

Regular Elk: $707

Special Elk: $1965

State Appplication Website:

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/

Bonus Episode Research

State and Species: Wyoming NR Elk 

Deadline: January 31st  and 11:59 PM MT

Draw System: Modified Preference Point System

Party App Notes: Groups Up To 6

Leftover Tags: Available in the Leftover Draw

Regular Elk Tag: $707

Special Elk Tag: $1965

Preference Points: Available from July 1st through Oct. 31st

Breakdown:

• GoHunt Insider 
• Important Info
  • Results will be available tentatively on May 22nd
  • Can modify application until May 8th
  • Must front the entire tag cost
  • Unsuccessful applicants will get a refund
    • Will not automatically get a point
  • Don’t need to apply for a point – separate period for points only 
  • You cannot return an elk license for a refund or get points back
• New for 2025
  • Nonresident general elk applicants will now have to apply for a specific region – no more entire state
    • State is broken up into three regions – IE not that big of a deal for most.
  • The special elk license increased to $1965 – this might push some people who have done special draw in the past to the regular draw and increase point creep
• Wyoming Winter Update
  • Another Mild Winter so far
• Wyoming Draw System
  • Modified Preference Point System
  • 75% of tags will go to highest point holders
  • 25% randomly drawn across remaining point holders
  • Special Draw – increased tag fee for potentially better odds – check draw odds to compare and see if its worth it for your case
  • Group apps up to 6
  • Group points averaged – greater than x less than y bucket
  • Wyoming will over allocate if a group is drawn larger than remaining tags – no decrease in odds to apply as a group
  • Group will need a party leader to begin app and send party ID info to rest of group
  • Only 1st choice uses points
• License Types
  • Type 1 – Rifle tags with most allowing OTC archery stamp
  • Type 2 – Typically different dates or boundaries as the type 1
  • Type 9 – Archery Only 
  • General License – rifle or archery hunt with the OTC archery stamp
  • Type 4 and 5 – full priced cow/calf
  • Type 6 and 7 – reduced price cow/calf and do not use preference points
• USFS Designated Wilderness Areas – Nonresidents cannot legally hunt DWAs without a licensed Wyoming Outfitter or Licensed Wyoming Resident Guide
  • Wilderness Study Areas are designated by the BLM and Nonresidents can hunt those without a guide
  • Check the GoHunt Maps platform before applying to ensure you know what DWAs exist in your unit
• Grizzly Bears
  • NW corner of Wyoming is Grizzly country.
  • Can be a concern for some
  • Know before you apply
  • One option to get away from crowds
• Wyoming Elk Breakdown
  • Key state for anyone looking to elk hunt each year
  • Definitely worth applying or building points in 
  • Majority of the state is over objective
  • Point creep was pretty consistent with the new region system in 2024
  • Not known as a 350+ state, but lots of big bulls in the 300-350 are killed every year
  • Longer seasons with the general units – a lot of tags can hunt both archery and rifle 

Brian Krebs (00:01.58)

Welcome back to another bonus episode of the Western Rookie Podcast brought to you by Go Hunt. This is the Go Hunt bonus series where we cover all of the quick hitting details that you need to draw more tags, plan more hunts, and be more successful in the West. And 2025 application season is officially in full swing because today we've got the Wyoming non-resident elk deadline. Now this is every year one of the first

major deadlines to come up. We already obviously did the Idaho general tag sale back in December. That's not really an application. That's more of a, you go to the DMV, get a ticket, wait your turn in line, buy your tag. This is an application. This is the application season kicking off and we are covering one of the primary elk applications for all of you guys out there, Wyoming non-resident elk. So the deadline is January 31st, 1159 PM.

Mountain time definitely do not wait deadline January 31st like I said This is a modified preference point system, so we'll get into how the Wyoming draw works. We did it last year We'll give you a quick refresher this year You can also apply in parties up to six one of the most liberal party systems out there Montana's is five Wyoming's is six so pick five buddies go apply

There are leftover tags in the leftover draw, but most tags are gonna go in the primary draw here. once again, no tag increases this year, which is good. Elk Regular 707, the special, which is basically special odds. For anyone, you pay more for the tag, but you get special odds, better odds. 1965, really big hit there, but you get better odds at elk hunting. So if you're more interested in going,

more often rather than how much the tag costs. Could be an option for you. And also preference points only. We have those available July 1st through the end of October. We'll do a separate reminder bonus series about preference points and bonus points later in the year. for the breakdown, obviously, like always, Go Hunt Insider, top notch for all the information you need to go plan a Western hunt. I use it.

Brian Krebs (02:16.588)

on every application, every tag I've ever drawn. It's an awesome service. If you go over there get signed up, use the code Western, they're gonna give you $50 of free credit to their gear shop. And their gear shop full of all of the best gear you could possibly have for hunting. So like I said, use the code Western, there's a link down below, and you're gonna get $50 of free credit. deadline is January 31st. Results are gonna come out in May 22nd. This is one of the bummers that we talk about with Wyoming.

especially in the non-resident elk, the deadline is way early. The results are way late. So we talked about this. I posted an application strategy article over on the Western Rookie Podcast website, but that article talked about tag stacking. If you really want to go every year, you could do application stacking. And what my example was is you can apply for Wyoming elk in January as a non-resident. Then you get into the different states like Colorado,

Montana that have like April deadlines and they release their results before Wyoming. So you can modify your Wyoming application until May 8th. Montana and Colorado both share the results first. So if you draw, maybe you would draw for, maybe you apply for a real conservative general tag in Wyoming with your points. Then you swing for the fence in Montana. Maybe you try to draw something in Colorado.

that your borderline, right? Like maybe you five points and five points for that unit in Colorado is like 50, 50 odds. If you draw, then you can modify your Wyoming application and withdraw it, take it out, not pay and get your refund. Or maybe you don't draw and you go even more conservative in Wyoming for a guaranteed take based on your points. So that's kind of application stacking. That's the one good thing you get with a long period in between the deadline and the results with Wyoming.

Otherwise you're just funding the game and fish department for like five months before they get you your money back. So that's kind of annoying, but you do have to front the entire tag gust. That's why it's a bummer to have that money on your credit card or out of your bank for five months. If you're unsuccessful, you'll get a refund for your tag. You will not automatically get a point. So you got to remember that even though you did a Wyoming app, if you didn't draw, you still have to buy your point later in the year. You also cannot return an elk license. So if you

Brian Krebs (04:39.054)

draw but you draw another state now you have two elk tags so definitely if you're going to do the application stacking make sure you get in there and adjust your wyoming application accordingly so that way you either don't draw two tags or you draw the tag you do want so be careful with that so new for 2025 not much not much has changed last year we talked about the they came out with the new three region system there's the west the east and the south

applicants for the general tag now have to pick a specific region. You have to stay within that region. You can't bounce across the whole state anymore. Honestly, not that big of a deal really. Who's going to break down out camp drive halfway across the state and set up a new out camp? If anything, you might bounce over a unit or two and you can still do that as long as it's within your region. But now that we've had this system for a full year, we can now see that there really wasn't much point creep with this different system and the special tags.

The special application actually the point creep went down because more people maybe were picking a specific region or maybe they'd went out of the special. We don't really know, but we do know that the point creep for special, the special application, the special license went down. So that's good if you're one of those people going into the winter update this year. So if you guys remember two years ago, we had an absolute brutal winter in Wyoming, Utah, Northern Colorado.

Huge record snowfalls tons of mortality it affected mule deer and antelope a lot more than the elk But it did affect elk in some places. So that was the winter of like 23 24 Sorry, 22 23 the winter of 23 24 We were back to kind of drought status across most of Wyoming You know 50 % of anticipated rainfall right now in 24 25

We are kind of sitting at average at about 90, 80 to 100 % across much of the state. The Northeast has the least. So what that means is so far with the data we have, we have a normal winter, which should mean normal calving rates, normal mortality rates, normal vegetation growth, antler growth potential, just normal. In 22, 23, a lot of crazy things were happening. People weren't quite sure if

Brian Krebs (06:58.766)

that was a year they should spend points. We got two normal years under our belt now, so a lot of the information and the data that we have in Wyoming should be pretty accurate if you want to spend your points this year. I always recommend spending them. Spend your points early, go hunting. It's a risk if you build up max points and then a drought happens or an extreme winter happens and you spent 19 points to get an elk tag in Wyoming and your unit burnt up or your unit got 100 % mortality from a severe winter.

I always recommend apply early as soon as you get the points go apply. So let's talk about the draw system. Wyoming says they have a preference point system, but it's a really complicated preference point system. So 75 % of the tags do go towards the highest preference point holders. Colorado is the perfect example of a preference point system. In Colorado, whoever has the most points gets the tag. So we talked about it last year, but let's say there's 10 tags for unit one up in the northwest corner.

If there's nine people at max points that apply for it, all nine of those people get a tag. Now they go down to, you know, the next point level down, there's one tag left and maybe there's 25 people that applied. Now it's a one in 25 % chance. And after that, no one gets a tag. So if you don't, it's easier to calculate when you have a true preference point system. It's easier to be confident if you're going to draw or not. Do you have a hundred percent? It's either a hundred percent, zero percent, or somewhere in the middle in that point bracket where it finally runs out of tags.

With Wyoming, 75 % go to that. 25 % go into a random portion. And that happens first. So no points at all. It's just completely random. Every year, the general tag has different odds for the random. If I use GoHunt Insider, can share, I can see what the random odds are for the three regions of general tags. If I find them here,

It's like the eastern side, 15 % chance you're gonna draw with the random and not use your points. Western it's nine, southern it's six. there's a percent chance you draw with any point. So you can always apply and draw in Wyoming. That's one of the benefits. And if you draw your other state, your primary plan, Colorado, Montana, whatever it is, then you can always withdraw. So that's one thing. It's always helpful to apply in Wyoming. Then they go to the 75 % with the highest points and then that all gets...

Brian Krebs (09:26.242)

that all gets distributed, all the tags are gonna go. The special draw, they the regular, the special, the special, the tag fee is way higher, but you get a lot better chances. So for the special, the random alone, 40%, 68%, 25%, really high odds for the random on the special. And then the general tags are like two points to draw 100 % instead of five points. So way better odds with the special draw.

So if you apply in a group, we talked about groups up to six. In Wyoming, your group points get averaged. So it's really powerful. Colorado, it goes by the lowest point total. In Wyoming, they get averaged. So if you've got one person that hasn't been able to go on the LCON for a few years and they build up a ton of points, they can potentially help you draw a year or two earlier, which is really cool. So pick your groups accordingly. Also make sure everyone in your group doesn't miss the point deadline in the fall, because if one person messes up, it could bring your average down.

from five to 4.5 and that could kick you out of the running for a tag. So really important that everyone in your group's buying points every year. Another thing, Wyoming only uses your first choice for points. There really aren't any second choice tags available for elk. I know in Wyoming, Antelope, you can apply for a first choice higher odds or higher quality unit. And if you don't draw for Antelope, there used to be a couple regions you could draw on your second choice.

For elk, they're all gonna go on first choice, so it doesn't really help you out. So, one of the things that we get the most questions about at the podcast are all the different license types in Wyoming. There are a ton of them and they're super confusing. Type one, type two, type nine, type four, five, six, seven, eight, all kinds of types of licenses. So I'm gonna break them down. We did this last year. I'm gonna break them down really easily. There are a bunch of different types. So type one.

These are your normal tags. Type 1 tags are normal. They're rifle tags. Most of them allow an over-the-counter archery stamp. So it's your normal elk tag. If you want to archery hunt, you can get a type 1 tag, draw it for a unit, and then you can get the archery stamp and archery hunt it in most places. So normal bull tag. Type 2. It's still like a normal bull tag or any elk tag, but it typically just has a different date or a different boundary as the type 1.

Brian Krebs (11:51.896)

So type one might be unit number, unit 25, October 1st through the 31st. Type two would be unit 25, October 15th through the 31st. Just a little different and it depends. Sometimes you're better draw odds for that if it works for your calendar. The best way to figure all that out is GoHunt filtering 2.0. You can see all the different seasons and license types. Then you jump, let's jump down to type nine.

Type 9 is an archery only tag. So if you know you're going to bow hunt, you can look for type 9 tag options and see if you have better draw odds for those tags. They have the general license. So this is rifle or archery. You have to get the archery stamp, but that's the state or the region wide general license for whichever region you apply for. Type 1 and type 2 are unit specific. Type 9 is unit specific. The general is region specific. Then you get into the other ones, type 4 and type 5. These are full priced.

cow or calf tags. Just a different type four and type five. just might be private land only, different dates, different regions of the unit. Type six and type seven are reduced price cow, calf tags, and they do not use preference points. So this would be for units that are really high over objective on population. They want to keep those numbers down. So for the most part, you're going to be looking at either the general or a type one, maybe a type two.

Maybe a type nine if you're archery. Those are the four you really got to focus on four, five, six, seven and eight. They're all just cow calf, private land, reduced price cow calf tags like that. So that simplifies it a little bit. Now, one thing I always like to mention in Wyoming, as it stands, the United States Forest Service wilderness areas, non-residents legally cannot hunt those without a guide or a

licensed Wyoming resident guide. So it doesn't necessarily have to be an outfit or just has to be a resident that has the proper paperwork. Wilderness study areas are designated by the Bureau of Land Management and non-residents can hunt those without a guide. So you have to look between the United States Forest Service Wilderness Area or a Wilderness Study Area and GoHunt Maps has all that information before you apply so you can know exactly how much of your unit you can actually hunt in. Now obviously

Brian Krebs (14:14.168)

Grizzly bears in the northwest corner, if you're applying for those, be bear aware, be prepared to hunt in grizzly country. We've seen grizzly bears right across the border in Montana before. They're there, be aware, but some of those can have a really good elk hunting opportunities as well. that being said, let's get into the most exciting part of the Wyoming non-resident elk application. What's the elk breakdown like in Wyoming? So the key state, if for anyone looking to hunt elk each year is Wyoming.

It is a vital part of your application strategy, your state rotation. If you want to elk every year, you need to have Wyoming in your plan. You have to be building points in Wyoming. Because what's going to happen is it's going to take five years to draw in Wyoming. It's going to take every other or every three years in Montana. And then you mix in Colorado those other years. So you can go Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming. Simple enough.

It's a great unit to build points in. You don't have to buy a license to build points. So it's one of the cheaper states to build points in for elk. But it's a key state. The general tag in Wyoming is better than the general tag in Montana. It's better than over the counter in Colorado. It's a very good tag. It is a midterm, mid quality tag for sure. It's not trophy potential. There are huge bulls still available.

but it's a great tag for success rates for populations. Wyoming really does manage their elk herd really well. It's a hard state to get into, quite frankly, and with that you get better experiences. definitely worth applying for and building points in. It can be worth applying for either way with that random portion. It could change from picking up like one of the leftover tags in Colorado, they're not technically over the counter anymore.

But it could be the difference between hunting that tag or hunting a really good general unit in Wyoming. Majority of the state is currently over objective in elk numbers and elk population. So that's always good. It's always something I look for. How many elk are there? If I'm hunting a giant unit with 100 head of elk, it's not a lot. If I'm hunting a small unit that's got 2,500 elk, now that's pretty exciting. So it's cool to see that the state's over objective. I think it's good. The state might not, but.

Brian Krebs (16:30.286)

I like knowing there's a lot of elk around. We also saw, like I said, point creep being pretty consistent with this new general tag region specific strategy, which is good. So that means that that didn't jump really high and increase the points to draw folks. So that's a really good thing. Now, yes, Wyoming is not one of the trophy elk states. It's not Utah. It's not Arizona. It's not New Mexico, but they're still

are a lot of big 300 plus inch bulls, 280 plus bulls, lots of good six by six bulls in there that are killed every year. Obviously there's a few giants. Every state's got a few giants. I would say Wyoming is more known for a quality hunting experience, a great chance to see a six point bull, a great chance to get into some bugle and elk. And it's also really good.

location wise for most non resident hunters. It's centrally located. You don't have to drive all the way to Washington, Oregon, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona. It's got better experiences than Colorado over the counter. It's got better quality elk in their general tags than Montana does. It's a really good option. It also has a really long season. So if you draw the general season, you can go hunt with a bow. And if you don't take out, you can come back with a rifle. So a lot of great things about Wyoming. It just

It's, and most people aren't really looking for 350 plus. Like I'm not passing a 340 inch bowl. I hope none of you listening pass 340 inch bowls, unless you have an extremely unique situation, like a once in a lifetime, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah tag. But for the most part, hunting a general unit, if you see a 300 inch bowl, especially with a bow, that is a huge joke and I hope you take it. So.

Doesn't really matter that they're not known for giants because there's a ton of good bulls. And that's what I hope everyone wants to see when they go out cutting. It's just a lot of good interaction. Getting in on bulls, getting in on elk, getting opportunities, getting chances to succeed. So I think Wyoming is one of the best States for that. It's our favorite state when it comes to our groups, Archery Elk Hunt. Wyoming is our number one state followed by Montana, followed by Colorado. go use that information.

Brian Krebs (18:49.132)

Go over, check out Go Hunt. Like I said, we talked about a few of the tools today. They've got the filtering 2.0 we mentioned, how to find a unit, best tool out there for picking a unit. They've got the draw odds, best tool out there for figuring out what your real draw odds are gonna be this year based on all the data from last year's. They have the mapping system, so all in one, you pick one platform, you get all the tools you need, you don't have to have separate subscriptions for everything. You also get all these,

articles like what I'm looking at the application strategy for 2025. You get all kinds of great information over there. So go check it out. If you decide to sign up, use the code Western to get your 50 bucks. And if you want reminders for all of the applications across the West, in addition to listening to the podcast and the bonus series, we just released the Western rookie application calendar. It's a free calendar.

on our website, westernrookie.com. You download that, you import it, you get every single reminder across the West. For example, we didn't talk about it, but today we have the reminder for Nevada Spring Turkey. So if you're in that region of the country or you want to travel to Nevada and get Spring Turkey, we had that reminder in our application calendar so you don't forget them. It comes with the link to the state website so you can go right over there and apply. It has five days.

Five business days of time between the reminder and the actual deadline gives you plenty of time to figure out what unit you're going to apply for. If you're going to apply, get your group together, get out of the buddies on the same page. It also shows up as free in your calendar so it doesn't screw up your work meetings and it shows up as private. So no one has to snoop on your business. It's free, like I said, over at the Western Rookie Podcast website, westernrookie.com.

We have a points version. We also have a full version. So if you just want reminders for the point deadlines like Wyoming, because you applied, you didn't draw. Now you have to remember to go buy your point this fall. We've got point reminders in there as well. It's a ton of information and it's completely free. It works on mobile, on iPhone, Android. It works on Google calendars. It works on Outlook. It's the easiest on a computer or a laptop, but it works with everything. And I just want to help you guys all draw more tags.

Brian Krebs (21:07.724)

That's it. That's what we got for today. That is the Wyoming 2025 non-resident ELK application. And now with that application season is officially kicked off and we're going to be rolling week to week with all of the applications that are coming up and giving you all of the quick hitting details of what you need to know to go and apply and draw more tags. Thanks for listening folks. See you next week.

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