Unit 016 (Shirley Mountain)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk Hunt Area 16, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Shirley Mountain, covers about 1,756 square miles in Carbon and Natrona counties. It belongs to WGFD's Shirley Mountain elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 56.8%, with 990 hunters taking 562 elk at about 15.1 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 45% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 016
Elk Hunt Area 16, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Shirley Mountain, covers about 1,756 square miles in Carbon and Natrona counties. It belongs to WGFD's Shirley Mountain elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 56.8%, with 990 hunters taking 562 elk at about 15.1 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 45% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Elk Hunt Area 16
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names elk hunt area 16 "Shirley Mountain". It runs to about 1,756 square miles, in Carbon (90%) and Natrona (10%) counties. WGFD reports these elk as the Shirley Mountain herd unit, and no other hunt area shares it. What WGFD publishes for the area is its boundary and its harvest; where the elk stand inside it is our reading of the ground, and the two are kept apart below.
The line: North Platte River, Bolton Creek and Shirley Ridge
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 7 walks the line around elk hunt area 16 corner by corner. It starts at the junction of Interstate Highway 80 and the North Platte River. On the way round it follows Interstate Highway 80, Wyoming Highway 220, Natrona County Road 404 and Natrona County Road 403, and North Platte River, Bolton Creek, Shirley Ridge and Little Medicine Bow River. It is the description your license is good inside, so it is worth reading once in full before you go. The full text is in Section 9 of that chapter, with this year's season dates and license limitations in Section 2.
Not the same ground as the other hunt area 16s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 16 also belongs to its antelope and moose hunt areas 16. None of them shares a county with this one. A license is good only in the hunt area of its own species, so this page is about the elk area, and the cards at the foot of the page link the others.
Ground WGFD opens: Hanna Draw and Hanna Draw West
Its Access Yes program enrolls 5 Hunter Management Areas here that list elk among their species — Hanna Draw (95,812 acres), Hanna Draw West (43,643 acres) and Shirley Basin (36,673 acres). WGFD's 2026 regulations open Access Yes land only for the species and dates listed for each area, with each area's own rules on WGFD's site and no motorized travel unless WGFD says otherwise. Public Access Areas such as Dome Rock Reservoir (10 acres) and Walker Jenkins Lake are public ways onto water and land; check what each allows before you count on it for hunting.
High ground inside the line: Bald Mountain, Shirley Mountains and Windy Hill
Named high points inside elk hunt area 16 include Bald Mountain at 9,079 feet, Shirley Mountains at 9,061 feet, Windy Hill at 8,334 feet, Pyramid Peak at 8,277 feet and Pedro Mountains at 8,264 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Elk want timber to bed in and open ground to feed on, within a short walk of each other.
Holding ground: Balsam Draw, Johnson Canyon and Prior Flat
Below them sit Balsam Draw at 7,751 feet, Johnson Canyon at 7,735 feet, Prior Flat at 7,643 feet, Prior Draw at 7,621 feet and Schoolhouse Canyon at 7,474 feet. That is the low ground — where animals drop when they are pushed or when the weather turns.
Water: Sips Spring, Tenmile Spring and Rattlesnake Springs
Named water inside the line includes Sips Spring, Tenmile Spring, Rattlesnake Springs, Poison Spring, Willow Springs and Josendal Springs. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit 016 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up · figures are for GMU 16
The lay of it
- 5,893–8,424 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 6,906 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 1,756.3 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.
Who owns the ground
- BLM — 15%
- Private / Other — 85%
Roughly 15% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 185 tanks
- 4 springs
- 163 stream segments
- 33 lakes
Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Windy Hill (8,334 ft), Pyramid Peak (8,277 ft), The Chimneys (8,244 ft), Pine Hill (8,075 ft)
Holding ground: Headquarters Park (8,349 ft), Schoolhouse Canyon (7,474 ft), Shirley Basin (7,090 ft), Hanna Draw Hunter Management Area, East Division Hunter Management Area
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Elk in Elk Hunt Area 16
Elk Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 56.8% elk success in elk hunt area 16: 562 animals taken by 990 active hunters over 8,475 days of hunting, or 15.1 days per animal. By residency, residents 57.1% (461 taken by 807) and nonresidents 55.2% (101 taken by 183).
These are WGFD's own estimates from its hunter survey, for this hunt area and season only — not a statewide average. One season isn't a trend, so check the current report before you read one into it.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (resident) | 207 | 2,027 | 10.2% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (nonresident) | 3 | 591 | 0.5% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 either sex (resident) | 97 | 727 | 13.3% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 either sex (nonresident) | 3 | 421 | 0.7% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (resident) | 252 | 251 | 100.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (nonresident) | 10 | 26 | 38.5% | — |
Data from 2026 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number. This agency publishes no point thresholds, so the Pts column stays blank and these are pool odds, not what a point total draws.
Open in Draw Odds EngineWyoming Game and Fish's 2026 demand report for elk in elk hunt area 16, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1 (any elk), residents: 2,027 first-choice applicants for 207 licenses, 10.2% drawn
- Type 2 (any elk), residents: 727 first-choice applicants for 97 licenses, 13.3% drawn
- Type 1 (any elk), nonresidents: 591 first-choice applicants for 3 licenses, 0.5% drawn
- Type 2 (any elk), nonresidents: 421 first-choice applicants for 3 licenses, 0.7% drawn
- Type 4 (antlerless elk), residents: 251 first-choice applicants for 252 licenses, 100% drawn
Wyoming residents draw elk licenses without preference points; nonresidents draw part of their quota on points, highest balance first (Chapter 44, Section 19), and the nonresident figures above are from WGFD's random draw. WGFD publishes no preference-point level at which a hunt draws, so none is given here. There are 1 more type-and-residency rows for this area in 2026. Every figure was checked against WGFD's demand-report PDFs on 2026-08-10.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Wyoming elk hunt area 16?
What is the elk success rate in elk hunt area 16?
Is elk hunt area 16 the same ground as antelope hunt area 16?
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Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-25.
- Chapter 7 — Elk Hunting Seasons (2026) — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Name and legal boundary of elk hunt area 16, Season dates, license types and limitations by hunt area · accessed 2026-10-25
- Elk 2025 Harvest Report — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Hunters, harvest, percent success and days per animal for elk in elk hunt area 16, The same by license type and residency · accessed 2026-10-25
- WGFD draw results and odds — demand reports 2021-2026 — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: First-choice applicants, licenses and percent drawn, by license type, residency and year · accessed 2026-08-10
- Chapter 44 — Regulation for Issuance of Licenses, Permits, Stamps, Tags, Preference Points and Competitive Raffle Chances — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Which licenses are drawn on preference points (Section 19), When preference points are deleted · accessed 2026-10-25
- 2026 Antelope, Deer and Elk Hunting Regulations — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Access Yes Walk-In and Hunter Management Area rules · accessed 2026-10-25
- WGFD ArcGIS feature services — hunt areas by species, CWD sampling areas, WHMAs, Public Access Areas, Hunter Management Areas, Walk-In Hunting Areas — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Mapped outline of the hunt area, Herd unit and square miles, WHMAs, Public Access Areas, Hunter Management Areas and Walk-In Areas inside the area · accessed 2026-10-25
- TIGERweb State_County — Wyoming county boundaries (used only to measure which counties a hunt area lies in) — U.S. Census Bureau · supports: Which counties the hunt area lies in, and in what share · accessed 2026-10-25