Unit 120 (Buffalo Creek)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk Hunt Area 120, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Buffalo Creek, covers about 1,451 square miles in Natrona County. It belongs to WGFD's South Bighorn elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 55.8%, with 344 hunters taking 192 elk at about 18.6 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 48% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 120
Elk Hunt Area 120, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Buffalo Creek, covers about 1,451 square miles in Natrona County. It belongs to WGFD's South Bighorn elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 55.8%, with 344 hunters taking 192 elk at about 18.6 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 48% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Elk Hunt Area 120
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names elk hunt area 120 "Buffalo Creek". It runs to about 1,451 square miles, entirely in Natrona County. WGFD reports these elk as the South Bighorn herd unit, which also takes in elk hunt areas 33, 34, 47, 48 and 49. The boundary and the harvest figures are WGFD's. The read of the country inside them is ours, and it says so where it starts.
The line: North Platte River, Badwater Creek and Deep Creek
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 7 walks the line around elk hunt area 120 corner by corner. It starts at the intersection of Interstate Highway 25 and the North Platte River in the city of Casper. On the way round it follows Interstate Highway 25, U.S. Highway 20-26, Natrona County Road 103 and Natrona County Road 102, and North Platte River, Badwater Creek, Deep Creek and Buffalo Creek. That is a legal description, not a habitat map, and it is the text a warden reads you against. 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 120s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 120 also belongs to its deer hunt area 120. None of it 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: Natrona 2 and Natrona 3
WGFD also lists 8 Walk-In Areas covering about 28,072 acres open for elk, among them Natrona 2, Natrona 3 and Natrona 22. 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 Badwater Ranch (10,211 acres) and Flying A Ranch (2,862 acres) are public ways onto water and land; check what each allows before you count on it for hunting.
High ground inside the line: Deadman Butte, Black Rim and Three Buttes
Named high points inside elk hunt area 120 include Deadman Butte at 6,938 feet, Black Rim at 6,660 feet, Three Buttes at 6,511 feet, Gray Wall at 6,445 feet and Flat Top Hill at 6,256 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: First Water Draw, Lost Canyon and Ralston Flats
Below them sit First Water Draw at 6,051 feet, Lost Canyon at 6,012 feet, Ralston Flats at 5,895 feet, North Branch Cave Gulch at 5,776 feet and Dean Springs Draw at 5,768 feet. That is the low ground — where animals drop when they are pushed or when the weather turns.
Water: Bar Spring, Dean Springs and Sanchez Spring
Named water inside the line includes Bar Spring, Dean Springs, Sanchez Spring, Big Sulfur Spring and Hackett Spring. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit 120 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 5,012–8,295 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,832 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 1,450.3 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.
Who owns the ground
- Private / Other — 100%
Roughly 0% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 116 tanks
- 99 stream segments
- 9 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: Black Rim (6,660 ft), Three Buttes (6,511 ft), Gray Wall (6,445 ft), Flat Top Hill (6,256 ft)
Holding ground: Beaton Basin (7,529 ft), West Slope (6,701 ft), Cedar Gap (6,569 ft), Walk-In Area Natrona 3, Walk-In Area Natrona 8
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 120
Elk Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 55.8% elk success in elk hunt area 120: 192 animals taken by 344 active hunters over 3,568 days of hunting, or 18.6 days per animal. By residency, residents 57.8% (163 taken by 282) and nonresidents 46.8% (29 taken by 62).
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) | 123 | 584 | 21.1% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (nonresident) | 3 | 126 | 2.4% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (resident) | 84 | 41 | 100.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (nonresident) | 3 | 2 | 100.0% | — |
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 120, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1 (any elk), residents: 584 first-choice applicants for 123 licenses, 21.1% drawn
- Type 1 (any elk), nonresidents: 126 first-choice applicants for 3 licenses, 2.4% drawn
- Type 4 (antlerless elk), residents: 41 first-choice applicants for 84 licenses, 100% drawn
- Type 4 (antlerless elk), nonresidents: 2 first-choice applicants for 3 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. 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 120?
What is the elk success rate in elk hunt area 120?
Is elk hunt area 120 the same ground as deer hunt area 120?
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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 120, 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 120, 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