Unit 124 (Powder Rim)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk Hunt Area 124, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Powder Rim, covers about 2,869 square miles in Sweetwater and Carbon counties. It belongs to WGFD's Petition elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 81.5%, with 270 hunters taking 220 elk at about 8.5 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 70% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 124
Elk Hunt Area 124, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Powder Rim, covers about 2,869 square miles in Sweetwater and Carbon counties. It belongs to WGFD's Petition elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 81.5%, with 270 hunters taking 220 elk at about 8.5 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 70% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Elk Hunt Area 124
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names elk hunt area 124 "Powder Rim". It runs to about 2,869 square miles, in Sweetwater (84%) and Carbon (16%) counties. WGFD reports these elk as the Petition 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.
Where elk hunt area 124 begins and ends
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 7 walks the line around elk hunt area 124 corner by corner. It starts at the junction of Wyoming Highway 789 and the Wyoming-Colorado state line. On the way round it follows Wyoming Highway 789, Wyoming Highway 430 and Interstate Highway 80. 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 124s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 124 also belongs to its deer hunt area 124. 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: Tipton
Its Access Yes program enrolls a Hunter Management Area here that list elk among their species — Tipton (58,470 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.
High ground inside the line: Pine Butte, Sand Butte and Kinney Rim
Named high points inside elk hunt area 124 include Pine Butte at 8,762 feet, Sand Butte at 8,576 feet, Kinney Rim at 8,193 feet, Sand Butte Rim at 8,077 feet and Black Buttes at 8,047 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: Dripping Rock Draw, East Draw and Manuel Gap
Below them sit Dripping Rock Draw at 7,123 feet, East Draw at 7,123 feet, Manuel Gap at 7,119 feet, Haystack Flats at 7,056 feet and Long Draw at 7,053 feet. Those are the basins and bottoms of the area, and they are what you glass into from above.
Water: Hartt Cabin Spring, Moonshine Spring and Grindstone Spring
Named water inside the line includes Hartt Cabin Spring, Moonshine Spring, Grindstone Spring, Lower Willow Creek Spring, Lower Powder Spring and Patterson Springs. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit 124 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 6,392–7,452 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 6,864 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 2,865.5 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
- 91 tanks
- 18 stream segments
- 6 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: Kinney Rim (8,193 ft), North Flat Top (7,858 ft), Powder Mountain (7,668 ft), East Flat Top (7,602 ft)
Holding ground: Sand Butte Basin (7,907 ft), Chicken Springs Basin (7,304 ft), East Draw (7,123 ft), Tipton Hunter Management Area, Hartt Cabin Spring
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 124
Elk Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 81.5% elk success in elk hunt area 124: 220 animals taken by 270 active hunters over 1,864 days of hunting, or 8.5 days per animal. By residency, residents 80.9% (178 taken by 220) and nonresidents 84% (42 taken by 50).
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) | 57 | 1,271 | 4.5% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 443 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 antlered (resident) | 42 | 77 | 54.5% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 antlered (nonresident) | 1 | 22 | 4.5% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (resident) | 168 | 230 | 73.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (nonresident) | 7 | 37 | 18.9% | — |
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 124, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1 (any elk), residents: 1,271 first-choice applicants for 57 licenses, 4.5% drawn
- Type 1 (any elk), nonresidents: 443 first-choice applicants for 0 licenses, 0% drawn
- Type 4 (antlerless elk), residents: 230 first-choice applicants for 168 licenses, 73% drawn
- Type 2 (antlered elk), residents: 77 first-choice applicants for 42 licenses, 54.5% drawn
- Type 4 (antlerless elk), nonresidents: 37 first-choice applicants for 7 licenses, 18.9% 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 124?
What is the elk success rate in elk hunt area 124?
Is elk hunt area 124 the same ground as deer hunt area 124?
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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 124, 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 124, 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