Wyoming Unit 23 Elk Hunting Guide

Wyoming Unit 23 offers elk hunters a mid-sized, moderately accessible unit spanning 810,587 acres with a mix of public and private ground. With 54% of the unit in public ownership and no designated wilderness, Unit 23 presents a workable option for hunters weighing access, opportunity, and tag strategy across Wyoming's elk country. Elevations in the unit range from 5,102 to 8,222 feet, producing a range of habitat types from lower sagebrush benches to timbered high country that elk use seasonally.

This unit draws interest from both resident and nonresident applicants navigating Wyoming's tag system, and recent harvest data shows a unit that produces meaningful opportunity — though hunters need to understand the numbers before committing points, money, and vacation days to a hunt here. Below is a data-driven breakdown of what Unit 23 actually offers, using harvest figures, tag quota trends, herd survey data, and application details sourced through HuntPilot.

Harvest Success Rates

Unit 23's recent harvest data shows a unit with real, if variable, opportunity. Over the last four seasons on record:

• 2025: 544 hunters, 204 harvested, 38% success
• 2024: 526 hunters, 291 harvested, 55% success
• 2023: 483 hunters, 218 harvested, 45% success
• 2022: 425 hunters, 193 harvested, 45% success

That's a four-year success rate range of 38–55%, with 2024 standing out as a notably strong year and 2025 pulling back toward the lower end of the range. Hunter numbers have also crept upward over this period, climbing from 425 in 2022 to 544 in 2025 — a sign that pressure on this unit is increasing even as success rates have softened in the most recent season. Hunters should treat 2024's 55% figure as an outlier rather than the expected baseline; the three-year average excluding that spike sits closer to the low-to-mid 40s, which is still a solid success rate for elk hunting in the West.

Trophy Quality

Trophy records from the counties overlapping Unit 23 point to a moderate history of trophy-class elk production. This isn't a unit with a heavy, decades-deep trophy pedigree, but it also isn't devoid of history — moderate trophy potential means hunters have a realistic shot at a mature bull without Unit 23 being mentioned in the same breath as Wyoming's elite trophy units. Because record-book entries are logged by county rather than by unit boundary, any trophy history attributed to this area is shared with neighboring units that overlap the same counties, so it shouldn't be read as unit-exclusive production.

For hunters whose primary goal is chasing an exceptional score, Unit 23 is not likely to be a top-tier destination based on available trophy data. For hunters looking for a mature, respectable bull in a unit with decent access and a workable harvest rate, the data supports realistic expectations without overpromising.

Herd Health & Population Trends

Wildlife survey data collected across four survey years (2021–2024) shows an average bull-to-cow ratio of 16:100 for Unit 23. This is a low ratio relative to general elk herd management benchmarks, and it's a meaningful data point for hunters evaluating this unit — a low bull:cow ratio typically indicates either heavy bull harvest pressure, a younger bull age structure, or both. Unlike survey anomalies that spike unrealistically high in a single year (which usually signal a small sample size rather than a real herd trend), this 16:100 average is consistent enough across four years of surveys to be treated as a genuine indicator of herd composition rather than a data artifact.

Practically, this means hunters should not expect to encounter large numbers of mature bulls relative to the cow population while afield in Unit 23. It reinforces the "moderate" trophy assessment above — the herd's bull representation simply isn't stacked the way it would be in a unit managed more conservatively for older bull age classes.

Access & Terrain

Unit 23 sits at elevations between 5,102 and 8,222 feet, giving hunters a genuine mix of lower-elevation sagebrush and grassland terrain transitioning into higher timbered ground. With 54% of the unit's 810,587 acres in public ownership, there is a majority-public land base to work with, though the remaining 46% in private hands means hunters need to pay close attention to land ownership maps before committing to a specific drainage or access point. There is no designated wilderness in Unit 23 (0%), which means access via motorized routes on public land is not restricted by wilderness regulations the way it would be in more remote Wyoming units — a meaningful advantage for DIY hunters who want to cover ground efficiently rather than pack in on foot or horseback for miles.

Hunters planning to scout Unit 23 should lean on mapping tools that clearly delineate public versus private boundaries given the significant private land presence. HuntPilot's public land overlay and mapping tools can help hunters identify legal access points and avoid unintentional trespass issues before the season, which matters more in a unit like this than in unit with near-total public ownership.

HuntPilot Analysis: Is Unit 23 Worth Applying For?

Unit 23 is a reasonable, data-supported option for hunters who prioritize a workable success rate over trophy potential. The harvest numbers — a 38–55% range over four years — put this unit solidly in the category of "hunters who put in effort have a good chance of punching a tag," which is a meaningful selling point in a state where many units run well below that. The public land base of 54% gives DIY hunters a real foothold, and the lack of wilderness designation removes a layer of access complexity and cost that nonresident hunters face in Wyoming's guide-mandatory wilderness units.

Where Unit 23 falls short is trophy quality. The moderate trophy history combined with a consistently low bull:cow ratio across four years of survey data suggests this is not a unit to target if a mature, high-scoring bull is the primary objective. Hunters chasing that kind of animal may be better served researching units with stronger trophy pedigrees and healthier bull age structures, even if that means longer point-accumulation timelines.

Tag quota trends add another layer worth considering. Type 1 tags increased from 150 in 2025 to 175 in 2026 — a 17% jump — which may signal expanding opportunity for hunters targeting that hunt type. Type 4 and Type 6 tags have both held steady at 200 tags across 2024–2026, and Type 9 tags remained flat at 50 tags between 2025 and 2026. Stable or increasing quotas generally suggest a unit that isn't seeing drastic management shifts, which is a modestly reassuring sign for hunters planning multi-year point strategies here.

Bottom line: Unit 23 is worth applying for if the goal is a solid opportunity to fill an elk tag on a majority-public-land unit with manageable access, and hunters are comfortable with moderate trophy expectations. It is not the unit to prioritize if the singular goal is a record-class bull.

How to Apply

Nonresidents should note that Wyoming's elk draw for residents does not operate on a preference-point system — it is a straight random draw for residents. Nonresidents, however, do accumulate points, and the point fee listed above applies to nonresident applicants building or maintaining point status for future draws. Alternatively, check the HuntPilot Wyoming state page (/states/wy) for updated deadlines and tag information.

Application dates and fees change every draw cycle. For the current deadlines, fees, and draw odds, see HuntPilot's Wyoming page at /states/wy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the terrain like in Wyoming Unit 23? Unit 23 spans elevations from 5,102 to 8,222 feet, offering a mix of lower sagebrush and grassland terrain that transitions into higher, more timbered ground at the upper elevations. There is no designated wilderness in the unit, which means motorized access on public land is generally more available than in Wyoming's wilderness-heavy units.

What is harvest success like in Unit 23? Recent harvest success in Unit 23 has ranged from 38% to 55% over the past four seasons, with 2024 posting the strongest results at 55% (291 elk harvested among 526 hunters) and 2025 pulling back to 38% (204 harvested among 544 hunters). Hunter numbers have trended upward over this period, which may be contributing to the recent dip in success rate.

How big are the elk in Unit 23? Trophy records tied to the counties overlapping Unit 23 point to moderate trophy potential — some history of trophy-class bulls, but not the deep, consistent production seen in Wyoming's premier trophy units. Combined with a low average bull:cow ratio of 16:100 across recent survey years, hunters should set realistic expectations for a mature-but-not-necessarily-exceptional bull rather than targeting Unit 23 specifically for record-class potential.

Is Unit 23 worth applying for? For hunters prioritizing a reasonable chance at filling a tag on majority-public land (54%) without the added complexity of wilderness access restrictions, yes — the harvest data supports it. For hunters whose main goal is a top-end trophy bull, the moderate trophy history and low bull:cow ratio suggest looking at other units with stronger trophy production data.

What percentage of Unit 23 is public land? Unit 23 is 54% public land, meaning a majority — but not an overwhelming majority — of the unit's 810,587 acres is accessible without private land permission. Hunters should use detailed land ownership mapping before scouting or hunting given the significant 46% private land share.