Elk draws by state: hunts and applications
Arizona had the most first-choice elk applications of the 15 state draws on file: 148,257 in its 2025 draw (Arizona Game and Fish Department), ahead of Colorado (140,121, 2026) and Wyoming (119,790, 2026).
Data updated October 2026. From each state agency's latest draw report on file, fetched October 2026.
This table lists every state FilledTag has elk draw results for. Applications are counted on first choice, the way each agency prints them; a hunter who applies in two pools, or for two hunts, is counted twice. For Kentucky, Nevada, Tennessee and Washington, the report on file lists the hunts but not applicants per hunt.
Which states hold an elk draw, and how many applied?
| State | Draw year | Points | Hunts in the draw | First-choice applications | Drew on first choice | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 2025 | Bonus points | 240 | 148,257 | not printed for every pool | Arizona Game and Fish Department |
| Colorado | 2026 | Preference points | 1,039 | 140,121 | 77,439 (55%) | Colorado Parks and Wildlife |
| Wyoming | 2026 | Preference points | 263 | 119,790 | not printed for every pool | Wyoming Game and Fish Department (7 reports) |
| Utah | 2025 | Bonus points | 379 | 114,965 | 12,867 (11%) | Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (3 reports) |
| Montana | 2026 | Squared bonus points | 129 | 109,932 | 29,793 (27%) | Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (2 reports) |
| Oregon | 2026 | Hybrid: preference and random | 301 | 102,406 | 42,931 (42%) | Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife |
| New Mexico | 2026 | No points | 322 | 101,892 | 11,907 (12%) | New Mexico Department of Wildlife |
| Idaho | 2026 | No points | 182 | 88,101 | 17,617 (20%) | Idaho Department of Fish and Game |
| North Dakota | 2026 | Bonus points | 12 | 26,268 | not printed for every pool | North Dakota Game and Fish Department |
| California | 2026 | Preference points | 81 | 25,013 | not printed for every pool | California Department of Fish and Wildlife (3 reports) |
| Alaska | 2025 | No points | 13 | 19,600 | not printed for every pool | Alaska Department of Fish and Game |
| Kentucky | 2025 | No points | 4 | not printed | not printed | Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources |
| Nevada | 2025 | Squared bonus points | 276 | not printed | not printed | Nevada Department of Wildlife |
| Tennessee | 2027 | No points | 3 | not printed | not printed | Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (2 reports) |
| Washington | 2025 | Bonus points | 333 | not printed | not printed | Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife |
Questions about elk draws
Which state had the most elk draw applications?
Arizona, with 148,257 first-choice applications across 240 elk hunts in its 2025 draw, as Arizona Game and Fish Department reported it.
Where did the largest share of first-choice elk applications draw?
Among states that print who drew for every pool, Colorado: 77,439 of 140,121 first-choice applications drew in 2026 (55%). The smallest share was Utah's, 12,867 of 114,965 in 2025 (11%). These are past results, not the chance of drawing next year.
Which states draw elk tags with no points?
New Mexico, Idaho, Alaska, Kentucky and Tennessee: no applicant gains an edge from earlier years in those draws, by the agency's own rules. Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Oregon, North Dakota, California, Nevada and Washington give an edge to applicants who have built points.
Do nonresidents apply for elk in large numbers?
In Wyoming's 2026 draw, 58,590 of the 119,790 first-choice elk applications were from nonresidents (49%), the largest nonresident share among the states that split applications by residency. Wyoming counts a nonresident who misses its preference point drawing again in its random drawing, so some are counted twice.
Read each state's draw in full
Each state name in the table opens that state's own page on FilledTag, with the draw by hunt, the points it took where the agency prints them, and the units on the map. The draw rules by state page explains how each state uses points. To see where your own points could draw, use the tag draw planner.
Every number is the agency's, copied from its published report; FilledTag adds nothing to it. The share that drew is a past result for that year.