Get Your Elk License Before May 31

Pictured: There’s still time to apply for Wisconsin’s 2025 elk hunting season. Photo credit: Cody Austin

Wisconsin hunters have until May 31 to apply for a chance at a 2025 elk hunting license.

Wisconsin’s expanding elk population has had an annual hunt in the Clam Lake Elk Range since 2018 and since 2024 in the Black River Elk Range. Each elk range is comprised of approximately 70 percent public lands, across varying habitat types, offering excellent opportunities to pursue elk.

The Black River Elk Range will have a 2025 quota of four antlered and five antlerless elk, and the Clam Lake Elk Range will have a quota of eight antlered elk split evenly between Tribal and state-licensed hunters. The 2025 DNR elk hunting season opens Oct. 18, 2025.

Applicants are required to select between the Black River Elk Range or Clam Lake Elk Range when applying. All applications will be for an antlered harvest authorization. The drawing is random, with all applicants having an equal chance of selection. Applications are not weapon-specific.

Antlerless harvest authorizations will also be filled through the random drawing process after the initial antlered drawing is complete. Selected applicants will have the choice of receiving the antlerless authorization or declining the antlerless license. Wisconsin residents can only draw an elk license once in their lifetime, and declining the antlerless license will not count against this limit. Winners will be notified by DNR staff in early June.

The elk hunting season is a unique hunting opportunity, open only to Wisconsin residents. With a few clicks, Wisconsinites can purchase their elk license applications online through Go Wild. Application purchases are also available in-person at license agents across the state.

For each application fee, $7 goes directly to elk management, monitoring, and research. These funds are also used to create and enhance elk habitat, which benefits elk and other wildlife species.

All winners must participate in a Wisconsin elk hunter education course before obtaining an elk hunting license. The class covers Wisconsin elk history, hunting regulations, biology, behavior, and scouting/hunting techniques.