Can a Wyoming resident hunt deer in hunt area 1 on a general licence without entering a draw?

Yes. Wyoming residents can buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw and no preference points required; the licence is unlimited statewide and valid in all general-licence hunt areas including hunt area 1. A resident may hold only one general deer licence per year.

Does a nonresident need preference points to draw a Region A general licence valid in hunt area 1?

Three quarters of Region A's general-licence spots are awarded by preference points, with the highest point counts drawn first; the remaining quarter are filled by random draw regardless of points. Nonresidents building points can improve their odds in the preference-point pool, but the random quarter offers a chance to every applicant with or without points.

Which deer species are legal in hunt area 1's hunts, and does the ground limit matter?

Hunt area 1 has two hunt types. The Type Gen hunt allows antlered mule deer anywhere in the area and any white-tailed deer only on private land—so antlered mule deer are valid on both public and private ground, but white-tailed deer of any sex or age are private-land only. Type 8 is doe or fawn white-tailed deer on private land. Mule deer are not legal in Type 8.

How much of hunt area 1 can a hunter actually access on public land?

About 21% of the hunt area is dependably accessible public land (BLM and State Trust). Much of the land shown as public on maps is blocked by private inholdings, seasonal closures, or poor road and trailhead access, and accessible parcels are scattered and highly pressured during opening week. Access to private land is difficult and often requires paying a trespass fee to ranches that remain open to new hunters, which are uncommon here.

How do the archery and rifle seasons differ in hunt area 1 in terms of deer behavior and hunting conditions?

Archery runs September 1–30 when September temperatures average highs near 75 degrees with almost no snow, and deer are shedding velvet and beginning early fall movement. Rifle season runs November 1–20 with sharply colder conditions—highs around 45 degrees and 2.3 inches of monthly snowfall—and catches the early pre-rut and primary rut phases when deer movement and rutting behavior intensify. Both seasons face the same access constraints, but the rut phase makes rifle season a different hunting proposition.

Wyoming Hunt Area 1 (Crook) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

21%

Elevation

3,400–5,400 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 1 sits in the northeastern rolling prairie and pine country of Wyoming, covering 713 square miles of gently graded ground between 3,400 and 5,400 feet. The terrain averages 3.9 degrees of slope and runs almost entirely to gentle ground; the landscape mixes sagebrush and grassland—together making up 84% of the cover—with scattered ponderosa pine and other vegetation filling the rest. Mule deer occupy the sagebrush and open country while white-tailed deer inhabit the pine draws and rough breaks, almost entirely on private land. Public access is severely limited. About 21% of the hunt area—roughly 147 square miles of BLM and State Trust Land—can generally be counted on for entry, but much mapped public land is blocked by private inholdings, seasonal closures and poor road access. Hunters who arrive during the opening week of the seasons encounter heavy pressure on the accessible public ground. White-tailed deer are found almost exclusively on private land, and gaining permission to hunt ranches here is difficult; many are leased to outfitters, and landowners taking new hunters at a trespass fee are scarce. Mule deer are more broadly available across public and private ground, though public access remains a significant constraint.

Two hunts run here, both spanning archery (September 1–30) and regular seasons (November 1–20). The archery window catches deer in early fall as velvet sheds and animals begin shifting movement patterns; September weather is warm, with highs near 75 degrees and virtually no snow. The regular season runs through the early pre-rut migration and the primary rut in November, when temperatures drop sharply to highs around 45 degrees and snowfall averages 2.3 inches for the month. Access conditions and deer location remain much the same across both seasons, but the rut phase shifts hunting opportunity and animal behavior significantly.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 1 (Crook) is a general-licence hunt area, and how a hunter gets a licence for it depends on where they live.

A Wyoming resident buys a general deer licence over the counter — unlimited statewide, on sale from mid-July. No draw, no application, no preference points.
A nonresident cannot buy one. They must draw a Region general licence — for this hunt area, deer region A, which is valid across the general-licence hunt areas of that region and nowhere else.

A hunter may hold only ONE general deer licence in a year, so a general licence is a single choice rather than something to stack.

Wyoming residents have no preference points for deer — the resident deer draw is random, and no resident point cutoff exists for any hunt area in the state. For nonresidents points matter a great deal: Wyoming awards 75% of each nonresident pool through the preference-point draw, top-down by points, and the remaining 25% at random. Nonresidents also choose between the Regular and Special pools — the same hunts at two price points, competing separately.

Seasons (2026)

Type Gen — general licence · Antlered deer valid in the entire area; any white-tailed deer valid on private land
Legal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rules
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular November 1 – November 20
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid on private land
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular November 1 – November 20

The wording of each hunt is the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s and is legally exact — a “doe or fawn” hunt is not a deer hunt in general, and a hunt limited to part of the area is not valid across it. Confirm every hunt in the current regulations before applying.

Hunting each season

Type Gen — Antlered deer valid in the entire area; any white-tailed deer valid on private land · mule deer & whitetail (September–November)

Archery for antlered mule deer anywhere in the area and any white-tailed deer on private land runs September 1–30, when early fall transitions bring velvet shedding and deer begin shifting toward fall patterns. September weather stays warm with highs near 75 degrees and virtually no snow, keeping conditions stable for glassing open country and hunting draws. Access to public land remains the primary limitation—only about 21% of the hunt area is dependably open, and those parcels see substantial pressure. Private land holds most white-tailed deer and remains difficult to access without outfitter connections or rare new-hunter arrangements. Rifle season for the same animals runs November 1–20 through the early pre-rut and primary rut, when day temperatures drop to near 45 degrees and snowfall averages 2.3 inches; the rut phase shifts deer behavior and creates moving targets across migration corridors. Public land access does not improve, but some hunters find conditions less crowded later in the month. Mule deer respond to the rut across both public and private ground, while white-tailed deer remain almost exclusively on private land.

Type 8 — Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid… · whitetail only (September–November)

Archery for doe or fawn white-tailed deer on private land runs September 1–30 concurrent with Type Gen, covering the early fall transition and velvet-shed phase in warm, dry conditions. This is an antlerless hunt valid only on private ground, and accessing private land—the only habitat that holds white-tailed deer in numbers—is the primary challenge, with few ranches open to new hunters outside outfitter arrangements. Rifle season for doe or fawn white-tailed deer on private land runs November 1–20 through early pre-rut and primary-rut phases, when the animal's behavior shifts with the rut and temperature drops sharply to highs near 45 degrees with 2.3 inches of average monthly snowfall. Private-land access remains the binding constraint; most of this area's white-tailed deer inhabit private ranch country, and opening opportunities on new properties is difficult. Hunters already established on private ground will find the rut phase and cooling weather favor more active deer movement.

Land and access

private land79%

Private

BLM14%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land6%

Generally open to public hunting

About 21% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 147 square miles. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.

State trust land counts toward the open figure above. Wyoming extends hunting on legally accessiblestate trust land to the public unless a parcel is specifically closed — the catch is the access itself, since crossing private ground to reach it still needs the landowner’s permission. Camping, fires and off-road vehicles are not allowed on it.

Where deer are mapped

Yearlong Range63%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range40%

used in winter

Each figure is the share of the hunt area that layer covers. It says where deer are mapped, not where inside the area they are, and not when they move.

Habitat and cover

Across the unit

Grass and meadow54%

Sagebrush30%

Conifer9%

Other cover8%

Shares are of each elevation band, not of the whole hunt area — they describe what grows up there, not how much of the area sits at that elevation.

Weather through the season

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Snowfall
January	35°F	12°F	4.9 in
February	37°F	14°F	4.6 in
March	48°F	22°F	2.9 in
April	56°F	30°F	1.9 in
May	66°F	40°F	0 in
June	77°F	49°F	0 in
July	86°F	56°F	0 in
August	85°F	54°F	0 in
September	75°F	44°F	0 in
October	59°F	32°F	0.5 in
November	45°F	22°F	2.3 in
December	35°F	13°F	4.5 in

Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.

Common questions

Can a Wyoming resident hunt deer in hunt area 1 on a general licence without entering a draw?: Yes. Wyoming residents can buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw and no preference points required; the licence is unlimited statewide and valid in all general-licence hunt areas including hunt area 1. A resident may hold only one general deer licence per year.
Does a nonresident need preference points to draw a Region A general licence valid in hunt area 1?: Three quarters of Region A's general-licence spots are awarded by preference points, with the highest point counts drawn first; the remaining quarter are filled by random draw regardless of points. Nonresidents building points can improve their odds in the preference-point pool, but the random quarter offers a chance to every applicant with or without points.
Which deer species are legal in hunt area 1's hunts, and does the ground limit matter?: Hunt area 1 has two hunt types. The Type Gen hunt allows antlered mule deer anywhere in the area and any white-tailed deer only on private land—so antlered mule deer are valid on both public and private ground, but white-tailed deer of any sex or age are private-land only. Type 8 is doe or fawn white-tailed deer on private land. Mule deer are not legal in Type 8.
How much of hunt area 1 can a hunter actually access on public land?: About 21% of the hunt area is dependably accessible public land (BLM and State Trust). Much of the land shown as public on maps is blocked by private inholdings, seasonal closures, or poor road and trailhead access, and accessible parcels are scattered and highly pressured during opening week. Access to private land is difficult and often requires paying a trespass fee to ranches that remain open to new hunters, which are uncommon here.
How do the archery and rifle seasons differ in hunt area 1 in terms of deer behavior and hunting conditions?: Archery runs September 1–30 when September temperatures average highs near 75 degrees with almost no snow, and deer are shedding velvet and beginning early fall movement. Rifle season runs November 1–20 with sharply colder conditions—highs around 45 degrees and 2.3 inches of monthly snowfall—and catches the early pre-rut and primary rut phases when deer movement and rutting behavior intensify. Both seasons face the same access constraints, but the rut phase makes rifle season a different hunting proposition.

Sources

Wyoming Game & Fish — Hunting & Trapping — licence types, general and limited-quota hunts, and season structure
WGFD Hunt Planner — hunt-area boundaries, season dates and the unit descriptions
WGFD — Draw results and odds — how the resident random draw and the nonresident preference-point draw work
WGFD — Regulations — the legal limitations on each hunt, and the statewide licence rules
USGS National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2021) and 3DEP elevation — land cover and terrain by elevation band

Seasons, licence types and boundaries change. Confirm every detail with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before applying or hunting.

All Wyoming deer hunt areas