Can a hunter draw a general or region licence to hunt area 10?

No. Hunt area 10 is limited-quota draw only, drawn individually by residents and nonresidents alike. A region or general licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region, not in limited-quota hunt areas. A hunter must draw a licence specific to this hunt area.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points to draw a deer licence for hunt area 10?

No. Wyoming residents do not use preference points for any deer hunt. The resident draw for hunt area 10 is random. Nonresidents, by contrast, use preference points in a competitive draw: three-quarters of nonresident licences go to top-ranked applicants by points, and a quarter go to a random draw open to all nonresidents.

Which deer species can a hunter legally take in each hunt type on area 10?

Type 1 permits both antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer. Type 3 permits any white-tailed deer—mule deer are not legal on this hunt. Type 8 permits doe or fawn white-tailed deer only—no mule deer and no antlered white-tailed deer.

What fraction of hunt area 10 is public land a hunter can generally count on accessing?

About 76% of the hunt area, roughly 652 square miles, is public land that a hunter can generally depend on. This includes National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land. The remaining 24% is private land. Public ownership is not automatic entry—roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings still apply.

When do the archery and regular seasons run on hunt area 10?

Archery runs September 1–30 across all three hunt types. Type 1 regular runs October 1–21 for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. Type 3 and Type 8 regular seasons both run October 1–November 30.

Wyoming Hunt Area 10 (Rochelle Hills) deer hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

76%

Elevation

4,200–5,300 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 10 rolls across gently graded prairie and sage flats between 4,200 and 5,300 feet, with most of the country sitting around 4,700 feet. The ground slopes so gradually that 94% of it is classified as gentle terrain—wide open country that lets a hunter cover distance on foot. Grass and meadow dominate the land cover at 51%, with sagebrush taking another 42%, and the mix supports two very different deer populations. Mule deer work the mixed grassland, sagebrush flats, draws and buttes across this country. White-tailed deer are far fewer here and concentrate along creek bottoms where cottonwoods grow; most white-tailed deer hunting happens on private ground. About 76% of the hunt area is public land that a hunter can depend on—chiefly the Thunder Basin National Grasslands—leaving 24% in private hands. That public acreage gives hunt area 10 the best public-land mule deer hunting opportunity in northeast Wyoming, and low license numbers keep pressure down and hunting quality up. Two walk-in areas, Converse County Walk-In Area 12 and Converse County Walk-In Area 14, open seasonally to public entry without requiring permission.

Access to the public land is not automatic: roads, trailheads and seasonal travel restrictions all apply. The Thunder Basin National Grasslands publishes a travel-management map that governs where hunters can drive and camp; that map is essential reading before the season. Public land in active coal-mining areas is closed to hunting. Some private roads look like public ones, and a GPS or mapping app showing landownership is not optional—it keeps a hunter on ground where he is legal. Trespass outfitting does occur on private land but is limited; a hunter planning to hunt private ground needs to secure permission long before drawing day. Early-season crowds can build on the most accessible public land once hunting starts.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 10 (Rochelle Hills) is limited quota. A licence for it must be drawn for this hunt area specifically, by resident and nonresident alike. A region licence does not reach it — a region licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region, so there is no fallback for this hunt.

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 1 · Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer
Legal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rules
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 21
Type 3 · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – November 30
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – November 30

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 1 — Antlered mule deer or any… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)

Type 1 archery (September 1–30) hunts antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer as velvet sheds and early fall transition brings deer onto active feeding grounds. September weather holds mild highs near 77°F and lows in the mid-40s with virtually no snow, favoring early-morning and evening stalks across open prairie and sage. The regular-season rifle hunt (October 1–21) coincides with early fall migration and nocturnal buck behavior as deer shift through migration corridors. October temperatures drop to highs around 61°F and lows near 32°F, with about 0.8 inches of snowfall possible, which can push deer activity and concentrate animals along draws and water. Public land is accessible throughout but crowding peaks early in the season on the most reachable ground.

Type 3 — Any white-tailed deer · whitetail only (September–November)

Type 3 hunts any white-tailed deer, a species found primarily in cottonwood-lined creek bottoms rather than across the open grassland where most public-land access is centered. The archery window (September 1–30) falls during velvet shed and early fall transition, with mild early-season conditions favoring stalks in riparian areas. The regular season (October 1–November 30) spans early fall migration through the primary and late rut, carrying hunting into the cold: October runs 61°F highs to 32°F lows with occasional snow, while November's highs fall to 47°F and lows to 21°F with roughly 1.6 inches of monthly snowfall. Most huntable white-tailed deer populations lie on private land with cottonwood cover; public-land white-tailed deer hunting is limited and often marginal.

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

Type 8 hunts doe and fawn white-tailed deer only on archery (September 1–30) and regular (October 1–November 30) seasons, with the same rut and weather progression as Type 3. Early-season archery in mild September conditions targets does and fawns in riparian habitat before the rut builds and deer behavior shifts. The long regular season extends deep into November's heavy snow and cold—temperature lows near 21°F and snowfall around 1.6 inches—when does and fawns concentrate in cover. Like Type 3, this hunt's white-tailed deer are concentrated on private land in cottonwood galleries; public-land opportunities for this harvest class are sparse.

Land and access

National Forest47%

Generally open to public hunting

private land24%

Private

BLM23%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land6%

Generally open to public hunting

About 76% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 652 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.

the Wyoming Game & Fish Department publishes 58% public land for this hunt area. That counts public ownership; the figure above counts ground a hunter can depend on getting onto. They answer different questions, so both are shown rather than blended.

This hunt area has 2 enrolled walk-in areas. That is private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. A Walk-In Area needs no permission slip — a hunter may walk in during the open period, subject to its posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated every year, so check current status before counting on either.

Where deer are mapped

Winter Range16%

used in winter

Yearlong Range16%

the only layer that means year-round use

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 meadow51%

Sagebrush42%

Other cover7%

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	37°F	13°F	1.7 in
February	39°F	14°F	2.4 in
March	50°F	23°F	1.6 in
April	58°F	30°F	1.3 in
May	67°F	40°F	0 in
June	79°F	49°F	0 in
July	89°F	56°F	0 in
August	87°F	54°F	0 in
September	77°F	44°F	0 in
October	61°F	32°F	0.8 in
November	47°F	21°F	1.6 in
December	37°F	13°F	2.1 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a general or region licence to hunt area 10?: No. Hunt area 10 is limited-quota draw only, drawn individually by residents and nonresidents alike. A region or general licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region, not in limited-quota hunt areas. A hunter must draw a licence specific to this hunt area.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points to draw a deer licence for hunt area 10?: No. Wyoming residents do not use preference points for any deer hunt. The resident draw for hunt area 10 is random. Nonresidents, by contrast, use preference points in a competitive draw: three-quarters of nonresident licences go to top-ranked applicants by points, and a quarter go to a random draw open to all nonresidents.
Which deer species can a hunter legally take in each hunt type on area 10?: Type 1 permits both antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer. Type 3 permits any white-tailed deer—mule deer are not legal on this hunt. Type 8 permits doe or fawn white-tailed deer only—no mule deer and no antlered white-tailed deer.
What fraction of hunt area 10 is public land a hunter can generally count on accessing?: About 76% of the hunt area, roughly 652 square miles, is public land that a hunter can generally depend on. This includes National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land. The remaining 24% is private land. Public ownership is not automatic entry—roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings still apply.
When do the archery and regular seasons run on hunt area 10?: Archery runs September 1–30 across all three hunt types. Type 1 regular runs October 1–21 for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. Type 3 and Type 8 regular seasons both run October 1–November 30.

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