Can a hunter in Wyoming buy a general deer licence to hunt this area, or must they draw?

A Wyoming resident buys a general deer licence over the counter with no draw, no wait list, and no preference points involved. A nonresident must draw a Region W general licence, which is valid across all general-licence hunt areas in the region; three-quarters of region licences go to the preference-point draw (top-down by points held), and a quarter to a random draw open to all applicants. The resident draw plays no role in preference points—the resident licence is obtained without draw or points.

What white-tailed deer can a hunter legally take on the general-licence season here?

Any white-tailed deer is legal on the general-licence mule deer season—buck, doe, or fawn, with no antler restriction. The four-point minimum applies to mule deer only; it does not restrict white-tailed deer. A white-tailed doe, fawn, or antlerless buck is a legal harvest on that hunt.

How much of this hunt area is ground a hunter can depend on accessing?

Roughly 73% of the hunt area is public land—BLM and State Trust Land—where a hunter can generally count on entry, though roads, trailheads, and seasonal closures still apply. The remaining 27% is private land, which requires permission. A hunter should map public sections carefully in the northern checkerboard; the southern half offers more straightforward public access.

Is white-tailed deer hunting a realistic option in this hunt area?

White-tailed deer are scarce here and almost entirely confined to riparian habitat along the Little Snake River, where private land controls most access. Most white-tailed deer harvest occurs on the late-season doe-and-fawn hunt (Type 8, November through mid-January) rather than the early general seasons. Hunters targeting white-tailed deer should expect very limited public opportunities unless they can gain permission on private ground.

What times of year are the different deer seasons open here?

The general-licence mule deer season runs archery September 1–30 and rifle October 1–6. The any-white-tailed-deer season spans archery September 1–30 and rifle October 1–November 30. The doe-and-fawn white-tailed season (valid on private land) runs archery September 1–30 and rifle November 1–January 15. Youth hunters have extended rifle dates through October 12.

Wyoming Hunt Area 100 (South Wamsutter) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

73%

Elevation

6,100–7,900 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 100 is a 1,776-square-mile expanse of semi-arid sagebrush plains broken by badlands along its southern and western edges, where scattered juniper, mountain mahogany, and other shrubs sit amid rocky terrain. The country rolls gently—94% of it is gentle ground—across an elevation band from 6,100 to 7,900 feet. Water is scarce and unpredictable; moisture pools in shaded folds and north-facing aspects after rain or snowmelt, and deer concentrate where perennial springs flow in drainages like Sand and Willow creeks. Cover is marginal, consisting of tall sagebrush, boulders, and gullies deep enough to hold a deer, and forage is limited to browse on saltbush, mountain mahogany, sagebrush, and greasewood. The hunt is difficult by design—the terrain is remote and deer are thinly scattered, but that same vastness and light harvest pressure allow a few bucks to reach large size.

Public land makes up roughly 73% of the area and provides the only reliable hunting access for most of the hunt area 100. The southern half allows general foot travel across public ground with good access from roads and trailheads. The northern half is a checkerboard of private and public sections, creating a patchwork where access depends on understanding exactly where private boundaries lie. The Tipton Hunter Management Area is private ground enrolled through WGFD and does require a printed permission slip; a hunter planning to use it should confirm current enrollment. Most white-tailed deer in the area are confined to riparian strips along the Little Snake River, where private land predominates and public access is scarce to nonexistent, keeping white-tailed deer hunting very restricted despite dedicated seasons for them.

Weather changes dramatically across the hunting calendar. Early-season archery (September) is mild—highs near 72°F, lows near 42°F, with virtually no snow. Early October holds cooler days in the upper 50s and nights dropping into the 30s, with minimal snowfall. Regular rifle season (October into November) grows progressively colder as November arrives with highs in the 40s, lows around 21°F, and snowfall averaging 4.2 inches per month. Late-season doe and fawn hunting (November through mid-January) involves deep winter conditions: January brings highs near 32°F, lows around 12°F, and snowfall averaging 4.7 inches monthly. The weather reward is that snow and cold concentrate deer and can push them across property lines, shifting access opportunities where private and public meet.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 100 (South Wamsutter) 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 W, 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 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 valid on private land
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular November 1 – January 15
Type Gen — general licence · Antlered mule deer four (4) points or more on either antler or any white-tailed deer
Legal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rules
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 6

Where a hunt above sets an antler requirement on mule deer and then allows any white-tailed deer, that point requirement is a mule deer rule only. And “any white-tailed deer” means any— buck, doe or fawn. WGFD writes “antlered” where it means a buck and “antlerless” or “doe or fawn” where it means a female, so an unqualified “any” sets no restriction on sex or age.

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

Hunters pursuing any white-tailed deer during archery (September 1–30) and rifle (October 1–November 30) encounter mild early-season conditions that cool as autumn progresses. Archery happens during the velvet shed and early-fall transition, when deer remain loosely scattered across summer range in low-light periods near dawn and dusk. October rifle hunting coincides with the early-fall migration and early pre-rut phases as bucks begin to move and vocalize, though September's mild temperatures (highs near 72°F, lows 42°F) shift to much colder days by late October (upper 50s, dropping to 30s at night). November conditions grow progressively tougher: temperatures plunge into the 40s and 20s, and snowfall averaging 4.2 inches per month can concentrate deer and shift their movements across property lines. White-tailed deer here are scarce and mostly confined to the Little Snake River riparian zone on private land; public-land hunters should enter this season with low expectations unless they have secured permission on private ground.

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

The doe-and-fawn white-tailed deer season, valid on private land only, opens archery September 1–30 and rifle November 1–January 15, spanning from the velvet shed and early transition through the depths of winter. Early-season archery finds deer in early-fall transition behavior with mild temperatures (highs 72°F, lows 42°F); the long gap until rifle season in November means late-season hunters face winter conditions—November brings temperatures from 43°F highs to 21°F lows and 4.2 inches of average monthly snowfall, while January delivers 32°F highs and 12°F lows with 4.7 inches of snow. This hunt type concentrates white-tailed deer harvests because most of the area's white-tailed population lives in the Little Snake River corridor where private land controls access; a hunter must secure permission to hunt there. The season structure rewards late-season cold-weather hunters who can navigate private-land access and take advantage of winter concentration near water and shelter.

Type Gen — Antlered mule deer four (4) points… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)

The general-licence mule deer season, open archery September 1–30 and rifle October 1–6 only, requires antlered mule deer with four points or more on either antler, though any white-tailed deer is legal with no antler restriction. Early September archery coincides with the velvet shed and early transition when temperatures stay mild (highs near 72°F, lows 42°F) and bucks remain scattered across marginal cover and forage; October rifle hunting is brief, lasting only six days into the early-fall migration phase as temperatures drop sharply to highs in the upper 50s and lows in the 30s, with minimal snowfall. Finding mule deer here demands patience and skill—they are thinly spread across remote terrain and respond to sun angle and shade as the day progresses, so afternoon hunts when shadows shift are more productive than morning. A hunter entering this hunt should scout water sources in the Sand and Willow creek watersheds and focus on broken terrain with tall sagebrush and boulders where deer can hide, accepting that seeing even a few animals across the season is a realistic outcome.

Land and access

BLM71%

Generally open to public hunting

private land27%

Private

State Trust Land2%

Generally open to public hunting

About 73% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 1,296 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.

It also holds 1 Hunter Management Area. That is private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. A Hunter Management Area requires a printed permission slip from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before hunting it. Enrollment is renegotiated every year, so check current status before counting on either.

Where deer are mapped

Winter Range100%

used in winter

Yearlong Range89%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range11%

the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it

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

Sagebrush84%

Other cover9%

Grass and meadow8%

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	32°F	12°F	4.7 in
February	35°F	14°F	3.3 in
March	46°F	23°F	1.6 in
April	54°F	28°F	1.1 in
May	65°F	37°F	0 in
June	77°F	45°F	0 in
July	85°F	52°F	0 in
August	82°F	50°F	0 in
September	72°F	42°F	0 in
October	58°F	31°F	0.5 in
November	43°F	21°F	4.2 in
December	32°F	13°F	5 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter in Wyoming buy a general deer licence to hunt this area, or must they draw?: A Wyoming resident buys a general deer licence over the counter with no draw, no wait list, and no preference points involved. A nonresident must draw a Region W general licence, which is valid across all general-licence hunt areas in the region; three-quarters of region licences go to the preference-point draw (top-down by points held), and a quarter to a random draw open to all applicants. The resident draw plays no role in preference points—the resident licence is obtained without draw or points.
What white-tailed deer can a hunter legally take on the general-licence season here?: Any white-tailed deer is legal on the general-licence mule deer season—buck, doe, or fawn, with no antler restriction. The four-point minimum applies to mule deer only; it does not restrict white-tailed deer. A white-tailed doe, fawn, or antlerless buck is a legal harvest on that hunt.
How much of this hunt area is ground a hunter can depend on accessing?: Roughly 73% of the hunt area is public land—BLM and State Trust Land—where a hunter can generally count on entry, though roads, trailheads, and seasonal closures still apply. The remaining 27% is private land, which requires permission. A hunter should map public sections carefully in the northern checkerboard; the southern half offers more straightforward public access.
Is white-tailed deer hunting a realistic option in this hunt area?: White-tailed deer are scarce here and almost entirely confined to riparian habitat along the Little Snake River, where private land controls most access. Most white-tailed deer harvest occurs on the late-season doe-and-fawn hunt (Type 8, November through mid-January) rather than the early general seasons. Hunters targeting white-tailed deer should expect very limited public opportunities unless they can gain permission on private ground.
What times of year are the different deer seasons open here?: The general-licence mule deer season runs archery September 1–30 and rifle October 1–6. The any-white-tailed-deer season spans archery September 1–30 and rifle October 1–November 30. The doe-and-fawn white-tailed season (valid on private land) runs archery September 1–30 and rifle November 1–January 15. Youth hunters have extended rifle dates through October 12.

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