Can a hunter in Wyoming draw a general or region licence for hunt area 116?

No. Hunt area 116 is limited-quota only, drawn specifically for this area by both residents and nonresidents. A region or general licence does not cover it; a hunter must draw the limited-quota licence for hunt area 116 itself to hunt there legally.

How do preference points factor into a resident's draw for this hunt area?

Wyoming residents have no deer preference points at all. The resident draw for hunt area 116 is random, with no point cutoff or point advantage. Nonresidents, by contrast, are split into a preference-point draw that awards three-quarters of licences to the highest-point applicants and a random draw for the remaining quarter.

What deer species can a hunter take in the Type 1 hunt on this area?

Type 1 permits both antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer, under different rules. An antler or point requirement does not apply to white-tailed deer in this hunt—it applies to mule deer only. A white-tailed buck, doe, or fawn is legal if it is a white-tailed deer.

Does the Type 7 white-tailed doe hunt cover all of hunt area 116?

No. Type 7 is valid only on private land within the Wood River drainage. A hunter drawing this licence cannot hunt doe or fawn white-tailed deer on public ground or outside the Wood River drainage, even if that ground is part of hunt area 116.

Which seasons overlap between the archery and rifle hunts on this area?

The Type 1, Type 3, and Type 8 hunts all have both archery and regular seasons. Type 1 archery runs September 1–30, with regular October 15–31. Type 3 archery runs September 1–30, with regular November 1–30. Type 8 archery runs September 1–30, with regular October 15–November 30.

Wyoming Hunt Area 116 (Meeteetse) deer hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

48%

Elevation

5,500–11,500 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 116 sprawls across 373 square miles of rolling sagebrush-covered ridges and grassland hills cut through by river and creek corridors, rising from 5,500 to 11,500 feet with typical ground around 6,800 feet. The terrain is predominantly gentle—74% of it slopes gently, 24% moderately, and 2% steeply—making most of the country walkable. At lower elevations, sagebrush dominates the landscape with scattered grassland and riparian zones; mid-elevation ridges are again mostly sagebrush with patches of conifer; higher country mixes sagebrush with small stands of timber and alpine grass. About 48% of the hunt area—roughly 180 square miles—is public ground a hunter can generally count on: State Trust Land, BLM, State Wildlife Areas, and National Forest. Private land makes up the remainder, interspersed throughout, and roads, seasonal closures, and scattered private inholdings still constrain public access despite the acreage available.

Getting onto this ground takes planning. The area mixes public and private in a way that can make hunting difficult, with State and BLM land drawing the heaviest pressure. Four Hunter Management Areas—Absaroka Front, Rawhide, Newell Springs, and Pitchfork—offer private-land options but require a printed permission slip from the state before hunting and are renegotiated annually. The general-access public ground is the fallback, though it works harder for it. White-tailed deer are the dominant game animal across hunt area 116; mule deer here run at lower densities and scatter across the rolling country. Quality mule deer bucks do turn up, particularly when snow in the high country pushes them to lower elevations in late season, and the Pitchfork HMA permits white-tailed-deer and mule-deer hunting, whereas the state currently prohibits mule deer on that private ground. The seasons are varied: antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer hunts in September and October, white-tailed-only hunts in September through November, and doe-and-fawn hunts at different dates and with different area restrictions.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 116 (Meeteetse) 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 15 – October 31
Type 3 · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular November 1 – November 30
Type 7 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid on private land in the Wood River drainage
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular September 1 – October 14
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – 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)

Early September brings moderate warmth and minimal snow, favoring the archery opener for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer, with deer still in bachelor groups across the ridges and sagebrush before velvet sheds. The rifle hunt stretches from mid-October through Halloween, spanning the period when bucks begin moving between summer and winter range and the rut builds toward its peak; October turns noticeably colder—highs drop into the low 50s—and may bring 2–3 inches of snow, sometimes concentrating deer at lower elevations. Access to public ground sees steady pressure, and the interspersed private land becomes increasingly important as the season pushes through peak rut and snow pushes herds lower.

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

White-tailed deer only are legal in the November hunt, opening on November 1st after the archery phase ends and runnning through the end of the month. The rut peaks and winds down across this window, holding bucks active and exposed on both the open ridges and the riparian edges where white-tailed deer congregate. November weather turns cold—highs barely crack 40°F—and snowfall averages more than 4 inches for the month, driving more deer to the lower sagebrush country and along creek bottoms. The heaviest pressure concentrates on the public ground nearest roads, making the less-hunted private offers and remoter ridges more productive.

Type 7 — Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid… · whitetail only (September–October)

The September doe and fawn white-tailed hunt is restricted to private land in the Wood River drainage and runs September 1–14, opening before the archery seasons for other hunts close. Early September weather is warm—highs in the mid-60s—with almost no snow, keeping does and fawns scattered across the higher private ground before the velvet shed begins to move bucks. This hunt requires access to enrolled private land within its geographic restriction; the public ground does not apply here.

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

The longer doe and fawn white-tailed season spans two phases: archery from early September (mild conditions, deer scattered) through the month, and then rifle from mid-October through the end of November. The rifle window stretches from early fall migration through the tail of the rut, catching does and fawns moving between range layers and concentrated where snow or rut activity funnels herds toward lower country. October and November snowfall builds from 2–3 inches to more than 4, gradually pushing doe groups down, and the season's span gives a hunter flexibility to match weather and movement rather than a narrow window.

Land and access

private land52%

Private

State Trust Land27%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM19%

Generally open to public hunting

State Wildlife Areas2%

Generally open to public hunting

About 48% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — State Trust Land, BLM, State Wildlife Areas and National Forest, roughly 180 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 40% 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.

It also holds 4 Hunter Management Areas. 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 Range96%

used in winter

Yearlong Range48%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range48%

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

Summer Range5%

used in summer

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

Lower elevations

Sagebrush84%

Other cover12%

Riparian2%

Grass and meadow2%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush91%

Riparian3%

Other cover3%

Conifer2%

Grass and meadow1%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush88%

Conifer7%

Grass and meadow3%

Riparian1%

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	13°F	3.1 in
February	36°F	13°F	4.7 in
March	44°F	20°F	4.4 in
April	50°F	26°F	4.3 in
May	59°F	35°F	0.4 in
June	69°F	42°F	0 in
July	78°F	48°F	0 in
August	77°F	47°F	0 in
September	67°F	39°F	0.3 in
October	53°F	29°F	2.7 in
November	41°F	20°F	4.2 in
December	34°F	12°F	4 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter in Wyoming draw a general or region licence for hunt area 116?: No. Hunt area 116 is limited-quota only, drawn specifically for this area by both residents and nonresidents. A region or general licence does not cover it; a hunter must draw the limited-quota licence for hunt area 116 itself to hunt there legally.
How do preference points factor into a resident's draw for this hunt area?: Wyoming residents have no deer preference points at all. The resident draw for hunt area 116 is random, with no point cutoff or point advantage. Nonresidents, by contrast, are split into a preference-point draw that awards three-quarters of licences to the highest-point applicants and a random draw for the remaining quarter.
What deer species can a hunter take in the Type 1 hunt on this area?: Type 1 permits both antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer, under different rules. An antler or point requirement does not apply to white-tailed deer in this hunt—it applies to mule deer only. A white-tailed buck, doe, or fawn is legal if it is a white-tailed deer.
Does the Type 7 white-tailed doe hunt cover all of hunt area 116?: No. Type 7 is valid only on private land within the Wood River drainage. A hunter drawing this licence cannot hunt doe or fawn white-tailed deer on public ground or outside the Wood River drainage, even if that ground is part of hunt area 116.
Which seasons overlap between the archery and rifle hunts on this area?: The Type 1, Type 3, and Type 8 hunts all have both archery and regular seasons. Type 1 archery runs September 1–30, with regular October 15–31. Type 3 archery runs September 1–30, with regular November 1–30. Type 8 archery runs September 1–30, with regular October 15–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