Can a hunter use a general deer licence to hunt this area?

Yes. Residents of Wyoming may purchase a general deer licence over the counter with no draw and no points required. Nonresidents must draw a Region B general licence, which is valid in all general-licence hunt areas of that region. Hunt area 12 is open to both resident and nonresident general licences.

Which deer species are legal in this hunt area's seasons?

Both mule deer and white-tailed deer are hunted here, but not in every season. The archery seasons and first general regular season (October 1–15) allow antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. The late regular season (October 16–November 30) is white-tailed deer only. Limited hunts permit doe or fawn white-tailed deer only, depending on the draw.

How much of this hunt area is public land a hunter can realistically access?

Public land makes up roughly 11% of the hunt area, about 56 square miles total, primarily State Trust Land and BLM parcels. These holdings are small and scattered across private ranches, making them difficult to reach without a detailed map and careful attention to landownership boundaries. A walk-in area provides additional public access but remains limited.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points for deer in this hunt area?

No. Wyoming residents have no deer preference points. The resident draw is random, with no points system at all. Nonresidents, however, apply for a Region B general licence where preference points determine placement in most of the available licences.

When do the archery and rifle seasons run here?

Archery runs September 1–30 across all deer seasons. Regular rifle seasons vary: some hunts run October 1–November 30, while the general Season permits regular hunting only October 1–15 for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer, then shifts to any white-tailed deer only from October 16–November 30.

Wyoming Hunt Area 12 (Hat Creek) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

11%

Elevation

3,800–4,800 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 12 sprawls across 534 square miles of mixed-grass prairie and sagebrush flats, ranging from 3,800 to 4,800 feet in elevation. The terrain is predominantly gentle—96% of it slopes at mild angles—cut by deeply incised draws and scattered buttes that hold riparian vegetation. Grass and meadow dominate the cover at 90%, with sagebrush at 6% and scattered conifer at 2%. This is working country: the vast majority of both mule deer and white-tailed deer here live on private land, and public ground is fragmented and sparse. Public access amounts to roughly 11% of the area, mostly small State Trust Land and BLM parcels interspersed among private ranches. Hunters planning to pursue either species should expect to invest time in securing landowner permission before the season opens. A walk-in area (Niobrara County Walk-In Area 11) offers an alternative for those without private access, though its parcels remain scattered across the hunt area.

Getting onto public ground requires care and preparation. The small State and BLM holdings are often difficult to reach without crossing private land, and roads that appear public on a map may be private. A GPS unit or smartphone app with landownership mapping is essential for anyone attempting to hunt the scattered public parcels. Nonresidents applying for a general Region B licence should understand that most hunting here happens on private ranches, not on the checkerboard of public fragments. Both species are present, but their distribution and accessibility differ: mule deer occupy mixed-grass prairie, sagebrush flats, draws and buttes across the area, while white-tailed deer are more closely tied to riparian zones and private bottomlands. Success on public land is possible but requires knowing where the accessible parcels sit and what animals they hold.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 12 (Hat Creek) 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 B, 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
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – November 30
Type Gen — general licence · 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 15
Type Gen — general licence · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular October 16 – 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 3 — Any white-tailed deer · whitetail only (September–November)

Hunting any white-tailed deer on a limited licence spans both archery in early September and rifle from October into November. During the archery window, white-tails are still in early-fall transition with bucks in velvet and deer movement relatively light; temperatures run warm at highs near 77°F and lows around 45°F, and hunters can expect virtually no snow. The rifle season opens as deer begin to move more actively through the migration corridors in early October, with temperatures dropping to highs around 61°F and lows near 32°F; snow becomes possible by late October and November, when highs fall into the 40s. Most accessible white-tailed hunting happens on private land, and securing permission beforehand is critical. This hunt allows any white-tailed deer—buck, doe or fawn—no matter the antlers.

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

Doe or fawn white-tailed deer hunting mirrors the any-deer season, running archery September 1–30 and then rifle October 1–November 30. Early September holds warm days (highs ~77°F), and white-tails are still scattered across summer ranges with bucks shedding velvet; snow is negligible. By October, cooler weather (highs ~61°F) pushes movement, and November becomes progressively colder and snowier as the rut approaches and deer consolidate. Access to legal does and fawns is largely confined to private land, where permission must be secured before the season begins. This hunt is restricted to female white-tailed deer and young—no antlered animals of any species are legal.

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

Archery and regular rifle hunting for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer span September 1 through October 15. During September, bucks are still shedding velvet and deer movement is subdued; temperatures are warm (highs near 77°F, lows around 45°F) and snow is absent. By early October, bucks become more active and visible during the nocturnal phase, temperatures drop sharply (highs ~61°F, lows ~32°F), and a trace of snow is possible. On the mule deer side, the antler requirement binds only mule deer; any white-tailed deer remains legal regardless of sex or antlers. Most mule deer occupy sagebrush flats and draws on private land, and private permission is essential. The public parcels are small and scattered, requiring careful map work to locate and access.

Type Gen — Any white-tailed deer · whitetail only (October–November)

Hunting any white-tailed deer on a general licence from October 16 through November 30 coincides with the primary rut and its aftermath, when movement intensifies and deer consolidate for winter. October begins cool (highs ~61°F, lows ~32°F) with minimal snowfall, but November turns cold and wet, with highs dropping to the 40s and monthly snowfall reaching 1.7 inches. The later part of October holds prime rut activity, and November—though weather toughens—concentrates deer in staging areas and pre-winter ranges. This season permits any white-tailed deer and no mule deer; mule deer are not legal whatever their antlers or sex. Access remains primarily private, though the fragmented public lands still hold opportunity for hunters with detailed maps and careful approach.

Land and access

private land89%

Private

State Trust Land7%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM4%

Generally open to public hunting

About 11% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — State Trust Land and BLM, roughly 56 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.

This hunt area has 1 enrolled walk-in area. 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

Yearlong Range100%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range33%

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 meadow90%

Sagebrush6%

Conifer2%

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	37°F	12°F	2.1 in
February	39°F	14°F	3.3 in
March	50°F	23°F	2.3 in
April	58°F	30°F	1.6 in
May	68°F	40°F	0 in
June	79°F	50°F	0 in
July	88°F	57°F	0 in
August	87°F	55°F	0 in
September	77°F	45°F	0 in
October	61°F	32°F	0.5 in
November	47°F	21°F	1.7 in
December	37°F	12°F	2.8 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter use a general deer licence to hunt this area?: Yes. Residents of Wyoming may purchase a general deer licence over the counter with no draw and no points required. Nonresidents must draw a Region B general licence, which is valid in all general-licence hunt areas of that region. Hunt area 12 is open to both resident and nonresident general licences.
Which deer species are legal in this hunt area's seasons?: Both mule deer and white-tailed deer are hunted here, but not in every season. The archery seasons and first general regular season (October 1–15) allow antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. The late regular season (October 16–November 30) is white-tailed deer only. Limited hunts permit doe or fawn white-tailed deer only, depending on the draw.
How much of this hunt area is public land a hunter can realistically access?: Public land makes up roughly 11% of the hunt area, about 56 square miles total, primarily State Trust Land and BLM parcels. These holdings are small and scattered across private ranches, making them difficult to reach without a detailed map and careful attention to landownership boundaries. A walk-in area provides additional public access but remains limited.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points for deer in this hunt area?: No. Wyoming residents have no deer preference points. The resident draw is random, with no points system at all. Nonresidents, however, apply for a Region B general licence where preference points determine placement in most of the available licences.
When do the archery and rifle seasons run here?: Archery runs September 1–30 across all deer seasons. Regular rifle seasons vary: some hunts run October 1–November 30, while the general Season permits regular hunting only October 1–15 for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer, then shifts to any white-tailed deer only from October 16–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