Wyoming Hunt Area 130 (Big Sandy) deer hunting
Hunt area 130 occupies 688 square miles along the Continental Divide, bordered by the Wind River Range to the north and anchored by the Big Sandy River and Sweetwater drainage systems. The country descends steeply from alpine rock and sparse vegetation above 12,000 feet through dense conifer forests in the high country, transitioning to aspen patches and rolling sagebrush foothills as it drops to the lower valleys around 6,600 feet. Slope is gentle throughout, averaging 4.1 degrees. The sagebrush dominates the lower elevations, shedding way to conifers and aspen as the land rises. Most of the hunt area is walkable, but access still demands serious foot work — roads and trailheads matter because private inholdings and seasonal closures fragment the public ground.
About 89 percent of hunt area 130 is public land a hunter can generally count on: U.S. Forest Service holdings in the north along the Divide, and Bureau of Land Management and State Trust Land across the lower country and rolling terrain. The major routes in are the unpaved but improved Lander and Farson cutoff roads and their spur roads, with significant Forest Service access gates at Big Sandy Openings, Squaw Creek, Blucher Creek, and Sweetwater River. Private holdings cluster along riparian corridors and near the town of Farson in the southwestern corner, interspersed among the public ground and requiring careful map work to stay legal.
Hunt area 130 contains designated wilderness. A nonresident must be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide to hunt there legally. The general-licence seasons run early in the archery phase and early in the fall migration window, so deer distribution varies sharply between them. The later Type 1 season hunts the period when mule deer are moving onto winter range, changing where success lies.
Licence and how this hunt area is drawn
Hunt Area 130 (Big Sandy) 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 H, 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 mule deer four (4) points or more on either antler or any white-tailed deerLegal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rulesArchery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 6
- Type 1 · Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deerLegal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rulesArchery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – October 31
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 Gen — Antlered mule deer four (4) points… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)
Archery hunting with a general licence runs through September, when summer bachelor patterns are breaking down and bucks are beginning to move. Temperatures start mild, averaging a high of 69 degrees and low of 38 degrees, with minimal precipitation. Mule deer are widely scattered with lower densities across the hunt area, making success more dependent on glassing and hill work than on finding concentrations; white-tailed deer are legal without restriction. Because mule deer require four points on either antler, hunters should plan to glass extensively and pass young bucks. Public land is generally accessible, though the unpaved cutoff roads and Forest Service gates at Big Sandy Openings, Squaw Creek, Blucher Creek, and Sweetwater River all require investigation before the season; seasonal closures on some roads and private inholdings near the major drainages demand careful navigation.
Regular rifle hunting with a general licence runs October 1–6, during the transition into fall migration when bucks begin moving more actively through the day. Conditions cool markedly—highs drop to 54 degrees and lows to 27 degrees—with snowfall averaging 2.3 inches, which can push deer between public and private ground and may close some spur roads. Harvest opportunities are better near the Forest Service and BLM boundary and around the Prospect Mountains, where mule deer concentrations are more reliable. As with the archery season, only mule deer with four or more points are legal; any white-tailed deer can be taken. Access roads remain the constraint; early October snowfall can affect drivability on unpaved routes.
Type 1 — Antlered mule deer or any… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)
Archery hunting with a Type 1 licence mirrors the timing of the general-licence archery season, running September 1–30 through the early transition period when summer bachelor patterns break apart. Temperatures start at highs around 69 degrees and lows around 38 degrees with light precipitation. Mule deer are still patchy and thinly spread at this point in the season, so hunters should expect to cover country systematically. Both antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer of any kind are legal—no antler restriction applies—giving hunters flexibility on what they pursue. The unpaved Lander and Farson cutoff roads and Forest Service access gates at Big Sandy Openings, Squaw Creek, Blucher Creek, and Sweetwater River remain the main entries, and private inholdings along drainages and near Farson require close attention to boundary lines.
Regular rifle hunting with a Type 1 licence runs October 15–31, extending well into the fall migration and early pre-rut stages when mule deer are moving onto winter range. Conditions deteriorate steadily—October starts at highs near 54 degrees and lows near 27 degrees, with average monthly snowfall of 2.3 inches—and later in the period can bring significant weather swings that both push deer movement and degrade road access. Mule deer migrating onto winter range typically provide better harvest opportunities than earlier in the season, and the extended timing captures the window when many animals shift from summer range to lower elevations where public and private ground intermix near the major valleys. As with archery, both antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer are legal with no antler restrictions. Access remains the practical constraint: unpaved roads and seasonal closures mean hunters should confirm conditions before committing to the higher ridges and trailheads.
Land and access
About 89% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land, roughly 611 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 includes designated wilderness. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness.
Where deer are mapped
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
Mid elevations
Higher elevations
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 | 29°F | 6°F | 9.2 in |
| February | 32°F | 7°F | 10 in |
| March | 41°F | 17°F | 7.6 in |
| April | 50°F | 24°F | 5 in |
| May | 61°F | 33°F | 0.6 in |
| June | 72°F | 41°F | 0 in |
| July | 81°F | 48°F | 0 in |
| August | 79°F | 46°F | 0 in |
| September | 69°F | 38°F | 0.3 in |
| October | 54°F | 27°F | 2.3 in |
| November | 39°F | 15°F | 9.5 in |
| December | 29°F | 7°F | 12.1 in |
Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.
Common questions
- Can a hunter in Wyoming buy a general deer licence for hunt area 130 without drawing?
- A Wyoming resident can walk into a licence vendor and buy a general deer licence over the counter from mid-July onward with no draw or preference-point system involved. A nonresident cannot buy a general licence; a nonresident must draw a Region H general licence for the region, which is valid in all general-licence hunt areas within that region and nowhere else.
- What species can a hunter legally take in the Type Gen season on this hunt area?
- The Type Gen season permits hunting both mule deer and white-tailed deer, but under different rules. Mule deer must carry at least four points on either antler; white-tailed deer of any kind are legal, with no antler or sex requirement. In effect, a hunter can take any white-tailed deer seen, but must pass mule deer with fewer than four points on a side.
- How much of hunt area 130 is actually accessible on public land?
- About 89 percent of the hunt area, or roughly 611 square miles, is BLM, National Forest, or State Trust Land. However, public ownership does not guarantee easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings all apply. The major routes are the unpaved Lander and Farson cutoff roads with spur roads branching off, plus designated Forest Service access points on the north side.
- Does hunt area 130 contain any wilderness where a nonresident needs a guide?
- Yes, the hunt area contains designated wilderness along the Continental Divide. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness areas. A nonresident planning to hunt this ground should confirm their guide arrangements in advance if they intend to access that country.
- What is the difference between the Type Gen and Type 1 seasons on this hunt area?
- The Type Gen season runs archery September 1–30 and regular rifle October 1–6, hunting the early transition period when mule deer are still patchy in distribution. The Type 1 season runs archery September 1–30 and regular rifle October 15–31, extending into the migration corridor staging phase when mule deer are moving onto their winter ranges. Type 1 offers later rifle hunting and different mule deer opportunities but uses a drawn limited-quota licence instead of a general licence.
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.