Can a hunter use a general licence to hunt hunt area 163?

Yes, a Wyoming resident can buy a general deer licence over the counter and hunt the general-licence seasons in this area, and a nonresident can draw a Region Y general licence valid across the general-licence hunt areas of that region. Both the resident and nonresident draws for this area are based on the general-licence seasons only; the specialized white-tailed seasons in September and November are reserved for those hunts' specific permits.

What deer species does a hunter encounter in this hunt area?

Both mule deer and white-tailed deer inhabit hunt area 163. White-tailed deer concentrate in the low-elevation creek corridors, while mule deer range throughout the hunt area. Most seasons here restrict the legal animal by species—for example, the September and November hunts are white-tailed only, while the October general-licence hunt permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer.

How much public land can a hunter actually access on foot in this hunt area?

About 74% of the hunt area is public ground (BLM, State Trust Land and State Wildlife Areas), roughly 130 square miles, but many parcels are landlocked or reachable only on foot because private inholdings block vehicle access. Hunters willing to leave their vehicles and walk from public trailheads can reach remote areas with little pressure, though finding vehicle-accessible entry points is the practical constraint.

When does the October archery and rifle season run in hunt area 163?

The October general-licence season for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer runs as archery from September 1–September 30 and rifle from October 15–October 21. The two windows are part of one hunt spanning both periods, with rifle season lasting only a week.

What private-land seasons are available in hunt area 163?

The September 1–30 Type 8 season for doe or fawn white-tailed deer is valid on private land only. The November 1–15 Type Gen season for any white-tailed deer also is limited to select private lands, so access there is limited unless a hunter can arrange permission or outfitting. Most private-land opportunity requires fee hunting or outfitting arrangements.

Wyoming Hunt Area 163 (Middle Fork) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

74%

Elevation

5,000–8,600 ft

Terrain

Moderate

Deer region

Hunt area 163 sits at 5,000 to 8,600 feet with mean slopes averaging 9.4 degrees—roughly two-thirds of it gentle ground, a quarter moderate, and the balance steep or rugged. The country is rough and rocky, bisected by numerous canyons that make travel challenging on foot and restrict vehicle access through much of the area. Ground cover shifts with elevation: lower slopes hold sagebrush and grassland with scattered conifers and willows along creeks; mid-elevations mix sagebrush, conifer timber and meadow; higher ridges are grassland and sagebrush with conifer stands. Mountain mahogany is common at mid-elevation. White-tailed deer occupy the low-elevation creek corridors, while mule deer are found throughout the hunt area. The landscape creates two classes of hunter access: public lands (BLM, State Trust Land and State Wildlife Areas) that amount to about 74% of the area but are often landlocked or reachable only on foot, and private land making up 26% of the hunt area where access through trespass fees or outfitting is the typical path. Hunters willing to foot it from public trailheads can reach less-pressured country, but vehicle hunters on accessible public land face congestion, especially early season.

A general deer licence (unlimited for residents, drawn for nonresidents seeking a Region Y licence valid across the general-licence areas of this region) opens four distinct hunts across the calendar. Most early hunting is white-tailed deer only or limited to private land, while the general-licence seasons in October and November offer both species or all white-tailed deer under different rules. This splits the hunt area's character through the fall: September pressure concentrates on private land and accessible public ground; October pushes into foot country where mule deer and white-tailed deer both range; November's final white-tailed hunt is again centered on private land that select hunters can access. Access is the limiting resource on each season, not deer availability.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 163 (Middle Fork) 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 Y, 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 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid on private land
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular September 1 – September 30
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid in the entire area
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – December 31
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 15 – October 21
Type Gen — general licence · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular November 1 – November 15

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

September's Type 8 hunt for doe or fawn white-tailed deer is valid on private land only, so access here depends on outfitting or fee arrangements. Bucks shed their velvet and are shifting from bachelor summer patterns into early fall, and temperatures run mild with highs around 63F and lows near 40F; little snow falls this month. Hunters pursuing antlerless white-tailed deer on private ground in the accessible low-elevation corridors will find the season lightly pressured but success depends on locating enrolled land.

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

The Type 8 season for doe or fawn white-tailed deer spans September's archery (valid area-wide) and October 15–December 31 rifle (also area-wide), tracking white-tailed deer from early fall through the primary rut and into late rut as the rut intensifies and then winds toward winter. Archery in September offers mild weather and active deer in daylight hours, while October and November bring cooling temperatures (49F highs dropping to 37F by November) and increasing snowfall (4.1 inches in October, 7.5 in November) that push deer toward seasonal migrations. December's rifle hunting is colder (29F highs) with 9.1 inches of snow monthly, driving deer into winter concentration areas. Access to these hunts is area-wide on public and private land, but vehicle hunters will find public land congested early season; hunters on foot can reach less-pressured ridges and canyons.

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

The October general-licence hunt for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer spans September archery and October 15–21 rifle, capturing early fall transition into early migration phases as bucks are nocturnal and shifting toward staging areas. September archery hunting is mild and productive in daylight, while the rifle season runs during the briefest window (seven days) as fall migration intensifies; temperatures drop sharply from September's 63F highs to October's 49F, and snowfall climbs from 0.7 to 4.1 inches monthly. Mule deer and white-tailed deer are both legal, but mule deer must be antlered while any white-tailed deer is legal. Public land access opens much of the hunt area to foot traffic, but the rocky country and private inholdings make vehicle access limited; hunters willing to approach on foot can reach less-pressured ground in the canyons and timber.

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

November's Type Gen hunt for any white-tailed deer runs November 1–15 into the primary rut phase and provides a final opportunity for white-tailed-only hunting as bucks are active and moving. Temperatures fall through the month (37F highs to 29F) and snowfall averages 7.5 inches, creating challenging conditions and potentially concentrating deer in lower elevations. This hunt is limited to select private lands, so access requires outfitting or fee arrangement; hunters without private-land connections will find this opportunity unavailable.

Land and access

BLM49%

Generally open to public hunting

private land26%

Private

State Trust Land15%

Generally open to public hunting

State Wildlife Areas9%

Generally open to public hunting

About 74% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Trust Land and State Wildlife Areas, roughly 130 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 1% 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.

Where deer are mapped

Winter Range74%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range42%

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

Yearlong Range32%

the only layer that means year-round use

Summer Range26%

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

Sagebrush54%

Grass and meadow35%

Conifer8%

Riparian2%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush59%

Conifer20%

Grass and meadow20%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush56%

Grass and meadow28%

Conifer16%

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	30°F	12°F	6.9 in
February	31°F	12°F	8.1 in
March	40°F	20°F	8.9 in
April	46°F	26°F	7.5 in
May	55°F	34°F	1 in
June	66°F	42°F	0 in
July	76°F	49°F	0 in
August	74°F	48°F	0 in
September	63°F	40°F	0.7 in
October	49°F	29°F	4.1 in
November	37°F	20°F	7.5 in
December	29°F	12°F	9.1 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter use a general licence to hunt hunt area 163?: Yes, a Wyoming resident can buy a general deer licence over the counter and hunt the general-licence seasons in this area, and a nonresident can draw a Region Y general licence valid across the general-licence hunt areas of that region. Both the resident and nonresident draws for this area are based on the general-licence seasons only; the specialized white-tailed seasons in September and November are reserved for those hunts' specific permits.
What deer species does a hunter encounter in this hunt area?: Both mule deer and white-tailed deer inhabit hunt area 163. White-tailed deer concentrate in the low-elevation creek corridors, while mule deer range throughout the hunt area. Most seasons here restrict the legal animal by species—for example, the September and November hunts are white-tailed only, while the October general-licence hunt permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer.
How much public land can a hunter actually access on foot in this hunt area?: About 74% of the hunt area is public ground (BLM, State Trust Land and State Wildlife Areas), roughly 130 square miles, but many parcels are landlocked or reachable only on foot because private inholdings block vehicle access. Hunters willing to leave their vehicles and walk from public trailheads can reach remote areas with little pressure, though finding vehicle-accessible entry points is the practical constraint.
When does the October archery and rifle season run in hunt area 163?: The October general-licence season for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer runs as archery from September 1–September 30 and rifle from October 15–October 21. The two windows are part of one hunt spanning both periods, with rifle season lasting only a week.
What private-land seasons are available in hunt area 163?: The September 1–30 Type 8 season for doe or fawn white-tailed deer is valid on private land only. The November 1–15 Type Gen season for any white-tailed deer also is limited to select private lands, so access there is limited unless a hunter can arrange permission or outfitting. Most private-land opportunity requires fee hunting or outfitting arrangements.

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