Wyoming Hunt Area 169 (Tisdale Mountain) deer hunting
Hunt area 169 sits in open sagebrush and grassland country broken by scattered ponderosa pine and cottonwood draws in the lower elevations. The ground runs from 4,600 feet up to 6,400 feet, with typical terrain averaging around 5,200 feet. Nearly all of it is gentle — slope averages 5.5 degrees, making it walkable country for a hunter willing to cover ground. The northern part holds rougher terrain while the south is more moderate. Across the area grass and sagebrush are evenly split at 47% each, with scattered conifers making up the remaining cover. Willow Creek and the South Fork Powder River define the low-elevation corridors where white-tailed deer concentrate; mule deer range across both public and private ground throughout. One significant caveat: bentonite soils make motorized travel on unprepared ground nearly impossible when wet, so hunters arriving into wet conditions should plan to walk.
About half the area—roughly 121 square miles—is dependably open public land on BLM and State Trust parcels. The other half is private. Public access is not straightforward: many parcels border only county roads or hold no public entry points at all, and some of the state land and BLM ground are landlocked or accessible only on foot. Natrona County Walk-In Area 16 provides walk-in access during the open period. Expect high hunter density on the accessible public parcels, especially early in the seasons. Private land hunting can be difficult to arrange outside of outfitter agreements or fee access; much of the white-tailed deer opportunity on private ground comes with a trespass fee or lies off-limits to walk-in hunting.
Seasons vary widely in animal, weapon, and timing. Early September brings a special white-tailed-only archery hunt on the full area, and a separate white-tailed-only rifle hunt valid on private land. The general-licence seasons run from mid-October through November, with the October hunt open to antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer and the November hunt for any white-tailed deer only. Each season demands different strategy depending on where deer are and which animal is legal.
Licence and how this hunt area is drawn
Hunt Area 169 (Tisdale Mountain) 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 landLegal: white-tailed deer onlyRegular September 1 – September 30
- Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid in the entire areaLegal: white-tailed deer onlyArchery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – December 31
- Type Gen — general licence · Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deerLegal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rulesArchery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – October 21
- Type Gen — general licence · Any white-tailed deerLegal: white-tailed deer onlyRegular 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)
Archery hunting for white-tailed deer over the full area in September finds deer still in late summer patterns before the rut begins to shift their behavior. Early-month conditions are warm—highs near 74 degrees—cooling into the 50s by month's end, with virtually no precipitation. White-tailed deer are concentrated at lower elevations along creek bottoms and irrigated ground; mule deer, though not legal in this season, are scattered across the sagebrush. Public parcels will carry high archery pressure. Archery access works the same as rifle: walk-in areas and foot entry onto landlocked or remote public parcels remain options, though motorized access to the most productive public ground may be limited if wet soil conditions prevail.
Type 8 — Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid… · whitetail only (September–December)
Two overlapping white-tailed-only hunts span September through December: a private-land-only rifle season from October 15–December 31, and a full-area archery season September 1–30 followed by a full-area rifle season October 15–December 31. The combined calendar carries hunters through the tail end of September's early fall transition, the nocturnal buck phase of early October, the pre-rut staging of late October, the primary rut in November, and into the late rut and winter consolidation of December. Weather cools dramatically across the span—from 50s in late September to freezing nights by November and snow accumulating through December (averaging 2.2 inches in November and 4.3 inches in December). White-tailed deer concentrate at low elevations along the South Fork Powder River and Willow Creek, moving between creek-bottom cover and associated irrigated cropland. Private-land access remains difficult for walk-in hunters; much of the private opportunity comes through outfitters or fee hunting. Public-land access to the easiest parcels will remain crowded, particularly early season, though remote and foot-access parcels offer relief for hunters able to cover distance on foot.
Type Gen — Antlered mule deer or any… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)
The October general-licence season for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer spans the archery season of September 1–30 and the rifle season October 15–21, capturing the transition from late summer into early fall migration and the onset of the nocturnal buck phase. Archery hunting in early September is warm and dry; rifle hunting in mid-October is cooler, highs dropping to the upper 50s with increasing chance of snow (averaging 0.6 inches). Mule deer range across both public and private ground; white-tailed deer concentrate at low elevations. Both species' movement and vulnerability shift through this window: early-season bucks are less patterned than rut-driven deer will be later. Public-land access concentrates hunter pressure on the most accessible parcels; expect to encounter other hunters, particularly on BLM and State Trust ground bordering county roads. Private-land opportunity is limited for walk-in hunters without prior arrangements.
Type Gen — Any white-tailed deer · whitetail only (November)
The November rifle season for any white-tailed deer—does, fawns, and bucks together—falls entirely within the primary rut phase and early winter consolidation, when white-tailed deer behavior is driven by breeding and the transition into winter movements. Temperatures drop sharply into the 40s for highs and below 20 for lows, with average snowfall of 2.2 inches pushing conditions toward winter. White-tailed deer are concentrated at lower elevations, particularly along the South Fork Powder River and Willow Creek. However, this hunt applies to select private lands only, not the entire area. Access to that private ground is difficult to secure without prior outfitter agreements or fee payments; walk-in opportunity is limited. Public lands remain open to hunting under general-licence rules, but this season's any-white-tailed-deer opportunity is primarily a private-land hunt.
Land and access
About 51% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 121 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.
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
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
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 | 36°F | 13°F | 2.9 in |
| February | 38°F | 14°F | 3.4 in |
| March | 48°F | 23°F | 2.4 in |
| April | 55°F | 29°F | 1.1 in |
| May | 65°F | 38°F | 0 in |
| June | 78°F | 47°F | 0 in |
| July | 87°F | 54°F | 0 in |
| August | 85°F | 52°F | 0 in |
| September | 74°F | 43°F | 0 in |
| October | 59°F | 32°F | 0.6 in |
| November | 45°F | 21°F | 2.2 in |
| December | 36°F | 13°F | 4.3 in |
Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.
Common questions
- Can a hunter take this hunt area on a general Wyoming deer licence?
- Yes. Hunt area 169 is a general-licence area. A Wyoming resident buys a general deer licence over the counter with no draw and no preference points involved; a nonresident must draw a Region Y general licence, which is valid across all general-licence hunt areas in that region.
- Which deer species can a hunter legally take in each season on this hunt area?
- The September archery and private-land rifle seasons are for white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal. The October general-licence season allows antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. The November general-licence season is any white-tailed deer, meaning the hunt does not permit mule deer.
- How much of the hunt area is publicly accessible to a hunter?
- About half the area, roughly 121 square miles, is dependably open public land on BLM and State Trust parcels. However, public access is not guaranteed: many parcels are landlocked, accessible only from county roads, or reachable only on foot. Natrona County Walk-In Area 16 also provides walk-in access during its open period.
- What does a nonresident need to draw this hunt area?
- A nonresident cannot draw hunt area 169 specifically. A nonresident must draw a Region Y general licence, which covers all general-licence hunt areas in that region, including this one. Within the regional pool, three quarters of licences go to the preference-point draw, awarded top-down by points accumulated in prior years, and a quarter go to a random draw open to all applicants.
- When do the seasons run on hunt area 169?
- The September archery and private-land rifle seasons for white-tailed deer run September 1–30. The full-area archery season is also September 1–30. The general-licence seasons are October 15–21 (antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer) and November 1–15 (any white-tailed deer). A longer private-land hunt for does or fawns runs October 15–December 31.
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.