Can a hunter use a general deer licence in hunt area 18?

Yes. A Wyoming resident may buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw or preference points involved. A nonresident must draw a Region C general licence, which is valid in all general-licence hunt areas across that region and does not require nonresident preference points, though points improve a nonresident's odds in the three-quarter allocation to the preference-point draw.

Which deer species are legal in hunt area 18?

It depends on the specific hunt. The September–October season for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer permits both species under different rules—mule deer must be antlered, but white-tailed deer of any sex or age are legal. The November season permits any white-tailed deer only. The September–November doe-or-fawn white-tailed deer hunt permits white-tailed deer females and fawns only and is valid on private land only.

How much of hunt area 18 is public land a hunter can count on?

About 266 square miles out of 954 total—roughly 28 percent of the hunt area. That public ground is mostly BLM, State Trust Land, and national grasslands, but much of it is not easily reached by road or trailhead, and seasonal closures and private inholdings further limit reliable access.

Is there a walk-in area in hunt area 18?

Yes. Campbell County Walk-In Area 13 is open to hunters during its posted season without permit or permission slip. It provides limited opportunity for mule deer, though white-tailed deer hunting options there are marginal.

When is hunting pressure highest in hunt area 18?

The first week of the season draws the heaviest use on accessible public ground, making it congested. Hunters who enter later in the season will encounter significantly fewer people on public land, though white-tailed deer are found almost entirely on private ground regardless of pressure.

Wyoming Hunt Area 18 (Campbell) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

28%

Elevation

3,300–4,800 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 18 spans roughly equal shares of sagebrush and grassland across rolling terrain that averages 4.7 degrees of slope—mostly gentle ground broken by patches where rougher topography and ponderosa pine support denser deer populations. White-tailed deer concentrate along the creek bottoms and agricultural ground bordering the major drainages, while mule deer are scattered more widely across the open country. Nearly three-quarters of the hunt area is private land, and most public access is limited to strips of BLM, State Trust, and national grasslands that run along county roads and state highways. Much ground marked as public on maps is not reliably reachable, and the accessible public land draws heavy hunter traffic. A walk-in area on Campbell County land provides limited opportunity for mule deer, but white-tailed deer hunting on public ground is marginal; serious hunters for that species are almost entirely dependent on private-land access.

Getting onto private land is the real bottleneck. Even where a hunter is willing to pay trespass fees, ranches often lease exclusively to outfitters or simply are not taking new hunters. The result is that early in the season, when pressure peaks on accessible public ground, a walker faces crowded conditions; hunters who come in later will encounter fewer people. Access to Thunder Basin National Grasslands offers some opportunity for those willing to hunt where pressure is concentrated.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 18 (Campbell) 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 C, 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 or any white-tailed deer
Legal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rules
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 14
Type Gen — general licence · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Dates for this hunt are incomplete in our source — check the current WGFD deer hunting regulation.
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid on private land
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 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 Gen — Antlered mule deer or any… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)

September and early October hunting spans the period when bucks are shedding velvet and beginning to shift into early migration patterns. September weather is mild, with highs near 76 degrees and virtually no snow, making for pleasant foot hunting, while October cools to highs around 60 degrees with light snow accumulation. The archery window runs September 1–30, when mule deer are still dispersed and white-tailed deer remain in their riparian strongholds, followed by regular hunting October 1–14 as nocturnal buck behavior takes hold and migration begins. Antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer are legal—meaning any white-tailed buck, doe or fawn—making this hunt flexible on species choice.

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

November hunting pursues white-tailed deer only as the rut intensifies through early and mid-November and persists into late November's winter consolidation phase. Conditions cool rapidly from early November highs near 46 degrees to late-month cold, with snowfall rising to an average of 1.7 inches; snow can be sparse on gentle ground but accumulates enough to influence deer movement and visibility. This season is almost exclusively a private-land hunt, as white-tailed deer occupy riparian zones and agricultural ground along the major drainages rather than the public grassland and sagebrush that dominates accessible public acreage.

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

The doe-or-fawn white-tailed deer hunt runs September 1–November 15 on private land only, spanning the same span as the antlered hunts but restricted in where a hunter may legally be—this is not an area-wide hunt, and public land is off-limits. Archery hunting September 1–30 coincides with early migration as white-tailed deer are dispersed, while the regular season October 1–November 15 carries hunters through migration, the rut peak, and into early winter consolidation as conditions cool and snow increases from zero in September to 1.7 inches by November. Success depends entirely on hunter relationships with private landowners.

Land and access

private land72%

Private

BLM14%

Generally open to public hunting

National Forest8%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land6%

Generally open to public hunting

About 28% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land, roughly 266 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 35% 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

Winter Range62%

used in winter

Yearlong Range62%

the only layer that means year-round use

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 meadow46%

Sagebrush46%

Other cover7%

Conifer2%

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	3.6 in
February	38°F	14°F	3.3 in
March	49°F	23°F	2.2 in
April	57°F	30°F	1.7 in
May	67°F	40°F	0 in
June	78°F	49°F	0 in
July	87°F	56°F	0 in
August	86°F	54°F	0 in
September	76°F	45°F	0 in
October	60°F	33°F	0.5 in
November	46°F	22°F	1.7 in
December	36°F	14°F	3.3 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter use a general deer licence in hunt area 18?: Yes. A Wyoming resident may buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw or preference points involved. A nonresident must draw a Region C general licence, which is valid in all general-licence hunt areas across that region and does not require nonresident preference points, though points improve a nonresident's odds in the three-quarter allocation to the preference-point draw.
Which deer species are legal in hunt area 18?: It depends on the specific hunt. The September–October season for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer permits both species under different rules—mule deer must be antlered, but white-tailed deer of any sex or age are legal. The November season permits any white-tailed deer only. The September–November doe-or-fawn white-tailed deer hunt permits white-tailed deer females and fawns only and is valid on private land only.
How much of hunt area 18 is public land a hunter can count on?: About 266 square miles out of 954 total—roughly 28 percent of the hunt area. That public ground is mostly BLM, State Trust Land, and national grasslands, but much of it is not easily reached by road or trailhead, and seasonal closures and private inholdings further limit reliable access.
Is there a walk-in area in hunt area 18?: Yes. Campbell County Walk-In Area 13 is open to hunters during its posted season without permit or permission slip. It provides limited opportunity for mule deer, though white-tailed deer hunting options there are marginal.
When is hunting pressure highest in hunt area 18?: The first week of the season draws the heaviest use on accessible public ground, making it congested. Hunters who enter later in the season will encounter significantly fewer people on public land, though white-tailed deer are found almost entirely on private ground regardless of pressure.

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