Can a hunter use a general deer licence in hunt area 26?

Yes. A Wyoming resident buys a general deer licence over the counter with no draw involved, and it is valid across all general-licence hunt areas including hunt area 26. A nonresident cannot buy a general licence and must draw a Region C general licence, which is valid across the general-licence hunt areas within that region.

Does a Wyoming resident need preference points to draw in hunt area 26?

No. Wyoming residents have no deer preference points for any hunt in the state. The resident deer draw is random, with no points involved and no point cutoff.

Which deer species can a hunter legally take in hunt area 26?

Both mule deer and white-tailed deer hunt here, but the legal animal depends on the hunt type purchased. Type 3 and Type 8 permits permit only white-tailed deer. The Type Gen general-licence hunt in September and October allows antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer, while the November Type Gen general-licence hunt allows any white-tailed deer only.

How much of hunt area 26 can a hunter actually access?

About 214 square miles of public land (BLM and State Trust Land) are generally open and accessible, roughly 25% of the hunt area's total. The remaining 75% is private ground, which requires permission or a trespass fee to hunt. Most landowners have regular hunters returning annually, making private access difficult to secure.

When do the mule deer and white-tailed deer seasons run in hunt area 26?

White-tailed deer hunts run from September through December: Type 3 has archery September 1–30 and regular November 1–30; Type 8 regular runs September 1 – December 15. The Type Gen general-licence season for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer runs archery September 1–30 and regular October 1–14. The November Type Gen general-licence hunt for any white-tailed deer runs November 1–30.

Wyoming Hunt Area 26 (Ucross) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

25%

Elevation

3,600–5,100 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 26 is rolling country across the northern Powder River Basin and beyond, graded as gentle terrain with 74% of ground soft underfoot and the rest moderate slopes. The landscape breaks into sagebrush flats (70% of the cover), grassland and meadow (23%), with scattered timbered ridges and draws. Elevation ranges from 3,600 to 5,100 feet, averaging around 4,300. Mule deer hunt the general country while white-tailed deer concentrate along riparian corridors and agricultural land, particularly near Clear Creek and the Powder River where private ground dominates. The hunt area sprawls across 842 square miles, but 75% is private land. A hunter's realistic options for public ground are several BLM and State Trust Land parcels near county roads, totaling about 214 square miles of dependably open ground. Early-season pressure on that accessible public land can run high, especially in the first week.

Getting onto private ground takes planning. Most landowners have regular hunters who return year after year, and access is difficult to come by. Many properties require a trespass fee, and licensed outfitters operate here if hiring is an option. The Johnson County Walk-In Area 3, a walk-in access site, offers limited opportunity for mule deer hunting and requires no permission to enter during its posted open period. Public land mule deer often get more pressure than those on private, but they are present on the accessible parcels, while white-tailed deer on private agricultural ground simply do not appear on public land a hunter can reach. Quality hunts here hinge on securing private access before the season.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 26 (Ucross) 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 3 · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular November 1 – November 30
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer valid on private land
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular September 1 – December 15
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
Regular November 1 – 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)

The early white-tailed deer archery season (Type 3) opens when bucks are shedding velvet and are still in bachelor patterns through the first month of September. Early fall temperatures run warm—highs near 74 degrees—and the ground is dry, making glassing and stalking straightforward on accessible public land. Few hunters are in the field this early. This hunt is white-tailed only, so mule deer do not count.

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

The doe-or-fawn white-tailed deer hunt (Type 8) is valid only on private land and runs September through mid-December across the warmest and coldest months of the year. The season opens when bucks transition into nocturnal patterns and peaks during the rut in November, when social behavior shifts dramatically. Weather cools from September highs near 74 degrees through November lows around 22 degrees, with December snow averaging 3.7 inches per month. Hunters pursuing this hunt must secure private ground beforehand, as white-tailed deer congregate on agricultural land along Clear Creek and the Powder River.

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

The general-licence hunt for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer spans two phases: archery in September and regular rifle in early October. September archery hunts mule deer and white-tailed deer during the velvet-shed transition, when weather is warm (highs near 74 degrees) and bucks move openly across the sagebrush. The regular season in October crosses into nocturnal buck patterns as temperatures fall and the first light snow may dust high ground. Early-season pressure on public land can run heavy in the first week, and a hunter may encounter other parties. This hunt allows antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer, though white-tailed animals concentrate on private agricultural ground along the drainages.

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

The November any-white-tailed deer hunt (Type Gen general licence) opens into the primary rut, when white-tailed deer activity peaks and animals shift locations as social behavior intensifies. This November-only season catches the pre-rut staging and primary rut phases, when white-tailed bucks become more visible and vulnerable. Temperatures drop from highs near 46 degrees to lows around 22 degrees, with snowfall averaging 2 inches per month, occasionally helping a hunter track and locate animals. Access remains split between modest public land mule deer habitat and private agricultural ground where most white-tailed deer occur.

Land and access

private land75%

Private

BLM15%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land10%

Generally open to public hunting

About 25% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 214 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 15% 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

Yearlong Range95%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range83%

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

Sagebrush70%

Grass and meadow23%

Other cover5%

Riparian2%

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	13°F	3.8 in
February	38°F	15°F	3.5 in
March	48°F	23°F	2 in
April	55°F	30°F	1.4 in
May	65°F	40°F	0 in
June	76°F	48°F	0 in
July	85°F	55°F	0 in
August	84°F	53°F	0 in
September	74°F	44°F	0 in
October	59°F	32°F	1 in
November	46°F	22°F	2 in
December	37°F	14°F	3.7 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 26?: Yes. A Wyoming resident buys a general deer licence over the counter with no draw involved, and it is valid across all general-licence hunt areas including hunt area 26. A nonresident cannot buy a general licence and must draw a Region C general licence, which is valid across the general-licence hunt areas within that region.
Does a Wyoming resident need preference points to draw in hunt area 26?: No. Wyoming residents have no deer preference points for any hunt in the state. The resident deer draw is random, with no points involved and no point cutoff.
Which deer species can a hunter legally take in hunt area 26?: Both mule deer and white-tailed deer hunt here, but the legal animal depends on the hunt type purchased. Type 3 and Type 8 permits permit only white-tailed deer. The Type Gen general-licence hunt in September and October allows antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer, while the November Type Gen general-licence hunt allows any white-tailed deer only.
How much of hunt area 26 can a hunter actually access?: About 214 square miles of public land (BLM and State Trust Land) are generally open and accessible, roughly 25% of the hunt area's total. The remaining 75% is private ground, which requires permission or a trespass fee to hunt. Most landowners have regular hunters returning annually, making private access difficult to secure.
When do the mule deer and white-tailed deer seasons run in hunt area 26?: White-tailed deer hunts run from September through December: Type 3 has archery September 1–30 and regular November 1–30; Type 8 regular runs September 1 – December 15. The Type Gen general-licence season for antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer runs archery September 1–30 and regular October 1–14. The November Type Gen general-licence hunt for any white-tailed deer runs November 1–30.

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