Can a hunter use a general deer licence on hunt area 27?

Yes. A Wyoming resident may buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw and no preference points involved, valid in all general-licence hunt areas statewide including hunt area 27. A nonresident cannot buy a general deer licence; a nonresident must draw a Region general licence for one of Wyoming's seventeen deer regions, valid in the general-licence areas of that region.

Which deer species can a hunter legally take on a general licence in hunt area 27?

A general licence permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer during the September archery and October regular seasons. During November, a general licence permits any white-tailed deer, and mule deer are not legal. The antler requirement restricts mule deer only; any white-tailed deer means any—buck, doe or fawn.

How much public land can a hunter actually access in hunt area 27?

About 25% of the hunt area—roughly 47 square miles—is dependably open ground: State Trust Land, State Wildlife Areas and BLM. Walk-in areas require no permission, but Hunter Management Areas do. Most accessible public land receives significant pressure, especially early in the season and on weekends.

Where does most white-tailed deer hunting happen in hunt area 27?

Nearly all white-tailed deer hunting occurs on private land, concentrated along creek bottoms and irrigated cropland margins where high densities are found. Access to private land is extremely difficult to secure; most opportunity requires outfitted hunts or fee-hunting arrangements. A hunter planning to hunt white-tailed deer should expect to arrange private access.

What rut phases occur during hunt area 27's seasons?

The September archery season falls in the velvet-shed and early fall transition, when bucks are shedding velvet and behaving unpredictably. The October regular season spans the early fall migration and nocturnal buck phase into early pre-rut staging. The November season runs through early pre-rut staging, primary rut and into late rut. The December season occurs in late rut and winter consolidation, when bucks are exhausted and concentrating for winter.

Wyoming Hunt Area 27 (Buffalo) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

25%

Elevation

4,600–7,800 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 27 sprawls across 190 square miles from the Bighorn Mountains' steep, timbered western face to rolling sagebrush-grassland and irrigated valleys in the east. The ground is mostly gentle, with 73% graded gentle and a mean slope of 7.5 degrees, making it walkable country despite significant portions of the lower elevations hosting cultivated fields and pasture. Stream corridors laced with cottonwood and willow cut through from the mountains eastward across the hunt area. Lower elevations run heavier to sagebrush, grass and some scattered timber; higher country blends sagebrush with conifer. Whitetailed deer concentrate along creek bottoms and the cropland margins, while mule deer roam the broader terrain.

About 25% of hunt area 27 is dependably open ground—roughly 47 square miles of State Trust Land, State Wildlife Areas and BLM scattered across the area. Most of it draws significant pressure, especially early season and on weekends. The walk-in areas—Johnson County Walk In Areas 1, 5, 8 and 11—provide entry without permission during their open periods. Fort Phil Kearny, a Hunter Management Area on private land, requires a printed permission slip before hunting and enrollment is renegotiated annually. Access to hunt on private land is extremely limited and difficult to secure; nearly all white-tailed deer hunting opportunity sits on private ground, and mule deer access there is scarce. Hunters counting on public land should plan for crowded early season and weekends on the accessible blocks.

Seasons here run from September archery through December, with two general-licence hunts and three Type 8 white-tailed deer hunts. The early seasons target whitetailed deer on private land where most of that hunting occurs; the later season extends the white-tailed opportunity through late fall and into the primary rut. Mule deer hunting is limited to antlered animals on the general licence and is managed for lower harvest pressure than white-tailed deer.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 27 (Buffalo) 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 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 31
Type Gen — general licence · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular November 1 – November 30
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; also valid in Area 28
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – November 30
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular December 1 – December 31

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)

The September archery season and October regular season together span the month before and through the start of migration, when bucks are shedding velvet and beginning to shift toward migratory corridors and staging areas. September is warm—highs near 71 degrees—and sees almost no snow, keeping higher terrain accessible; October cools rapidly, with highs dropping to 56 degrees, lows nearing freezing, and light snow beginning, typically about 1.4 inches for the month. Both seasons permit antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. Mule deer hunting on private land is scarce; whitetailed deer concentrate on lower-elevation private land along creeks and cropland, where access is difficult to obtain. Public land, especially accessible blocks, draws heavy pressure in September and continues crowded through October weekends.

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

The November season is all any white-tailed deer on a general licence—buck, doe or fawn—and runs through the rut and into early winter consolidation. Temperatures drop sharply: highs average 44 degrees and lows 21 degrees, and snowfall increases to 2.7 inches for the month. Mule deer are not legal this season. Nearly all whitetailed deer opportunity remains on private land, concentrated along the creek corridors and agricultural margins where the species persists through winter. Pressure drops on public land as the season lengthens and weather tightens.

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

The early September Type 8 season permits doe or fawn white-tailed deer on private land only and falls in the velvet-shed and early fall transition. Conditions are warm and dry—highs near 71 degrees, nearly no snow—making early-September hunting physically easy. This season provides opportunity on private land during peak accessibility but requires securing private permission. Public land is off-limits for this hunt type.

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

The Type 8 season running from September archery through November permits doe or fawn white-tailed deer across the entire hunt area and also in adjacent Area 28, with archery only in September and regular season October 15 through November 30. This long window spans the rut buildup and primary rut into early winter consolidation, from warm early September through the heavy snow and freezing cold of late November: highs drop from 71 degrees in September to 44 degrees in November, and snowfall accumulates from nearly nothing to 2.7 inches for the month. Archery in early September offers warm conditions but limited doe visibility; the October-November regular season offers longer days afield as the rut approaches and does concentrate. Nearly all whitetailed deer are on private land, though this Type 8 permit is valid across the hunt area, including its modest public-land blocks.

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

The December Type 8 season permits doe or fawn white-tailed deer and runs into late rut and winter consolidation, when bucks are exhausted and does cluster in winter concentration areas. December is cold—highs averaging 36 degrees, lows 13 degrees—and heavy with snow, typically 5.1 inches for the month, which can cut access on public land but may concentrate deer on lower, more accessible ground. This late season still requires private-land access for most whitetailed deer hunting, as the species remains tied to creek corridors and pasture land.

Land and access

private land75%

Private

State Trust Land17%

Generally open to public hunting

State Wildlife Areas6%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM1%

Generally open to public hunting

About 25% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — State Trust Land, State Wildlife Areas and BLM, roughly 47 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 30% 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 4 enrolled walk-in areas. It also holds 1 Hunter Management Area. Both are private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. A Hunter Management Area requires a printed permission slip from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before hunting it. 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 Range85%

used in winter

Yearlong Range79%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range6%

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

Summer Range1%

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

Sagebrush49%

Other cover27%

Grass and meadow18%

Riparian6%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush64%

Grass and meadow24%

Other cover8%

Riparian3%

Aspen1%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush48%

Conifer30%

Grass and meadow21%

Other cover1%

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	5.4 in
February	37°F	14°F	5.4 in
March	46°F	22°F	3.5 in
April	53°F	29°F	2.4 in
May	62°F	38°F	0 in
June	72°F	46°F	0 in
July	82°F	53°F	0 in
August	81°F	51°F	0 in
September	71°F	43°F	0 in
October	56°F	31°F	1.4 in
November	44°F	21°F	2.7 in
December	36°F	13°F	5.1 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter use a general deer licence on hunt area 27?: Yes. A Wyoming resident may buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw and no preference points involved, valid in all general-licence hunt areas statewide including hunt area 27. A nonresident cannot buy a general deer licence; a nonresident must draw a Region general licence for one of Wyoming's seventeen deer regions, valid in the general-licence areas of that region.
Which deer species can a hunter legally take on a general licence in hunt area 27?: A general licence permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer during the September archery and October regular seasons. During November, a general licence permits any white-tailed deer, and mule deer are not legal. The antler requirement restricts mule deer only; any white-tailed deer means any—buck, doe or fawn.
How much public land can a hunter actually access in hunt area 27?: About 25% of the hunt area—roughly 47 square miles—is dependably open ground: State Trust Land, State Wildlife Areas and BLM. Walk-in areas require no permission, but Hunter Management Areas do. Most accessible public land receives significant pressure, especially early in the season and on weekends.
Where does most white-tailed deer hunting happen in hunt area 27?: Nearly all white-tailed deer hunting occurs on private land, concentrated along creek bottoms and irrigated cropland margins where high densities are found. Access to private land is extremely difficult to secure; most opportunity requires outfitted hunts or fee-hunting arrangements. A hunter planning to hunt white-tailed deer should expect to arrange private access.
What rut phases occur during hunt area 27's seasons?: The September archery season falls in the velvet-shed and early fall transition, when bucks are shedding velvet and behaving unpredictably. The October regular season spans the early fall migration and nocturnal buck phase into early pre-rut staging. The November season runs through early pre-rut staging, primary rut and into late rut. The December season occurs in late rut and winter consolidation, when bucks are exhausted and concentrating for winter.

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