Can a hunter draw a limited-quota hunt area in Wyoming with a region licence?

No. A region licence is valid only in general-licence areas of its region. Hunt area 37 is limited quota and must be drawn specifically; a region licence does not cover this ground.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points to draw hunt area 37 for deer?

No. Wyoming residents have no deer preference points at all. The resident draw for hunt area 37 is random. Nonresidents compete in a preference-point draw where three quarters of licences go top-down by points and a quarter go to a random draw.

Can a hunter walk into the walk-in areas on hunt area 37 without permission?

Yes. The five walk-in areas do not require permission or an application—a hunter may walk in during the posted season, subject to the area's rules. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so availability can change.

Which deer species are legal on each hunt type in hunt area 37?

Type 1 permits both antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer. Type 3 permits any white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal. Type 7 permits doe or fawn of either species. Type 8 permits doe or fawn white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal.

Where do most deer in hunt area 37 concentrate during the October mule deer season?

October mule deer hunting occurs mainly in the northern portion of hunt area 37, which is primarily public land. More deer migrate into the north if snow pushes them down from higher elevations to the south, but the core hunting pressure stays in that northern public-land zone.

Wyoming Hunt Area 37 (Copper Mountain) deer hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

51%

Elevation

4,200–8,300 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 37 spans 373 square miles of rolling sagebrush and grassland ridges interspersed with deeper draws and canyons, from 4,200 feet to 8,300 feet elevation with typical ground around 5,200 feet. The terrain is predominantly gentle—73% of it slopes gently—with scattered moderate slopes making up the remainder. Sagebrush dominates across all elevations, accounting for the bulk of cover at lower, mid and higher elevations alike, with patches of grass and meadow spread throughout and small pockets of conifers higher up. The northern portion is mainly public land—BLM and State Trust Land—while the southern half tilts heavily toward private ground, particularly lower-elevation farm and hay fields on the western side.

Getting onto productive ground requires a mixed approach. Just over half the area, some 192 square miles, is public or trust land a hunter can generally count on, though roads, trailheads and seasonal restrictions still apply. Five walk-in areas are enrolled, offering access during their posted seasons, and a single Hunter Management Area (Kirby Creek) requires a printed permission slip before hunting. Most of the ground supporting deer, however, sits on private land. Early-season mule deer hunting concentrates in the northern public-land portion, while November white-tailed deer pressure builds along the western boundary near the Bighorn River, where much of the productive country is private. Having permission on private ground, particularly near irrigated land in the Buffalo Creek drainage, can substantially improve a hunter's chances.

Hunt area 37 is drawn by limited quota for all licence types—residents enter a random draw, while nonresidents compete in a draw where three quarters of licences go to preference-point holders (ranked by points) and a quarter go to a random draw. A region licence does not cover this ground; a hunter must draw specifically for hunt area 37.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 37 (Copper Mountain) is limited quota. A licence for it must be drawn for this hunt area specifically, by resident and nonresident alike. A region licence does not reach it — a region licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region, so there is no fallback for this hunt.

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 1 · 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 3 · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular November 1 – December 15
Type 7 · Doe or fawn valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land within the Buffalo Creek drainage
Archery September 1 – September 14Regular September 15 – November 30
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – December 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 1 — Antlered mule deer or any… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)

Early September archery for antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer opens as bucks are shedding velvet and transitioning into early fall patterns, with deer still scattered across their summer habits. September temperatures run around 75 degrees during the day and 44 at night with minimal snow, making the hunt warm and dry. Regular hunting from mid-October into October's end tracks mule deer through their early fall migration into the northern portion of hunt area 37, where they stage before moving further as the rut approaches, while temperatures drop steadily from 59 to near freezing and occasional light snow begins to fall. This hunt permits antlered mule deer under standard antler rules and any white-tailed deer without antler restriction.

Type 3 — Any white-tailed deer · whitetail only (September–December)

Archery in early September for any white-tailed deer runs through the velvet-shed period as bucks leave their bachelor patterns, with warm conditions—highs near 75 degrees and lows in the low 40s—keeping the hunt comfortable. Regular hunting from November into mid-December tracks white-tailed deer through the primary rut and into the late-rut period, when most activity concentrates along the western boundary near the Bighorn River, predominantly on private land; November temperatures drop from the mid-40s to around 20 degrees at night, and snowfall builds from 2.1 inches in November to 3.8 inches in December. This hunt is for any white-tailed deer—mule deer are not legal.

Type 7 — Doe or fawn valid on or within… (September–November)

Doe or fawn hunting valid on or within one-half mile of irrigated land in the Buffalo Creek drainage runs from mid-September archery through the end of November in the regular season. The archery window opens in the velvet-shed period in early September with warm, dry conditions, while the regular season extends through the early fall migration and into the primary rut as temperatures fall from the high 50s to 20 degrees at night and snow accumulation begins; access to this hunt improves with permission on private land near irrigation. Either mule deer or white-tailed deer doe and fawn are legal, but the hunt is confined to its described drainage and vicinity.

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

White-tailed doe and fawn hunting opens with September archery in the velvet-shed period under warm, dry conditions—highs near 75 degrees—and continues through regular season from mid-October to mid-December, encompassing the early migration, pre-rut staging, and full rut into late rut. October temperatures drop from 59 degrees to near freezing with light snow beginning; November and December grow progressively colder with 2.1 to 3.8 inches of monthly snow accumulation, pushing weather conditions from cool to genuinely winter. This hunt is for white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal.

Land and access

private land48%

Private

BLM43%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land8%

Generally open to public hunting

About 51% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 192 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.

This hunt area has 5 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

Yearlong Range63%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range49%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range37%

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

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

Sagebrush81%

Grass and meadow11%

Other cover5%

Riparian2%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush88%

Grass and meadow10%

Conifer2%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush77%

Grass and meadow19%

Conifer4%

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	33°F	9°F	2.9 in
February	38°F	13°F	3.1 in
March	50°F	23°F	1.7 in
April	57°F	31°F	1.1 in
May	67°F	40°F	0 in
June	79°F	49°F	0 in
July	88°F	56°F	0 in
August	86°F	54°F	0 in
September	75°F	44°F	0 in
October	59°F	32°F	0.4 in
November	45°F	20°F	2.1 in
December	33°F	10°F	3.8 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a limited-quota hunt area in Wyoming with a region licence?: No. A region licence is valid only in general-licence areas of its region. Hunt area 37 is limited quota and must be drawn specifically; a region licence does not cover this ground.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points to draw hunt area 37 for deer?: No. Wyoming residents have no deer preference points at all. The resident draw for hunt area 37 is random. Nonresidents compete in a preference-point draw where three quarters of licences go top-down by points and a quarter go to a random draw.
Can a hunter walk into the walk-in areas on hunt area 37 without permission?: Yes. The five walk-in areas do not require permission or an application—a hunter may walk in during the posted season, subject to the area's rules. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so availability can change.
Which deer species are legal on each hunt type in hunt area 37?: Type 1 permits both antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer. Type 3 permits any white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal. Type 7 permits doe or fawn of either species. Type 8 permits doe or fawn white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal.
Where do most deer in hunt area 37 concentrate during the October mule deer season?: October mule deer hunting occurs mainly in the northern portion of hunt area 37, which is primarily public land. More deer migrate into the north if snow pushes them down from higher elevations to the south, but the core hunting pressure stays in that northern public-land zone.

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