Can a nonresident hunter draw a general licence for hunt area 5?

Nonresidents cannot buy a general deer licence; they must draw a Region A general licence through the nonresident draw, which is valid across all general-licence hunt areas in the region. Within the nonresident pool, three quarters of the Region A general licences are awarded to hunters with the most preference points, and a quarter are distributed through random draw to all applicants regardless of points. A nonresident needs preference points to improve odds significantly in that draw.

What species can be legally hunted in hunt area 5?

The general licence permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. This means an antler restriction applies to mule deer only; a white-tailed deer of any sex or age is legal. Mule deer are the dominant species here, though white-tailed deer are present, particularly in agricultural areas and on private land.

How much public land can a hunter access in hunt area 5?

About 54 square miles of the 365-square-mile hunt area is public land—roughly 15%—including State Trust Land, BLM, and National Forest parcels. Crook County Walk-In Area 8 provides legally accessible private ground during its posted open period. Roads, trailheads, and seasonal closures still apply to all public land, and the accessible deer habitat within public parcels is limited; much of the National Grassland section is timbered with sparse deer.

When does the hunting season run in hunt area 5?

The general licence supports an archery season from September 1 to September 30 and a regular gun season from November 1 to November 20. These span different rut phases: the archery hunt occurs during the velvet shed and early fall transition, while the regular season covers the early pre-rut migration corridor staging into the primary rut.

What is the main challenge to hunting hunt area 5?

Private land comprises 85% of the hunt area and holds the highest deer densities, particularly in agricultural fields. Most private land is outfitted or tightly controlled, and trespass fees are the norm where permission is granted. Public land access is rated poor, making private-land arrangements essential for most hunters pursuing deer here.

Wyoming Hunt Area 5 (Inyan Kara) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

15%

Elevation

4,100–6,400 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 5 is a sprawling landscape of Black Hills ridges, sagebrush grassland, and prairie, ranging from rolling open country to steeper terrain across 365 square miles of northeastern Wyoming. Ponderosa pine forest fills the eastern Black Hills portions while sagebrush grassland dominates westward, mixed with agricultural fields and their adjoining grassland. The ground is predominantly gentle—about 90% of the area slopes gently—and slopes average 4.3 degrees, terrain that favors a hunter on foot though road access and trailheads vary in their usefulness. Grass and meadow make up 63% of the cover, sagebrush 14%, and conifer 12%, creating open country interspersed with timbered patches. Elevation spans 4,100 to 6,400 feet, with typical ground around 4,700 feet.

Getting onto huntable ground is the main obstacle here. About 15% of the area—roughly 54 square miles—is public land (State Trust Land, BLM, and National Forest) that a hunter may generally count on. The Thunder Basin National Grassland section within the hunt area is mostly timbered and holds deer only sporadically. Crook County Walk-In Area 8 offers legally accessible private ground during its posted open period, with no permission needed. The rest is private land, 85% of the hunt area. Much of it is outfitted or held tightly; trespass fees are standard where access is granted. The bulk of practical deer hunting here occurs on private land, where securing permission and arranging payment is the typical path. Public access is rated poor overall.

Mule deer are the dominant species in hunt area 5, though some white-tailed deer inhabit the area, especially in agricultural uplands and on private land. Hunt area 5 winters 11% of its acreage and holds yearlong range on another 11%, but the highest densities of deer occupy the agricultural fields and their grassland margins. The archery season runs through September, when velvet is being shed and bucks begin shifting from summer patterns. The regular season spans the migration and early rut through the peak rut in November, when cold builds steadily and snow climbs through the month. As the season progresses from September into November, temperatures fall from the low 70s into the low 40s, and snowfall rises from nearly zero to around 3 inches per month, making the country increasingly harsh and likely concentrating deer movements.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 5 (Inyan Kara) 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 A, 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 deer
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular November 1 – November 20

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 deer (September–November)

Archery hunting runs through September, when velvet shedding and early fall transition shape buck behavior. Temperatures are mild—highs near 73 degrees Fahrenheit and lows in the low 40s—with virtually no snow, allowing hunters to cover ground on foot across the gentle terrain and open grassland. Bucks are not yet in migration or full nocturnal phase, making daytime hunting viable on accessible ground. The hunt permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. The regular season follows from November 1 through November 20, when the pre-rut staging and primary rut bring bucks into more active movement. Weather turns harsh: highs drop to the mid-40s, lows reach the low 20s, and snowfall averages 3.3 inches per month, which can concentrate deer movements and add tracking advantages to a hunter who can stay in the field. The same animals are legal—antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer—but the rut phase and snow make the hunt and the country fundamentally different. Nearly all practical hunting on this area occurs on private land; securing permission and trespass fees are standard. Limited public land and Crook County Walk-In Area 8 offer alternatives but hold far fewer deer than the agricultural uplands and their grassland margins on private ground.

Land and access

private land85%

Private

State Trust Land7%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM5%

Generally open to public hunting

National Forest3%

Generally open to public hunting

About 15% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — State Trust Land, BLM and National Forest, roughly 54 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 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 Range11%

used in winter

Yearlong Range11%

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 meadow63%

Sagebrush14%

Conifer12%

Other cover11%

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	34°F	12°F	5.7 in
February	36°F	13°F	5.2 in
March	47°F	22°F	3.3 in
April	55°F	29°F	3.4 in
May	64°F	39°F	0 in
June	75°F	48°F	0 in
July	85°F	55°F	0 in
August	83°F	53°F	0 in
September	73°F	44°F	0 in
October	57°F	32°F	1.3 in
November	44°F	21°F	3.3 in
December	35°F	13°F	5.2 in

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

Common questions

Can a nonresident hunter draw a general licence for hunt area 5?: Nonresidents cannot buy a general deer licence; they must draw a Region A general licence through the nonresident draw, which is valid across all general-licence hunt areas in the region. Within the nonresident pool, three quarters of the Region A general licences are awarded to hunters with the most preference points, and a quarter are distributed through random draw to all applicants regardless of points. A nonresident needs preference points to improve odds significantly in that draw.
What species can be legally hunted in hunt area 5?: The general licence permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. This means an antler restriction applies to mule deer only; a white-tailed deer of any sex or age is legal. Mule deer are the dominant species here, though white-tailed deer are present, particularly in agricultural areas and on private land.
How much public land can a hunter access in hunt area 5?: About 54 square miles of the 365-square-mile hunt area is public land—roughly 15%—including State Trust Land, BLM, and National Forest parcels. Crook County Walk-In Area 8 provides legally accessible private ground during its posted open period. Roads, trailheads, and seasonal closures still apply to all public land, and the accessible deer habitat within public parcels is limited; much of the National Grassland section is timbered with sparse deer.
When does the hunting season run in hunt area 5?: The general licence supports an archery season from September 1 to September 30 and a regular gun season from November 1 to November 20. These span different rut phases: the archery hunt occurs during the velvet shed and early fall transition, while the regular season covers the early pre-rut migration corridor staging into the primary rut.
What is the main challenge to hunting hunt area 5?: Private land comprises 85% of the hunt area and holds the highest deer densities, particularly in agricultural fields. Most private land is outfitted or tightly controlled, and trespass fees are the norm where permission is granted. Public land access is rated poor, making private-land arrangements essential for most hunters pursuing deer here.

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