Can a hunter obtain a general deer licence for this hunt area as a Wyoming resident?

Yes. Wyoming residents buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw involved and no preference points — the resident deer draw is random, with no points system at all. One general licence is the maximum a resident may hold in a year. The licence is valid throughout Region R, which includes all general-licence hunt areas in the region.

What is required for a nonresident to hunt this area on a general licence?

A nonresident must draw a Region general licence for Region R to hunt any general-licence hunt area in that region, including hunt area 50. The nonresident draw allocates three quarters of Region licences by preference points (top-down by points held) and one quarter by random draw. Preference points are a nonresident tool only and do not apply to residents.

Which deer species are legal on the general hunt here and what antler restrictions apply?

Antlered mule deer must carry three points or more on either antler; any white-tailed deer — buck, doe or fawn — is legal with no antler restriction. The three-point requirement applies to mule deer only. Both species can be pursued across both the archery and regular seasons.

When do the seasons run on this hunt area?

The general hunt spans two separate seasons: archery September 1–30 and regular October 15–24. A hunter may pursue antlered mule deer (three-plus points) or any white-tailed deer during both windows. The two seasons have different rut phases and very different weather — archery runs in warm, dry early fall while regular season brings cold and heavy snow.

How much of this hunt area can a hunter reliably access on public land?

All 134 square miles are public land — National Forest and BLM — but roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings affect actual access. The basin country is vehicle-accessible where roads stay dry, but some roads become impassable when muddy. The mountains and foothills require hiking. Hunters should review current conditions before planning a trip.

Wyoming Hunt Area 50 (Upper Shell-Beaver Creek) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

100%

Elevation

4,400–10,200 ft

Terrain

Steep

Deer region

Hunt area 50 straddles two very different countries. The western portion rolls through the Bighorn Basin as sagebrush plains and foothills, with scattered timber and mountain shrub; elevations run 4,400 to 6,500 feet there. The eastern mountains rise steeply into the Bighorns, climbing to 10,200 feet, with alpine and subalpine meadow above the spruce-fir and pine forests. Slope averages 13.7 degrees across the whole area — 45% is gentle ground, 42% moderate, and about 14% is steep or rugged. The basin country plays to vehicle access where roads stay dry, but the mountains and foothills demand foot travel to reach productive ground. Mule deer occupy sagebrush draws, hill complexes and rimrock country throughout the hunt area, with the densest concentrations in the mountain shrub and curl-leaf mahogany communities of the Bighorn foothills. White-tailed deer are present in smaller numbers, primarily on creek bottoms and irrigated lands along the Bighorn River and tributary streams.

Access is the hunt area's major asset. The entire hunt area is public land — National Forest and BLM, totaling about 134 square miles — but public ownership does not guarantee easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and scattered private inholdings all constrain where a hunter can actually go. Some roads become nearly impassable when wet and muddy, which matters most during the regular October season when snowfall climbs to around nine inches per month on average. The basin can usually be reached by vehicle through most of the season, but timing matters. The mountains require substantially more foot travel, and hunters should plan for a multiday effort to hunt productively in the higher country.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 50 (Upper Shell-Beaver Creek) 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 R, 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 three (3) points or more on either antler or any white-tailed deer
Legal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rules
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – October 24

Where a hunt above sets an antler requirement on mule deer and then allows any white-tailed deer, that point requirement is a mule deer rule only. And “any white-tailed deer” means any— buck, doe or fawn. WGFD writes “antlered” where it means a buck and “antlerless” or “doe or fawn” where it means a female, so an unqualified “any” sets no restriction on sex or age.

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 three (3) points… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)

Archery season (September 1–30) comes early in fall transition when mule deer are still shedding velvet and bucks remain in bachelor groups on summer range, though movement increases as the month progresses. Weather is mild — highs around 58°F and lows around 36°F, with minimal snowfall of about 1.3 inches for the month — making high-elevation hiking feasible and roads generally passable. Basin country can be hunted from vehicle in sagebrush and foothill shrub communities where mule deer congregate; the mountains are hikeable but demand time to access the densest patches in curl-leaf mahogany and mountain shrub. Antlered mule deer must carry three points or more on either antler, while any white-tailed deer — buck, doe or fawn — is legal. Regular season (October 15–24) overlaps early fall migration and the nocturnal buck phase as mule deer begin responding to dropping temperatures and shifting between elevation zones. Weather turns sharply colder — highs drop to 44°F, lows to 26°F — and snowfall averages nine inches for the month, which can make some basin roads impassable and slow mountain travel. These conditions push deer toward lower elevations and can concentrate them in transitional country. The same antler and species rules apply: antlered mule deer (three-plus points) or any white-tailed deer.

Land and access

National Forest100%

Generally open to public hunting

About 100% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest and BLM, roughly 134 square miles. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.

Where deer are mapped

Summer Range71%

used in summer

Winter Range29%

used in winter

Yearlong Range22%

the only layer that means year-round use

Parturition Areas10%

spring birthing ground, months before any hunting season

Crucial Winter Range7%

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

Sagebrush50%

Conifer39%

Grass and meadow10%

Other cover2%

Mid elevations

Conifer46%

Sagebrush44%

Grass and meadow9%

Higher elevations

Grass and meadow44%

Sagebrush37%

Conifer19%

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	26°F	9°F	14 in
February	28°F	9°F	14 in
March	36°F	15°F	15.8 in
April	43°F	21°F	15.4 in
May	52°F	31°F	3.3 in
June	61°F	38°F	0 in
July	70°F	45°F	0 in
August	68°F	44°F	0 in
September	58°F	36°F	1.3 in
October	44°F	26°F	9 in
November	33°F	16°F	12.1 in
December	25°F	9°F	12.4 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter obtain a general deer licence for this hunt area as a Wyoming resident?: Yes. Wyoming residents buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw involved and no preference points — the resident deer draw is random, with no points system at all. One general licence is the maximum a resident may hold in a year. The licence is valid throughout Region R, which includes all general-licence hunt areas in the region.
What is required for a nonresident to hunt this area on a general licence?: A nonresident must draw a Region general licence for Region R to hunt any general-licence hunt area in that region, including hunt area 50. The nonresident draw allocates three quarters of Region licences by preference points (top-down by points held) and one quarter by random draw. Preference points are a nonresident tool only and do not apply to residents.
Which deer species are legal on the general hunt here and what antler restrictions apply?: Antlered mule deer must carry three points or more on either antler; any white-tailed deer — buck, doe or fawn — is legal with no antler restriction. The three-point requirement applies to mule deer only. Both species can be pursued across both the archery and regular seasons.
When do the seasons run on this hunt area?: The general hunt spans two separate seasons: archery September 1–30 and regular October 15–24. A hunter may pursue antlered mule deer (three-plus points) or any white-tailed deer during both windows. The two seasons have different rut phases and very different weather — archery runs in warm, dry early fall while regular season brings cold and heavy snow.
How much of this hunt area can a hunter reliably access on public land?: All 134 square miles are public land — National Forest and BLM — but roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings affect actual access. The basin country is vehicle-accessible where roads stay dry, but some roads become impassable when muddy. The mountains and foothills require hiking. Hunters should review current conditions before planning a trip.

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