Is hunt area 78 a limited-quota draw or can a hunter use a general licence?

Hunt area 78 is drawn by limited quota only—both resident and nonresident hunters must draw this area specifically. A general licence or region licence does not cover it.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points for a deer draw in this hunt area?

Wyoming residents do not earn, build, or use preference points for deer. The resident draw for hunt area 78 is random. Preference points are a nonresident tool; within the nonresident draw, three quarters of the licences go to the preference-point pool, awarded top-down by points, and a quarter go to a random draw.

Can a nonresident hunter legally hunt alone in the designated wilderness on this hunt area?

No. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide when hunting in designated wilderness. A nonresident who plans to hunt the wilderness here must arrange such accompaniment before the season.

Which deer species can a hunter legally take in each season on hunt area 78?

Type 1 (September–October archery and October regular) permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. Type 3 (September–December archery and October–December regular) permits any white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal. Type 8 (September–December regular) permits doe or fawn white-tailed deer only.

What fraction of hunt area 78 is public land a hunter can generally count on accessing?

About 73% of the area—roughly 332 square miles—is National Forest, BLM, or State Trust Land. The remaining 27% is private. Roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings all affect what ground a hunter can actually reach.

Wyoming Hunt Area 78 (French Creek) deer hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

73%

Elevation

6,900–10,900 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 78 sits in a topographically diverse landscape that ranges from 6,900 feet along the North Platte River bottom to 10,900 feet at higher peaks, with typical ground around 8,400 feet. The country is a mix of open sagebrush slopes, steep canyon walls, and heavily forested ridges—a blend of Spruce-fir, lodgepole pine, and aspen interrupted by open parks and meadows. Much of the public land burned in the 2020 Mullen Creek fire and now consists of standing dead timber, regenerating aspen, and open slopes where game trails and sight lines are now clearer than they were before. Riparian bottoms along the major rivers and creeks hold the riparian meadows. The terrain slopes gently overall, with 74% of the ground classified as gentle and 24% moderate; a hunter can cover country on foot across most of the area without technical scrambling, though the canyons near the North Platte are narrow and steep.

Public land makes up 73% of the area—roughly 332 square miles of National Forest, BLM, and State Trust Land that a hunter can generally count on accessing. Private land comprises the remaining 27%, much of it concentrated near irrigated meadows and creek bottoms where white-tailed deer congregate. Roads, trailheads, and seasonal closures still apply, and some private parcels intersperse within the public ground; access requires planning and is rated as good by the agency, but never straightforward. This hunt area contains designated wilderness, which means a nonresident must be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide if hunting there.

Mule deer and white-tailed deer occupy different parts of the landscape. Mule deer use sagebrush draws, riparian areas, burned timber slopes, and rocky canyons throughout the hunt area, with heavy use of the Mullen Creek burn scar. From October into November, many mule deer migrate from higher summer range down to lower, foothill and basin wintering areas—though mild fall weather can delay them at higher elevations, and thick aspen regeneration and standing dead timber serve as refuges during the hunting seasons. As conditions grow harsh, they shift to mid-elevation mountain shrub zones and south-facing slopes. White-tailed deer are primarily a private-land proposition here, found in river and creek bottoms and near irrigated lands where access is limited. Many of the mule deer wintering here actually summer in Colorado and will eventually settle in traditional winter areas like Beaver Hills, Bennett Peak, and Baggot Rocks.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 78 (French Creek) 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 1 – October 14
Type 3 · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – December 31
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular September 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 1 — Antlered mule deer or any… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)

The September archery window for Type 1 (antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer) coincides with the velvet-shed and early fall transition, when mule deer are still in summer patterns across the higher country and sagebrush draws. September weather holds September with highs around 64°F and lows around 37°F, supporting long days of hunting without extreme cold or significant snow. October archery and October 1–14 regular seasons fish the early fall migration and nocturnal buck phase, as mule deer begin moving from high summer range toward lower wintering areas and become more active at dawn and dusk; October cools considerably, with highs dropping to 50°F and lows to 27°F, and may bring around 5.4 inches of snowfall to higher elevations. White-tailed deer are legal throughout Type 1, though they remain concentrated on private land near river bottoms and irrigated meadows where access is sparse. Public land is the main asset for mule deer hunting, particularly the burned timber and regenerating aspen stands where sightlines have improved and mule deer seek shelter.

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

Hunting Type 3 (any white-tailed deer) runs across both the archery season (September) and a long regular season (October 1–December 31), chasing white-tailed deer in their primary habitat—river and creek bottoms and near irrigated lands that are predominantly private. September archery happens during velvet-shed and early fall transition, when white-tailed deer begin shifting behavior but remain in riparian corridors; October sees the opening of the regular season into the early fall migration and nocturnal buck phase, followed by early pre-rut staging in late October, the primary rut in mid-November, and late rut into December. Weather cools steadily across this span—from September highs near 64°F to October highs around 50°F to December highs near 29°F—and snow accumulates, particularly in December with around 25.3 inches of monthly snowfall on the high country. Access to white-tailed deer is the hunt's limiting factor, as most riparian habitat and meadows lie on private land; public riparian areas offer the best opportunity, though finding them often requires local knowledge.

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

Type 8 (doe or fawn white-tailed deer) runs September 1–December 31 as a regular (firearm) season, spanning the velvet-shed and early fall transition through the late rut and winter consolidation. This season chases antlerless white-tailed deer through all four rut phases and into hardening winter conditions, when does concentrate near cover and water. September offers cool mornings and mild afternoons; October brings 5.4 inches of typical snowfall; December snow amounts to around 25.3 inches monthly, pushing deer downslope and toward lower-elevation refuges and south-facing exposures. Like Type 3, access hinges on private land, as white-tailed deer remain tied to river bottoms and irrigated meadows. Hunters focusing on public-land riparian areas along creeks and the North Platte may find opportunity, especially as winter snow drives animals to lower, more accessible ground.

Land and access

National Forest60%

Generally open to public hunting

private land27%

Private

BLM11%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land2%

Generally open to public hunting

About 73% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 332 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 includes designated wilderness. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness.

Where deer are mapped

Winter Range53%

used in winter

Summer Range47%

used in summer

Yearlong Range34%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range20%

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

Sagebrush67%

Other cover16%

Riparian8%

Grass and meadow5%

Conifer4%

Mid elevations

Grass and meadow44%

Sagebrush35%

Conifer15%

Aspen4%

Riparian1%

Higher elevations

Grass and meadow55%

Conifer38%

Sagebrush3%

Aspen2%

Riparian1%

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	30°F	11°F	24.1 in
February	32°F	11°F	22.6 in
March	40°F	17°F	20.7 in
April	47°F	23°F	15.3 in
May	57°F	31°F	1.9 in
June	67°F	39°F	0 in
July	75°F	45°F	0 in
August	73°F	44°F	0 in
September	64°F	37°F	0.3 in
October	50°F	27°F	5.4 in
November	37°F	18°F	19.8 in
December	29°F	10°F	25.3 in

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

Common questions

Is hunt area 78 a limited-quota draw or can a hunter use a general licence?: Hunt area 78 is drawn by limited quota only—both resident and nonresident hunters must draw this area specifically. A general licence or region licence does not cover it.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points for a deer draw in this hunt area?: Wyoming residents do not earn, build, or use preference points for deer. The resident draw for hunt area 78 is random. Preference points are a nonresident tool; within the nonresident draw, three quarters of the licences go to the preference-point pool, awarded top-down by points, and a quarter go to a random draw.
Can a nonresident hunter legally hunt alone in the designated wilderness on this hunt area?: No. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide when hunting in designated wilderness. A nonresident who plans to hunt the wilderness here must arrange such accompaniment before the season.
Which deer species can a hunter legally take in each season on hunt area 78?: Type 1 (September–October archery and October regular) permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. Type 3 (September–December archery and October–December regular) permits any white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal. Type 8 (September–December regular) permits doe or fawn white-tailed deer only.
What fraction of hunt area 78 is public land a hunter can generally count on accessing?: About 73% of the area—roughly 332 square miles—is National Forest, BLM, or State Trust Land. The remaining 27% is private. Roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings all affect what ground a hunter can actually reach.

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