Wyoming Hunt Area 84 (Atlantic Rim) deer hunting
Hunt area 84 is high sagebrush desert and prairie split by a ridge of aspen and mountain shrub. The northern two-thirds is mostly flat to gently rolling, arid country dotted with saltbush and greasewood, interrupted by scattered rocky rims and mesas. A few creeks cut through it, but riparian ground is sparse. Atlantic Rim runs southwest to northeast across this section, rising into conifer and aspen that concentrate the best deer habitat on the public ground. The southern third climbs to higher elevations along Miller Hill, straddling the Continental Divide. That country sits at the top of the elevation range and holds sagebrush steppe mixed with aspen pockets and actual meadows—denser water and cover than the north. Mule deer are distributed throughout, with better concentrations along the ridge systems and high ground. White-tailed deer are scarce; the few present stay in creek bottoms and around irrigated land near Miller Hill and Muddy Creek.
Getting onto this ground is the hunt's main challenge. More than half the area is public land, but it is parceled in a checkerboard pattern: every other square mile is private. Public tracts that do not front a road need private permission to reach. The Red Rim/Daley Wildlife and Habitat Management Area opens roughly 50 square miles in the north, though its deserts hold limited deer habitat. A 40-square-mile block of mixed public ground in the southeast corner is easier to access. Few maintained roads cross the area, and ranches are large; roads in clay deserts turn impassable when wet, while rocky ground in the higher south remains drivable through precipitation. Most hunters who rely on public ground alone use GPS to map ownership boundaries.
Licence and how this hunt area is drawn
Hunt Area 84 (Atlantic Rim) 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 deerLegal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rulesArchery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 14
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 single Type 1 hunt spans both archery and regular seasons, permitting antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer from September 1 through October 14. Archery (September 1–30) falls during velvet shed and early fall transition, when mule deer bucks are still moving and relatively visible on the high sagebrush and scattered timber. Temperatures run mild, with September highs around 70 degrees and minimal snow. A hunter pursuing white-tailed deer will find very few animals on public ground; those that exist occupy creek drainages and irrigated pockets, mostly out of the main hunt area. The regular season (October 1–14) shifts into early fall migration and the nocturnal buck phase, as temperatures drop sharply into the 50s and cold rain and snow become common—about 1.8 inches of monthly snowfall is normal. Bucks move more actively, covering ground at dawn and dusk and bedding in thicker cover along the rim systems and upper elevation shrub. Access pressure increases in the regular window, but checkerboard ownership and few connecting roads still limit how much ground a hunter can physically reach without private permission or an outfitter.
Land and access
About 60% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Land, roughly 345 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 55% 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.
Where deer are mapped
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
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 | 14°F | 8.4 in |
| February | 33°F | 15°F | 6.7 in |
| March | 43°F | 22°F | 4.7 in |
| April | 52°F | 28°F | 3.4 in |
| May | 62°F | 36°F | 0 in |
| June | 74°F | 44°F | 0 in |
| July | 82°F | 52°F | 0 in |
| August | 80°F | 50°F | 0 in |
| September | 70°F | 42°F | 0.1 in |
| October | 55°F | 32°F | 1.8 in |
| November | 40°F | 22°F | 6.5 in |
| December | 30°F | 14°F | 9.1 in |
Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.
Common questions
- Can a hunter obtain a license for hunt area 84 on a Wyoming general or regional licence?
- No. Hunt area 84 is a limited-quota area and must be drawn separately by both residents and nonresidents. A general or regional licence from Wyoming does not cover it.
- Do Wyoming residents need preference points to draw hunt area 84 for deer?
- No. Wyoming residents do not earn or hold preference points for deer. The resident draw for hunt area 84 is random, with no point advantage.
- Which deer species can a hunter legally take on the Type 1 hunt in area 84?
- The hunt permits antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer. An antlered restriction applies to mule deer only; white-tailed deer of any sex and age are legal.
- What share of hunt area 84 is publicly accessible ground a hunter can count on?
- About 60% of the area—roughly 345 square miles—is public land a hunter can generally expect to access, consisting of BLM, State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Land. The remaining 40% is private, and much checkerboard public ground requires permission to reach from private roads.
- When does the Type 1 hunting season run in hunt area 84?
- The season runs from September 1 through October 14, split between an archery window (September 1–30) and a regular season (October 1–14). Both windows are part of a single hunt permit.
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.