Wyoming deer draw odds
Wyoming runs two different draws. Residents draw deer licenses at random. Nonresidents get three quarters of their licenses by preference points and the rest at random. Here's how the 2026 draw looked across the state.
Build your Wyoming deer application
Three choices, in order. Most of the work is deciding which region or hunt area, which draw, and how many points you have.
Wyoming resident? Open the resident guide
Residents draw at random with no points, and can buy a general deer license over the counter with no draw. Resident general deer licenses go on sale starting July 16.
Limited quota licenses are for one specific hunt area, so they're drawn. The resident draw is random and everyone has the same chance. In 2026, deer applications closed Jun 1, 2026. In the first drawing you can get one full-price deer license, general or limited quota, plus up to two reduced-price doe/fawn licenses.
In 2026, 19% of resident applications for full-price limited quota deer licenses drew, and 68% of applications for reduced-price doe/fawn licenses drew. Those are averages across all hunt areas: the popular ones draw far less often. A resident deer license is $42 plus the $21.50 conservation stamp, and the application fee is $5.
Choose a region or hunt area
Wyoming is divided into numbered hunt areas. A limited quota license is good only in the hunt area it names, within that license's season dates and sex limits. A general license covers every hunt area that's open to general license hunting, so you can hunt more than one area on a single license, and each area keeps its own season dates and rules.
Nonresidents don't buy a general license for the whole state. You pick a region, and a region license is good in any hunt area in that region that isn't totally limited in quota. For deer the regions are lettered, and the letters are printed around the border of WGFD's deer hunt area map. To apply for a limited quota license instead, you apply for the specific hunt area and license type. The Region K example below shows how a region contains its hunt areas.
Choose regular or special
Nonresidents applying for deer pick the regular or the special draw, not both. The two run separately and cost different amounts, and you can't switch after you submit. Everyone in a group has to apply in the same draw.
| Regular draw | Special draw | |
|---|---|---|
| Deer license | $374 | $1,200 |
| Share of nonresident licenses | 60% | 40% |
| How licenses are awarded | 75% points, 25% random | 75% points, 25% random |
| Random-draw odds, 2026 | 17%12,321 applications | 5.2%2,023 applications |
| Hunts that took 10+ points | 21 of 85 | 15 of 63 |
The 40/60 split is taken after the landowner draw, and special licenses that aren't drawn roll over to the regular draw. Prices are the 2027 fee schedule.
Understand how points and the random draw work
Wyoming sets aside 80% for residents and 20% for nonresidents, and any resident licenses that go unused move to nonresidents. Nonresidents are drawn in three steps (landowner, special, regular). In each, 75% of the licenses go to the applicants with the most points and 25% are drawn at random. For a full-price deer license you can list up to three choices, reduced-price doe/fawn licenses allow two, and in the points draw only your first choice counts.
- Applying and paying up front. A nonresident pays the full license fee plus the application fee when they apply, and the license fee is refunded if they don't draw.
- Buying points. Nonresidents buy deer points on their own, without applying, from July 1 to October 31. Applying doesn't earn you one, and missing the draw doesn't either. You can get one point per species per year, and if you go two years in a row without buying one, you lose all your points.
- After you draw. If you draw your first choice in the initial draw, you lose your points for that species. If you draw a second or third choice, you keep them.
- Groups. Applicants can apply together as a group. The group uses the average of its members' points.
- Second chance. Licenses left after the draws go to a leftover draw. It's random, open to residents and nonresidents together, and doesn't use or change preference points. In 2026 it opened Jun 22, 2026.
In 2026, the deer application closed Jun 1, 2026. Check Wyoming Game and Fish for next year's dates.
Sources: Wyoming Game and Fish's Understanding the Draw, its preference points page and the application handbook.
Example: a nonresident with 4 points applies for Region K deer
An illustration using 2026 results from Hunt Plan. Your region, points and odds will differ.
Choose Region K
You put in for Region K. That one license works in the general-season hunt areas inside it, and each hunt area keeps its own season dates and rules. A hunt area that's totally limited in quota isn't covered.
Compare your two options
You entered the draw holding 4 points. You bought your fourth point in the July to October window before the draw, because applying doesn't earn one. (Hunt Plan lists it as "3 pts + 1": three earlier points plus that one.) Here is the same hunter and region in each draw. Click either picture for the full table.
What it shows
- Lower points did the job. In 2026, every applicant at 4 points drew in the special draw, and so did everyone down to 1 point. The regular draw's points pool stopped at 6 points. One year doesn't tell you how many years you'd save in a future draw.
- A far better random draw. The special draw's random pool drew 66.7% against 8.0%, more than eight times as often. The special draw is small, with only 9 applicants at 4 points, so its numbers swing more from year to year.
- It costs more. A nonresident special deer license is $1,200 against $374. The license fee is refunded if you don't draw, but the application fee isn't.
These are 2026 results for one region. They change every year and aren't a promise about the next draw. Hunt Plan shows the same table for every region and hunt area, at your own point level.
Costs and applying
The license fee is charged when you apply. If you don't draw, it's refunded; the application fee isn't.
- Pay the license up front. You pay the full license fee plus the application fee when you apply. If you don't draw, the license fee is refunded.
- Still buy your point. Missing the draw doesn't earn a point. To keep building, buy your deer preference point for that year by October 31, even if you were unsuccessful.
2027 Wyoming fees. A nonresident deer preference point costs $75 starting January 1, 2027, and reduced-price doe/fawn licenses cost $34. Outfitters, travel and gear cost extra. Fee schedule: Wyoming Game and Fish.
2027 season dates
| What | Date | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Application opens | Jan 2, 2027 | Residents and nonresidents |
| Application deadline | Jun 1, 2027 | Residents and nonresidents |
| Draw results | Jun 18, 2027 | Residents and nonresidents |
| Buy a preference point | July 1 – October 31 | Nonresidents, each year |
Dates can move, so confirm them with Wyoming Game and Fish before you apply.
Your checklist, in order
The numbers behind the draw
Out of every 100 first-choice applications, how many got a license. These are statewide averages across many hunts, so your odds on a specific hunt will differ.
| Year | Nonresident random | Resident | Nonresident doe/fawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 23%10,057 applications | 21%23,688 applications | 68%2,699 applications |
| 2025 | 17%13,046 applications | 21%25,265 applications | 65%2,829 applications |
| 2026 | 15%14,344 applications | 19%26,002 applications | 59%2,480 applications |
The nonresident random draw gets 25% of a nonresident's licenses, and everyone who didn't draw in the points draw is in it. The resident draw is random and uses no points. The reduced-price doe/fawn licenses are cheaper and use no points. In 2024, 23% of nonresident random-draw applications drew; in 2026, 15%.
How many points did the hunts take?
Nonresidents get 75% of their full-price deer licenses through the points draw. This shows the 148 nonresident hunts that gave out licenses in the points draw in 2026, by the lowest whole point level that drew.
| Lowest level that drew | Hunts (of 148) |
|---|---|
| Down to 0 points | 65 |
| 1–5 points | 30 |
| 6–9 points | 17 |
| 10 or more points | 36 |
A hunt in the "10 or more points" row left everyone with fewer points than that to the random draw. Group applications use the group's average points, so a few results sit between whole numbers; we count whole point levels only. Reduced-price doe/fawn licenses are left out because they use no points.
How the nonresident deer regions drew in 2026
| Region | Applicants | Points it took | Random odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region A | 2,992 | 0 points | 29%1,482 applications |
| Region B | 1,006 | 1 point | 33%482 applications |
| Region C | 2,021 | 1 point | 59%621 applications |
| Region D | 491 | 3 points | 18%273 applications |
| Region F | 852 | 1 point | 24%454 applications |
| Region G | 1,798 | 12 points | 2.4%1,246 applications |
| Region H | 1,681 | 8 points | 4.9%1,022 applications |
| Region J | 741 | 0 points | 88%197 applications |
| Region K | 487 | 5 points | 8.0%323 applications |
| Region L | 340 | 3 points | 17%195 applications |
| Region M | 540 | 1 point | 35%255 applications |
| Region Q | 208 | 4 points | 6.5%155 applications |
| Region R | 822 | 3 points | 20%444 applications |
| Region T | 236 | 0 points | — |
| Region W | 861 | 1 point | 30%418 applications |
| Region X | 101 | 0 points | 92%25 applications |
| Region Y | 1,455 | 1 point | 29%706 applications |
Applicants are first-choice applications in the points draw, regular and special together. "Points it took" is the lowest whole point level that drew in the regular draw's points pool. "Random odds" is the regular draw's random pool.
Harvest success: what to expect once you draw
These are Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 statewide estimates from its hunter survey. Mule deer and white-tailed deer are reported separately, so we show them separately. Success varies a lot by hunt area, season and weapon, so treat it as a baseline, not a forecast for one hunt. Source: WGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Report.
FAQs
Quick answers about Wyoming deer draw odds.
Do I need preference points for a Wyoming deer license?
Only if you're a nonresident, and only for full-price licenses. Nonresidents earn points for elk, deer and antelope, and 75% of a nonresident's licenses go to the applicants with the most points. The other 25% are drawn at random. Residents draw deer licenses at random, with no points. Reduced-price doe/fawn licenses don't use points either.
How are the odds on this page figured?
For each draw we took every first-choice application in the 2026 results and counted how many got a license. The numbers come from Wyoming Game and Fish's published draw results. They're averages across many hunts, so they show the overall picture and not your chance on one hunt. They count applications, not people.
What happens to my points if I draw?
If you're a nonresident and you draw your first choice in the initial draw on a full-price deer license, you lose all your points. If you draw your second or third choice, you keep them. Drawing a reduced-price doe/fawn license doesn't use points.
Do I get a point for applying?
No. Wyoming doesn't award a nonresident a point for applying and not drawing. You buy points yourself, without applying for a license, from July 1 to October 31 each year. You can get one point per species per year, and if you go two years in a row without buying one you lose all your points. Since 2019 you can't buy deer points during the initial draw, and the price goes to $75 on January 1, 2027.
Why are resident and nonresident odds so different?
Wyoming sets aside 80% for residents and 20% for nonresidents, and any resident licenses that go unused move to nonresidents. Nonresidents are drawn in their own pools, and the amount of competition in each pool differs a lot from hunt to hunt.
Sources: 2026 draw results from Wyoming Game and Fish, rules from its draw and preference point pages, fees for 2027. The odds count applications, not people. Hunting guides for each hunt area are on the Wyoming deer hub.