Wyoming deer Region Y
Region Y holds 9 general-licence deer hunt areas covering about 3,162 square miles, with ground from 3,600 to 13,200 feet. Area by area the terrain grades mostly gentle, with moderate country as well. WGFD names them Sheridan, Tongue-Goose, Buffalo, Hunter Mesa, Upper Powder River, Beartrap Creek, Red Fork, Middle Fork and Tisdale Mountain.
Dependable public ground runs from about 12% to 100% of a hunt area across the region. Access is worth weighing as heavily as country here: the hunt areas differ from one another more than the region's average suggests. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.
What a Region Y licence is — and is not
A Region Y general licence is what a nonresident draws to hunt Wyoming’s general-licence deer areas in this part of the state. It is valid across the 9 hunt areas listed below, each subject to its own season dates and limitations.
It is not valid in the limited-quota hunt areas that sit inside the same country. Those must be drawn for that area specifically, and no region licence reaches them — so a region licence is a fallback only when the hunt a reader wants is in a general area.
A Wyoming resident does not use a region licence at all: residents buy a general deer licence over the counter, unlimited statewide, on sale from mid-July. Residents also have no deer preference points — where a resident must draw, that draw is random. Points are a nonresident concept here, and for nonresidents three quarters of each pool is awarded by preference points and the remaining quarter at random.
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.
The 9 general hunt areas in Region Y
| Hunt area | Herd | Size | Open public land | Terrain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 · Sheridan | — | 491 sq mi | 12% | Gentle |
| 25 · Tongue-Goose | — | 756 sq mi | 99% | Moderate |
| 27 · Buffalo | — | 190 sq mi | 25% | Gentle |
| 28 · Hunter Mesa | — | 342 sq mi | 100% | Moderate |
| 30 · Upper Powder River | — | 397 sq mi | 33% | Gentle |
| 32 · Beartrap Creek | — | 143 sq mi | 36% | Moderate |
| 33 · Red Fork | — | 431 sq mi | 40% | Gentle |
| 163 · Middle Fork | — | 176 sq mi | 74% | Moderate |
| 169 · Tisdale Mountain | — | 236 sq mi | 51% | Gentle |
“Open public land” is the share of each hunt area a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and State Wildlife Areas. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.
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
Region boundaries, licence types and seasons change. Confirm every detail with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before applying or hunting.