Wyoming hunt Planner

Welcome to our Hunt Planner. In the sections that follow you will find interactive maps, species specific hunt information, drawing odds, harvest information, public access and much more.

Please begin by selecting a species from the drop down menu below.

Resident status:

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Wyoming hosts both mule deer and white-tailed deer. Mule deer are Wyoming’s most abundant and sought-after deer. Mule deer are found from high in the western mountains to the low elevation creek bottoms of eastern Wyoming and most habitats in between.

Hunt Area 96

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Apply For Season Dates Archery Dates License Limitations
REGION Q GENERAL Oct. 15 - Oct. 20 Sep. 1 - Sep. 30 Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer
* Difficult Public Access
huntarea-deer-sample

Approx. % of Public Land: 90%
Access to Public Land: Good
Access Notes: Most of Deer Hunt Area 96 is public land, with good access. Most private lands are found along Willow Creek, Crooks Creek, and other streams, and public access to these private lands is very limited.
Mapping Resources: Bairoil, South Pass

Additional Information: None
USFS Designated Wilderness Areas: None
Hunting Access in Wyoming - Public Access Summary

  • Nonresident Deadlines
  • Applications Open: January 2, 2026
  • Application Deadline: June 1, 2026
  • Modify & Withdrawal Deadline: June 1, 2026
  • Tentative Draw Results Available: June 18, 2026
  • Preference Point Only***: July 1, 2026 - November 2, 2026
  • Resident Deadlines
  • Applications Open: January 2, 2026
  • Application Deadline: June 1, 2026
  • Modify & Withdrawal Deadline: June 1, 2026
  • Tentative Draw Results Available: June 18, 2026

*** An applicant must be at least eleven (11) years old at the time of submitting an application to purchase a preference point and must be at least twelve (12) years old by December 31 of that year.

  • Nonresident Fees
  • Full Price Landowner License: $374.00
  • Full Price Landowner Youth License**: $110.00
  • Full Price License: $374.00
  • Full Price Youth License**: $110.00
  • Preference Point Only Youth***: $10.00
  • Preference Point Only: $41.00
  • Reduced Price Doe/Fawn License: $34.00
  • Reduced Price Landowner Doe/Fawn License: $34.00
  • Reduced Price Landowner Youth Doe/Fawn License**: $19.00
  • Reduced Price Youth Doe/Fawn License**: $19.00
  • Special License: $1,200.00
  • Resident Fees
  • Full Price Landowner License: $42.00
  • Full Price Landowner Youth License**: $15.00
  • Full Price License: $42.00
  • Full Price Youth License**: $15.00
  • Reduced Price Doe/Fawn License: $22.00
  • Reduced Price Landowner Doe/Fawn License: $22.00
  • Reduced Price Landowner Youth Doe/Fawn License**: $14.00
  • Reduced Price Youth Doe/Fawn License**: $14.00

** An applicant may apply for any big game license if he/she is eleven (11) years of age and has not attained eighteen (18) years of age at the time of application. Any person may take a big or trophy game animal at eleven (11) years of age if the person will attain twelve (12) years of age by the end of that calendar year. Persons who are less than eighteen (18) years of age and at least eleven (11) years of age at the time of application may apply for a youth license and remit youth fees. Applicants must be at least fourteen (14) years of age prior to September 15 of the application year in order to hunt wild bison. Applicants under the age of eighteen (18) may have their parent or legal guardian submit an application on their behalf.

Buck/Any Drawing Odds

Doe/Fawn Drawing Odds

Topography and Vegetation: Deer Hunt Area 96 encompasses a diverse range of habitats, from forested lands on Green Mountain and the eastern half of Crooks Mountain, to rolling sagebrush-covered foothills, down to sagebrush steppe and alkaline saltbush and greasewood desert flats. Ephemeral streams, creeks and rivers cut through the hunt area from the mountains down into open habitats, providing good water sources throughout. White-tailed Deer Opportunities There are almost no white-tailed deer in Hunt Area 96.
General Statement Regarding this Hunt Area: Mule deer may be found mostly on and adjacent to Green Mountain and Crooks Mountain. Weather may vary from dry and windy with temperatures in the 70s and 80s to freezing cold with significant snowfall, even in the September portion of the hunt. Fall snowstorms can initiate migration for many of these mule deer, particularly out of higher elevations. Most of Hunt Area 96 is remote, far from services or cell coverage, and carrying extra fuel, water, food, and spare tires is advised. Most roads in this hunt area become muddy and nearly impassable when wet, while roads in more sandy areas often remain drivable even with a little precipitation. Rut for mule deer in this area typically peaks in the late November.
Additional Hunting Opportunities: Cottontail rabbits are typically abundant in desert shrub/greasewood habitats and around rock outcrops in this area. Good sage-grouse hunting is found in much of the area. Consult the Chapter 11 Upland Game Bird and Small Game Hunting Regulation for season dates, license requirements and bag/possession limits. Creeks and some livestock reservoirs offer opportunities for trout fishing and some waterfowl hunting.
Herd Unit Job Completion Report: Hunt Area 96 is one of two hunt areas making up the Sweetwater mule deer herd, along with Hunt Area 97. See the MD646 (Sweetwater) Job Completion Report for more detailed information on management of this herd.

AREA 96

2022 - HARVEST AGE STRUCTURE MULE DEER (2+ YEAR OLD DEER)

Class 1 Deer 31 (60% of Deer Checked)
Class 2 Deer 16 (31% of Deer Checked)
Class 3 Deer 0 (0% of Deer Checked)
Total Deer Checked 52

MULE DEER

Area 96 - General
2025 HARVEST REPORT
Hunt Area 96
# Days Hunted 1745
Days/Hunter 11.3
Total Area Harvest 155
Hunter Success 38.00%

WHITETAIL DEER

Area 96 - General
2025 HARVEST REPORT
Hunt Area 96
# Days Hunted 38
Days/Hunter 12.7
Total Area Harvest 3
Hunter Success 11.50%

Hunter Education Requirements

No person born on or after January 1, 1966, may take any wildlife by the use of firearms on land other than that of his own family, unless the person possesses or can demonstrate they have obtained a certificate of competency and safety in the use and handling of firearms.

All Elk Hunt Area 75 and 79 (Grand Teton National Park) hunters, regardless of age, must possess and exhibit a valid hunter safety certificate.

Compliance will be checked in the field.

Hunter Education Exemptions

If you meet the Armed Forces/Wyoming Peace Officer exemption requirements or you have obtained special 1 year authorization through the Hunter Mentor Program, you are exempt from hunter education.

Hunter Mentor Program

Any person born on or after January 1, 1966, who has not received a certificate of competency and safety in the use and handling of firearms, may apply to the Department for a special authorization to take wildlife with the use of a firearm while being accompanied by a mentor. A special authorization issued to an individual shall be valid for one (1) year from the date of issue and shall be in the possession of the recipient at all times while in the field.

Animal carcasses must be disposed of properly at designated sites that allow for it. Please click on this link to locate an area near you and check with the disposal site for details regarding your carcass disposal.

Carcass Disposal Sites in Wyoming

Lander Regional Office
260 Buena Vista
Lander, WY 82520
(307) 332-2688

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About Deer Hunting in Wyoming

Limited Quota Deer Licenses

There are two categories of deer hunt areas in Wyoming: limited quota and general. Limited quota deer hunt areas have a set number of licenses valid for that specific hunt area. These areas have full-price "any" or "antlered" deer licenses (Type 0, 1, 2 or 9). Type 3 licenses are only valid for (any) white-tailed deer, and do NOT permit mule deer harvest. Many hunt areas also provide reduced-price limited quota "doe/fawn" licenses (Type 6, 7 or 8). Type 6 and 7 licenses permit the take of doe or fawn mule deer or white-tailed deer. Type 8 licenses are only valid for doe or fawn white-tailed deer.

General Deer Licenses

General deer licenses are full-price licenses that are unlimited in the number of licenses issued statewide and are available for purchase "over-the-counter" for Wyoming residents. Hunters may apply for or purchase a maximum of one general deer license per year. General deer licenses may be used in any hunt area open to general license hunting and are subject to the season dates and limitations for that hunt area as set forth in the Chapter 6 Deer Hunting Season Regulation. 

 

Nonresident deer hunters wishing to hunt a general area must obtain a Region General License specific to a select region. Region General Licenses allow a nonresident to hunt deer in any hunt area within that region that is open to general license hunting and are subject to the season dates and limitations for that hunt area as set forth in the Chapter 6 Deer Hunting Season Regulation. For example, nonresident Region B Licenses are valid in Deer Hunt Areas 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 21, which are open to general license hunting. However, Region B licenses are NOT valid in Deer Hunt Areas 10 and 22 (although these two hunt areas fall within Region B) as these hunt areas are limited quota. Many general license deer hunt areas also have additional limited quota full-price and/or reduced-price licenses available.

Location

In the table of tentative deer hunting season information for this coming year, some license types are denoted with an asterisk (*) as having difficult public access. For these license types, there is limited opportunity to harvest a deer on accessible public land. If applying for a license type(s) with difficult public access, hunters should recognize that hunter densities may be high on accessible public land or that deer densities may be low. In these cases, hunters should consider securing access to private land well in advance.