Hunting & Trapping Frequently Asked Questions

Please refer to the Hunter-Landowner Assistance Program in the public access tab to find landowners looking for hunters to allow on their property.  In addition, you can always drive around your hunt area and inquire at ranch houses. Hunters should be aware that trespass fees are common and the amounts may vary from landowner to landowner.

Under the Walk-in area agreement with landowners, hunters are allowed to hunt during the time period and for the species of wildlife agreed upon by the landowner and the Game and Fish. Separate permission from the landowner is not required.

Walk-in area rules

Wyoming regulation specifically prohibits the transfer of licenses from one individual to another. If you cannot go hunting then your license cannot legally be used. Wyoming regulation prohibits the taking of wildlife using another hunter’s license. It is much the same as with most licenses. For example, if you obtained a driver’s license and were unable to drive, you could not transfer it to another person.You can donate your hunting license back to WGFD and it will be given to a disabled veteran. Click Here for more information on how to Donate a License.

Wyoming has no minimum age requirement for rabbit hunting. However, with few exceptions, if the rabbit hunting involves a firearm, completion of a hunter safety course is required. Wyoming law requires anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1966 to complete a hunter safety course before taking any wildlife with a firearm.

Yes as long as you are hunting blue or ruffed grouse. These birds may be taken with a number of weapons including handguns and rifles. Wyoming’s other grouse species, sage and sharp-tailed grouse, may be only taken with shotguns and archery equipment.

Yes it does. Camouflage orange has various shades of fluorescent orange and other colors in a broken pattern. Wyoming law requires the wearing of one fluorescent orange garment during the firearm’s season to include a hat, shirt, jacket, coat or sweater of a fluorescent orange color. Any one of these items in solid orange or a camo orange pattern would fulfill the requirement.

The Wyoming Livestock Board is reminding hunters that horses, asses and mules are REQUIRED to be inspected. Click Here for more information from the Wyoming Livestock Board

Youth hunters and hunters with disabilities have no early archery season other than the special archery seasons as established in hunting regulation. Special archery season dates for elk, deer and antelope are found in Section 3 of the regulations.

Coyotes are defined as predators in Wyoming. There are no license requirements or stamps required to hunt coyotes in Wyoming. There are no bag limits. The only restriction on take of coyotes is you cannot harvest a coyote from any public road.

Wyoming grants reciprocity for persons who have completed hunter safety courses in other states. Hunters must have on their person the certificate or card from the state where they took hunter safety when they are hunting. Hunter safety is required of most hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1966.

Prairie dogs are defined as non-game animals. There are no license requirements or stamps required to harvest prairie dogs. There are no bag limits. It is illegal to harvest prairie dogs from vehicles or public roads.

You need to buy only one archery license in addition to your deer and elk license to hunt during the special archery season. You do not need to buy separate archery licenses for elk, deer, antelope or whatever other big or trophy game you may be hunting with bow and arrow. The archery license is required of all archers who have a regular, not "archery only" license. Holders of archery only licenses do not need the separate archery permit.

Yes it is legal in Wyoming to “gutless” field dress a big game animal. There are a few restrictions that need to be followed. When “gutless” field dressing a big game animal, you are required to bring out of the field all four quarters, whether shot or not, back straps and inside tender loins. When “gutless” field dressing a big game animal, cut slits along the back and reach in to remove the inside tender loins. It is not considered waste if you leave organs in the field (i.e. heart, liver). If de-boning after “gutless” field dressing, make sure you have all of the meat from the animal in case a warden stops you and weighs the meat you brought out of the field.

Basically, that's right. Wyoming statute says nonresidents must have a licensed guide or resident companion to hunt big or trophy game in federally designated wilderness areas. The resident companion will need to get a free non-commercial guide license from a Game and Fish office. The law does not prohibit nonresidents from hiking, fishing or hunting game birds, small game, or coyotes in wilderness areas. Only nonresident big and trophy game hunters must have a licensed guide or resident companion.

"Checkerboard" is the term given to alternating sections of private and BLM lands stretching for some 300 miles along the Union Pacific Railroad in southern Wyoming. Even though this area is approximately 50 percent public, the same requirements apply as with accessing any public lands, namely, you must have public access to public lands to be able to hunt there. If the access to public lands is on a private road, landowner permission must be obtained. A person can hunt on the BLM lands provided there is public access to those sections. A person who carefully follows a BLM land status map or GPS units loaded with land status info can often figure out which sections are public and private and have a successful hunt. However, it makes for a much more trouble free hunt if permission is first obtained to avoid the concern and possibility of trespassing.

Large animals like elk are frequently packed out in quarters or pieces. If this procedure becomes necessary, the carcass coupon or tag should remain with the person packing out the animal. Remember that whenever a kill is made under any circumstances, the normal tagging procedure as outlined on your license must be followed. Simply detach the tag from the license, cut out the entire wedge or square for the day and month and sign the coupon. If you need to leave your animal to get help to pack it out the tag must be left attached to the carcass.

Season extensions are very rare. If an extension occurs, the G&F will inform newspapers and radio and TV stations. Extensions usually occur when low harvest during the regular season is likely to result in later damage to winter range or private property. Extensions also are almost always for antlerless elk only. But just because the harvest in an area is less than desired does not mean the season will be extended.

Wyoming regulations require evidence of sex must accompany the carcass taken in a hunt area where the taking of either sex is either controlled or prohibited. The evidence can be either the visible sex organs or the head.

Pepper spray, often referred to as bear spray, has a good track record against bear attacks. Most bear experts think your chances of avoiding injury are better with pepper spray as your means of defense rather than a gun. The larger canisters- 8 ounces or more- carried in a readily accessible holster, are recommended. Keep in mind the spray is to be used in the event of an attack only. It is not to be used like insect repellent or to spray around a campsite to repel bears. Elk hunters in Grand Teton National Park are reminded they are required to carry and have readily available bear pepper spray.

You can transport game for another person if the game is properly tagged with the carcass coupon detached from the license of the person who harvested the animal. If the game is to be transported out of state by someone other than the license holder, an interstate game tag must be obtained. Interstate game tags cost $8 and are available from game wardens, Game and Fish regional offices and some taxidermists and meat processors.

Game and Fish regulations are designed to minimize the possibility of spreading Chronic Wasting Disease by controlling the transportation of carcasses between hunt zones. Resident and nonresident hunters who take a deer, elk or moose within the CWD zone and wish to transport that carcass outside of the CWD zone must ensure the head and all portions of the spinal column are either left at the site of the kill or disposed of in an approved landfill. Evidence of sex and species are required in accordance with the provisions found in the current hunting regulations. Only the following portions of any deer, elk or moose taken from any other state, province or country within areas designated as positive for CWD may be imported into Wyoming: edible portions with no part of the spinal column or head attached; cleaned hides without the head; skull plate and/or antlers cleaned of all meat and brain tissue; upper canine teeth; finished taxidermy mounts.

We get this question every hunting season, usually from hunters who have had their animal processed commercially and don't think they've gotten all their meat back. The average mule deer buck has a live weight of 150-250 pounds. Dressed weights will normally range from 120-190 pounds. When the carcass is further reduced (skinned, head removed and boned) the weight is reduced again. If the animal was shot in a major meaty area such as the hindquarters, or if a lot of trimming is involved due to dirt or a dried crust on the meat, there is more loss. It is not unusual for a forkhorn or doe to yield no more than 50 pounds of boned meat. Hunters can increase the yield by making better shots, keeping the carcass clean, and not skinning the animal until it is ready to be processed.

Bucks average 75-80 pounds field dressed and does 65-70 pounds. The amount of packaged meat depends on how the animal is processed. Some hunters leave a substantial amount of bone, while others bone everything. If you bone the carcass you can expect about 30 pounds for does and 35-40 pounds for bucks. These weights can be affected substantially if the carcass has dried out due to excessive aging or if there is gunshot loss.

Yes. The crossbow must have a minimum ninety (90)-pound draw weight and a bolt of at least sixteen (16) inches in length equipped with a broadhead or expanding point designed to have a minimum cutting width of one (1) inch after impact.

There are no restrictions to using a blind to hunt antelope, or for that matter anything else. It is permissible to build a temporary blind on public land and the structure must be removed after the season. Any blind construction on private land is an agreement between the hunter and landowner. There really aren't any regulations specifying a starting date for blind construction.

There really aren't any secrets, but an understanding of the drawing process may be of benefit. In a nutshell, some areas are easier to draw than others. If there is a truism about drawing, it is that public land areas are generally more difficult to draw than private land areas. It's not unusual for public land antelope areas to have three or four residents apply for every license. For nonresidents, it's even more difficult. If you apply for a license in a private land area, you’ll almost always improve your odds of drawing. But, you are strongly advised to have permission lined up to hunt before you apply.

You may contact the State Board of Outfitters at (800) 264-0981, or look for the list on the State of Wyoming Board of Outfitters website by clicking here. Hunters should request to see the outfitter license to ensure they are authorized to operate in the area you are hunting.