Wyoming Deer — Hunt Area 40

Buffalo Creek

Wyoming Hunt Area 40 covers 462,066 acres and lies 34 miles east of Worland and 44 miles south-west of Buffalo. 55% of it is public land, mostly BLM (39%) and state land (9%). In 2025, 547 people hunted mule deer here and took 293 — 54% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 110 nonresident tags here for 73 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):237 Applicants:103 Mule Deer success (2025):54% Public land:55% Size:462,066 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Hunt Area 40, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

40-3 Any white-tailed deer 6 tags · 26 applicants · needed 2 pts · Regular

5% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
40-3 Any white-tailed deer 3 tags · 4 applicants · needed 0 pts · Special

100% Undersubscribed
40-3 Any white-tailed deer 8 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
40-8 Doe or fawn white-tailed deer 110 tags · 73 applicants · Reduced price

100% Undersubscribed 100% as 2nd choice
40-8 Doe or fawn white-tailed deer 110 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
40-3 ↗ Any white-tailed deer	5% Point builder	0%	2 +2 since 2022	6 / 26	Regular	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
40-3 ↗ Any white-tailed deer	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 +1 since 2024	3 / 4 undersubscribed	Special	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
40-3 ↗ Any white-tailed deer	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	8 / 0	Landowner	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
40-8 ↗ Doe or fawn white-tailed deer	100% Undersubscribed	100%	—	110 / 73 undersubscribed	Reduced price	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026
40-8 ↗ Doe or fawn white-tailed deer	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	110 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2026

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
The badge: plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
As 2nd choice: Wyoming lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
Tags / applicants: tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.

1 hunt not offered in 2026 is hidden — show discontinued hunts.

What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Regular license	$389	$15	$410.50
Special license	$1,215	$15	$1,236.50
Reduced price license	$49	$15	$70.50
Landowner license	$15	$15	$36.50
Landowner reduced price license	$15	$15	$36.50

Application window: opens Jan 2, closes Jun 1, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Other licenses valid in Hunt Area 40

Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land Reduced price

The country

Hunt Area 40 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 40 and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

Private 207,667 ac · 45%
BLM 179,614 ac · 39%
State land 41,863 ac · 9%
National Forest 32,571 ac · 7%
Other public 264 ac · 0%
County or city land 84 ac · 0%

Source: BLM WY Surface Management Agency (land ownership / SMA)

Nearby areas

How the hunting has gone

What Wyoming Game and Fish Department publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Wyoming's figures are estimates from a voluntary post-season survey of license holders, extrapolated to every license issued — not a count of animals checked in.