Wyoming Deer — Hunt Area 79

Kennaday Peak

Wyoming Hunt Area 79 covers 585,527 acres and lies 14 miles north-east of Saratoga and 30 miles north of Encampment. 48% of it is public land, mostly BLM (25%) and national forest (15%). In 2025, 232 people hunted mule deer here and took 129 — 56% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 38 nonresident tags here for 7 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):71 Applicants:130 Mule Deer success (2025):56% Public land:48% Size:585,527 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Hunt Area 79, 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

79-1 Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer 19 tags · 109 applicants · needed 6 pts · Regular

7% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
79-1 Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer 14 tags · 14 applicants · needed 0 pts · Special

100% Undersubscribed 40% as 2nd choice
79-1 Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer 38 tags · 7 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
79-1 ↗ Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer	7% Point builder	0%	6 +4 since 2021	19 / 109	Regular	Oct 1–14, 2026
79-1 ↗ Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer	100% Undersubscribed	40%	0 −2 since 2021	14 / 14 undersubscribed	Special	Oct 1–14, 2026
79-1 ↗ Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2024	38 / 7 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 1–14, 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.

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
Landowner license	$15	$15	$36.50

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

The country

Hunt Area 79 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 79 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 304,856 ac · 52%
BLM 149,014 ac · 25%
National Forest 89,689 ac · 15%
State land 38,419 ac · 7%
Other public 1,866 ac · 0%
Bureau of Reclamation 1,127 ac · 0%
County or city land 445 ac · 0%
National Wildlife Refuge 117 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.