Wyoming Deer — Hunt Area 81

Blackhall

Wyoming Hunt Area 81 covers 194,518 acres and lies 9 miles south-east of Encampment and 25 miles south of Saratoga. 74% of it is public land, mostly national forest (60%) and BLM (10%). In 2025, 155 people hunted mule deer here and took 115 — 74% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 27 nonresident tags here for 2 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):53 Applicants:177 Mule Deer success (2025):74% Public land:74% Size:194,518 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Hunt Area 81, 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

81-1 Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer 15 tags · 132 applicants · needed 10 pts · Regular

3% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
81-1 Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer 11 tags · 43 applicants · needed 7 pts · Special

9% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
81-1 Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer 27 tags · 2 applicants · needed 0 pts · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
81-1 ↗ Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer	3% Point builder	0%	10 +3 since 2021	15 / 132	Regular	Oct 1–14, 2026
81-1 ↗ Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer	9% Point builder	0%	7 +2 since 2021	11 / 43	Special	Oct 1–14, 2026
81-1 ↗ Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer	100% Undersubscribed	—	0 steady since 2024	27 / 2 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 81 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 81 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

National Forest 117,336 ac · 60%
Private 50,712 ac · 26%
BLM 19,421 ac · 10%
State land 6,911 ac · 4%
Other public 514 ac · 0%
County or city land 38 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.