Wyoming Deer — Hunt Area 97

Sweetwater Rocks

Wyoming Hunt Area 97 covers 581,127 acres and lies 49 miles south-east of Riverton. 84% of it is public land, mostly BLM (76%) and state land (7%). In 2025, 153 people hunted mule deer here and took 38 — 25% of them killed something. The 2023 draw put up 5 nonresident tags here for 8 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2023):11 Applicants:8 Mule Deer success (2025):25% Public land:84% Size:581,127 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Hunt Area 97, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2023 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

97-3 Any white-tailed deer 4 tags · 0 applicants · Regular

100% No first-choice applicants
97-3 Any white-tailed deer 2 tags · 0 applicants · Special

0% No first-choice applicants
97-8 Doe or fawn white-tailed deer 5 tags · 8 applicants · Reduced price

63% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
97-3 ↗ Any white-tailed deer	100% No first-choice applicants	—	— steady since 2021	4 / 0	Regular	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2023
97-3 ↗ Any white-tailed deer	0% No first-choice applicants	—	—	2 / 0	Special	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2023
97-8 ↗ Doe or fawn white-tailed deer	63% Real chance	0%	—	5 / 8	Reduced price	Oct 15 – Nov 30, 2023

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2023 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 2023 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
Reduced price license	$49	$15	$70.50

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

The country

Hunt Area 97 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 97 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

BLM 444,253 ac · 76%
Private 94,063 ac · 16%
State land 40,289 ac · 7%
Other public 2,462 ac · 0%
County or city land 59 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.