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, a 25% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, 97-3, put up 5 nonresident tags in the 2023 draw for 0 first-choice applicants.
No more draws here. The last one was 2023.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department held its 2026 deer draw without Hunt Area 97. No current hunt code lists this unit; the Wyoming deer hunts on offer are drawn elsewhere. The odds, costs and harvest below are that history, kept for the record.
3 licenses
first choice, NR
2025, mule deer
76% BLM
581,127 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in Hunt Area 97
The last draw held in Hunt Area 97 was 2023. These are that draw's chances for a first-choice nonresident applicant, kept for the record.
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97-3 Regular | Any white-tailed deer | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| 97-3 Special | Any white-tailed deer | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| 97-8 Reduced price | Doe or fawn white-tailed deer | 63% | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2023 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: WGFD 2023 Demand Report; WGFD 2023 Demand Report; WGFD 2023 Demand Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Regular $410.50 ($389 to apply) · Special $1,236.50 ($1,215 to apply) · Reduced price $70.50 ($49 to apply). Open Jan 2 – Jun 1, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
Mule Deer
| Year | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 153 | 38 | 25% |
| 2024 | 208 | 78 | 38% |
| 2023 | 99 | 22 | 22% |
| 2022 | 201 | 33 | 16% |
| 2021 | 186 | 36 | 19% |
White-tailed Deer
| Year | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 42 | 12 | 29% |
| 2024 | 31 | 0 | 0% |
| 2023 | 66 | 31 | 47% |
| 2022 | 53 | 28 | 53% |
| 2021 | 66 | 35 | 53% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mule deer | 153 | 38 | 25% |
| White-tailed deer | 42 | 12 | 29% |
2025 split: archery 0 (0%), firearm 38 (100%) · residents 30 from 130 hunters, nonresidents 8 from 23 hunters
What Wyoming Game and Fish Department publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. 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. Source: WGFD 2025 Mule Deer & White-Tailed Deer Harvest…; WGFD 2024 Deer Harvest Report; WGFD 2023 Deer Harvest Report.
The Ground
| BLM | 444,253 ac | 76% |
| Private | 94,063 ac | 16% |
| State land | 40,289 ac | 7% |
| Other public | 2,462 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 59 ac | <1% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office 2026 BLM WY Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 12
- WGFD 2023 Demand Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2023 Demand Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2023 Demand Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2026 License Fee List fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2026 Game and Fish Commission Chapter 44 fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2025 Mule Deer & White-Tailed Deer Harvest… harvest, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2024 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2023 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2022 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2021 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2026 Deer Hunt Areas boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office 2026 BLM WY Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2023 draw, the latest on file, computed from Wyoming Game and Fish Department's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward.
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We don't take applications: check Wyoming Game and Fish Department's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Wyoming Game and Fish Department's results, not a forecast · All Wyoming deer hunts