Unit D101 (Black Butte)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Mule Deer
Deer Hunt Area 101, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Black Butte, covers about 1,093 square miles in Sweetwater County. It belongs to WGFD's South Rock Springs mule deer herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put mule deer success here at 86.2%, with 29 hunters taking 25 mule deer at about 14.3 days of hunting per animal. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Mule Deer Hunting in Unit D101
Deer Hunt Area 101, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Black Butte, covers about 1,093 square miles in Sweetwater County. It belongs to WGFD's South Rock Springs mule deer herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put mule deer success here at 86.2%, with 29 hunters taking 25 mule deer at about 14.3 days of hunting per animal. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Mule Deer in Deer Hunt Area 101
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names deer hunt area 101 "Black Butte". It runs to about 1,093 square miles, entirely in Sweetwater County. WGFD reports these mule deer as the South Rock Springs herd unit, which also takes in deer hunt area 102. What WGFD publishes for the area is its boundary and its harvest; where the mule deer stand inside it is our reading of the ground, and the two are kept apart below.
The line: Rock Springs, Bitter Creek and Carson Springs
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 6 walks the line around deer hunt area 101 corner by corner. It starts at the junction of Wyoming Highway 430 and the Wyoming-Colorado state line. On the way round it follows Wyoming Highway 430, Interstate Highway 80 and Sweetwater County Road 19, and Rock Springs, Bitter Creek, Carson Springs and Cow Creek. That is a legal description, not a habitat map, and it is the text a warden reads you against. The full text is in Section 7 of that chapter, with this year's season dates and license limitations in Section 2.
Not the same ground as the other hunt area 101s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 101 also belongs to its antelope hunt area 101. Their lines overlap this area in places and depart from it in others. A license is good only in the hunt area of its own species, so this page is about the deer area, and the cards at the foot of the page link the others.
High ground inside the line: Pine Butte, Sand Butte and Kinney Rim
Named high points inside deer hunt area 101 include Pine Butte at 8,762 feet, Sand Butte at 8,576 feet, Kinney Rim at 8,193 feet, Sand Butte Rim at 8,077 feet and Black Buttes at 8,047 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Mule deer bed on broken ground with a view and feed on the brush below it.
Holding ground: East Draw, Long Draw and Bone Draw
Below them sit East Draw at 7,123 feet, Long Draw at 7,053 feet, Bone Draw at 7,012 feet, Granary Draw at 6,945 feet and Antelope Flats at 6,939 feet. Those are the basins and bottoms of the area, and they are what you glass into from above.
Water: Sand Butte Spring, Antelope Springs and Barney Meadows Spring
Named water inside the line includes Sand Butte Spring, Antelope Springs and Barney Meadows Spring. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Reading the land status
Named ground inside deer hunt area 101 runs from 6,431 feet to 8,762 feet. Those are the heights of the features GNIS names, which bound the range from inside rather than measure it.
Unit D101 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Kinney Rim (8,193 ft), Cooper Ridge (7,541 ft), Five Monument Butte (7,044 ft), Shiprock (6,800 ft)
Holding ground: Sand Butte Basin (7,907 ft), Chicken Springs Basin (7,304 ft), East Draw (7,123 ft), Sand Butte Spring, Antelope Springs
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Mule Deer in Deer Hunt Area 101
Mule Deer Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 86.2% mule deer success in deer hunt area 101: 25 animals taken by 29 active hunters over 357 days of hunting, or 14.3 days per animal. By residency, residents 83.3% (20 taken by 24) and nonresidents 100% (5 taken by 5).
These are WGFD's own estimates from its hunter survey, for this hunt area and season only — not a statewide average. One season isn't a trend, so check the current report before you read one into it.
Mule Deer Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — General Type 1 antlered (resident) | 16 | 723 | 2.2% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 antlered (nonresident) | 0 | 123 | 0.0% | — |
Data from 2026 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number. This agency publishes no point thresholds, so the Pts column stays blank and these are pool odds, not what a point total draws.
Open in Draw Odds EngineWyoming Game and Fish's 2026 demand report for mule deer in deer hunt area 101, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1 (antlered deer), residents: 723 first-choice applicants for 16 licenses, 2.2% drawn
- Type 1 (antlered deer), nonresidents: 123 first-choice applicants for 0 licenses, 0% drawn
Wyoming residents draw mule deer licenses without preference points; nonresidents draw part of their quota on points, highest balance first (Chapter 44, Section 19), and the nonresident figures above are from WGFD's random draw. WGFD publishes no preference-point level at which a hunt draws, so none is given here. Every figure was checked against WGFD's demand-report PDFs on 2026-08-10.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Wyoming deer hunt area 101?
What is the mule deer success rate in deer hunt area 101?
Is deer hunt area 101 the same ground as antelope hunt area 101?
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Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-25.
- Chapter 6 — Deer Hunting Seasons (2026) — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Name and legal boundary of deer hunt area 101, Season dates, license types and limitations by hunt area · accessed 2026-10-25
- Deer 2025 Harvest Report — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Hunters, harvest, percent success and days per animal for mule deer in deer hunt area 101, The same by license type and residency · accessed 2026-10-25
- WGFD draw results and odds — demand reports 2021-2026 — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: First-choice applicants, licenses and percent drawn, by license type, residency and year · accessed 2026-08-10
- Chapter 44 — Regulation for Issuance of Licenses, Permits, Stamps, Tags, Preference Points and Competitive Raffle Chances — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Which licenses are drawn on preference points (Section 19), When preference points are deleted · accessed 2026-10-25
- WGFD ArcGIS feature services — hunt areas by species, CWD sampling areas, WHMAs, Public Access Areas, Hunter Management Areas, Walk-In Hunting Areas — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Mapped outline of the hunt area, Herd unit and square miles · accessed 2026-10-25
- TIGERweb State_County — Wyoming county boundaries (used only to measure which counties a hunt area lies in) — U.S. Census Bureau · supports: Which counties the hunt area lies in, and in what share · accessed 2026-10-25