Unit D70 (Shirley Mountain)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Mule Deer
Deer Hunt Area 70, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Shirley Mountain, covers about 1,149 square miles in Carbon County. It belongs to WGFD's Shirley Mountain mule deer herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put mule deer success here at 34.3%, with 548 hunters taking 188 mule deer at about 11.9 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 D70
Deer Hunt Area 70, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Shirley Mountain, covers about 1,149 square miles in Carbon County. It belongs to WGFD's Shirley Mountain mule deer herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put mule deer success here at 34.3%, with 548 hunters taking 188 mule deer at about 11.9 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 70
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names deer hunt area 70 "Shirley Mountain". It runs to about 1,149 square miles, entirely in Carbon County. WGFD reports these mule deer as the Shirley Mountain herd unit, and no other hunt area shares it. The boundary and the harvest figures are WGFD's. The read of the country inside them is ours, and it says so where it starts.
The line: Seminoe Reservoir, North Platte River and Canyon Creek
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 6 walks the line around deer hunt area 70 corner by corner. It starts where Wyoming Highway 487 intersects U.S. Highway 30 at the town of Medicine Bow. On the way round it follows Wyoming Highway 487, U.S. Highway 30, Wyoming Highway 72 and Carbon County Road 103, and Seminoe Reservoir, North Platte River, Canyon Creek and Pathfinder Reservoir. Read it as the legal edge of your license rather than as a hint about animals. 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 70s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 70 also belongs to its elk and antelope hunt areas 70. None of them shares a county with this one. 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.
Ground WGFD opens: Pine Draw and Carbon 13
Its Access Yes program enrolls a Hunter Management Area here that list deer among their species — Pine Draw (11,579 acres). WGFD also lists 2 Walk-In Areas covering about 9,148 acres open for deer, among them Carbon 13 and Natrona 161. WGFD's 2026 regulations open Access Yes land only for the species and dates listed for each area, with each area's own rules on WGFD's site and no motorized travel unless WGFD says otherwise. Public Access Areas such as Dome Rock Reservoir (10 acres) and Seminoe Reservoir-Bow Arm (3 acres) are public ways onto water and land; check what each allows before you count on it for hunting.
High ground inside the line: Bald Mountain, Shirley Mountains and Windy Hill
Named high points inside deer hunt area 70 include Bald Mountain at 9,079 feet, Shirley Mountains at 9,061 feet, Windy Hill at 8,334 feet, Pyramid Peak at 8,277 feet and Pedro Mountains at 8,264 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: Balsam Draw, Johnson Canyon and Prior Flat
Below them sit Balsam Draw at 7,751 feet, Johnson Canyon at 7,735 feet, Prior Flat at 7,643 feet, Prior Draw at 7,621 feet and Schoolhouse Canyon at 7,474 feet. That is the low ground — where animals drop when they are pushed or when the weather turns.
Water: Sips Spring, Tenmile Spring and Willow Springs
Named water inside the line includes Sips Spring, Tenmile Spring, Willow Springs, Josendal Springs, Indian Spring and Burgess Springs. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit D70 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Windy Hill (8,334 ft), Pyramid Peak (8,277 ft), The Chimneys (8,244 ft), Pine Hill (8,075 ft)
Holding ground: Headquarters Park (8,349 ft), Schoolhouse Canyon (7,474 ft), Shirley Basin (7,090 ft), Pine Draw Hunter Management Area, Walk-In Area Carbon 13
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 70
Mule Deer Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 34.3% mule deer success in deer hunt area 70: 188 animals taken by 548 active hunters over 2,245 days of hunting, or 11.9 days per animal. By residency, residents 33% (156 taken by 473) and nonresidents 42.7% (32 taken by 75).
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 3 either sex (resident) | 40 | 62 | 64.5% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 3 either sex (nonresident) | 1 | 9 | 11.1% | — |
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 70, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 3, residents: 62 first-choice applicants for 40 licenses, 64.5% drawn
- Type 3, nonresidents: 9 first-choice applicants for 1 license, 11.1% 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 70?
What is the mule deer success rate in deer hunt area 70?
Is deer hunt area 70 the same ground as elk hunt area 70?
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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 70, 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 70, 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
- 2026 Antelope, Deer and Elk Hunting Regulations — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Access Yes Walk-In and Hunter Management Area rules · 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, WHMAs, Public Access Areas, Hunter Management Areas and Walk-In Areas inside the area · 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