Unit D87 (Ferris)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Mule Deer
Deer Hunt Area 87, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Ferris, covers about 1,220 square miles in Carbon and Natrona counties. It belongs to WGFD's Ferris mule deer herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put mule deer success here at 93.5%, with 46 hunters taking 43 mule deer at about 7 days of hunting per animal. CWD samples are mandatory here in 2026. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Mule Deer Hunting in Unit D87
Deer Hunt Area 87, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Ferris, covers about 1,220 square miles in Carbon and Natrona counties. It belongs to WGFD's Ferris mule deer herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put mule deer success here at 93.5%, with 46 hunters taking 43 mule deer at about 7 days of hunting per animal. CWD samples are mandatory here in 2026. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Mule Deer in Deer Hunt Area 87
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names deer hunt area 87 "Ferris". It runs to about 1,220 square miles, in Carbon (90%) and Natrona (10%) counties. WGFD reports these mule deer as the Ferris 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: Pathfinder Dam and North Platte River
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 6 walks the line around deer hunt area 87 corner by corner. It starts at the junction of U.S. Highway 287 and Interstate Highway 80 at the city of Rawlins. On the way round it follows U.S. Highway 287, Interstate Highway 80, Wyoming Highway 220 and Natrona County Road 409, and Pathfinder Dam and North Platte River. It is the description your license is good inside, so it is worth reading once in full before you go. 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 87s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 87 also belongs to its elk and antelope hunt areas 87. 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: Morgan Creek and Stone Creek
WGFD administers the Morgan Creek Wildlife Habitat Management Area (4,738 acres) inside or across the line. Its Access Yes program enrolls a Hunter Management Area here that list deer among their species — Stone Creek (14,915 acres). WGFD also lists 2 Walk-In Areas covering about 10,304 acres open for deer, among them Carbon 10 and Carbon 5. 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.
High ground inside the line: Ferris Mountains, Seminoe Mountains and Bradley Peak
Named high points inside deer hunt area 87 include Ferris Mountains at 10,012 feet, Seminoe Mountains at 8,914 feet, Bradley Peak at 8,914 feet, Windy Ridge at 7,917 feet and Haystack Mountains at 7,848 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: Dorr Meadow, Hays Meadow and Fieldhouse Cut
Below them sit Dorr Meadow at 7,246 feet, Hays Meadow at 7,151 feet, Fieldhouse Cut at 7,049 feet, Indian Creek Meadow at 6,944 feet and Black Canyon at 6,890 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past.
Water: Cheyenne Spring, Sand Springs and O'Brien Spring
Named water inside the line includes Cheyenne Spring, Sand Springs, O'Brien Spring, Big Sand Spring, Bell Springs and Brown Canyon Springs. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit D87 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Ferris Mountains (10,012 ft), Windy Ridge (7,917 ft), Haystack Mountains (7,848 ft), Junk Hill (7,711 ft)
Holding ground: Youngs Pass (8,749 ft), Pole Canyon (7,928 ft), Olsen Basin (7,486 ft), Stone Creek Hunter Management Area, Walk-In Area Carbon 5
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 87
Mule Deer Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 93.5% mule deer success in deer hunt area 87: 43 animals taken by 46 active hunters over 301 days of hunting, or 7 days per animal. By residency, residents 92.1% (35 taken by 38) and nonresidents 100% (8 taken by 8).
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) | 26 | 1,168 | 2.2% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 antlered (nonresident) | 0 | 74 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 either sex (resident) | 20 | 130 | 15.4% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 9 | 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 87, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1, residents: 1,168 first-choice applicants for 26 licenses, 2.2% drawn
- Type 2 (any deer), residents: 130 first-choice applicants for 20 licenses, 15.4% drawn
- Type 1, nonresidents: 74 first-choice applicants for 0 licenses, 0% drawn
- Type 2 (any deer), nonresidents: 9 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 87?
What is the mule deer success rate in deer hunt area 87?
Is deer hunt area 87 the same ground as elk hunt area 87?
What do you need besides a license to hunt deer hunt area 87?
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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 87, 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 87, 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
- Chapter 2 — General Hunting Regulation (2026) — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Mandatory CWD sample submission (Section 17) · 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, 2026 CWD mandatory and priority sampling areas, 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