Unit D89 (Rattlesnake)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Mule Deer
Deer Hunt Area 89, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Rattlesnake, covers about 1,063 square miles in Natrona County. It belongs to WGFD's Rattlesnake mule deer herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put mule deer success here at 79.3%, with 116 hunters taking 92 mule deer at about 7.4 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 D89
Deer Hunt Area 89, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Rattlesnake, covers about 1,063 square miles in Natrona County. It belongs to WGFD's Rattlesnake mule deer herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put mule deer success here at 79.3%, with 116 hunters taking 92 mule deer at about 7.4 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 89
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names deer hunt area 89 "Rattlesnake". It runs to about 1,063 square miles, entirely in Natrona County. WGFD reports these mule deer as the Rattlesnake herd unit, which also takes in deer hunt area 88. 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: Iron Creek, Rattlesnake Divide and Ryan Hill
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 6 walks the line around deer hunt area 89 corner by corner. It starts where the Gas Hills Road (Natrona County Road 212) intersects U.S. Highway 20-26 at the town of Waltman. On the way round it follows Natrona County Road 212, U.S. Highway 20-26, Natrona County Road 319 and Wyoming Highway 220, and Iron Creek, Rattlesnake Divide, Ryan Hill and Prospect Hill. 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 89s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 89 also belongs to its elk and antelope hunt areas 89. 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: Natrona 11 and Natrona 10
WGFD also lists 5 Walk-In Areas covering about 95,158 acres open for deer, among them Natrona 11, Natrona 10 and Natrona 17. 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: Rattlesnake Hills, Garfield Peak and Goat Mountain
Named high points inside deer hunt area 89 include Rattlesnake Hills at 8,233 feet, Garfield Peak at 8,222 feet, Goat Mountain at 7,979 feet, French Rocks at 7,943 feet and Sagehen Hill at 7,703 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: Woodard Basin, Snider Basin and McDougal Gulch
Below them sit Woodard Basin at 6,974 feet, Snider Basin at 6,857 feet, McDougal Gulch at 6,737 feet, Eagles Nest Canyon at 6,621 feet and Roberts Draw at 6,474 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past.
Water: Black Rock Springs, Keg Spring and Hart Well
Named water inside the line includes Black Rock Springs, Keg Spring, Hart Well, Willow Spring, Hot Springs and Little Cross L 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 89 runs from 5,512 feet to 8,233 feet. Those are the heights of the features GNIS names, which bound the range from inside rather than measure it.
Unit D89 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Rattlesnake Hills (8,233 ft), Garfield Peak (8,222 ft), Goat Mountain (7,979 ft), French Rocks (7,943 ft)
Holding ground: The Meadows (7,539 ft), Deer Creek-Dry Creek Divide (7,461 ft), McDougal Gulch (6,737 ft), Walk-In Area Natrona 11, Walk-In Area Natrona 10
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 89
Mule Deer Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 79.3% mule deer success in deer hunt area 89: 92 animals taken by 116 active hunters over 684 days of hunting, or 7.4 days per animal. By residency, residents 77.9% (74 taken by 95) and nonresidents 85.7% (18 taken by 21).
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) | 89 | 938 | 9.5% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 antlered (nonresident) | 3 | 159 | 1.9% | — |
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 89, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1 (antlered deer), residents: 938 first-choice applicants for 89 licenses, 9.5% drawn
- Type 1 (antlered deer), nonresidents: 159 first-choice applicants for 3 licenses, 1.9% 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 89?
What is the mule deer success rate in deer hunt area 89?
Is deer hunt area 89 the same ground as elk hunt area 89?
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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 89, 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 89, 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