Wyoming Mule Deer Numbers Down, But There Are Monster Bucks For Hunters

The winter of 2022-2023 took such a ghastly toll on some of Wyoming’s premier mule deer herds that some hunters opted out during the following hunting season. Now, they’re expressing cautious optimism for fall 2025.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s 2025 hunt forecast offers some hope for mule deer hunters.

In the Cody region, mule deer hunters “should expect conditions and success to be similar or slightly improved compared to the 2024 season,” according to the report.

Two of the herds hit hardest during the 2022-2023 winter — the Sublette and Wyoming Range mule deer herds — appear to be on the mend, according to Game and Fish.

“All data indicate that the Sublette and Wyoming Range herds appear to be on the path to recovery,” the agency reported. On the other hand, mule deer populations in the Lander region “continue to languish."

In areas where mule deer numbers are down significantly, Game and Fish cites a variety of reasons.

In addition to the huge winterkill losses of 2022-2023, mule deer face changing habitat, disease and drought.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was of special concern in the Laramie region, according to Game and Fish. There will be mandatory CWD testing on mule deer killed by hunters in Hunt Area 70.

Fewer Deer, Better Bucks

Zachary Key of La Barge told Cowboy State Daily that he and a friend are planning to hunt for mule deer during both the archery and rifle seasons at their favorite hunting spot in the northern Wind River Range.

They’ve hunted there for 12 years, and while deer numbers are hardly peaking, things look better than they have the past few years, Key said.

After 2022-2023, Key launched “Let a Deer Walk,” which encouraged hunters to turn in their deer tags as raffle tickets in a prize drawing.  

This year, he said he’s ready to try to get a deer. But he’ll hold out for a monster buck or go home empty-handed.

"We’re going to be pretty selective,” he said. "For me, the quality of bucks is looking better, but the quantity still seems to be fairly low."

Key keeps an eye on mule deer wintering in the low country near La Barge. During the winter before last, “We didn’t see any bucks in the 200-inch range,” he said.

“This past winter, we saw a half-dozen 190-to-200-inch mule deer bucks,” he said.

He was referencing the Boone and Crockett Club (B&C) measuring system for scoring mule deer antlers. Measurements of girth and point length are taken at several places on the antlers, as well as the width of the rack’s span.

Those numbers are then crunched to come up with a final score in inches. Bucks in the 190 to 200-inch range are gigantic enough to put a grin on many hunters’ faces.

Not Seeing Much Around Riverton

David Mossburg of Riverton told Cowboy State Daily that he and his family have plenty of hunting tags ready to go — elk, pronghorn and deer.

They have access to a relative’s property, which includes lush river bottom habitat.

He said they’ve done some preseason scouting and set up trail cameras on the property but haven’t exactly been overwhelmed by what they’ve seen.

“We haven’t seen hardly any deer, and the six or seven deer we’ve seen have been white-tailed deer (instead of mule deer),” he said.

Muley Fanatic Foundation Is Hopeful

Joey Faigl, president/CEO and co-founder of the Muley Fanatic Foundation, told Cowboy State Daily that he’s hopeful this hunting season will be a good one.

Those deer that survived the huge winterkill had less competition for food once spring finally arrived, he said. The winters since also have been relatively mild.

“We’ve seen a lot of vegetation improvement,” and the health of mule deer herds hinges on good nutrition, he said.

Game and Fish is offering ample mule deer hunting opportunities across the state, he added.

However, while it’s legal to shoot white-tailed deer does in numerous places, plentiful mule deer doe tags probably won’t be coming back any time soon, Faigl said.

That’s a good thing, because female deer are vital to rebuilding the herds, he said.

“As long as Game and Fish continue to be conservative about issuing female mule deer tags,” things will continue to get better, he said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.