Wyoming Deer Points Close Nov. 2, and the Price Jumps in January

If you hunt Wyoming deer as a nonresident and haven't bought this year's preference point, you have until Monday, Nov. 2. On Jan. 1 the same point costs $34 more.

• The deadline is Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. The window opened July 1.
• You buy online only, through your Wyoming Game and Fish account.
• Nonresidents can buy deer, elk and pronghorn points. Moose and bighorn sheep points are open to residents and nonresidents.
• It's one point per species per year, and you don't have to apply for a license to buy one.
• A nonresident deer point is $41 now and $75 on Jan. 1, 2027.

What you lose if you skip it

Wyoming doesn't give a nonresident a deer point just because an application came up empty. If you don't draw, you buy the point yourself in this window or you lose that year of progress.

75 percent of the licenses in each hunt area go to the preference point draw and the rest go random. Every year you skip puts you further behind the people who kept buying.

Skip a species two years in a row and you lose every point you had banked for it. One missed year won't wipe you out, but it starts the clock.

What changes in January

The Game and Fish Commission voted in April to raise nonresident points for deer, elk and pronghorn to the most the legislature allows. Deer goes from $41 to $75, about 83 percent. The department says it's the first increase in nonresident points since 2018.

When to skip it

A point only pays off if you'll hunt Wyoming deer. If that's not happening in the next several years, spend the $41 somewhere else.

If you're banking toward a hard-to-draw unit, buy it. This is the last year at the lower price, and a missed point can push your draw year back.

My take

If Wyoming deer is in your plan, buy before Nov. 2 and don't wait for the last night. Wyoming's deadline chart says midnight Mountain Time, though I couldn't find that stated for point-only purchases. A state website that's slammed at the end of a window is a bad place to find out something's wrong. Checkout should say $41 since the increase doesn't start until Jan. 1, but check the price on the Game and Fish page before you pay.

If it's not in your plan, let it go on purpose. Not sure? HuntBank's plan uses your points and how many hunts you can take each year to answer that.

Wyoming Game and Fish sets the dates, fees and rules, so go by what they say.