Bill To Split Whitetail-Mule Deer Season Dies On Senate Floor

After another round of debate over whether to split hunting seasons for Wyoming’s white-tailed deer and mule deer, the latest effort to do so died on the Senate floor Monday.

MH
Mark Heinz

January 28, 20252 min read

A whitetail deer, left, and mule deer, right.
A whitetail deer, left, and mule deer, right. (Getty Images)

For at least another hunting season in Wyoming, most tags will cover both White-tailed deer and mule deer.

A bill to split the licenses and hunting seasons for the two deer species died on the Senate floor Monday. Senate File 3 failed on its third reading, by a vote of 19-12.  

To Save Mule Deer?

White-tailed deer, commonly called whitetails, are native to Wyoming and the rest of the West. Some argue that in recent years, they’ve steadily increased in numbers and range, squeezing out prized mule deer herds. 

Proponents of SF 3 argued, that particularly in the Black Hills region, splitting White-tailed deer tags into a separate category would encourage hunters to shoot more of them, especially if more liberal bag limits were set for whitetails. 

Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devil’s Tower said that on his family’s ranch, whitetails have been displacing mule deer for years. He’s been a proponent for splitting the mule deer and whitetail hunting seasons. He sponsored a similar bill to split the seasons during the 2024 Legislative session, but that measure failed. He also supported SF 3, although he didn’t sponsor it. 

Opposite Effect?

But detractors claimed that move could have the opposite effect. They argued if hunters had to choose between buying either a White-tailed deer tag or a mule deer tag, they would buy a mule deer tag – especially those hunters who came from out-of-state. 

Retired Wyoming Game and Fish Department game warden and biologist Joe Sandrini previously told Cowboy State Daily that he was concerned that was what would happen, if SF 3 passed into law. 

During his career with Game and Fish, he worked in the Back Hills region, and said he saw the numbers of both deer species ebb and flow over the years. 

Already Being Done? 

Opponents also argued that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department already manages mule deer and whitetails separately in some instances. 

There are special late hunting seasons for whitetails in some areas. 

There have also been hunts specifically for whitetails near Story, a tiny community in the Bighorn Mountains near Sheridan, that has a huge local whitetail deer herd.

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

Authors

MH

Mark Heinz

Outdoors Reporter