Unit 31

Key features for navigation and orientation include Six Horse Hill as a visible ridge reference, Frenchy Basin and the Frenchy Springs area for water and seasonal travel corridors, and Linstead Flats as a large open landmark. The main drainages—Crooked Creek, Meadow Creek, and Sherwood Creek along with their branches—funnel through draws and gulches that offer natural travel routes and hunting pressure concentration points. Dead Woman Crossing marks a historical travel route.

Andrus Reservoir and Lower Salt Creek Reservoir provide water reference points, though reliability varies seasonally. Knighton Spring and other scattered springs are critical for locating deer, especially during dry periods.

Elevations span a relatively modest range from roughly 4,500 feet in the lower draws to just under 5,600 feet on the ridge tops—a vertical relief of about 1,100 feet. The predominant habitat is open sagebrush plains broken by shallow drainages and draws that collect seasonal moisture. Scattered ponderosa pine and juniper appear on north-facing slopes and higher benches, creating pockets of cooler-country vegetation.

The flats and ridges support short grass and low shrub communities typical of transition country between prairie and foothills. Vegetation is sparse enough to offer good sight lines in places, but dense enough in the draws to provide cover for deer movement.

About 105 miles of roads cross the unit, with most being county and oil field access roads rather than through-highways. This creates fair accessibility without being heavily roaded—you can reach multiple entry points from I-25 and Highway 387, but the network isn't dense enough to create severe pressure corridors everywhere. The proximity to I-25 and Cheyenne means some hunting pressure, particularly on opening weekends, but the relatively low terrain complexity suggests deer populations aren't heavily hammered.

The open nature of much of the terrain means deer can see hunters from distance, so approach and timing matter more than sheer road access.

Unit 31 sits in the foothills immediately west of Interstate 25, defined by Highway 192 on the north (at the town of Linch), Highway 387 on the east, and I-25 forming the southern and eastern boundary. The West Sussex Oil Field Road provides a northern anchor point. The unit occupies the rolling country between the Cheyenne lowlands and the higher Medicine Bow foothills to the west.

Its position relative to I-25 makes it accessible from the Cheyenne area, though the landscape itself is rural with scattered development tied to oil and gas infrastructure. Adjacent terrain ranges from lower prairie grasslands to the east to steeper mountain country westward.

Water is the limiting factor in Unit 31. Crooked Creek and its North Branch, Meadow Creek, and Sherwood Creek are the primary year-round water sources, though flow is modest in this elevation range. Frenchy Springs and Knighton Spring are important secondary sources. Reservoirs—Andrus, Lower Salt Creek, and Quinn—hold water seasonally and attract deer during dry conditions.

The scattered springs and seeps scattered through the draws become critical during late season when creek flow diminishes. Hunting strategy should center on locating active water sources and understanding how deer move between feeding areas and these drainages, particularly in fall when green vegetation fades.

Unit 31 holds both mule deer and white-tailed deer, with mule deer favoring the open sagebrush ridges and higher benches while white-tails concentrate in the creek bottoms and draw brush. Early season hunting focuses on mule deer in open country, using the moderate elevation changes to glass from ridges and peaks. As season progresses, deer migrate with changing forage availability; draws and water sources become primary focus areas.

Late season often pushes more deer into protected draws and riparian corridors where water remains reliable. The sparse forest means long-range glassing is productive—finding active water sources and moving slowly through bench terrain works better than road hunting. Don't overlook the creeks and drainages as morning and evening travel corridors.