Unit 39

Black Mountain and Battle Mountain anchor the western portion and provide excellent glassing platforms across the open country. Klondike Peak and Hawks Butte offer vantage points for scanning multiple drainages. The Lake Creek Divide and Shanty Ridge form natural travel corridors and hunting routes.

Cottonwood Pass serves as a central navigation reference where major drainages converge. Gardner Reservoir and Mexican Lakes mark reliable water locations but are supplemented by ephemeral sources during runoff season. These features form a navigable landscape suitable for ridge-and-basin hunting without requiring advanced route-finding skills.

The unit spans from around 4,500 feet in the lower basins to approximately 7,200 feet on the higher ridges, creating distinct habitat zones within relatively modest vertical relief. Lower elevations feature open sagebrush and grassland with scattered juniper and low brush, while the higher ridges transition into ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir stands that become denser on north-facing slopes. The sparse forest cover means most of the unit remains open or semi-open country dominated by sage, grass, and scattered timber rather than continuous forest.

This combination of open draws and ridge timber creates good deer movement corridors as animals shift between elevations seasonally.

Roughly 52 miles of roads exist within the unit, but the sparse density means long stretches between access points and significant distances from parking to hunting terrain. Major access comes via Black Mountain Road (Highway 172) on the west and several BLM roads threading through the interior. Most accessible areas likely receive moderate pressure from road hunters, while ridge country and upper drainages away from maintained roads offer relief.

The limited connected road system means hunters can't simply drive between drainages; strategic vehicle placement or multi-day camping becomes necessary to hunt multiple basins effectively.

Unit 39 occupies foothill country in Hot Springs County, bounded by Wyoming Highway 172 (Black Mountain Road) on the west and a series of BLM and county roads forming the remaining perimeter. The unit encompasses roughly moderate area characterized by open basins and ridge systems rather than continuous high country. The boundary traces through landmark drainages including Kirby Creek, Bridger Creek, and the Nowood drainage system, with Cottonwood Pass serving as a key orientation point.

The terrain sits at the transition between lower-elevation sagebrush plains and the steeper mountain country beyond, making it a natural corridor for mule deer movement.

Water is the limiting factor throughout the unit. Cottonwood Creek, Buffalo Creek system, Packsaddle Creek, and Gardner Creek are the main drainages that hold seasonal to reliable flow, particularly during spring runoff. Several reservoirs—Gardner Reservoir, Black Mountain Reservoir, Arnold Reservoir, and others—provide supplemental water but may be inaccessible or dry depending on season and snowpack.

Dead Indian Spring and Buffalo Springs offer additional sources. Most of the unit relies on stored snow and seasonal runoff rather than perennial springs, making late-season hunting dependent on understanding which drainages maintain flow. Early season means water-dependent movement; late season requires finding persistent sources.

Unit 39 holds both mule deer and whitetails, with mules dominant on the higher ridges and open country, whitetails favoring brushy drainages and creekbottom timber. Early season focuses on glassing open ridges where deer use high-elevation parks and saddles before thermal cover becomes necessary. Mid-season deer shift into timber and deeper draws as temperatures warm and pressure increases.

Late season concentrates animals around reliable water sources—particularly the major creek systems—and lower elevations as snow covers higher basins. The sparse road network rewards hunters willing to hike ridge systems and glass from distance rather than relying on road-hunting pressure patterns. Combining ridge-top vantage points with drainage stalk opportunities provides the most effective approach across this moderate-complexity terrain.