How does a hunter draw a license for hunt area 101?

Hunt area 101 is a limited-quota pronghorn hunt area drawn individually by both residents and nonresidents. Wyoming residents enter a random draw for this specific area; there is no preference-point system for residents. Nonresidents apply within a preference-point pool where three quarters of licenses go to the top-point applicants and a quarter to a random draw.

Can a hunter reach public land throughout hunt area 101?

Roughly 87% of hunt area 101 is public ground—BLM and State Trust Land—but public ownership does not guarantee access. Roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings still apply, and many secondary roads become impassable during wet weather. A hunter should scout specific routes and parking areas before the season.

When does the archery season close and the regular season open in hunt area 101?

Archery runs August 15 through September 9. The regular season opens September 10 and runs through October 31. Both seasons are part of a single hunt for any antelope, and a hunter who draws a license may hunt in either or both windows.

Where do pronghorn concentrate early in the hunt area 101 season?

Early in the season, pronghorn in hunt area 101 concentrate near permanent water sources—wells and dugout reservoirs scattered throughout the area. As the season progresses and water becomes more reliable, pronghorn distribution spreads out across the sagebrush flats and draws.

What does pronghorn seasonal movement look like in hunt area 101?

Pronghorn in hunt area 101 generally migrate from north to south during the fall shift toward winter range, with many animals moving into the southern portions of the hunt area and beyond. Distribution is often sparse, particularly during dry years when pronghorn may leave the area entirely for regions with more dependable water.

Wyoming Hunt Area 101 (Yellow Point) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

87%

Elevation

6,300–7,500 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 101 sprawls across 1,362 square miles of xeric sagebrush steppe between 6,300 and 7,500 feet, typical ground settling around 6,900 feet. The country is characterized by open flats, buttes, and long draws of the Little Colorado desert—terrain that averages just 2.4 degrees of slope, with 96% of it graded gentle. Sagebrush dominates the cover at 95%, with scattered grass and meadow breaking it up. This is walking country where a hunter can cover miles without climbing, though oil and gas operations are active across the north-central and southwestern sections, creating scattered infrastructure and access points. Pronghorn range here is mapped across 53% winter range, 47% summer range, and 41% crucial winter range, with 13% used year-round.

Access to hunt area 101 is rated excellent, with 87% of the area—roughly 1,189 square miles—on public ground a hunter can generally count on: BLM and State Trust Land. Private holdings make up 3% of the area. Highway 351 borders the north, Highway 191 the east, Highway 28 the south, and Highway 189 the west; numerous secondary roads branch into the interior from these highways. However, public ownership alone does not guarantee easy movement—seasonal closures, road conditions, private inholdings, and trailhead access all shape what ground a hunter can actually reach on any given day. Many secondary roads become impassable when wet or muddy, and pronghorn in the early season tend to concentrate near permanent water sources—wells and dugout reservoirs scattered through the area. Pronghorn distribution can be spotty, especially during drier years when animals shift into surrounding areas where water is more reliable.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 101 (Yellow Point) is limited quota. A licence for it must be drawn for this hunt area specifically, by resident and nonresident alike. Wyoming issues no general pronghorn licence and no region pronghorn licence, so there is no over-the-counter option and no regional fallback: every pronghorn hunt area in the state is drawn on its own.

Wyoming residents have no preference points for pronghorn — the resident pronghorn draw is random, and no resident point cutoff exists for any hunt area in the state. For nonresidents points matter a great deal: Wyoming awards 75% of each nonresident pool through the preference-point draw, top-down by points, and the remaining 25% at random. Nonresidents also choose between the Regular and Special pools — the same hunts at two price points, competing separately.

Seasons (2026)

Type 1 · Any antelope
Archery August 15 – September 9Regular September 10 – October 31

The wording of each hunt is the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s and is legally exact — a “cow or calf” hunt is not a pronghorn hunt in general, and a hunt limited to part of the area is not valid across it. Confirm every hunt in the current regulations before applying.

Hunting each season

Type 1 — Any antelope (August–October)

Hunting any antelope in hunt area 101 spans from mid-August through the end of October, split between an archery window and a regular season. The archery phase (August 15–September 9) coincides with pronghorn in pre-rut and primary rut, when bucks are establishing territories and beginning to round up does; early-season temperatures average around 79°F during the day and 43°F at night, making for comfortable hunting, though moisture and snowfall are negligible. September's regular season opens (September 10–October 31) as the primary rut peaks through mid-September and transitions into the late rut and fall grouping, with highs cooling from 69°F to 55°F and lows dropping into the 20s by month's end; October brings real weather, with snowfall averaging 1 inch for the month and temperatures that demand layered clothing. Throughout both seasons, pronghorn concentrate near reliable water sources early on, then scatter more widely as the fall advances and water becomes more common, though spotty distribution can persist especially if the country is drier than normal. This hunt is valid for any antelope throughout hunt area 101.

Land and access

BLM85%

Generally open to public hunting

unclassified ownership10%

Ownership unclassified

private land3%

Private

State Trust Land3%

Generally open to public hunting

About 87% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 1,189 square miles. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.

State trust land counts toward the open figure above. Wyoming extends hunting on legally accessiblestate trust land to the public unless a parcel is specifically closed — the catch is the access itself, since crossing private ground to reach it still needs the landowner’s permission. Camping, fires and off-road vehicles are not allowed on it.

Where pronghorn are mapped

Winter Range53%

used in winter

Summer Range47%

used in summer

Crucial Winter Range41%

the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it

Yearlong Range13%

the only layer that means year-round use

Each figure is the share of the hunt area that layer covers. It says where pronghorn are mapped, not where inside the area they are, and not when they move.

Habitat and cover

Across the unit

Sagebrush95%

Other cover4%

Grass and meadow1%

Shares are of each elevation band, not of the whole hunt area — they describe what grows up there, not how much of the area sits at that elevation.

Weather through the season

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Snowfall
January	28°F	2°F	4.6 in
February	31°F	4°F	5.5 in
March	42°F	15°F	2.5 in
April	51°F	22°F	2.4 in
May	61°F	31°F	0.2 in
June	72°F	39°F	0 in
July	81°F	45°F	0 in
August	79°F	43°F	0 in
September	69°F	35°F	0.2 in
October	55°F	24°F	1 in
November	39°F	13°F	2.8 in
December	28°F	3°F	4.4 in

Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.

Common questions

How does a hunter draw a license for hunt area 101?: Hunt area 101 is a limited-quota pronghorn hunt area drawn individually by both residents and nonresidents. Wyoming residents enter a random draw for this specific area; there is no preference-point system for residents. Nonresidents apply within a preference-point pool where three quarters of licenses go to the top-point applicants and a quarter to a random draw.
Can a hunter reach public land throughout hunt area 101?: Roughly 87% of hunt area 101 is public ground—BLM and State Trust Land—but public ownership does not guarantee access. Roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings still apply, and many secondary roads become impassable during wet weather. A hunter should scout specific routes and parking areas before the season.
When does the archery season close and the regular season open in hunt area 101?: Archery runs August 15 through September 9. The regular season opens September 10 and runs through October 31. Both seasons are part of a single hunt for any antelope, and a hunter who draws a license may hunt in either or both windows.
Where do pronghorn concentrate early in the hunt area 101 season?: Early in the season, pronghorn in hunt area 101 concentrate near permanent water sources—wells and dugout reservoirs scattered throughout the area. As the season progresses and water becomes more reliable, pronghorn distribution spreads out across the sagebrush flats and draws.
What does pronghorn seasonal movement look like in hunt area 101?: Pronghorn in hunt area 101 generally migrate from north to south during the fall shift toward winter range, with many animals moving into the southern portions of the hunt area and beyond. Distribution is often sparse, particularly during dry years when pronghorn may leave the area entirely for regions with more dependable water.

Sources

Wyoming Game & Fish — Hunting & Trapping — licence types, general and limited-quota hunts, and season structure
WGFD Hunt Planner — hunt-area boundaries, season dates and the unit descriptions
WGFD — Draw results and odds — how the resident random draw and the nonresident preference-point draw work
WGFD — Regulations — the legal limitations on each hunt, and the statewide licence rules
USGS National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2021) and 3DEP elevation — land cover and terrain by elevation band

Seasons, licence types and boundaries change. Confirm every detail with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before applying or hunting.

All Wyoming pronghorn hunt areas