Can a hunter in hunt area 102 shoot pronghorn during August if they draw a license?

Yes, depending on the license type drawn. Type 1 (any antelope) and Type 6 doe-or-fawn licenses for the entire area both include an archery season from August 15 through October 14. Type 6 licenses valid on private land only do not open until September 1.

How does a nonresident apply for a pronghorn license in hunt area 102?

Hunt area 102 is a limited-quota area drawn specifically for that area. A nonresident must apply through Wyoming's licensing system for hunt area 102; there is no general pronghorn license sold over the counter and no regional license that covers it. Within the nonresident pool, three quarters of the licenses are awarded to those with the most preference points, and a quarter go to a random draw.

What is the difference between walk-in areas and the Hunter Management Area here?

Walk-in areas—Johnson County Walk-In Areas 1, 5, 8 and 11—are open to walk-in hunting during their posted seasons with no permission slip needed. Fort Phil Kearny is a Hunter Management Area that requires a printed permission slip from Wyoming Game and Fish before hunting, even though the ground is private land enrolled in the program.

Does a Wyoming resident need preference points to draw pronghorn in hunt area 102?

No. Wyoming residents are entered into a random draw for pronghorn; they do not accrue or use preference points at all. Every resident applicant has an equal chance regardless of previous applications.

When does snow typically arrive in hunt area 102, and how much falls each month?

Snowfall is minimal in August (essentially none) and September (~0.7 inches monthly), but increases sharply in October (~4.2 inches) and November (~5.7 inches). Temperatures cool throughout the fall season, dropping from a high of roughly 73°F in August to roughly 40°F in November.

Wyoming Hunt Area 102 (Buffalo) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

69%

Elevation

4,600–12,900 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 102 spans 463 square miles of broken terrain ranging from 4,600 to 12,900 feet, with typical ground around 7,400 feet. Two-thirds of the area is gentle, rolling country; the steeper terrain lies near the Bighorn National Forest on the eastern margin. Lower elevations hold sagebrush with some grassland and scattered conifers. As elevation climbs into the mid-range, conifers become dominant and sagebrush shrinks. Off the high country, a broad band of terrain away from the mountains opens into grassland and sagebrush-grassland, with patches of irrigated agriculture on lower ground. Pronghorn occupy nearly all of this habitat except the upper forest reaches.

Getting onto public land here requires patience. About 69% of the area—roughly 318 square miles—is ground a hunter can dependably count on: National Forest, State Trust Land, State Wildlife Areas and BLM. Private land makes up the remaining 31%, and much of it is difficult to access without an outfitter or a trespass fee. Walk-in access is available through four enrolled areas: Johnson County Walk-In Areas 1, 5, 8 and 11. Additionally, Fort Phil Kearny is managed as a Hunter Management Area and requires a printed permission slip before hunting. However, public land here draws concentrated pressure, especially during the first few days of any season and particularly on public ground as the season wears on. Antelope shift toward private lands once hunting begins, which means public-land hunting becomes steadily more challenging as the season progresses. Hunters planning a late-season hunt may encounter fewer competitors but will likely find fewer pronghorn on public ground as well.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 102 (Buffalo) 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 – October 14Regular October 15 – November 15
Type 6 · Doe or fawn valid on private land
Regular September 1 – September 30
Type 6 · Doe or fawn valid in the entire area
Archery August 15 – October 14Regular October 15 – November 15

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–November)

Archery hunting for any antelope from August 15 through October 14 spans the pre-rut period when bucks are establishing territories and the primary rut when competition intensifies; regular hunting from October 15 through November 15 covers the late rut and fall grouping phases. Early archery months are cool to mild, with August highs near 73°F, but September cools into the low 60s and brings roughly half an inch of snow, while October drops into the low 50s and sees snow increase to about four inches monthly. Both archery and regular seasons draw heavy pressure on public ground, with the first few days particularly crowded; hunters expecting to find pronghorn on public land later in the season should prepare for sparse numbers, as antelope shift toward private holdings once hunting begins. This license allows the harvest of any pronghorn without sex or age restriction across the entire hunt area.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn valid on private land (September)

The September 1–30 doe-or-fawn season on private land runs during the pre-rut and primary rut, when bucks are actively defending territory and does move in response. Weather cools from August highs near 73°F into the low 60s; snow is light, around 0.7 inches for the month. Hunters are limited to private land only, which requires securing access through outfitting or trespass fees—a challenge in an area where most private-land opportunity is restricted to those arrangements. This license restricts harvest to female antelope and fawns and is valid only on private ground.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn valid in the entire area (August–November)

Archery hunting from August 15 through October 14 spans the pre-rut, primary rut, and early late-rut phases, with mild August temperatures dropping into the low 50s by October and snowfall climbing from essentially none to about four inches monthly; regular hunting from October 15 through November 15 continues the late rut into fall grouping, with further cooling toward roughly 40°F highs and increasing snow. Public ground receives concentrated pressure, particularly the first few days of the season and throughout, as many antelope move to private lands as hunting pressure rises; a hunter planning a later hunt should expect reduced pressure but also fewer pronghorn on accessible public ground. This license permits the harvest of female antelope and fawns throughout the entire hunt area.

Land and access

National Forest59%

Generally open to public hunting

private land31%

Private

State Trust Land7%

Generally open to public hunting

State Wildlife Areas3%

Generally open to public hunting

About 69% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, State Trust Land, State Wildlife Areas and BLM, roughly 318 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.

the Wyoming Game & Fish Department publishes 20% public land for this hunt area. That counts public ownership; the figure above counts ground a hunter can depend on getting onto. They answer different questions, so both are shown rather than blended.

This hunt area has 4 enrolled walk-in areas. It also holds 1 Hunter Management Area. Both are private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. A Hunter Management Area requires a printed permission slip from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before hunting it. A Walk-In Area needs no permission slip — a hunter may walk in during the open period, subject to its posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated every year, so check current status before counting on either.

Where pronghorn are mapped

Yearlong Range33%

the only layer that means year-round use

Summer Range1%

used in summer

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

Lower elevations

Sagebrush56%

Grass and meadow22%

Other cover13%

Conifer5%

Riparian3%

Mid elevations

Conifer79%

Sagebrush12%

Grass and meadow8%

Other cover1%

Higher elevations

Conifer59%

Sagebrush36%

Other cover2%

Grass and meadow2%

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	33°F	11°F	5.8 in
February	34°F	10°F	7.4 in
March	41°F	17°F	8.8 in
April	47°F	23°F	9.2 in
May	55°F	33°F	1.4 in
June	65°F	41°F	0 in
July	74°F	47°F	0 in
August	73°F	46°F	0 in
September	63°F	38°F	0.7 in
October	50°F	27°F	4.2 in
November	40°F	18°F	5.7 in
December	32°F	10°F	5.9 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter in hunt area 102 shoot pronghorn during August if they draw a license?: Yes, depending on the license type drawn. Type 1 (any antelope) and Type 6 doe-or-fawn licenses for the entire area both include an archery season from August 15 through October 14. Type 6 licenses valid on private land only do not open until September 1.
How does a nonresident apply for a pronghorn license in hunt area 102?: Hunt area 102 is a limited-quota area drawn specifically for that area. A nonresident must apply through Wyoming's licensing system for hunt area 102; there is no general pronghorn license sold over the counter and no regional license that covers it. Within the nonresident pool, three quarters of the licenses are awarded to those with the most preference points, and a quarter go to a random draw.
What is the difference between walk-in areas and the Hunter Management Area here?: Walk-in areas—Johnson County Walk-In Areas 1, 5, 8 and 11—are open to walk-in hunting during their posted seasons with no permission slip needed. Fort Phil Kearny is a Hunter Management Area that requires a printed permission slip from Wyoming Game and Fish before hunting, even though the ground is private land enrolled in the program.
Does a Wyoming resident need preference points to draw pronghorn in hunt area 102?: No. Wyoming residents are entered into a random draw for pronghorn; they do not accrue or use preference points at all. Every resident applicant has an equal chance regardless of previous applications.
When does snow typically arrive in hunt area 102, and how much falls each month?: Snowfall is minimal in August (essentially none) and September (~0.7 inches monthly), but increases sharply in October (~4.2 inches) and November (~5.7 inches). Temperatures cool throughout the fall season, dropping from a high of roughly 73°F in August to roughly 40°F in November.

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