Wyoming Hunt Area 114 (Nowater) pronghorn hunting

Licence
Limited quota — drawn
Open public land
85%
Elevation
3,900–5,500 ft
Terrain
Gentle

Hunt area 114 spans 756 square miles of rolling country in the foothills and high plateaus. The terrain is predominantly gentle rolling sagebrush hills and ridges, with draws and canyons cutting through, and past wildfires have opened expanses of cheatgrass across much of the ground. Elevations range from 3,900 to 5,500 feet, with typical ground near 4,500 feet. Sagebrush dominates at 67% of the land cover, followed by grass and meadow at 23%, with riparian areas and other cover making up the remainder. Most of the rolling country is foot-huntable; about 85% of the area—roughly 640 square miles—is dependably open public land (BLM and State Trust Land), though roads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings still constrain access. Eight walk-in areas are enrolled in the area, offering access during their posted periods without need for permission.

Getting onto the public ground here is straightforward in principle but requires standard caution in practice. The area is mostly BLM, which provides the backbone of access, but a hunter still needs to scout roads, trailheads, and private boundaries before the season. Private agricultural land, including hay fields and re-growth barley, covers about 14% of the hunt area and sits mostly near irrigated country. Where pronghorn concentrate near those private fields—particularly as the season progresses and animals shift between areas—permission from landowners becomes valuable, especially for hunters pursuing the doe and fawn license types that are restricted to within half a mile of irrigated land. Early-season archery hunting can start on public ground; later hunts benefit from knowing which irrigated areas will hold animals as other parts of the country cool and pressures shift.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 114 (Nowater) 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 30Regular October 1 – October 31
  • Type 7 · Doe or fawn valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land
    Archery August 15 – August 31Regular September 1 – November 30

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)

Hunters pursuing any antelope can start with a bow from mid-August, as bucks are moving into territorial behavior and the primary rut approaches. Archery season is warm and dry, with August highs near 87°F and September cooling to the mid-70s; pronghorn begin responding to calls and aggressive behavior, making the rut the prime opportunity. As archery closes and the regular season opens in October, the primary rut winds down and animals shift toward fall grouping; October weather turns noticeably colder with highs around 60°F and light snow, while November is cold with highs near 45°F and heavier snow that can complicate foot hunts. This hunt is valid across the entire hunt area, and pronghorn densities are generally low on much of the public land, though migration from adjacent areas in mid- to late season can bring fresh animals and increase availability.

Type 7 — Doe or fawn valid on or within… (August–November)

Doe and fawn hunting under archery runs only during the pre-rut in mid- to late August, when warm weather (highs near 87°F) and dry conditions favor glassing rolling country. The regular season for doe and fawn extends from September through November, allowing hunters to pursue animals during the primary rut, late rut, and fall grouping phases as temperatures cool from the mid-70s in September to near 45°F in November, with increasing snow. This hunt is restricted to irrigated land and within half a mile of it, concentrating effort near private agricultural areas where permission from landowners is necessary. Access to irrigated country means understanding which fields hold animals and securing permission before hunting; pronghorn are attracted to the feed and regrowth that irrigated land provides, making these small zones productive for focused hunting but dependent on landowner cooperation.

Land and access

  • BLM79%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • private land14%
    Private
  • State Trust Land5%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • unclassified ownership2%
    Ownership unclassified

    • About 85% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 640 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 90% 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 8 enrolled walk-in areas. That is private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. 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 Range52%
    the only layer that means year-round use
  • Winter Range43%
    used in winter
  • Crucial Winter Range36%
    the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it

    • 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

  • Sagebrush67%
  • Grass and meadow23%
  • Other cover9%
  • Riparian1%

    • 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

    MonthAvg highAvg lowSnowfall
    January33°F8°F2.9 in
    February38°F12°F2.4 in
    March51°F23°F1.2 in
    April59°F31°F0.4 in
    May69°F41°F0 in
    June80°F50°F0 in
    July89°F56°F0 in
    August87°F54°F0 in
    September76°F44°F0 in
    October60°F32°F0.4 in
    November45°F20°F1.5 in
    December34°F10°F2.7 in

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

    Common questions

    Can a hunter draw a general or region pronghorn licence to hunt this hunt area?
    No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming is limited quota and drawn for that specific area alone. There is no general pronghorn licence sold over the counter in Wyoming, and no region licence exists for pronghorn. If the draw does not come through for this hunt area, there is no alternative licence available.
    What do Wyoming residents need to know about preference points for pronghorn?
    Wyoming residents do not use preference points for pronghorn at all. The resident pronghorn draw is random, with no point cutoff for any hunt area in the state. Nonresidents, however, use preference points in a competitive draw: three quarters of nonresident licences are awarded by points (top-down), and a quarter go to a random draw.
    How much of this hunt area is public land a hunter can actually get onto?
    About 85% of the area—roughly 640 square miles—is dependably open public land managed by the BLM and State Trust Land, though roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings still constrain access. Eight walk-in areas are also enrolled and open during their posted periods.
    What is the difference between the archery and regular seasons in this hunt area?
    Archery runs mid-August through September, spanning the pre-rut and primary rut when bucks are territorial and more responsive. The regular season runs October and November, extending into fall grouping when animals are transitioning to winter behavior. Doe and fawn hunts are archery-only in August, then restricted to private irrigated land in the regular season.
    How does weather change across the hunting seasons here?
    August archery hunts are warm, with highs near 87°F and virtually no snow. September temperatures drop to highs in the mid-70s with still no precipitation. October brings colder weather with highs around 60°F and the first light snow (averaging 0.4 inches). November hunts are cold, with highs near 45°F and increasing snow averaging 1.5 inches for the month.

    Sources

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

    All Wyoming pronghorn hunt areas