Can a hunter draw a general or region pronghorn licence for hunt area 115?

No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming is limited quota and drawn for that specific area. Wyoming does not sell a general pronghorn licence over the counter, and there is no region pronghorn licence. The draw is the only way to hunt here, and if it does not come through there is no fallback licence.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points for pronghorn in this hunt area?

No. Residents draw for pronghorn through a random draw with no preference points at all. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a draw where three-quarters of the licences go by preference points (awarded highest points first) and a quarter are randomly drawn, so points matter significantly for nonresident applicants.

How much of hunt area 115 is public ground a hunter can count on?

About 54% of the area — roughly 543 square miles — is public land (BLM, State Trust Land, and National Forest). Private land makes up the remaining 45%. Public ownership does not guarantee easy entry, however; roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all constrain access.

Can a hunter walk into Fremont County Walk In Area 30 without applying or getting permission?

Yes. Walk-in areas require no application or permission slip and are open to hunting during their posted seasons, subject to their posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so availability should be confirmed in the current year's regulations.

What printed permission does a hunter need to use the Hunter Management Areas here?

The two HMAs — Upper Nowood and Deep Creek — are private ground. WGFD issues a printed permission slip required to hunt each HMA, and that slip must be obtained before entering to hunt. Like walk-in areas, HMA enrollment is renegotiated annually.

Wyoming Hunt Area 115 (Upper Nowood) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

54%

Elevation

4,400–9,800 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 115 sprawls across rolling sagebrush-covered ridges and hills broken by draws and deeper canyons, rising from around 4,400 feet to above 9,800 feet, with typical ground near 6,000 feet. The terrain is mostly gentle — three-quarters of it slopes gently — which makes for accessible foot country despite the considerable vertical spread. Sagebrush dominates the lower and middle elevations, grading toward more conifers and meadow as elevation climbs, and significant areas of cheatgrass have expanded after wildfires. The western half is predominantly public land, while the eastern and southern portions mix public and private ground.

Getting onto the area means navigating a mix of public and private ownership. Public land accounts for about 54% of the hunt area and includes BLM, State Trust Land, and National Forest, but roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all constrain where a hunter can actually go. Fremont County Walk In Area 30 offers unrestricted foot access during its open period. The two Hunter Management Areas — Upper Nowood and Deep Creek — are private ground requiring a printed permission slip from WGFD before hunting. The eastern and southern portions, where pronghorn densities tend to be higher, contain a mix of public and private land, so gaining permission from landowners materially improves both access and success.

Hunt area 115 holds two distinct seasons. The Type 1 hunt, valid across the entire area, spans from August into October and covers the period when pronghorn transition from summer range through the rut and into fall grouping. The Type 7 hunt is restricted to deer and fawn east of the Nowood River or south of the Nowater Stock Trail and runs from August through November, offering a longer season but on a limited portion of the area and a narrower class of animals.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 115 (Upper Nowood) 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 east of the Nowood River or south of the Nowater Stock Trail (B.L.M. Road 1404)
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)

Hunting the Type 1 season spans archery and rifle, beginning in mid-August when pronghorn are establishing territories before the rut, and running through October as the rut peaks and subsides and animals shift into fall herds. Archery (August 15–September 30) crosses the period of heaviest rut activity, when bucks are most mobile and visible, though September temperatures still run warm with highs near 70 degrees Fahrenheit and no snow. The rifle portion (October 1–31) covers the tail of the rut and fall grouping phase, with temperatures dropping steadily from the 50s into the 30s and snow averaging around 1.3 inches for the month. This hunt is valid anywhere in the area, and pronghorn densities are generally good in the southern portion through the season, though later-season migration into the western and southern parts can improve buck availability and movement as temperatures cool. Any antelope — buck or doe — is legal.

Type 7 — Doe or fawn valid east of the… (August–November)

The Type 7 season takes does and fawns in the eastern and southern portions of the hunt area — specifically east of the Nowood River or south of the Nowater Stock Trail (B.L.M. Road 1404) — and spans from mid-August through November. Archery (August 15–31) is brief and falls in the pre-rut period when pronghorn are still in summer groupings and territories are forming; temperatures are warm, with highs around 81 degrees and no snow. The longer rifle window (September 1–November 30) covers the entire rut and its aftermath, from territory establishment through late October and into fall herding, with temperatures cooling from the 70s in September to the low 40s by November and snowfall building from nothing to 3.7 inches by month's end. The geographic restriction to the eastern and southern portions reflects where pronghorn densities run higher and the mix of public and private land makes foot access more feasible. Only does and fawns are legal, giving this season a narrower harvest opportunity than the Type 1 hunt.

Land and access

private land45%

Private

BLM38%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land10%

Generally open to public hunting

National Forest6%

Generally open to public hunting

unclassified ownership1%

Ownership unclassified

About 54% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Trust Land and National Forest, roughly 543 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.

This hunt area has 1 enrolled walk-in area. It also holds 2 Hunter Management Areas. 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 Range77%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range22%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range13%

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

Lower elevations

Sagebrush80%

Grass and meadow13%

Other cover3%

Conifer2%

Riparian2%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush67%

Grass and meadow20%

Conifer13%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush52%

Conifer24%

Grass and meadow23%

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	32°F	11°F	5 in
February	35°F	13°F	5.5 in
March	45°F	22°F	3.7 in
April	52°F	29°F	2.3 in
May	62°F	38°F	0.1 in
June	74°F	47°F	0 in
July	83°F	54°F	0 in
August	81°F	52°F	0 in
September	70°F	43°F	0 in
October	55°F	31°F	1.3 in
November	42°F	21°F	3.7 in
December	32°F	12°F	6.5 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a general or region pronghorn licence for hunt area 115?: No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming is limited quota and drawn for that specific area. Wyoming does not sell a general pronghorn licence over the counter, and there is no region pronghorn licence. The draw is the only way to hunt here, and if it does not come through there is no fallback licence.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points for pronghorn in this hunt area?: No. Residents draw for pronghorn through a random draw with no preference points at all. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a draw where three-quarters of the licences go by preference points (awarded highest points first) and a quarter are randomly drawn, so points matter significantly for nonresident applicants.
How much of hunt area 115 is public ground a hunter can count on?: About 54% of the area — roughly 543 square miles — is public land (BLM, State Trust Land, and National Forest). Private land makes up the remaining 45%. Public ownership does not guarantee easy entry, however; roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all constrain access.
Can a hunter walk into Fremont County Walk In Area 30 without applying or getting permission?: Yes. Walk-in areas require no application or permission slip and are open to hunting during their posted seasons, subject to their posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so availability should be confirmed in the current year's regulations.
What printed permission does a hunter need to use the Hunter Management Areas here?: The two HMAs — Upper Nowood and Deep Creek — are private ground. WGFD issues a printed permission slip required to hunt each HMA, and that slip must be obtained before entering to hunt. Like walk-in areas, HMA enrollment is renegotiated annually.

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