Can a hunter draw a general pronghorn licence for hunt area 15?

Hunt area 15 is a limited-quota hunt area, drawn individually for this area only. Wyoming issues no general pronghorn licence sold over the counter and no region licence; every antelope hunt area in the state requires a specific draw. If the draw does not come through, there is no alternative licence.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points for pronghorn in hunt area 15?

Wyoming residents do not earn or use preference points for pronghorn. The resident draw for this area is random, with no points system at all. Nonresidents, by contrast, do compete on preference points; three quarters of nonresident licences are awarded by points (top-down), and a quarter go to a random draw.

How much public land can a hunter actually access in hunt area 15?

About 16% of the hunt area — roughly 183 square miles — is dependably open public ground (State Trust Land and Bureau of Land Management). The remaining 84% is private land. Not all public parcels support pronghorn, and early-season pressure on accessible public land is high, so most hunters seeking a quality hunt are encouraged to secure private-land access before applying.

Can a hunter walk into Sheridan County Walk In Areas without permission?

Yes. Sheridan County Walk In Area 1 and Sheridan County Walk In Area 4 allow hunters to walk in during their open seasons without a permission slip or application, subject to posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so availability may vary by season.

What seasons are available for pronghorn in hunt area 15?

Hunt area 15 offers two licence types, both running August through October. Type 1 allows any antelope by archery (August 15–September 30) and rifle (October 1–14). Type 6 allows doe or fawn by archery (August 15–September 30) and rifle (October 1–31). Choose which licence to apply for based on what animal the hunt area has drawn for you.

Wyoming Hunt Area 15 (Clearmont) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

16%

Elevation

3,400–5,100 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 15 is rolling country across 1,144 square miles of northern Wyoming, blending grassland, sagebrush, and agricultural patches with elevation from 3,400 to 5,100 feet. Slope averages 7.0 degrees, and the ground runs gentle — 77% of it slopes gently, 22% moderate — which makes foot travel rewarding across the open and semi-open range. Sagebrush and grass dominate the cover, comprising 62% and 32% respectively. Pronghorn inhabit most of the hunt area, though the rougher terrain of the Badger Hills and Powder River breaks holds little. The bulk of the land is private, which shapes how a hunter actually gets to pronghorn here.

About 16% of the area — roughly 183 square miles — is dependably open public ground: State Trust Land parcels and Bureau of Land Management holdings, mostly reached from county roads. The rest is private. Access to private land is the real gate to a quality hunt, and it is a difficult one to open. Most landowners have returning hunters; securing permission typically requires either a trespass fee or an outfitter. Two walk-in areas (Sheridan County Walk In Area 1 and Sheridan County Walk In Area 4) offer no-permission walking during their open seasons, though enrollment is renegotiated annually. The Junction Hunter Management Area requires a printed permission slip before hunting. Public land parcels that do hold pronghorn draw heavy early-season pressure, and hunter density is high there in the first week. Not all public ground supports antelope, so scouting matters.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 15 (Clearmont) 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 14
Type 6 · Doe or fawn
Archery August 15 – September 30Regular October 1 – 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 for any antelope runs the transition from territorial patterns into and through the rut. Archery season (August 15–September 30) begins with bucks sorting out range and territory, then shifts into the full rut in early September, when bucks are most active and visible. High temperatures in August ease to the mid-70s by month's end, cooling further into the 40s at night; September follows the same cooling trend. Rifle season (October 1–14) arrives as the rut winds down, bucks recover, and fall grouping begins; October highs drop to around 60 degrees with lows in the low 30s, and occasional snow can dust the ground. Public land sees the heaviest early-season pressure, especially in the first week, so hunters should plan for scouting and access work beforehand. This licence allows either sex.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn (August–October)

Hunting for doe or fawn spans the same calendar as any-antelope but targets a different sex composition. Archery (August 15–September 30) takes place through the rut period, when does and fawns remain visible and accessible across the range even as bucks fight and roam, though hunting pressure from other hunters may increase. Weather cools from high 80s in August to the low 50s and 40s by September's end. Rifle season (October 1–31) extends through late rut into fall grouping as animals cluster for winter transition; early October brings highs around 60 degrees and lows in the low 30s, with October averaging 1.1 inches of snow. Late October can bring snowfall that pushes animals and hunters toward lower ground. The extended rifle window (through October 31) gives extra time on the later, cooler part of the season. This licence is restricted to female pronghorn, a choice that suits hunters focused on a specific hunting experience or land-management goals.

Land and access

private land84%

Private

State Trust Land11%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM5%

Generally open to public hunting

About 16% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — State Trust Land and BLM, roughly 183 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 4% 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 2 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 Range93%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range7%

used in winter

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

Sagebrush62%

Grass and meadow32%

Other cover3%

Riparian2%

Conifer1%

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	36°F	12°F	4.3 in
February	38°F	14°F	3.8 in
March	49°F	23°F	2.1 in
April	57°F	31°F	0.9 in
May	66°F	40°F	0 in
June	77°F	48°F	0 in
July	87°F	55°F	0 in
August	86°F	53°F	0 in
September	76°F	44°F	0 in
October	60°F	32°F	1.1 in
November	46°F	21°F	1.8 in
December	36°F	13°F	4 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a general pronghorn licence for hunt area 15?: Hunt area 15 is a limited-quota hunt area, drawn individually for this area only. Wyoming issues no general pronghorn licence sold over the counter and no region licence; every antelope hunt area in the state requires a specific draw. If the draw does not come through, there is no alternative licence.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points for pronghorn in hunt area 15?: Wyoming residents do not earn or use preference points for pronghorn. The resident draw for this area is random, with no points system at all. Nonresidents, by contrast, do compete on preference points; three quarters of nonresident licences are awarded by points (top-down), and a quarter go to a random draw.
How much public land can a hunter actually access in hunt area 15?: About 16% of the hunt area — roughly 183 square miles — is dependably open public ground (State Trust Land and Bureau of Land Management). The remaining 84% is private land. Not all public parcels support pronghorn, and early-season pressure on accessible public land is high, so most hunters seeking a quality hunt are encouraged to secure private-land access before applying.
Can a hunter walk into Sheridan County Walk In Areas without permission?: Yes. Sheridan County Walk In Area 1 and Sheridan County Walk In Area 4 allow hunters to walk in during their open seasons without a permission slip or application, subject to posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so availability may vary by season.
What seasons are available for pronghorn in hunt area 15?: Hunt area 15 offers two licence types, both running August through October. Type 1 allows any antelope by archery (August 15–September 30) and rifle (October 1–14). Type 6 allows doe or fawn by archery (August 15–September 30) and rifle (October 1–31). Choose which licence to apply for based on what animal the hunt area has drawn for you.

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