Do Wyoming residents need preference points for pronghorn in hunt area 16?

No. Wyoming residents do not have pronghorn preference points at all; the resident draw for this area is random. Only nonresidents use preference points for pronghorn, and the nonresident draw awards three quarters of its licences by preference points, top-down, and one quarter randomly to all applicants in the pool.

How much public land can a hunter count on in hunt area 16?

About 29% of the hunt area—roughly 194 square miles—consists of dependably open BLM and State Trust Land. Most of these parcels lie adjacent to county roads, though seasonal closures and private inholdings mean not every piece is always accessible. Not all public land in the area supports antelope.

What is Johnson County Walk-In Area 3?

It is an AccessYes walk-in area on private land enrolled in an access programme. A hunter may walk in during its posted open period without permission or an application, subject to any rules posted on site. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so availability is not guaranteed from year to year.

When do the seasons run in hunt area 16?

Type 1 (any antelope) runs archery August 15–September 30 and regular October 1–14. Type 6 (doe or fawn) runs archery August 15–September 30 and regular October 1–31. Both licences are drawn specifically for this hunt area; there is no fallback if the draw does not come through.

Wyoming Hunt Area 16 (Ucross) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

29%

Elevation

3,600–4,900 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 16 spans 663 square miles of rolling country in the 3,600 to 4,900-foot range, with typical ground around 4,300 feet. Slope averages 7.6 degrees; the terrain is predominantly gentle, with sagebrush covering 72% of the habitat and grass and meadow making up 24%. Pronghorn inhabit most of the area, though numbers concentrate in the northern and western portions and thin in the rougher terrain along the Powder River breaks to the east. A hunter on foot will find the terrain walkable, and most of the hunt area supports pronghorn sign, but pressure on the accessible public ground runs high early in the season.

This is heavily private country — 71% of the hunt area is private land. The 29% that remains dependably open consists mainly of scattered BLM and State Trust Land parcels reachable from county roads, though seasonal closures and private inholdings still affect what ground a hunter can actually reach. Most productive pronghorn hunting on accessible public land happens away from the first week of the season when hunter density peaks. Johnson County Walk-In Area 3 offers limited pronghorn opportunity without requiring permission, but enrollment is renegotiated annually. Most hunters seeking opportunity beyond the scattered public parcels pursue access to private land, typically through outfitters or by arranging trespass fees with landowners who often have returning hunters already committed to their ground.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 16 (Ucross) 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)

Type 1 archery (August 15–September 30) finds pronghorn in pre-rut and primary rut phases, with bucks territorial and responsive early and then moving into post-rut recovery through late September. Highs start around 86°F in August and cool to 75°F by September, with little rain or snow; conditions favour early-morning glassing and stalking. Public-land access to hunter density clusters near county roads, drawing pressure heaviest in the first week; the scattered BLM and State Trust Land parcels fill quickly. Type 1 regular (October 1–14) spans late rut recovery and fall grouping, as bucks weaken from the rut and herds begin coalescing. October highs drop to 60°F and lows to the low 30s, with about 0.9 inches of snowfall possible, and access pressure eases noticeably. A hunter with Type 1 may take any antelope anywhere in the hunt area.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn (August–October)

Type 6 archery (August 15–September 30) covers the same pre-rut and primary rut phases as Type 1 archery, with the same conditions and early-season pressure on accessible public land; doe and fawn hunting is productive throughout this window as does remain visible and active. Type 6 regular (October 1–31) extends through late rut recovery and well into fall grouping, allowing a full month of doe-oriented hunting as weather cools from 60°F to the low 50s and snowfall rises slightly. A hunter with Type 6 may take only doe or fawn anywhere in the hunt area.

Land and access

private land71%

Private

BLM19%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land10%

Generally open to public hunting

About 29% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 194 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 1 enrolled walk-in area. 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 Range97%

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

Sagebrush72%

Grass and meadow24%

Other cover4%

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	37°F	13°F	3.3 in
February	39°F	15°F	3.2 in
March	49°F	24°F	1.9 in
April	56°F	31°F	1.1 in
May	66°F	40°F	0 in
June	77°F	49°F	0 in
July	87°F	56°F	0 in
August	86°F	54°F	0 in
September	75°F	45°F	0 in
October	60°F	33°F	0.9 in
November	47°F	22°F	1.7 in
December	37°F	14°F	3.5 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a general or region licence for this hunt area?: No. Hunt area 16 is a limited-quota draw area, drawn for this area specifically by both residents and nonresidents alike. Wyoming issues no general pronghorn licence over the counter and no region licence for antelope, so the draw for this area is the only path to a licence to hunt here.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points for pronghorn in hunt area 16?: No. Wyoming residents do not have pronghorn preference points at all; the resident draw for this area is random. Only nonresidents use preference points for pronghorn, and the nonresident draw awards three quarters of its licences by preference points, top-down, and one quarter randomly to all applicants in the pool.
How much public land can a hunter count on in hunt area 16?: About 29% of the hunt area—roughly 194 square miles—consists of dependably open BLM and State Trust Land. Most of these parcels lie adjacent to county roads, though seasonal closures and private inholdings mean not every piece is always accessible. Not all public land in the area supports antelope.
What is Johnson County Walk-In Area 3?: It is an AccessYes walk-in area on private land enrolled in an access programme. A hunter may walk in during its posted open period without permission or an application, subject to any rules posted on site. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so availability is not guaranteed from year to year.
When do the seasons run in hunt area 16?: Type 1 (any antelope) runs archery August 15–September 30 and regular October 1–14. Type 6 (doe or fawn) runs archery August 15–September 30 and regular October 1–31. Both licences are drawn specifically for this hunt area; there is no fallback if the draw does not come through.

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