Can a hunter draw a license for hunt area 2 without preference points as a Wyoming resident?

Yes. Wyoming residents enter a random draw for pronghorn licenses in every hunt area; preference points do not apply to resident antelope hunting. The draw itself is random, with no point cutoff, and residents need only to apply for the specific hunt area they want.

How much public land does hunt area 2 contain that a hunter can actually get onto?

About 23% of the 1,006-square-mile hunt area—roughly 233 square miles—is public ground (National Forest, State Trust Land, and BLM). However, public ownership does not guarantee access; roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings still restrict where a hunter can actually go. The large State parcel along the Belle Fouche River is not open to public hunting.

Where do most pronghorn in hunt area 2 spend the hunting season?

Most antelope occur on private lands, particularly in the lower prairie portions of the hunt area. The Black Hills National Forest, which covers the higher-elevation portions, does not contain antelope habitat. Hunters should secure permission to hunt private lands before applying for a license.

What kind of bucks are taken in hunt area 2?

Hunt area 2 is not managed for trophy antelope. Most bucks harvested carry horns under 14 inches, and early-season hunting (through mid-September) is encouraged because bucks retain their horn sheaths through that period. Some antelope migration occurs, and bucks begin shedding horn sheaths in late October or early November.

What is the archery season for pronghorn on hunt area 2?

Archery runs from August 15 through September 30, with regular rifle season following from October 1 through November 20. Both windows are part of a single hunt for any antelope, and a hunter may select either archery or rifle equipment depending on the draw.

Wyoming Hunt Area 2 (Bearlodge) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

23%

Elevation

3,100–6,700 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 2 spans rolling grassland in the northern Black Hills region, from 3,100 to 6,700 feet in elevation. The terrain is predominantly gentle—79% of the ground slopes under 9 degrees—but the area is divided sharply by the black timber of the Black Hills themselves. Lower elevations, where pronghorn actually occur, are open mixed-grass prairie and cultivated fields dominated by grass and meadow (76%), with sagebrush and scattered conifers. Higher elevations climb into ponderosa pine and aspen forest that does not hold antelope. Mean slope across the area is 6.3 degrees, and much of the accessible country on lower ground is walkable prairie.

Access is the dominant constraint here. Only 23% of the hunt area—roughly 233 square miles—is public land hunters can generally depend on, mostly National Forest and state holdings. The remaining 77% is private, and nearly all antelope on hunt area 2 live there. WGFD rates access on this area as poor; the large block of state land along the Belle Fouche River is not publicly accessible, and trespass fees are standard on working private ground. Crook County Walk In Area 6 provides enrolled private-land access, though its availability is subject to annual renegotiation. Hunters should expect to secure permission on private lands before drawing a license.

The seasons differ sharply in their practicality. Early-season archery is encouraged because buck horn sheaths remain intact through September, and some antelope begin to shed in late October or November. Most of the bucks taken here carry horns under 14 inches. The area is not managed for trophy antelope, and the nature of the ground—few animals on public land, most on private holdings—means success depends on prior access arrangements.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 2 (Bearlodge) 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 – November 20

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)

Hunters pursuing any antelope from mid-August through November face a season split between archery and rifle, each shaped by the rut phase and the tightening cold. The archery window (August 15–September 30) spans pre-rut territory formation through the primary and late rut, when bucks are active and bucks retain their horn sheaths; this is the preferred window here, and early to mid-season hunting is encouraged to take advantage of intact horns before the onset of October shedding. September temperatures fall from the low 70s to the mid-40s, with no meaningful snowfall. The rifle season (October 1–November 20) begins as the primary rut ends and continues through late-rut recovery and the fall grouping phase, when pronghorn are sorting into larger herds. October is cool, with daytime highs in the upper 50s and the first snowfall of the season; by November, highs drop to the mid-40s and snowfall averages 2.8 inches per month. Access is the critical factor throughout: nearly all antelope occupy private lands, and the large state parcel along the Belle Fouche River is not publicly open. Hunters should plan to work with private landowners, and Crook County Walk In Area 6 may provide some enrolled access subject to annual availability. The hunt is valid for any antelope and carries no area-within-the-hunt-area restriction.

Land and access

private land77%

Private

National Forest15%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land7%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM1%

Generally open to public hunting

About 23% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, State Trust Land and BLM, roughly 233 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. 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 Range33%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range2%

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

Lower elevations

Grass and meadow76%

Sagebrush11%

Other cover8%

Conifer4%

Mid elevations

Grass and meadow48%

Conifer22%

Sagebrush18%

Other cover12%

Higher elevations

Conifer62%

Grass and meadow20%

Sagebrush12%

Other cover5%

Aspen1%

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	35°F	12°F	5.7 in
February	37°F	13°F	5.5 in
March	48°F	22°F	3.1 in
April	56°F	30°F	2.3 in
May	65°F	40°F	0 in
June	76°F	49°F	0 in
July	85°F	55°F	0 in
August	84°F	53°F	0 in
September	74°F	44°F	0 in
October	59°F	32°F	0.6 in
November	45°F	22°F	2.8 in
December	36°F	13°F	5 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a license for hunt area 2 without preference points as a Wyoming resident?: Yes. Wyoming residents enter a random draw for pronghorn licenses in every hunt area; preference points do not apply to resident antelope hunting. The draw itself is random, with no point cutoff, and residents need only to apply for the specific hunt area they want.
How much public land does hunt area 2 contain that a hunter can actually get onto?: About 23% of the 1,006-square-mile hunt area—roughly 233 square miles—is public ground (National Forest, State Trust Land, and BLM). However, public ownership does not guarantee access; roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings still restrict where a hunter can actually go. The large State parcel along the Belle Fouche River is not open to public hunting.
Where do most pronghorn in hunt area 2 spend the hunting season?: Most antelope occur on private lands, particularly in the lower prairie portions of the hunt area. The Black Hills National Forest, which covers the higher-elevation portions, does not contain antelope habitat. Hunters should secure permission to hunt private lands before applying for a license.
What kind of bucks are taken in hunt area 2?: Hunt area 2 is not managed for trophy antelope. Most bucks harvested carry horns under 14 inches, and early-season hunting (through mid-September) is encouraged because bucks retain their horn sheaths through that period. Some antelope migration occurs, and bucks begin shedding horn sheaths in late October or early November.
What is the archery season for pronghorn on hunt area 2?: Archery runs from August 15 through September 30, with regular rifle season following from October 1 through November 20. Both windows are part of a single hunt for any antelope, and a hunter may select either archery or rifle equipment depending on the draw.

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