How do nonresidents apply for hunt area 23?

This is a limited-quota hunt area drawn for that specific area. Nonresidents enter a preference-point draw in which three quarters of the licenses go by points (top-down by preference-point rank) and a quarter to random draw. Wyoming residents draw at random from the same pool with no preference points at all.

What access does Johnson County Walk-In Area 7 provide?

It is a private tract enrolled in a walk-in agreement. Hunters may enter during its open period without applying or obtaining permission, subject to posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated annually and is not guaranteed in any coming season.

Is the public land in hunt area 23 easy to access and hunt?

No. Much of the mapped public land is not actually reachable due to roads, trailheads, and private inholdings. The accessible BLM and State Trust ground bordering county roads and highways carries heavy hunting pressure, particularly in the first week of the season. Public land in the western portion of the hunt area also sits in sparse antelope country.

What is the hunting like during archery versus regular seasons in hunt area 23?

Archery runs August 15 through September 30 and crosses the pre-rut and primary rut, when bucks are establishing territory and does are responsive. Regular seasons run October 1 through October 31, into the late rut and fall grouping, when the rut is cooling and animals are forming groups. Weather cools from highs near 85°F in August to the mid-50s in late September and the upper 50s in October, with negligible snow through October.

Wyoming Hunt Area 23 (Pumpkin Buttes) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

14%

Elevation

3,900–6,100 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 23 spans 1,544 square miles of basin and foothill country across rolling sagebrush and grassland between 3,900 and 6,100 feet. The terrain is gentle throughout, with slopes averaging 3.9 degrees and 94% of the ground rated gentle or nearly so. Sagebrush covers 60% of the landscape and grass and meadow another 36%, creating habitat that suits pronghorn well where the country allows them to persist. Much of the mapped range is mapped range, but pronghorn densities vary across the hunt area—the western portions hold animals at sparse levels, while sagebrush and grassland in the eastern half offer ground a foot hunter can work.

Public access is the real constraint here. BLM and State Trust lands make up only 14% of the hunt area, roughly 216 square miles, and much of what appears as public land on a map is not actually reachable. The large public tract in the western portion sits in country with low antelope density. The accessible public ground bordering county roads and state highways sees heavy hunting pressure, especially during the first week of the season. Private land comprises 86% of the hunt area, and many ranches are leased to outfitters; even hunters willing to pay trespass fees find it difficult to locate landowners taking new applicants.

To manage pressure on limited public lands, the hunt area offers multiple licence types: Type 1 (any antelope) and Type 6 (doe or fawn) are valid area-wide including public lands, while Type 2 (any antelope valid on private land) and Type 7 (doe or fawn valid on private land) are restricted to private land only. Hunters counting on public access should apply for Type 1 or Type 6. Johnson County Walk-In Area 7 provides additional foot access on private ground enrolled through a walk-in agreement—a hunter may enter during the open period without a permission slip, though enrollment is renegotiated annually. Hunting pressure eases as the season advances into October, making later hunts less congested than the opening week.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 23 (Pumpkin Buttes) 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 2 · Any antelope valid on private land
Archery August 15 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 31
Type 6 · Doe or fawn
Archery August 15 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 31
Type 7 · Doe or fawn valid on private land
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)

Archery hunting from August 15 through September 30 follows pronghorn into the pre-rut and primary rut, when bucks are establishing and defending territory and does move to find them. Temperatures start near 85°F in mid-August and cool to the mid-50s by late September, with no meaningful precipitation—conditions allow a hunter to cover ground and glass for active animals. Public land receives its heaviest pressure during this window, particularly in the opening week, though hunters can find quieter country by planning the later portion of the archery season. Type 1 license holders can hunt any antelope across the entire hunt area, including all public lands. The transition into the regular season in early October shifts the rut into late recovery and animals begin grouping for winter.

Type 2 — Any antelope valid on private land (August–October)

Type 2 archery (August 15 through September 30) allows hunters with private-land access to pursue any antelope during the pre-rut and primary rut on private ground only. Temperature and precipitation patterns mirror the full-area archery season—warm August conditions cooling steadily through September with no snow. Private land comprises 86% of the hunt area, and outfitter leases and difficult access mean opportunities are limited unless a hunter has secured a landowner relationship or trespass arrangement beforehand. The private-land restriction makes this license a fallback option for applicants who draw but lack public-land access and have not arranged private-land permission.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn (August–October)

Archery from August 15 through September 30 allows hunters to pursue does or fawns during the pre-rut and primary rut when they are actively moving across the landscape. Temperatures decline from near 85°F in August to the mid-50s by late September with virtually no snow. A doe or fawn license lets a hunter focus on females and young animals rather than compete for bucks during the rut; this approach reduces pressure from other hunters targeting trophy males and lets a foot hunter work the available public ground more methodically. The regular season from October 1 through October 31 continues the doe or fawn hunt into the late rut and fall grouping, when animals are cooling and forming winter groups, with highs dropping to the upper 50s and temperatures dipping into the low 30s at night.

Type 7 — Doe or fawn valid on private land (August–October)

Type 7 archery (August 15 through September 30) opens a doe or fawn hunt on private land during the pre-rut and primary rut, when females are responsive to territorial bucks and young animals are following their mothers. Private land is 86% of the hunt area, but access is constrained by outfitter leases and difficult landowner negotiations; this license is most useful for a hunter with an existing private-land relationship. Temperature and precipitation follow the archery-season pattern—warm in August, cooling to the mid-50s in September, with no snow. Regular season from October 1 through October 31 continues the private-land doe or fawn hunt as the rut cools and animals group, with highs in the upper 50s and lows dipping into the low 30s.

Land and access

private land86%

Private

BLM9%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land5%

Generally open to public hunting

About 14% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 216 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 Range96%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range70%

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

Sagebrush60%

Grass and meadow36%

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	36°F	13°F	2.8 in
February	37°F	14°F	3.4 in
March	48°F	22°F	1.9 in
April	55°F	29°F	1.1 in
May	65°F	39°F	0 in
June	77°F	48°F	0 in
July	87°F	55°F	0 in
August	85°F	53°F	0 in
September	74°F	44°F	0 in
October	59°F	32°F	0.4 in
November	45°F	21°F	2 in
December	36°F	13°F	3.3 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter planning to hunt public lands in hunt area 23 apply for any license type?: No. Type 1 (any antelope) and Type 6 (doe or fawn) licenses are valid on public lands throughout the hunt area. Type 2 (any antelope valid on private land) and Type 7 (doe or fawn valid on private land) licenses are restricted to private land only. A hunter intending to use public ground should apply for Type 1 or Type 6.
How do nonresidents apply for hunt area 23?: This is a limited-quota hunt area drawn for that specific area. Nonresidents enter a preference-point draw in which three quarters of the licenses go by points (top-down by preference-point rank) and a quarter to random draw. Wyoming residents draw at random from the same pool with no preference points at all.
What access does Johnson County Walk-In Area 7 provide?: It is a private tract enrolled in a walk-in agreement. Hunters may enter during its open period without applying or obtaining permission, subject to posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated annually and is not guaranteed in any coming season.
Is the public land in hunt area 23 easy to access and hunt?: No. Much of the mapped public land is not actually reachable due to roads, trailheads, and private inholdings. The accessible BLM and State Trust ground bordering county roads and highways carries heavy hunting pressure, particularly in the first week of the season. Public land in the western portion of the hunt area also sits in sparse antelope country.
What is the hunting like during archery versus regular seasons in hunt area 23?: Archery runs August 15 through September 30 and crosses the pre-rut and primary rut, when bucks are establishing territory and does are responsive. Regular seasons run October 1 through October 31, into the late rut and fall grouping, when the rut is cooling and animals are forming groups. Weather cools from highs near 85°F in August to the mid-50s in late September and the upper 50s in October, with negligible snow through October.

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