Can a hunter in hunt area 27 draw a resident pronghorn licence?

Yes, residents draw for this hunt area in a random draw with no preference-point system. The resident pronghorn draw in Wyoming has no points and no point cutoffs; all resident applicants enter the pool equally. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a preference-point draw where three quarters of the licences go to top point holders and a quarter goes to random selection.

What public land access does hunt area 27 offer?

About 84% of the 565-square-mile area—roughly 474 square miles—is ground a hunter can generally count on, including National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land, mostly within Thunder Basin National Grasslands. Converse County Walk In Area 14 is also enrolled here and allows foot access during its open season. However, public land is subject to travel restrictions on the National Grasslands, seasonal closures, mining-area hunting bans that change year to year, and private inholdings, so access is not guaranteed throughout.

When does the archery season open in hunt area 27?

The Type 1 archery season for any antelope opens August 15 and closes September 30. The regular-gun season for any antelope then runs October 1 through October 15, so a single Type 1 licence covers both windows back to back.

What is the terrain like in hunt area 27?

The area slopes gently overall, with 92% of it graded gentle and mean slope of 3.6 degrees. Ground rises between 4,200 and 5,300 feet in elevation, with typical terrain around 4,700 feet. Gently rolling hills and sagebrush flats dominate, broken by some deeply cut draws, and the country is mostly walkable for foot hunters.

How does weather change across the hunt area 27 season?

August hunting begins warm, with highs near 86°F and lows around 53°F and virtually no snow. September cools to highs in the mid-70s and lows in the 40s, still dry. By October the season's final weeks see highs dropping to around 59°F and lows to freezing, with monthly snowfall averaging about 0.8 inches.

Wyoming Hunt Area 27 (Bill) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

84%

Elevation

4,200–5,300 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 27 spans 565 square miles of mixed grass, sagebrush prairie and gently rolling terrain across elevations between 4,200 and 5,300 feet. Most of the ground slopes easy—92% is gentle and much of it drains into deeply cut draws that break up the grassland. The country divides almost evenly between grass meadow and sagebrush, with scattered other cover. Pronghorn occupy the prairie and sagebrush flats and gentle hills throughout; they avoid the pine portions of the area. A hunter on foot here finds country that is walkable and often open to sight across distance, though the draws can channel movement and break visibility.

About 84% of the area is ground a hunter can dependably count on—National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land totaling roughly 474 square miles, with 16% private land. The majority of that public ground lies within Thunder Basin National Grasslands, where hunters must consult the Travel Management Map for seasonal and camping restrictions. Some public land in active coal mining areas is closed to hunting and these closures can shift year to year. A Walk-In Area (Converse County Walk In Area 14) is also enrolled here and opens to foot traffic during its season without requiring permission. Public land in this area is accessible but not simple—roads, trailheads and private inholdings still apply, and crowding on the accessible public ground can build early in the season, particularly where draws overlap with roads.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 27 (Bill) 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 15

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)

The Type 1 any-antelope season opens with the archery period from August 15 through September 30, spanning the pre-rut period when bucks are establishing territories through the primary rut and into its final phase. Early August hunting finds pronghorn in their summer distribution across grassland and sagebrush; temperatures are warm with highs near 86°F cooling only gradually through September as the rut intensifies. Weather remains dry throughout both archery and early regular season. The regular-gun portion runs October 1 through October 15, continuing into the late-rut and post-recovery phase as herds begin shifting from the rut to fall grouping; October cools noticeably with highs around 59°F and occasional light snow averaging 0.8 inches for the month. Public access across the season is available on National Grasslands and enrolled Walk-In Area, though crowding on accessible public ground is common early in the archery season, and hunters must respect travel restrictions on the Grasslands and avoid coal mining closures that can change season to season. This licence is valid for any antelope—does, fawns and bucks—across the entire hunt area.

Land and access

National Forest51%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM26%

Generally open to public hunting

private land16%

Private

State Trust Land6%

Generally open to public hunting

About 84% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 474 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 71% 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 Range62%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range35%

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

Grass and meadow51%

Sagebrush40%

Other cover9%

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	1.9 in
February	38°F	14°F	2.9 in
March	49°F	22°F	1.9 in
April	56°F	29°F	1.6 in
May	66°F	39°F	0 in
June	78°F	48°F	0 in
July	87°F	55°F	0 in
August	86°F	53°F	0 in
September	75°F	44°F	0 in
October	59°F	31°F	0.8 in
November	46°F	21°F	1.9 in
December	36°F	13°F	2.4 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter in hunt area 27 draw a resident pronghorn licence?: Yes, residents draw for this hunt area in a random draw with no preference-point system. The resident pronghorn draw in Wyoming has no points and no point cutoffs; all resident applicants enter the pool equally. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a preference-point draw where three quarters of the licences go to top point holders and a quarter goes to random selection.
What public land access does hunt area 27 offer?: About 84% of the 565-square-mile area—roughly 474 square miles—is ground a hunter can generally count on, including National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land, mostly within Thunder Basin National Grasslands. Converse County Walk In Area 14 is also enrolled here and allows foot access during its open season. However, public land is subject to travel restrictions on the National Grasslands, seasonal closures, mining-area hunting bans that change year to year, and private inholdings, so access is not guaranteed throughout.
When does the archery season open in hunt area 27?: The Type 1 archery season for any antelope opens August 15 and closes September 30. The regular-gun season for any antelope then runs October 1 through October 15, so a single Type 1 licence covers both windows back to back.
What is the terrain like in hunt area 27?: The area slopes gently overall, with 92% of it graded gentle and mean slope of 3.6 degrees. Ground rises between 4,200 and 5,300 feet in elevation, with typical terrain around 4,700 feet. Gently rolling hills and sagebrush flats dominate, broken by some deeply cut draws, and the country is mostly walkable for foot hunters.
How does weather change across the hunt area 27 season?: August hunting begins warm, with highs near 86°F and lows around 53°F and virtually no snow. September cools to highs in the mid-70s and lows in the 40s, still dry. By October the season's final weeks see highs dropping to around 59°F and lows to freezing, with monthly snowfall averaging about 0.8 inches.

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