Can a hunter apply for a pronghorn license in this hunt area?

Hunt area 3 is a limited-quota pronghorn hunt area drawn specifically for this area. Wyoming residents enter a random draw with no preference points for pronghorn; nonresidents compete in a draw where three quarters of licenses go to preference-point holders (top-down by points) and a quarter go to a random pool. If the draw does not come through, there is no alternative license to purchase over the counter, and no region license exists for pronghorn in Wyoming.

How much of the hunt area is actually open to walk on?

About 33 square miles—roughly 10% of the area—is dependably accessible public ground on state trust land, BLM, and national forest. This ground is scattered and often difficult to reach by road or marked trailhead. Crook County Walk-In Area 7 offers signed public access during its open period. The remainder of the area is private land, much of it leased to outfitters or difficult to gain permission on.

When does the hunting season run?

Both seasons run from archery August 15 through September 30, then regular season October 1 through November 20. Type 1 is for any antelope; Type 6 is for doe or fawn only.

Is there early-season crowding on public land?

Yes. The public ground available to walk-in hunters receives heavy pressure in the first week of the season. Hunters willing to come later will encounter less congestion and lower hunter densities on public ground.

What is the country like to hunt on foot?

Most of hunt area 3 is open grassland and sagebrush suitable for antelope, with gentle rolling terrain that is foot-huntable. The eastern portion contains ponderosa pine forest that does not hold antelope. Public access is limited to scattered parcels and one walk-in area, so much of the walking falls on the same few publicly accessible sections, concentrating hunter impact there.

Wyoming Hunt Area 3 (Keyhole) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

10%

Elevation

3,900–5,500 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 3 is a mix of open grassland and sagebrush country in the north, with ponderosa pine forest rising toward the east. The terrain is gentle throughout most of the area, rolling between 3,900 and 5,500 feet of elevation, with a mean slope of 4.7 degrees. Grass and meadow cover about 59% of the ground, sagebrush another 17%, and scattered ponderosa forest fills much of the eastern portion. The country is largely foot hunting, but the eastern ponderosa terrain does not hold antelope.

Public access is scarce and scattered. About 10% of the area—roughly 33 square miles—is dependably open to hunters on state trust land, BLM, and national forest ground. These parcels are often separated by private inholdings and not always reachable by maintained road or obvious trailhead. Crook County Walk-In Area 7 provides foot access to marked ground during its open period and requires no permission. Most of the remaining 83% of hunt area 3 is private land, much of it leased to outfitters or held by ranches reluctant to take new hunters. Access to private ground, even where owners accept trespass fees, is difficult to arrange ahead of time. Hunting pressure concentrates heavily on the limited public ground early in the season; hunters who come later find less crowding but also fewer options for finding new country.

The two seasons on this area run through the same dates. Early in the archery window pronghorn are dispersed in territory-formation, then move into the primary rut and its secondary phases as fall approaches. The transition from archery to regular season carries hunters through the rut's tail end and into the grouping phase of early winter. Weather cools sharply from August through November, with highs dropping from the mid-80s to the mid-40s Fahrenheit, and November brings snow—averaging about 2.4 inches for the month.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 3 (Keyhole) 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
Type 6 · Doe or fawn
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)

Archery season from mid-August through September gives hunters access to pronghorn in the early stages of territory establishment through the peak of the rut, with animals still dispersed but increasingly responsive to calling. Weather begins warm and dry—mid-80s with no rain expected—and cools progressively into September, dropping to the mid-70s with rare precipitation. Access to public ground is heaviest during the first week; the scattered state trust and BLM parcels along county roads and state highways draw most hunters to the same sections. The Type 1 license is valid for any antelope. Regular season from October into November carries the hunt through the tail of the rut and into the fall grouping phase, as pronghorn begin to band up for winter. October weather cools from the upper 50s toward freezing, and November brings the first snow of the hunt—averaging about 2.4 inches for the month. The public land open to walk-in hunters remains the bottleneck for access, though hunter numbers thin as the season advances. Type 1 is still valid for any antelope. Both windows occur on the same limited public ground, so pronghorn that escape early pressure may receive less hunting attention in late season.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn (August–November)

Archery season from mid-August through September puts hunters into the same rut sequence and weather as the any-antelope hunt, with animals in territory-formation and moving into the primary rut. The warm, dry early fall and cooling through September present no obstacles to foot hunting. Access is the same constraint—scattered public parcels and the walk-in area only—and early crowds concentrate on the same ground. The Type 6 license allows only does and fawns. Regular season from October into November continues through the late rut and early grouping phase, as temperatures drop and November snow arrives. The doe-and-fawn restriction holds across the entire season window, and once again the limited public ground forces most access to the same sections, thinning somewhat as hunters move into November.

Land and access

private land83%

Private

unclassified ownership7%

Ownership unclassified

State Trust Land7%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM2%

Generally open to public hunting

About 10% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — State Trust Land, BLM and National Forest, roughly 33 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 Range61%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range20%

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 meadow59%

Sagebrush17%

Other cover14%

Conifer11%

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	4.7 in
February	37°F	14°F	4.4 in
March	48°F	23°F	2.5 in
April	56°F	30°F	1.7 in
May	66°F	40°F	0 in
June	78°F	49°F	0 in
July	87°F	56°F	0 in
August	86°F	54°F	0 in
September	75°F	44°F	0 in
October	59°F	32°F	0.7 in
November	46°F	22°F	2.4 in
December	36°F	13°F	4.2 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter apply for a pronghorn license in this hunt area?: Hunt area 3 is a limited-quota pronghorn hunt area drawn specifically for this area. Wyoming residents enter a random draw with no preference points for pronghorn; nonresidents compete in a draw where three quarters of licenses go to preference-point holders (top-down by points) and a quarter go to a random pool. If the draw does not come through, there is no alternative license to purchase over the counter, and no region license exists for pronghorn in Wyoming.
How much of the hunt area is actually open to walk on?: About 33 square miles—roughly 10% of the area—is dependably accessible public ground on state trust land, BLM, and national forest. This ground is scattered and often difficult to reach by road or marked trailhead. Crook County Walk-In Area 7 offers signed public access during its open period. The remainder of the area is private land, much of it leased to outfitters or difficult to gain permission on.
When does the hunting season run?: Both seasons run from archery August 15 through September 30, then regular season October 1 through November 20. Type 1 is for any antelope; Type 6 is for doe or fawn only.
Is there early-season crowding on public land?: Yes. The public ground available to walk-in hunters receives heavy pressure in the first week of the season. Hunters willing to come later will encounter less congestion and lower hunter densities on public ground.
What is the country like to hunt on foot?: Most of hunt area 3 is open grassland and sagebrush suitable for antelope, with gentle rolling terrain that is foot-huntable. The eastern portion contains ponderosa pine forest that does not hold antelope. Public access is limited to scattered parcels and one walk-in area, so much of the walking falls on the same few publicly accessible sections, concentrating hunter impact there.

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