Can a hunter draw an over-the-counter pronghorn licence for hunt area 47?

No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming, including hunt area 47, is limited quota and requires a draw. Wyoming sells no general pronghorn licence over the counter, and there is no region licence fallback. A hunter must draw the specific hunt area or the licence does not come through.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points for pronghorn in hunt area 47?

No. Residents have no pronghorn preference points in Wyoming and participate in a random draw for any hunt area, including this one. Nonresidents, by contrast, do use preference points—three quarters of nonresident licences are awarded by points, and one quarter go to a random draw within the nonresident pool.

Which roads can a hunter count on to reach public land in hunt area 47?

The Marshall Road (Albany County Road 610), the Little Medicine Road (Carbon County Road 99), and the BLM Lone Tree Road are the primary access points. Hunters should watch for mud: these roads become impassible in wet conditions and require caution after rain or snow.

How much of hunt area 47 is actually huntable public land?

About 48% of the area—roughly 534 square miles—is dependably open, mostly contiguous BLM and State Trust Land in the north and center. The southern third is a checkerboard of private sections that lock away public parcels, and that ground is mostly inaccessible.

When do the pronghorn seasons run in hunt area 47?

Three seasons run August through October. Type 1 Any-Antelope spans archery August 15–September 24 and regular hunting September 25–October 31. Type 2 Any-Antelope runs archery August 15–September 24 and regular October 5–October 31. Type 6 Doe or Fawn covers archery August 15–September 24 and regular September 25–October 31.

Wyoming Hunt Area 47 (Shirley Basin) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

48%

Elevation

6,400–9,100 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 47 spans 1,104 square miles of rolling high-desert terrain between 6,400 and 9,100 feet. The country is geographically split. Shirley Basin dominates the north and center—vast sagebrush plains and grassland flats with gentle roll, where pronghorn range widely across open ground. The southwest rises into rockier country: parallel ridge lines capped in juniper and mountain mahogany, broken by valleys of sagebrush and greasewood. Across the whole area, sagebrush covers 71% of the ground and grass-meadow another 26%; slope is gentle throughout, averaging 3.3 degrees. There are no permanent creeks or rivers here. Water is scattered and unreliable—mostly ephemeral streams and stock ponds—so a hunter needs to know where it lies before the day starts. Wind is the constant. Fall and winter winds regularly gust 40 to 80 miles per hour and shape how the hunt runs.

Public land is concentrated in the north and center. About 48% of the area—roughly 534 square miles—is dependably open to hunting, mostly BLM and State Trust Land in large blocks. The southern portion is checkerboard private: every other section is privately owned, which locks it away. Public ownership there is fragmented and mostly inaccessible. The best entries are the Marshall Road (Albany County Road 610), the Little Medicine Road (Carbon County Road 99), and the BLM Lone Tree Road; hunters need to mind that these routes become impassible when muddy.

Hunt area 47 contains four Hunter Management Areas—Missouri John, Como Bluffs, Pine Draw, and Muddy Mountain—and two Walk-In Areas in Carbon County (13 and 15). An HMA requires a printed permission slip from WGFD before hunting and is renegotiated each year, so enrollment is never guaranteed. Walk-In Areas need no permission and open automatically during their posted seasons, though they too can shift year to year. These private-land options expand access but are always subject to annual change.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 47 (Shirley Basin) 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 24Regular September 25 – October 31
Type 2 · Any antelope
Archery August 15 – September 24Regular October 5 – October 31
Type 6 · Doe or fawn
Archery August 15 – September 24Regular September 25 – 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 Any-Antelope hunting spans early territory formation through late-season recovery and grouping. The archery window (August 15–September 24) opens with bucks establishing ranges and peaks into the primary rut; August brings warm days around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and cool nights, shifting to highs near 70 and lows near 40 by late September, with minimal precipitation. Regular hunting runs September 25 through October 31, when the rut is winding down and pronghorn begin gathering for winter; temperatures cool from September highs to October highs around 55 degrees, and October snow averages 2.4 inches monthly, though strong winds—often 40 to 80 miles per hour—dominate both seasons. Public access is concentrated in the northern and central basin; the southern checkerboard remains fragmented and difficult. This hunt is for any pronghorn: bucks, does and fawns.

Type 2 — Any antelope (August–October)

Type 2 Any-Antelope archery (August 15–September 24) hunts the same early rut window as Type 1, with warm August conditions cooling through September, and minimal fall precipitation. Regular hunting runs October 5–31, well into late-rut recovery and fall grouping, when animals gather and winds intensify at 40 to 80 miles per hour; October temperatures run from highs near 55 degrees to lows near 30, and snow averages 2.4 inches for the month. This delayed season may find pronghorn in different patterns than the September-opening Type 1, particularly as they form larger groups and respond to wind and cooling weather. Public land access remains strongest in the north and central portions; the south is broken and largely private. This hunt allows any pronghorn.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn (August–October)

Type 6 Doe or Fawn hunting runs archery August 15–September 24 into the primary rut, then regular season September 25–October 31 through late-rut recovery and regrouping. Temperatures fall from warm August days (highs around 80 degrees Fahrenheit) to October highs near 55, and precipitation stays negligible in August and September but rises to an average 2.4 inches of snow in October; strong winds are frequent and can exceed 80 miles per hour. Pronghorn move across their range during rut and afterward, though this hunt's restriction to females and young does not allow bucks. The northern and central basins offer better public access than the southern checkerboard, and water sources require advance scouting. This season provides a chance to hunt any doe or fawn.

Land and access

private land52%

Private

BLM40%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land8%

Generally open to public hunting

About 48% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 534 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 43% 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 2 enrolled walk-in areas. It also holds 4 Hunter Management Areas. Both are private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. A Hunter Management Area requires a printed permission slip from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before hunting it. 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 Range50%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range38%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range32%

the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it

Summer Range16%

used in summer

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

Sagebrush71%

Grass and meadow26%

Conifer2%

Riparian1%

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	31°F	11°F	4.8 in
February	34°F	12°F	6.3 in
March	44°F	20°F	5.2 in
April	51°F	26°F	4.5 in
May	61°F	35°F	0.2 in
June	73°F	43°F	0 in
July	82°F	50°F	0 in
August	80°F	48°F	0 in
September	70°F	40°F	0.1 in
October	55°F	30°F	2.4 in
November	41°F	20°F	4.5 in
December	31°F	12°F	6.5 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw an over-the-counter pronghorn licence for hunt area 47?: No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming, including hunt area 47, is limited quota and requires a draw. Wyoming sells no general pronghorn licence over the counter, and there is no region licence fallback. A hunter must draw the specific hunt area or the licence does not come through.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points for pronghorn in hunt area 47?: No. Residents have no pronghorn preference points in Wyoming and participate in a random draw for any hunt area, including this one. Nonresidents, by contrast, do use preference points—three quarters of nonresident licences are awarded by points, and one quarter go to a random draw within the nonresident pool.
Which roads can a hunter count on to reach public land in hunt area 47?: The Marshall Road (Albany County Road 610), the Little Medicine Road (Carbon County Road 99), and the BLM Lone Tree Road are the primary access points. Hunters should watch for mud: these roads become impassible in wet conditions and require caution after rain or snow.
How much of hunt area 47 is actually huntable public land?: About 48% of the area—roughly 534 square miles—is dependably open, mostly contiguous BLM and State Trust Land in the north and center. The southern third is a checkerboard of private sections that lock away public parcels, and that ground is mostly inaccessible.
When do the pronghorn seasons run in hunt area 47?: Three seasons run August through October. Type 1 Any-Antelope spans archery August 15–September 24 and regular hunting September 25–October 31. Type 2 Any-Antelope runs archery August 15–September 24 and regular October 5–October 31. Type 6 Doe or Fawn covers archery August 15–September 24 and regular September 25–October 31.

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