Can a hunter in hunt area 51 buy a pronghorn licence over the counter or draw a region licence?

No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming is drawn individually; there is no general pronghorn licence sold over the counter and no region licence for pronghorn. A hunter must draw a licence for hunt area 51 specifically, as a limited-quota draw. If the draw does not come through, there is no alternative licence.

Does a Wyoming resident need preference points for pronghorn in hunt area 51?

No. Wyoming residents have no pronghorn preference points at all; the resident draw for this hunt area is random. Preference points are a nonresident concept only, and within the nonresident pool three quarters of the licences go to the top point holders while a quarter are drawn randomly.

Can a nonresident hunt designated wilderness in hunt area 51 alone?

No. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness. Since hunt area 51 contains designated wilderness, a nonresident planning to hunt there must arrange for a guide or hunt only the non-wilderness portions of the area.

How much of hunt area 51 is public ground a hunter can actually count on?

About 59% of the hunt area—roughly 187 square miles—is National Forest, BLM, or State Trust Land where pronghorn hunting is generally permitted. Public ownership alone does not guarantee access; roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings all still restrict where a hunter can reach.

When do the pronghorn seasons run in hunt area 51?

Two seasons are published: Type 1 (any antelope) and Type 6 (doe or fawn), both running from archery August 15–September 15 and regular season September 16–November 14. Both seasons span the same dates; the difference is what animal a hunter is licensed to take.

Wyoming Hunt Area 51 (Big Creek) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

59%

Elevation

7,000–11,000 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 51 spans 318 square miles from 7,000 to 11,000 feet, with ground averaging around 8,000 feet. The country is topographically mixed: lower elevations hold open sagebrush slopes; the Encampment River runs through rugged, steep canyons; the Sierra Madre Mountains carry heavily timbered country; and riparian meadows line the major drainages. Seventy-two percent of the terrain is gentle, 27% moderate, and the remaining 2% steep, making much of it walkable, though forested sections in the mountains demand different hunting. Lower elevations run heavily to sagebrush with scattered other cover and riparian bottoms; mid-elevation country mixes sagebrush and grass-meadow with conifer; higher country shifts to conifer forest and open meadow.

Pronghorn here concentrate where water and forage are lusher, especially on irrigated croplands and along the North Platte River and other major creeks—areas where private ranches tend to be large holdings closed to outside hunters or open only to outfitted clients. The northern portion of the hunt area holds much of the accessible pronghorn during autumn. Public ground comprises about 59% of the area, primarily National Forest and BLM land, with scattered sections of State Trust Land. The hunt area contains designated wilderness, and Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide there. Access to public lands is not guaranteed; roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings all apply. Access to private ground depends on owner willingness or outfitter arrangement.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 51 (Big Creek) 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 15Regular September 16 – November 14
Type 6 · Doe or fawn
Archery August 15 – September 15Regular September 16 – November 14

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)

Hunting in the Type 1 season for any antelope spans from mid-August through mid-November, opening with archery while temperatures are still warm—highs near 77°F in August cooling to the low 40s by November—and snowfall remains rare through September before reaching more than a foot by November. The rut begins in earnest during the archery period, when males are establishing territory and becoming increasingly active, and intensifies through September as the primary rut unfolds; by the time regular season opens in mid-September, pronghorn behavior is being shaped by the rut. Water and lusher forage draw pronghorn to irrigated croplands and riparian country along the North Platte River and major creeks, where private ranches dominate and access is often closed. Public lands on the National Forest and BLM offer foot hunting on open slopes and in some forested country, though designated wilderness there requires a nonresident to hunt with a licensed guide or a resident guide. As autumn deepens into November, pronghorn shift toward fall grouping and winter concentration, and heavy snowfall can alter where the animals move and how accessible they are to foot hunters.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn (August–November)

Hunting for doe or fawn from mid-August through mid-November allows pursuit of female and young animals across the entire season's rut and weather shift. The archery segment opens during the pre-rut and early rut, when does and fawns are still in summer-range patterns tied to water and forage—primarily irrigated ground and riparian areas of the North Platte River drainage, where most such country is under private control. As the rut progresses through September and into October, does respond to the disturbance and movement of rutting males, and their behavior becomes less predictable; regular season carries a hunter through the peak rut in late September and the post-rut recovery into fall grouping. Public ground on National Forest and BLM offers access to open slopes and canyon country, though nonresidents cannot legally hunt any designated wilderness in the area without a licensed guide or a resident guide accompanying them. By November, snowfall exceeds a foot and pronghorn gather for winter, shifting where a hunter encounters them on the landscape.

Land and access

private land41%

Private

National Forest39%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM15%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land4%

Generally open to public hunting

About 59% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 187 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 includes designated wilderness. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness.

Where pronghorn are mapped

Summer Range46%

used in summer

Winter Range17%

used in winter

Yearlong Range16%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range2%

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

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

Sagebrush69%

Other cover16%

Riparian9%

Conifer3%

Grass and meadow2%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush64%

Grass and meadow22%

Conifer9%

Aspen2%

Riparian2%

Other cover1%

Higher elevations

Conifer61%

Grass and meadow25%

Sagebrush11%

Aspen2%

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	34°F	11°F	17.6 in
February	36°F	12°F	16.5 in
March	44°F	19°F	12.9 in
April	51°F	25°F	6.4 in
May	61°F	32°F	0.9 in
June	72°F	40°F	0 in
July	79°F	45°F	0 in
August	77°F	44°F	0 in
September	69°F	37°F	0.2 in
October	55°F	28°F	3.6 in
November	42°F	19°F	12.4 in
December	33°F	11°F	18.4 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter in hunt area 51 buy a pronghorn licence over the counter or draw a region licence?: No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming is drawn individually; there is no general pronghorn licence sold over the counter and no region licence for pronghorn. A hunter must draw a licence for hunt area 51 specifically, as a limited-quota draw. If the draw does not come through, there is no alternative licence.
Does a Wyoming resident need preference points for pronghorn in hunt area 51?: No. Wyoming residents have no pronghorn preference points at all; the resident draw for this hunt area is random. Preference points are a nonresident concept only, and within the nonresident pool three quarters of the licences go to the top point holders while a quarter are drawn randomly.
Can a nonresident hunt designated wilderness in hunt area 51 alone?: No. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness. Since hunt area 51 contains designated wilderness, a nonresident planning to hunt there must arrange for a guide or hunt only the non-wilderness portions of the area.
How much of hunt area 51 is public ground a hunter can actually count on?: About 59% of the hunt area—roughly 187 square miles—is National Forest, BLM, or State Trust Land where pronghorn hunting is generally permitted. Public ownership alone does not guarantee access; roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings all still restrict where a hunter can reach.
When do the pronghorn seasons run in hunt area 51?: Two seasons are published: Type 1 (any antelope) and Type 6 (doe or fawn), both running from archery August 15–September 15 and regular season September 16–November 14. Both seasons span the same dates; the difference is what animal a hunter is licensed to take.

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