Can a hunter draw a region licence or buy a general licence for hunt area 57?

No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming is limited-quota and drawn for that specific area. Wyoming sells no general pronghorn licence over the counter and issues no region pronghorn licence. A nonresident must draw through the preference-point system, while a resident is drawn at random. If the draw does not come through, there is no alternative licence.

How many preference points does a nonresident need to draw hunt area 57?

Points needed vary from year to year. Within the nonresident draw, three quarters of the licences go to the preference-point pool, awarded top-down by points, and the remaining quarter to a random draw. A nonresident with no points can still be selected in the random portion.

Does a Wyoming resident need to build preference points for pronghorn in this area?

No. Wyoming residents have no pronghorn preference points and do not use them to draw any antelope hunt area. The resident pronghorn draw is random, with all residents entering on equal footing regardless of whether they have hunted before.

How much of hunt area 57 is actually open to public hunting?

About 73% of the hunt area is public land (BLM and State Trust Land) where a hunter can generally count on access. The remaining 27% is private land. Access is considerably easier in the southern half than in the north, where private and public sections create a checkerboard of ownership requiring careful planning.

When do the archery and rifle seasons run in hunt area 57?

Three separate hunt types are available. Type 7 (doe and fawn) runs archery August 15–31 and rifle September 1–November 30, but only on specific portions of the area. Type 1 (any antelope) runs archery August 15–September 19 and rifle September 20–October 31 across most of the area. Type 2 (any antelope) runs archery August 15–September 19 and rifle September 20–October 31 on the western and northern portions of the area. Consult current regulations for exact boundaries.

Wyoming Hunt Area 57 (South Wamsutter) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

73%

Elevation

6,100–7,900 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 57 spreads across 1,776 square miles of semi-arid sagebrush plains, with badlands along the southern and western edges where juniper, mountain mahogany and saltbush break up the open ground. Terrain is predominantly gentle, sloping at an average of 2.9 degrees, and elevation ranges from 6,100 to 7,900 feet with typical ground around 6,800 feet. Sagebrush dominates the cover at 84%, with grass and meadow making up 8% and other cover the remainder. Water is scarce across much of the area, though exposed moisture can appear after rain or snow on the clay soils common here. About 73% of the hunt area is public land—BLM and State Trust Land—where a hunter can generally count on access, though roads, trailheads and seasonal closures still apply; the remaining 27% is private. Most roads in the hunt area become nearly impassable when wet and muddy.

Public access is considerably better in the southern half than in the north, where private and public sections create a checkerboard of ownership that requires careful attention to boundaries. The Tipton Hunter Management Area is enrolled on private land and requires a printed permission slip from Wyoming Game and Fish before hunting. Pronghorn are well distributed throughout the hunt area but concentrate along the eastern periphery. Trophy bucks exist in all parts of the area but are harvested most often in the more remote, road-less sections where vehicle access is limited or unavailable. The scattered distribution and the patchy nature of public access mean that hunters working public ground will encounter private inholdings and will need to plan route and camp location carefully.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 57 (South Wamsutter) 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 7 · Doe or fawn valid south of Wyoming Highway 70 and west of Carbon County Road 601 in Area 53, and on private land within one (1) mile of Carbon County Road 603 in Area 57
Archery August 15 – August 31Regular September 1 – November 30
Type 1 · Any antelope
Archery August 15 – September 19Regular September 20 – October 31
Type 2 · Any antelope valid west of Sweetwater County Road 23S and B.L.M. Road 3310, and north and east of B.L.M. Roads 4411 and 4409
Archery August 15 – September 19Regular September 20 – 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 7 — Doe or fawn valid south of Wyoming… (August–November)

Type 7 hunts—doe and fawn valid on private land within one mile of Carbon County Road 603 and on ground south of Wyoming Highway 70 and west of Carbon County Road 601 in Area 53—open with archery from mid-August through August 31, a period of warm, dry conditions and light hunting pressure when territorial males are establishing range and females remain scattered. The rifle portion runs September 1 through November 30, spanning the peak rut in early September through the post-rut period and into fall grouping as animals bunch for winter. September temperatures cool from the low 70s into the 60s with no measurable snowfall, making early September hunting far more accessible than November, when highs drop into the 40s and average snowfall reaches 4.2 inches per month. This hunt is limited to females and young animals and requires familiarity with the specific area boundaries described in the regulations.

Type 1 — Any antelope (August–October)

Type 1 hunts for any antelope—valid across most of the unit except the western and northern restricted zones—open with archery from mid-August through mid-September, a period of warm conditions and light pressure while bucks are still widely spaced on their home ranges. The rifle season runs September 20 through October 31, moving through the tail end of the primary rut into late rut and post-rut recovery as bucks exhaust themselves and pronghorn begin clustering in preparation for winter. August brings highs around 82 degrees with virtually no snow, while September cools to the low 70s and October drops into the 50s during the day with temperatures dipping below freezing at night; snow remains minimal through October but begins to accumulate. Access to public land remains reasonably consistent throughout the season, though the muddy-road problem worsens as temperatures cool and moisture increases.

Type 2 — Any antelope valid west of… (August–October)

Type 2 hunts for any antelope—restricted to ground west of Sweetwater County Road 23S and BLM Road 3310 and north and east of BLM Roads 4411 and 4409—follow the same split as Type 1: archery August 15–September 19 during territory formation and the opening of the rut, then rifle September 20–October 31 through peak rut and into the fall transition. This hunt covers a smaller western and northern portion of the area where the checkerboard of private and public land is more pronounced, requiring careful attention to section lines and ownership. Weather and pressure follow the same pattern as Type 1, cooling from August's mid-80s into October's 50s with snowfall remaining light until late October.

Land and access

BLM71%

Generally open to public hunting

private land27%

Private

State Trust Land2%

Generally open to public hunting

About 73% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 1,296 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.

It also holds 1 Hunter Management Area. That is 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. Enrollment is renegotiated every year, so check current status before counting on either.

Where pronghorn are mapped

Winter Range100%

used in winter

Yearlong Range90%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range10%

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

Across the unit

Sagebrush84%

Other cover9%

Grass and meadow8%

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	32°F	12°F	4.7 in
February	35°F	14°F	3.3 in
March	46°F	23°F	1.6 in
April	54°F	28°F	1.1 in
May	65°F	37°F	0 in
June	77°F	45°F	0 in
July	85°F	52°F	0 in
August	82°F	50°F	0 in
September	72°F	42°F	0 in
October	58°F	31°F	0.5 in
November	43°F	21°F	4.2 in
December	32°F	13°F	5 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a region licence or buy a general licence for hunt area 57?: No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming is limited-quota and drawn for that specific area. Wyoming sells no general pronghorn licence over the counter and issues no region pronghorn licence. A nonresident must draw through the preference-point system, while a resident is drawn at random. If the draw does not come through, there is no alternative licence.
How many preference points does a nonresident need to draw hunt area 57?: Points needed vary from year to year. Within the nonresident draw, three quarters of the licences go to the preference-point pool, awarded top-down by points, and the remaining quarter to a random draw. A nonresident with no points can still be selected in the random portion.
Does a Wyoming resident need to build preference points for pronghorn in this area?: No. Wyoming residents have no pronghorn preference points and do not use them to draw any antelope hunt area. The resident pronghorn draw is random, with all residents entering on equal footing regardless of whether they have hunted before.
How much of hunt area 57 is actually open to public hunting?: About 73% of the hunt area is public land (BLM and State Trust Land) where a hunter can generally count on access. The remaining 27% is private land. Access is considerably easier in the southern half than in the north, where private and public sections create a checkerboard of ownership requiring careful planning.
When do the archery and rifle seasons run in hunt area 57?: Three separate hunt types are available. Type 7 (doe and fawn) runs archery August 15–31 and rifle September 1–November 30, but only on specific portions of the area. Type 1 (any antelope) runs archery August 15–September 19 and rifle September 20–October 31 across most of the area. Type 2 (any antelope) runs archery August 15–September 19 and rifle September 20–October 31 on the western and northern portions of the area. Consult current regulations for exact boundaries.

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