Can a hunter draw hunt area 63 without preference points?

Residents draw for this hunt area in a random draw, with no preference points required or available for pronghorn in Wyoming. For nonresidents, three-quarters of the available licences are awarded by preference points, ranked highest to lowest, while one quarter go to a random draw open to all nonresident applicants in the pool.

What licence does a hunter need to hunt hunt area 63?

Hunt area 63 is a limited-quota hunt area and must be drawn for separately. There is no general pronghorn licence or region pronghorn licence sold in Wyoming; the draw for this area is the only way to hunt it.

How much of hunt area 63 is open to public access?

About 364 square miles, or roughly 71% of the area, is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Trust Land, State Wildlife Areas, and Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge. Private land is 23% of the area and is clustered along watercourses, especially in the east. Roads and terrain both vary substantially, and the southeast corner requires travel outside the hunt area to access.

When do the antelope seasons run in hunt area 63?

Both Type 1 (any antelope, full area) and Type 2 (any antelope east of Buzzard Road) run from August 15 through October 31, with archery from August 15 – September 18 and regular rifle from September 19 – October 31. Rut typically peaks in late September and early October.

Which part of hunt area 63 has better hunting?

Pronghorn densities are higher in the eastern portion of the hunt area, where riparian vegetation and lush habitat provide better forage, particularly in dry years. The western and central portions consist mainly of open sagebrush plains with more scattered animals.

Wyoming Hunt Area 63 (North Ferris) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

71%

Elevation

5,300–10,000 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 63 spans 516 square miles of mixed country from the North Platte River drainage to the Ferris and Seminoe Mountains, with elevation running from 5,300 to about 10,000 feet. The landscape divides into distinct terrain types: rolling sand hills covered in sagebrush in the northeast and east, granite ridges with scattered timber, open sagebrush plains across the middle, and mountainous foothills rising to the south. Riparian meadows thread along the Sweetwater and North Platte Rivers, Pathfinder Reservoir, and several major creeks, but most ground is sagebrush grassland. Slope averages 5.4 degrees and is predominantly gentle terrain — 82% of it gentle, 16% moderate, and steep slopes making up only 1% of the area.

Public land — BLM, State Trust Land and State Wildlife Areas — covers about 364 square miles, or roughly 71% of the hunt area. Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge lies within hunt area 63 and is open to antelope hunting. Private land concentrates along watercourses, particularly in the eastern portion and around the reservoir, often blocking access in clusters. The southeast corner, squeezed between private land and the reservoir, becomes difficult to reach from the rest of the area without traveling outside hunt area 63; entry from the south or east makes the access practical. Roads vary significantly with ground type: sandy areas often remain drivable after light precipitation, while terrain in other sections turns nearly impassable when wet. Access is rated good overall, but hunters should expect seasonal closures and private inholdings to affect public-land travel throughout the year.

Pronghorn densities tend to be higher in the eastern portion of the area, where riparian habitat and lush vegetation offer better forage. The rut typically peaks in the last week of September and the first week of October, intensifying hunting during the latter half of the regular season.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 63 (North Ferris) 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 18Regular September 19 – October 31
Type 2 · Any antelope valid east of Buzzard Road (Natrona County Road 410-Carbon County Road 497)
Archery August 15 – September 18Regular September 19 – 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)

Hunting both archery and rifle seasons on the full hunt area offers access to pronghorn in very different conditions. During archery season from mid-August through mid-September, temperatures remain warm — highs near 83°F in August cooling to around 73°F by mid-September — and pronghorn are entering pre-rut and beginning to establish territories before the primary rut builds. By mid-September through October 31, the rut intensifies and peaks in late September and early October, when animals are most active. October brings cooler weather, with highs dropping to around 58°F and the first significant snowfall possible (averaging 1.4 inches monthly), which can make roads challenging in some areas but may push animals toward lower elevations and concentrate them on better forage. The entire area is open under Type 1, and public access covers roughly 71% of the hunt area across BLM, State Trust Land, State Wildlife Areas, and Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge.

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

Type 2 restricts hunting to the portion of hunt area 63 east of Buzzard Road and spans the same August–October timeline as Type 1. The eastern section consistently holds higher pronghorn densities due to more productive riparian habitat and lush vegetation, particularly during dry years, making it the better hunting choice for those who draw this licence. The archery window (mid-August to mid-September) offers warm conditions and animals entering territory formation, while the rifle season (mid-September through October 31) covers the primary rut, peak rut in late September and early October, and fall grouping as weather cools into the 50s and snows become possible. Hunters should be aware that the southeast corner of the area, though productive, can be difficult to access from the rest of the region due to private land and Pathfinder Reservoir blocking direct routes; entry from outside the hunt area via the south or east is often necessary.

Land and access

BLM59%

Generally open to public hunting

private land23%

Private

State Trust Land10%

Generally open to public hunting

unclassified ownership7%

Ownership unclassified

State Wildlife Areas1%

Generally open to public hunting

About 71% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Trust Land and State Wildlife Areas, roughly 364 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 80% 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.

Where pronghorn are mapped

Winter Range67%

used in winter

Yearlong Range51%

the only layer that means year-round use

Summer Range26%

used in summer

Crucial Winter Range17%

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

Sagebrush85%

Other cover5%

Conifer4%

Grass and meadow3%

Riparian3%

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	33°F	14°F	3.8 in
February	35°F	15°F	4.6 in
March	46°F	23°F	3.3 in
April	54°F	29°F	2.6 in
May	64°F	38°F	0 in
June	77°F	46°F	0 in
July	85°F	54°F	0 in
August	83°F	52°F	0 in
September	73°F	43°F	0 in
October	58°F	32°F	1.4 in
November	43°F	22°F	3.8 in
December	33°F	14°F	5 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw hunt area 63 without preference points?: Residents draw for this hunt area in a random draw, with no preference points required or available for pronghorn in Wyoming. For nonresidents, three-quarters of the available licences are awarded by preference points, ranked highest to lowest, while one quarter go to a random draw open to all nonresident applicants in the pool.
What licence does a hunter need to hunt hunt area 63?: Hunt area 63 is a limited-quota hunt area and must be drawn for separately. There is no general pronghorn licence or region pronghorn licence sold in Wyoming; the draw for this area is the only way to hunt it.
How much of hunt area 63 is open to public access?: About 364 square miles, or roughly 71% of the area, is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Trust Land, State Wildlife Areas, and Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge. Private land is 23% of the area and is clustered along watercourses, especially in the east. Roads and terrain both vary substantially, and the southeast corner requires travel outside the hunt area to access.
When do the antelope seasons run in hunt area 63?: Both Type 1 (any antelope, full area) and Type 2 (any antelope east of Buzzard Road) run from August 15 through October 31, with archery from August 15 – September 18 and regular rifle from September 19 – October 31. Rut typically peaks in late September and early October.
Which part of hunt area 63 has better hunting?: Pronghorn densities are higher in the eastern portion of the hunt area, where riparian vegetation and lush habitat provide better forage, particularly in dry years. The western and central portions consist mainly of open sagebrush plains with more scattered animals.

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