Can a hunter draw hunt area 7 with a Wyoming residency?

Yes, but the draw is random with no preference points involved. Wyoming residents do not earn or use pronghorn preference points; the resident pronghorn draw for this area is purely random each year. Nonresidents, by contrast, enter a draw in which three quarters of the licenses go to preference-point holders ranked by points and a quarter to a random draw.

How is a license for hunt area 7 obtained?

A license to hunt here is obtained only by drawing, and it must be drawn specifically for this hunt area. Wyoming does not issue a general pronghorn license sold over the counter, and there is no regional pronghorn license that covers multiple areas. If a hunter does not draw, there is no alternative license available.

Which seasons run when on hunt area 7?

One hunt season runs from August 15 through October 15. Archery hunting is valid August 15 through September 30, and regular hunting is valid October 1 through October 15. Both windows allow hunting of any antelope.

How much of hunt area 7 can a hunter actually get onto?

About 41% of the 989-square-mile hunt area is public land or Walk-In Area ground open to hunting—roughly 404 square miles. The remainder is private, and access there requires permission from the landowner. Seven Walk-In Areas are enrolled, though enrollment is renegotiated annually and specific availability should be confirmed before a hunt.

Is hunt area 7 a place to hunt trophy antelope?

No, this area is managed for recreational hunting and is not known for trophy animals. Most antelope taken here carry 10 to 14-inch horns without heavy mass. Hunters should expect standard-quality pronghorn and plan accordingly.

Wyoming Hunt Area 7 (South Upton) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

41%

Elevation

3,900–5,200 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 7 sits in mixed-grass prairie and sagebrush country, broken by gently rolling hills and draws cut down to deeper ground. The terrain is predominately flat to gently sloping, averaging 2.9 degrees across the area and well-suited to foot hunting. Grass and meadow dominate the cover at 77%, with sagebrush at 20%, and pronghorn occupy both the open prairie and sagebrush flats as well as areas of cultivated ground. The pine-covered portions of the hunt area hold few antelope. Roughly 41% of the hunt area is public land or Walk-In Area ground that a hunter can dependably plan on—about 404 square miles across National Forest, BLM, and State Trust Land, with 7 enrolled Walk-In Areas offering additional opportunity. Most accessible public land lies on Thunder Basin National Grasslands, though roads there carry seasonal and travel restrictions that require careful checking before a hunt.

Private land makes up 59% of the area, and a disproportionately large share of the antelope taken here comes from public or Walk-In land rather than from private holdings. Hunters seeking private ground will find access requires permission and often involves outfitting fees or access charges. Roads and boundaries can be deceptively marked on mapping software; use of closed or private roads is common without a detailed landownership map or GPS application that shows current public and private delineations. Pressure from other hunters concentrates on public lands, especially during the opening weeks of the season. Walk-In Area hunters should check current enrollment through the Department Access YES program.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 7 (South Upton) 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 – October 15

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 here spans from mid-August through mid-October and crosses the buck's transition from territory-holding into the full rut and its subsequent recovery. The archery window—August 15 through September 30—opens while bucks are establishing and holding territory and carries into the peak rut in late September; temperatures begin in the low-to-mid 80s and cool steadily toward the mid-40s as September progresses, with virtually no precipitation expected. The regular hunting season—October 1 through October 15—coincides with the late rut and post-rut recovery phase, when bucks are dispersing and energy-depleted; temperatures drop further into the 50s at midday and freeze near or below 32 degrees at night, and light snow becomes possible as October advances. Pronghorn are hunted across the gently rolling prairie and sagebrush flats throughout the hunt area without area restriction. Hunter pressure concentrates on public lands and Walk-In Areas, particularly in the opening weeks; private-land access requires permission and often involves fees. Any antelope—buck, doe, or fawn—is legal game.

Land and access

private land59%

Private

National Forest17%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM17%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land7%

Generally open to public hunting

About 41% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 404 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 31% 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 7 enrolled walk-in areas. 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 Range97%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range22%

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 meadow77%

Sagebrush20%

Other cover3%

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	3.1 in
February	37°F	13°F	3.3 in
March	48°F	22°F	2.6 in
April	56°F	29°F	2 in
May	65°F	39°F	0 in
June	77°F	48°F	0 in
July	86°F	55°F	0 in
August	85°F	53°F	0 in
September	75°F	44°F	0 in
October	59°F	32°F	0.9 in
November	45°F	21°F	2.3 in
December	35°F	12°F	3.6 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw hunt area 7 with a Wyoming residency?: Yes, but the draw is random with no preference points involved. Wyoming residents do not earn or use pronghorn preference points; the resident pronghorn draw for this area is purely random each year. Nonresidents, by contrast, enter a draw in which three quarters of the licenses go to preference-point holders ranked by points and a quarter to a random draw.
How is a license for hunt area 7 obtained?: A license to hunt here is obtained only by drawing, and it must be drawn specifically for this hunt area. Wyoming does not issue a general pronghorn license sold over the counter, and there is no regional pronghorn license that covers multiple areas. If a hunter does not draw, there is no alternative license available.
Which seasons run when on hunt area 7?: One hunt season runs from August 15 through October 15. Archery hunting is valid August 15 through September 30, and regular hunting is valid October 1 through October 15. Both windows allow hunting of any antelope.
How much of hunt area 7 can a hunter actually get onto?: About 41% of the 989-square-mile hunt area is public land or Walk-In Area ground open to hunting—roughly 404 square miles. The remainder is private, and access there requires permission from the landowner. Seven Walk-In Areas are enrolled, though enrollment is renegotiated annually and specific availability should be confirmed before a hunt.
Is hunt area 7 a place to hunt trophy antelope?: No, this area is managed for recreational hunting and is not known for trophy animals. Most antelope taken here carry 10 to 14-inch horns without heavy mass. Hunters should expect standard-quality pronghorn and plan accordingly.

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