Can a hunter draw a general or region pronghorn licence for hunt area 74?

No. Every Wyoming pronghorn hunt area, including this one, is limited quota and must be drawn specifically. Wyoming sells no general pronghorn licence over the counter and issues no region licence that covers pronghorn. If the draw does not produce a permit, there is no alternative licence available.

How do Wyoming residents enter the draw for hunt area 74?

Residents draw for this area through a random draw pool. Wyoming residents do not use preference points for pronghorn and do not benefit from banking or holding points. Each resident applicant enters the random pool on equal standing regardless of prior applications.

Which walk-in areas are open in hunt area 74?

Five walk-in areas are enrolled within the hunt area, including Natrona County Walk In Area 6, Natrona County Walk In Area 4, and Fremont County Walk In Area 33. Walk-in areas require no permission and no application — a hunter may enter during their posted open period. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so a hunter should verify current status before the season.

What should a hunter know about water and roads in hunt area 74?

The hunt area has no natural water sources, so any hunter camping must bring all water needed. Two-track roads become very difficult to travel after wet snow or rain; if precipitation is forecast, hunters should position camp trailers or supplies near graveled county roads to maintain access.

When does the pronghorn season run in hunt area 74?

The single season spans archery from August 15 through September 18, then regular hunting from September 19 through October 31. Both windows are part of one hunt for any antelope, drawn for this specific area.

Wyoming Hunt Area 74 (Deer Creek) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

58%

Elevation

5,400–7,800 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 74 is predominately sagebrush and grassland on gentle ground, with elevations from 5,400 to 7,800 feet and a mean slope of 2.8 degrees. Nearly all of it is walkable country. The landscape includes a series of ridges with scattered conifers in the south-central portion and a significant belt of industrial disturbance in the southeast tied to old uranium mine work. Ephemeral sandy washes cut through much of the sagebrush, and water is absent across the area — any hunter camping here must bring all water needed. The country is accessible, but two-track roads become difficult or impassable after wet snow or rain, and a hunter may need to stage closer to graveled county roads if weather turns.

The hunt area contains about 269 square miles of ground hunters can count on — BLM and State Trust Land that make up 58% of the area. Private land comprises the remaining 42%, with significantly higher private density in the northeast portion. Five walk-in areas are enrolled within the area, giving hunters additional options for entry without permission. BLM land occurs in large contiguous blocks that are generally accessible, though roads, trailheads, and seasonal closures still govern any hunt. Dispersed camping is permitted on BLM holdings.

Hunt area 74 is drawn by residents and nonresidents alike for a single hunt season spanning late summer through October. This is the only draw option, with no general pronghorn licence or region licence available in Wyoming — if the draw does not come through, there is no alternative. Nonresidents compete in a preference-point draw where three quarters of the available licences go to applicants ranked by points and a quarter go to random selection; residents face a random draw without points.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 74 (Deer 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 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)

Archery runs from mid-August through mid-September as pronghorn move into pre-rut territoriality and then enter the primary rut, while regular hunting continues from mid-September through the end of October as the rut winds down and animals begin regrouping for winter. August highs reach the low 80s and cool into the 70s by September, with October dropping into the 50s and occasional light snow appearing late in the month — the season transitions from warm, dry conditions to cool fall weather. Pronghorn are dispersed across the entire hunt area throughout this window, and the large contiguous blocks of BLM land in the central and western portions provide open access for foot hunting. The hunt is valid for any antelope, and the combination of long archery and regular seasons allows flexibility in timing to match conditions and personal preference.

Land and access

BLM48%

Generally open to public hunting

private land42%

Private

State Trust Land9%

Generally open to public hunting

About 58% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 269 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 has 5 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 Range75%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range23%

used in winter

Summer Range15%

used in summer

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

Sagebrush93%

Grass and meadow5%

Other cover1%

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	2.6 in
February	35°F	13°F	3.8 in
March	45°F	22°F	3 in
April	53°F	29°F	2 in
May	63°F	38°F	0 in
June	75°F	46°F	0 in
July	84°F	53°F	0 in
August	82°F	52°F	0 in
September	71°F	43°F	0 in
October	56°F	31°F	1 in
November	42°F	21°F	2.8 in
December	31°F	12°F	3.5 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a general or region pronghorn licence for hunt area 74?: No. Every Wyoming pronghorn hunt area, including this one, is limited quota and must be drawn specifically. Wyoming sells no general pronghorn licence over the counter and issues no region licence that covers pronghorn. If the draw does not produce a permit, there is no alternative licence available.
How do Wyoming residents enter the draw for hunt area 74?: Residents draw for this area through a random draw pool. Wyoming residents do not use preference points for pronghorn and do not benefit from banking or holding points. Each resident applicant enters the random pool on equal standing regardless of prior applications.
Which walk-in areas are open in hunt area 74?: Five walk-in areas are enrolled within the hunt area, including Natrona County Walk In Area 6, Natrona County Walk In Area 4, and Fremont County Walk In Area 33. Walk-in areas require no permission and no application — a hunter may enter during their posted open period. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so a hunter should verify current status before the season.
What should a hunter know about water and roads in hunt area 74?: The hunt area has no natural water sources, so any hunter camping must bring all water needed. Two-track roads become very difficult to travel after wet snow or rain; if precipitation is forecast, hunters should position camp trailers or supplies near graveled county roads to maintain access.
When does the pronghorn season run in hunt area 74?: The single season spans archery from August 15 through September 18, then regular hunting from September 19 through October 31. Both windows are part of one hunt for any antelope, drawn for this specific area.

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