Wyoming Hunt Area 77 (Fifteen Mile Creek) pronghorn hunting

Licence
Limited quota — drawn
Open public land
81%
Elevation
3,800–6,700 ft
Terrain
Gentle

Hunt area 77 divides into three distinct country types. The western and southern portions roll as sagebrush-covered hills and ridges, laced with draws and deeper canyons that break the terrain into complex pieces for hunting on foot. The central band flattens to arid prairie where pronghorn can see for miles. Private farmland occupies the eastern and northern edges, though the area overall is predominantly public ground managed by the BLM. Elevation ranges from 3,800 feet to 6,700 feet, with typical ground around 4,600 feet, and the terrain slopes gently — 85% of it is gentle ground, with slope averaging 4.8 degrees. Sagebrush dominates across the area, mixed with grass and meadow particularly at mid-elevation, and riparian cover traces the lower creeks and ditches.

Access runs to about 914 square miles of public land that a hunter can generally count on, along with 11 walk-in areas spread across the hunt area. The Greybull River Hunter Management Area provides an additional option, though it requires a printed permission slip from WGFD before hunting. Walk-in areas can be used during their posted seasons without advance application. Roads and trailheads on public ground are not always open year-round, and private inholdings still apply even where land is publicly owned, so the open country is less than the map alone suggests. The hunt area's seasons differ sharply in their geographic reach: Type 1 licences are valid throughout the area, while Type 6, 7, and 8 licences are restricted to specific terrain tied to irrigated lands or highway corridors, which concentrates hunter pressure near private farm operations where pronghorn rely on water and forage. This difference makes landowner relationships important for hunters pursuing the restricted licence types, and the walk-in areas provide an alternative where such access is difficult.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 77 (Fifteen Mile 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 19Regular September 20 – October 14
  • Type 6 · Doe or fawn valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land
    Archery August 15 – August 31Regular September 1 – October 14
  • Type 7 · Doe or fawn valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land
    Archery August 15 – August 31Regular October 15 – November 30
  • Type 8 · Doe or fawn valid north of Wyoming Highway 30 or within one-half (1/2) mile south of Wyoming Highway 30
    Regular August 15 – 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)

Type 1 hunting (any antelope, valid area-wide) opens to archery August 15 through September 19, then regular seasons September 20 through October 14. The archery phase catches pronghorn during pre-rut territory formation and into the primary rut, when bucks are aggressive and visible but increasingly cautious; highs average 86 degrees in August, cooling to the mid-70s by mid-September. The regular season carries through the primary rut into the late rut and early post-rut recovery phase, with temperatures falling from the mid-60s in late September into the low 60s in early October. Both phases reach the full terrain of the area, and both draw pressure, but access to rolling country in the west and south differs from the flat central prairie where pronghorn can spot hunters from great distance.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn valid on or within… (August–October)

Type 6 hunting (doe or fawn within one-half mile of irrigated land, archery and regular season August 15 – October 14) captures the pre-rut phase and the opening of primary rut as bucks establish territories near water and developed ground. Archery-only hunting from August 15 to August 31 spans the warmest period, with highs around 86 degrees, when pronghorn concentrate near irrigated cover and feed. The regular season follows from September 1 through October 14, cooling from the mid-70s to the low 60s, and overlaps into the height of the rut and its early recovery phase. This hunt is fundamentally a draw-controlled access to private farm operations, where walk-in areas offer an alternative to seeking permission, but the restriction to half a mile of irrigated land means hunters must understand exactly where those boundaries lie.

Type 7 — Doe or fawn valid on or within… (August–November)

Type 7 hunting (doe or fawn within one-half mile of irrigated land, archery August 15 – August 31, regular October 15 – November 30) splits into two distinct windows with different hunting character. The archery phase in late August during pre-rut, with highs near 86 degrees, targets pronghorn still concentrated near water before the rut pushes them into the wider landscape. The regular season opens in mid-October during the late rut and post-rut recovery, continuing through November as groups coalesce for winter and temperatures plummet from the low 60s toward the low 40s, with November snowfall averaging 1.9 inches. The long gap between archery and regular season means hunters must choose one or the other, and the winter timing of the regular hunt occurs when pronghorn migrate toward winter range — the area remains in crucial winter range through this period.

Type 8 — Doe or fawn valid north of Wyoming… (August–October)

Type 8 hunting (doe or fawn north of Wyoming Highway 30 or within one-half mile south of it, regular August 15 – October 31) is a doe-and-fawn hunt that mirrors the Type 1 rifle season in timing but applies a corridor along the highway. It spans pre-rut territory formation through primary rut and into the late rut and fall grouping, with August highs around 86 degrees cooling through September and into early October's low 60s. October snowfall is light, but the extended season through October 31 means late hunters encounter the transition into winter grouping phase. This hunt concentrates near a specific geographic feature and draws less pressure than the area-wide Type 1, making it useful where access to the full area is difficult.

Land and access

  • BLM77%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • private land18%
    Private
  • State Trust Land4%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • unclassified ownership1%
    Ownership unclassified

    • About 81% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 914 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 11 enrolled walk-in areas. It also holds 1 Hunter Management Area. Both are 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. 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

  • Winter Range100%
    used in winter
  • Yearlong Range74%
    the only layer that means year-round use
  • Crucial Winter Range26%
    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

  • Sagebrush60%
  • Other cover23%
  • Grass and meadow14%
  • Riparian3%

    • Mid elevations

  • Sagebrush60%
  • Grass and meadow30%
  • Other cover10%

    • Higher elevations

  • Sagebrush85%
  • Grass and meadow10%
  • Other cover5%

    • 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

    MonthAvg highAvg lowSnowfall
    January34°F8°F2.3 in
    February38°F12°F2.4 in
    March51°F23°F1.1 in
    April58°F31°F0.3 in
    May68°F40°F0 in
    June79°F48°F0 in
    July88°F55°F0 in
    August86°F52°F0 in
    September75°F43°F0 in
    October60°F31°F0.2 in
    November45°F19°F1.9 in
    December34°F9°F2.5 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 77?
    No. Every pronghorn hunt area in Wyoming is limited quota, drawn specifically for that area. There is no general pronghorn licence sold over the counter and no region licence issued in Wyoming. A hunter who does not draw for hunt area 77 has no alternative licence to fall back on.
    Do Wyoming residents need preference points to draw pronghorn in this hunt area?
    No. Residents draw for pronghorn on a random basis with no preference points. Nonresidents, by contrast, draw differently: three quarters of the nonresident licences go to a preference-point draw ranked by points, and the remaining quarter go to a random draw. Points matter significantly for nonresidents but do not apply to residents at all.
    How much of hunt area 77 can a hunter actually access?
    About 914 square miles of the area's 1,128 square miles is public land managed by the BLM or held as State Trust Land, where a hunter can generally count on access subject to roads, trailheads, and seasonal closures. Beyond that, 11 walk-in areas and the Greybull River Hunter Management Area add options. However, roads and trailheads vary in season, private inholdings interrupt public ground, and the HMA requires a printed permission slip from WGFD.
    Which seasons apply in hunt area 77 and when do they run?
    Four licence types are valid here. Type 1 (any antelope) runs August 15 through October 14 with an archery phase and regular season. Type 6 and Type 7 (doe or fawn near irrigated land) run archery-only August 15–31 and regular seasons in September through October or into November. Type 8 (doe or fawn near Highway 30) runs August 15 through October 31.
    What restriction applies to the limited-licence hunts in this area?
    Type 6 and Type 7 licences are valid only for doe or fawn within one-half mile of irrigated land. Type 8 is valid only for doe or fawn north of Wyoming Highway 30 or within one-half mile south of it. These geographic restrictions concentrate hunting near private farm operations and influence where success is likely and where hunters should seek landowner access.

    Sources

    Seasons, licence types and boundaries change. Confirm every detail with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before applying or hunting.

    All Wyoming pronghorn hunt areas