Wyoming Hunt Area 82 (North Greybull River) pronghorn hunting

Licence
Limited quota — drawn
Open public land
68%
Elevation
4,400–12,600 ft
Terrain
Moderate

Hunt area 82 spans 544 square miles of high-elevation sagebrush country ranging from 4,400 to 12,600 feet, with typical ground around 6,800 feet. The terrain is moderate in grade, mostly gentle and rolling but cut by steeper canyons and drainages. Sagebrush dominates across elevations—from 81% at lower elevations to 94% in the mid-range—with conifer increasing toward higher ground. The country hunts as a mix of open and broken terrain where a hunter covers ground on foot through sage and navigates canyon systems. About 68% of the area is dependably open public land on BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land, roughly 372 square miles; private land makes up 21%. Access to public ground is not straightforward, as roads, trailheads and seasonal closures still apply, and the hunt area contains designated wilderness where Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide.

Getting onto pronghorn country here means knowing where access actually opens. Four Hunter Management Areas—Greybull River, Carter Mountain, Newell Springs and Pitchfork—provide private-land opportunity, though hunting them requires a printed permission slip from WGFD and enrollment is renegotiated each year, so availability cannot be assumed. Much of the pronghorn population distributes across private and National Forest land in summer, then shifts to BLM holdings through the winter months, a pattern that shapes which seasons favor which routes onto the animals.

The hunt area opens to four different seasons across the fall, each with its own legal animal and geographic scope. Type 1 and Type 6 hunts run the same dates—archery mid-August through mid-September, then regular season through mid-October—but Type 1 is open to any pronghorn while Type 6 is doe or fawn only. Type 2, valid east of Wyoming Highway 120, runs archery mid-August through mid-September and regular season mid-October through mid-November. Type 8, doe or fawn only and restricted to Big Horn County, spans the same archery window and a regular season extending into late November. Nonresidents drawn for this hunt area will enter a preference-point pool where three quarters of the licences go to the top-ranked point holders and a quarter to a random draw; Wyoming residents face a random draw with no preference-point system for pronghorn at all.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 82 (North Greybull River) 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 2 · Any antelope valid east of Wyoming Highway 120
    Archery August 15 – September 19Regular October 15 – November 15
  • Type 6 · Doe or fawn
    Archery August 15 – September 19Regular September 20 – October 14
  • Type 8 · Doe or fawn valid in Big Horn County
    Archery August 15 – September 19Regular October 15 – November 30

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)

The Type 1 hunt for any antelope runs a two-window season from mid-August through mid-October. Archery from August 15 to September 19 falls in the pre-rut and primary-rut phases, when bucks hold territory and does begin concentrating; early season often finds pronghorn more scattered in the sagebrush than later. The regular season from September 20 to October 14 carries through the primary rut and into late-rut recovery, when bucks pursue does more actively and animals group more densely. Early-season weather stays warm through August and September, with highs in the mid-70s dropping to the mid-60s by late September, and September sees only light precipitation—less than a third of an inch on average. By early October, cold moves in fast: highs fall into the low 50s and lows near freezing, with nearly 3 inches of snow possible by month's end. Access to public ground is hampered by private inholdings and canyon drainages, though the Pitchfork and Carter Mountain Hunter Management Areas offer private-land options with permission.

Type 2 — Any antelope valid east of Wyoming… (August–November)

The Type 2 hunt for any antelope east of Wyoming Highway 120 extends the season to mid-November, with archery from August 15 to September 19 in the pre-rut and primary-rut phases, when bucks are territorial and the landscape still scattered with animals. The regular season from October 15 to November 15 pushes through late rut, post-rut recovery and into fall grouping, when pronghorn band together more tightly as winter approaches. Early archery benefits from warm, dry conditions—mid-70s highs and minimal precipitation—but the regular season is a cold-weather hunt. October temperatures fall through the 50s to freezing nights, with 2.8 inches of snow normal for the month, while November highs drop to the low 40s and lows to the teens, accompanied by nearly 5 inches of monthly snowfall. The geography restriction to the east side of Highway 120 confines the hunt to a defined portion of the area; public access remains limited by terrain and private land, though the Pitchfork HMA again provides a permission-based option.

Type 6 — Doe or fawn (August–October)

The Type 6 hunt for doe or fawn runs on the same calendar as Type 1: archery August 15–September 19 and regular season September 20–October 14. Early archery finds does and fawns scattered through pre-rut and primary-rut phases before they begin to concentrate; September's warm weather and minimal snow—less than a third of an inch—favor long days glassing open sagebrush and canyon country. The regular-season window overlaps the peak of the rut and post-rut recovery, when doe and fawn groups become more cohesive targets as the month cools rapidly into October, with temperatures dropping from the mid-60s to the low 50s and snow accumulation rising sharply in the second half of the month. Public-land access follows the same constraints as the Type 1 hunt, with private-land opportunity through Hunter Management Areas requiring printed permission from WGFD.

Type 8 — Doe or fawn valid in Big Horn County (August–November)

The Type 8 hunt for doe or fawn valid in Big Horn County only runs the full archery window from August 15 to September 19 in the pre-rut and primary-rut phases, when females and their young are still dispersed and move readily through the territory. The extended regular season from October 15 to November 30 carries through late rut, recovery and into the full fall grouping period, when does and fawns consolidate into larger groups as winter weather intensifies. Archery conditions are warm and dry, with mid-70s highs and negligible precipitation, but the regular season is a cold and snowy proposition: October brings 2.8 inches of average snowfall with highs in the low 50s, and November delivers nearly 5 inches with highs dropping to the low 40s and lows into the teens. The Big Horn County boundary restricts this hunt to a specific portion of the area; like other seasons, access to public ground is constrained by terrain and private land, with the four Hunter Management Areas available by printed permission.

Land and access

  • BLM29%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • National Forest28%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • private land21%
    Private
  • State Trust Land11%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • unclassified ownership10%
    Ownership unclassified

    • About 68% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land, roughly 372 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 55% 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.

    It also holds 4 Hunter Management Areas. 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.

    This hunt area includes designated wilderness. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness.

    Where pronghorn are mapped

  • Yearlong Range66%
    the only layer that means year-round use
  • Summer Range15%
    used in summer
  • Winter Range1%
    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

    Lower elevations

  • Sagebrush81%
  • Other cover14%
  • Grass and meadow2%
  • Riparian2%

    • Mid elevations

  • Sagebrush94%
  • Other cover2%
  • Riparian2%
  • Conifer1%

    • Higher elevations

  • Sagebrush67%
  • Conifer14%
  • Grass and meadow11%
  • Other cover8%

    • 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°F13°F3.3 in
    February35°F13°F5 in
    March44°F20°F4.7 in
    April50°F26°F4.8 in
    May59°F35°F0.4 in
    June68°F42°F0 in
    July77°F48°F0 in
    August76°F47°F0 in
    September66°F40°F0.3 in
    October52°F29°F2.8 in
    November41°F19°F4.8 in
    December33°F12°F4.2 in

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

    Common questions

    Can a hunter draw this hunt area on a general or region pronghorn licence?
    No. Hunt area 82 is limited quota, drawn individually for that area. Wyoming sells no general pronghorn licence and issues no region pronghorn licence. Every pronghorn hunt area in the state is drawn specifically, and if the draw does not come through there is no alternative licence to fall back on.
    What preference points do Wyoming residents need for this hunt area?
    Residents do not use preference points for pronghorn. The Wyoming resident pronghorn draw for every hunt area is random, with no point cutoff and no point system at all. Nonresidents, by contrast, are drawn by preference points in a separate pool, where three quarters of the available licences go to the highest-ranked point holders.
    Can a nonresident hunt designated wilderness alone in this hunt area?
    No. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide when hunting in designated wilderness. Hunt area 82 contains designated wilderness, so a nonresident planning to hunt that ground must arrange for a guide.
    What share of hunt area 82 is actually open to walk onto?
    About 68% of the hunt area—roughly 372 square miles—is dependably open public land. However, public ownership does not mean straightforward access: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings still all apply. Private-land opportunity is available through four Hunter Management Areas that require printed permission from WGFD.
    When do the different seasons run on this hunt area?
    Type 1 (any antelope) and Type 6 (doe or fawn) run archery August 15–September 19 and regular season September 20–October 14. Type 2 (any antelope east of Highway 120) runs archery August 15–September 19 and regular season October 15–November 15. Type 8 (doe or fawn in Big Horn County) runs archery August 15–September 19 and regular season October 15–November 30.

    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