Wyoming Hunt Area 83 (Owl Creek) pronghorn hunting

Licence
Limited quota — drawn
Open public land
47%
Elevation
4,100–12,400 ft
Terrain
Gentle

Hunt area 83 spans 1,400 square miles of rolling sagebrush country across elevations from 4,100 to 12,400 feet, with typical ground around 5,700 feet. The terrain is graded gentle — 68% of it slopes gently, 29% moderately, and 3% steeply. Lower and mid elevations are dominated by sagebrush with scattered grass and meadow; higher elevations mix sagebrush with conifer. The country breaks into draws and deeper canyons throughout, and private farmland occupies much of the southern portions.

About 47% of the area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Trust Land, and National Forest, roughly 654 square miles. The remainder is private. Nine walk-in areas are enrolled across the hunt, and the Absaroka Front Hunter Management Area covers substantial country in the northwestern part of the hunt area. Public ownership, however, comes with roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings that all still apply. A walk-in area requires no permission slip, but an HMA requires a printed permission slip before hunting; enrollment for both is renegotiated annually, so neither is guaranteed to be open in any coming season.

Hunt area 83 is drawn as a limited-quota hunt for both residents and nonresidents. Wyoming residents face a random draw with no preference points. For nonresidents, three quarters of the licences are awarded by preference-point draw — points matter considerably — and a quarter are awarded randomly. This hunt area alone is the draw target; if that draw does not come through, there is no general or region licence to fall back on.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 83 (Owl 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 – November 7
  • Type 6 · Doe or fawn valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land
    Archery August 15 – August 31Regular September 1 – November 30
  • Type 7 · Doe or fawn valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land within Gooseberry Creek drainage
    Archery August 15 – August 31Regular September 1 – October 14
  • Type 8 · Doe or fawn valid on or within one-half (1/2) mile of irrigated land within Gooseberry Creek drainage
    Archery August 15 – August 31Regular October 15 – December 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–November)

Type 1 hunting runs through both the pre-rut and primary-rut phases during archery season and into the late rut and early fall grouping in the regular season. Archery from mid-August to mid-September catches bucks in the early stages of territory formation and the primary rut, with warm temperatures in the low to mid 70s Fahrenheit. The regular rifle season from late September through early November drops into cooler weather — highs falling from the low 70s to the low 40s — and picks up light snowfall by November. Bucks are dispersed through the area as the rut winds down and animals begin to regroup for winter. Type 1 is valid area-wide across hunt area 83, and access includes walk-in areas, the Absaroka Front Hunter Management Area, and public lands throughout.

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

Type 6 hunting for does or fawns within one-half mile of irrigated land opens with archery in mid-August during the pre-rut phase. The season extends through the regular rifle period from September through November, spanning territory formation through early fall grouping as animals shift off the southern private farmlands. Archery temperatures begin warm, dropping steadily through September and into the colder months of October and November, with snowfall accumulating by late autumn. Seeking landowner permission becomes important for success here, as much of the irrigated land lies on or near private ground; the nine walk-in areas and Absaroka Front Hunter Management Area help, though later-season pronghorn that migrate from the southern portions onto public land open up additional hunting options.

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

Type 7 restricts does and fawns to within one-half mile of irrigated land in the Gooseberry Creek drainage, running archery through mid-August and regular rifle through mid-October. The hunt spans the pre-rut phase through the early post-rut period, with weather beginning in the warm 80s and cooling through August and September before the October transition into the 50s Fahrenheit and light snowfall. The narrower geographic window and shorter season than Type 6 concentrate hunting pressure closer to the irrigated fields; landowner cooperation becomes valuable, and the available walk-in areas and Hunter Management Area provide alternative access where they overlap the drainage.

Type 8 — Doe or fawn valid on or within… (August–December)

Type 8 is the only hunt extending into December, allowing does and fawns within one-half mile of irrigated land in the Gooseberry Creek drainage with archery from mid-August through August and regular rifle from mid-October through mid-December. Late in the season, pronghorn that migrated from the southern private lands move back onto public ground, opening additional opportunity on walk-in areas and public land. Temperatures drop sharply into the 30s Fahrenheit in November and further to freezing in December, with snowfall averaging nearly 3 inches in November and nearly 5 inches in December, creating a cold hunt in the year's final phase. The December extension is the only segment of any hunt area 83 season that reaches into winter herding and energy-conservation behavior.

Land and access

  • private land53%
    Private
  • BLM39%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • State Trust Land5%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • National Forest3%
    Generally open to public hunting

    • About 47% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Trust Land and National Forest, roughly 654 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 70% 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 9 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

  • Yearlong Range83%
    the only layer that means year-round use
  • Winter Range75%
    used in winter
  • Crucial Winter Range6%
    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

  • Sagebrush82%
  • Grass and meadow9%
  • Other cover7%
  • Riparian3%

    • Mid elevations

  • Sagebrush86%
  • Grass and meadow10%
  • Other cover2%
  • Conifer2%
  • Riparian1%

    • Higher elevations

  • Sagebrush70%
  • Conifer16%
  • Grass and meadow13%

    • 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
    January33°F9°F3.2 in
    February37°F12°F3.6 in
    March49°F22°F2.6 in
    April56°F29°F1.3 in
    May65°F39°F0 in
    June76°F47°F0 in
    July85°F53°F0 in
    August84°F52°F0 in
    September73°F43°F0 in
    October58°F31°F0.9 in
    November44°F19°F2.8 in
    December33°F10°F4.8 in

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

    Common questions

    Can a hunter obtain a licence for hunt area 83 over the counter?
    No. Hunt area 83 is drawn individually as limited-quota only. Wyoming sells no general pronghorn licence over the counter and issues no region pronghorn licence for any antelope hunt area. A licence for this area must be drawn; if the draw does not come through, there is no fallback.
    Do Wyoming residents need preference points for pronghorn in hunt area 83?
    No. Wyoming residents draw for pronghorn through a random draw with no preference-point system at all. Nonresidents, however, do compete in a points-based draw for three quarters of the available licences, with a quarter awarded randomly; nonresident points matter considerably for this area.
    How much of hunt area 83 can a hunter dependably access?
    About 47% of the area — roughly 654 square miles — is ground a hunter can generally count on: BLM, State Trust Land, and National Forest. Nine walk-in areas and the Absaroka Front Hunter Management Area provide additional enrolled private ground, though access programs are renegotiated annually and cannot be guaranteed to remain open.
    What is the Absaroka Front and how is it hunted?
    The Absaroka Front is a Hunter Management Area in the northwestern portion of hunt area 83. Hunting it requires a printed permission slip obtained in advance; it is private land enrolled by agreement and cannot be assumed to remain open in any coming season.
    Does hunt area 83 have seasons that allow only does or fawns?
    Yes. Type 1 allows any antelope area-wide. Type 6 and Type 7 allow does or fawns only within one-half mile of irrigated land — Type 7 further restricted to the Gooseberry Creek drainage, and Type 8 (also doe or fawn) runs within one-half mile of irrigated land in the Gooseberry Creek drainage but extends into December.

    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