Wyoming Hunt Area 95 (Cedar Mountain) pronghorn hunting

Licence
Limited quota — drawn
Open public land
74%
Elevation
6,000–8,600 ft
Terrain
Gentle

Hunt area 95 is primarily sagebrush flats and low broken hills, with scattered mountain shrub, aspen and juniper around Cedar Mountain and Lonetree. The ground slopes gently—averaging 4 degrees—and 90% of the area is classified as gentle terrain. Elevations range from 6,000 to 8,600 feet, with typical country around 6,600 feet. Sagebrush comprises 70% of the cover across the hunt area, with grass and meadow at 12%, other shrub and woodland at 16%, and scattered riparian ground at 2%. Pronghorn are well distributed throughout most of the area, though mountain shrub and forested hills hold very few animals. Limited irrigated lands near Lyman, Lonetree and along the Blacks Fork River see regular antelope use and often attract concentrations during the seasons.

The southern portion of hunt area 95 is primarily BLM land, straightforward in ownership. The northern half is checkerboard country—alternating sections of private and public land that create access problems despite public ownership. Most of the BLM holdings in that northern section are landlocked, accessible only with permission to cross private property. About 74% of the area is open public land—BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land—totaling roughly 995 square miles, but roads and private inholdings mean a hunter must plan carefully and respect postings. The area holds 5 walk-in areas where hunters can access enrolled private ground during posted seasons without permission slips. Turtle Hill is enrolled as a Hunter Management Area, requiring a printed permission slip from WGFD before hunting. Landowner cooperation is strong, particularly around the irrigated lands where pronghorn often cause damage; access there is generally good for hunters who ask, especially those holding a Type 7 permit. Most roads in the hunt area become nearly impassable when wet and muddy, a practical constraint throughout the season.

Later-season hunting helps distribute pressure across a broad landscape. Pronghorn movement between private and public ground shifts through the autumn as animals respond to hunting and changing conditions, so hunters willing to hunt into October often find better opportunity than those concentrated in early weeks.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 95 (Cedar Mountain) 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 9Regular September 10 – October 31
  • Type 7 · Doe or fawn valid on or within one-quarter (1/4) mile of private irrigated land
    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)

Early archery hunting runs mid-August through the first week of September, when pronghorn enter the pre-rut and begin establishing territories, moving across open sagebrush and broken hills in pursuit of does. Temperatures start mild, with August highs near 82 degrees and minimal moisture, making for long glassing days across the gentle terrain. By early September the rut ramping up, pronghorn become more predictable and less cautious, though heat can concentrate movement around water. Hunters can access public BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land directly, and enrollments in walk-in areas remain open; permission from private landowners remains essential across the checkerboard north. The Type 1 archery window takes any pronghorn—bucks, does and fawns. The regular season runs September 10 through the end of October, covering the peak and late phases of the rut as well as the transition into fall grouping. September offers warmer daytime temperatures near 73 degrees and begins cooling by mid-month, while October tightens conditions significantly, with highs falling to about 59 degrees and the first measurable snow arriving late in the month. Post-rut pronghorn spread across the landscape and group more loosely than at peak rut, and later-season hunters often find less pressure and better hunting. Access remains the same—public land is walkable, walk-in areas stay open, and private landowners, particularly around irrigated lands, tend to cooperate with hunters. The Type 1 regular season license takes any pronghorn across the entire hunt area with no restriction.

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

The Type 7 season runs August 15 through October 31 under regular seasons only, a hunt targeting does and fawns in and around private irrigated lands near Lyman, Lonetree and along the Blacks Fork River. Pronghorn congregate on irrigated ground throughout the pre-rut, rut and late-rut periods, drawn by green forage and predictable conditions. Early August temperatures near 82 degrees cool steadily through October, when snowfall begins to arrive, though the irrigated landscape shields pronghorn from the worst of seasonal swings. Hunters must secure permission from landowners before hunting, but access to irrigated land is typically very good because pronghorn often damage crops and landowners actively welcome hunting. The Type 7 license is restricted to does and fawns and valid only within one-quarter mile of private irrigated land—hunters cannot legally use it on public land or away from irrigated private property.

Land and access

  • BLM61%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • private land26%
    Private
  • National Forest12%
    Generally open to public hunting
  • State Trust Land1%
    Generally open to public hunting

    • About 74% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land, roughly 995 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. 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 Range62%
    the only layer that means year-round use
  • Winter Range26%
    used in winter
  • Crucial Winter Range25%
    the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it
  • Summer Range5%
    used in summer

    • 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

  • Sagebrush70%
  • Other cover16%
  • Grass and meadow12%
  • Riparian2%

    • 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°F11°F3.7 in
    February37°F13°F3.3 in
    March47°F21°F2 in
    April55°F28°F1.3 in
    May65°F36°F0 in
    June76°F44°F0 in
    July84°F51°F0 in
    August82°F50°F0 in
    September73°F41°F0 in
    October59°F30°F1.1 in
    November44°F20°F2.4 in
    December34°F11°F3.5 in

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

    Common questions

    Can a hunter hold or build preference points for pronghorn in Wyoming as a resident?
    No. Wyoming residents draw for pronghorn in a random draw with no preference-point system. Residents who draw a license to hunt area 95 are selected through that random draw, not by point accumulation. Preference points for pronghorn are a nonresident concept only.
    Is hunt area 95 accessible by a regional pronghorn license or general antelope license?
    No. Hunt area 95 is a limited-quota draw area, and Wyoming issues no general or regional pronghorn licenses over the counter. To hunt this area, a hunter must draw a license specifically for hunt area 95. If the draw does not come through, there is no alternative license available for pronghorn.
    How much of hunt area 95 can a hunter actually access during a season?
    About 74% of the area is public land—roughly 995 square miles—that a hunter can generally count on, including BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land. The remaining 26% is private land, though portions are enrolled in walk-in areas and a Hunter Management Area. In the northern checkerboard country, much of the public land is landlocked by private property, so access there requires permission to cross private land.
    What does a hunter need to hunt the Turtle Hill Hunter Management Area in hunt area 95?
    Hunters must obtain a printed permission slip from WGFD before hunting Turtle Hill. The area is private land enrolled under agreement with the state and is not open to walk-on access. Enrollment of this area is renegotiated annually, so its availability should be confirmed before planning a hunt.
    When do the pronghorn seasons run in hunt area 95?
    Type 1 (any antelope) runs August 15 through October 31, with an archery window from August 15 to September 9 and a regular-season window from September 10 to October 31. Type 7 (doe or fawn valid within one-quarter mile of private irrigated land) runs August 15 through October 31 under regular season only. Hunters holding Type 7 permits are restricted to within one-quarter mile of irrigated private lands.

    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