Can a hunter obtain a licence for hunt area 96 as a resident without preference points?

Yes. Wyoming residents draw hunt area 96 through a random draw with no preference points involved. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a draw where three quarters of licences go to those with preference points, ranked highest first, and a quarter go to a random draw within the nonresident pool. Every applicant to hunt this area must enter the draw specific to hunt area 96; there is no region licence or general pronghorn licence to fall back on if the draw is unsuccessful.

How much of hunt area 96 is ground a hunter can actually access?

About 609 square miles, or roughly 47% of the hunt area, is dependably open public ground on BLM, State Trust Land, and similar holdings where hunters can count on access. The southern portions include a checkerboard pattern of private and public land, but public sections remain generally accessible. Additional ground may open on enrolled private land through Sweetwater County Walk-In Area 3 during its open season, though enrollment is renegotiated annually.

Where in hunt area 96 are pronghorn most likely to be found?

The highest densities cluster west of Farson and Eden in and around agricultural areas, especially the alfalfa fields where irrigation makes vegetation more abundant. The western area also holds the best buck-to-doe ratios. Throughout the rest of the hunt area, pronghorn scatter at low densities across the sagebrush flats and draws, and many areas hold few animals at all.

What do the archery and rifle seasons on hunt area 96 allow a hunter to take?

Both seasons are hunts for any pronghorn — does, fawns, and bucks are all legal. The archery window runs August 15 through September 9, and the rifle season runs September 10 through October 31.

How does the terrain affect hunting in hunt area 96?

Hunt area 96 is almost entirely rolling sagebrush with slopes under 9 degrees, so walking and glassing are generally straightforward. The main physical challenge is the expanse of country a hunter must cover — pronghorn distribute sparsely across the flats, and many areas hold nothing. The clay-heavy soil becomes difficult when wet, which can limit vehicle travel during and after precipitation.

Wyoming Hunt Area 96 (West Farson) pronghorn hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

47%

Elevation

6,100–7,900 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 96 is sagebrush country on the high desert floor of southwestern Wyoming, rolling gently across 1,287 square miles between 6,100 and 7,900 feet. The ground is overwhelmingly mild — nearly all of it slopes under 9 degrees — and sagebrush covers 88% of the terrain, broken by scattered draws and low hills that follow the contours. The Green River cuts through the area with cottonwood and willow in its riparian corridor, but pronghorn use open sage far more than they use streamside ground. Roads and two-track crossings are common, though many turn difficult when wet from the clay-heavy soil. Foot travel across the flats is straightforward but often unrewarding — pronghorn here distribute thinly across enormous country, and large portions of the hunt area hold few or no animals.

Access is dependably available across most of the area, with BLM, State Trust Land, and other public ground making up about 609 square miles that a hunter can generally count on. The southern portions break into a checkerboard of alternating private and public sections, but public holdings remain accessible there. Sweetwater County Walk-In Area 3 provides additional opportunity on private ground during its open period. Roads and trailheads exist throughout, though seasonal mud can limit travel and private inholdings still constrain where a hunter can go. The best concentrations of pronghorn cluster west of Farson and Eden near agricultural fields, where alfalfa and irrigation create islands of higher density and buck-to-doe ratios shift more in favor of males. Away from those areas, pronghorn scatter widely and unpredictably, requiring a hunter to cover substantial ground to find them.

Seasons on hunt area 96 run from mid-August through October in a single combined hunt. Archery and rifle seasons overlap but do not coincide — the first window is archery only, and the second allows rifles. Pronghorn here follow a predictable rut calendar: the archery season spans the pre-rut transition into the primary rut, when bucks begin claiming territory and moving actively. The rifle season opens as the primary rut peaks and carries through the late-rut recovery into early fall grouping, capturing the tail of breeding activity before animals shift toward winter patterns. Weather cooling across the period — from warm August highs near 83 degrees to October highs near 58 degrees — makes the hunt physically progressively harder, while October can bring light snow accumulation late in the season.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 96 (West Farson) 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

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)

Hunting for any antelope on hunt area 96 spans two distinct windows from August 15 through October 31, archery-only for the first stretch and then rifle-legal for the remainder. The archery window (August 15 – September 9) opens as bucks transition into territory-claiming and the primary rut begins, making them increasingly active and aggressive as the season progresses; August stays warm with highs near 83 degrees, but temperatures drop notably into September, where highs average 73 degrees and conditions remain largely dry. The rifle season (September 10 – October 31) carries through the peak of the rut into its late phases and the early fall transition, when bucks remain engaged in breeding but begin showing fatigue, and the open country makes glassing and spotting relatively straightforward; September opens mild and dry, but October cools substantially with highs near 58 degrees and introduces light monthly snowfall of about 0.6 inches, gradually raising the physical demand. Pronghorn concentrate most reliably in the Farson-Eden agricultural area and its surroundings, where irrigated alfalfa fields draw animals and buck ratios run higher than elsewhere in the hunt area; outside that zone, the hunt requires covering a large sagebrush expanse at low pronghorn densities, and many sections of open public ground hold few or no animals. Roads cross the hunt area frequently, but clay soils become impassable when wet, which can shut down vehicle access during wet weather or immediately after precipitation.

Land and access

BLM46%

Generally open to public hunting

private land37%

Private

unclassified ownership15%

Ownership unclassified

State Trust Land2%

Generally open to public hunting

About 47% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 609 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 65% 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 1 enrolled walk-in area. 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

Winter Range85%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range64%

the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it

Yearlong Range21%

the only layer that means year-round use

Summer Range15%

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

Sagebrush88%

Other cover8%

Grass and meadow5%

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	31°F	6°F	4.1 in
February	34°F	9°F	3.4 in
March	45°F	19°F	1.9 in
April	54°F	26°F	0.8 in
May	65°F	35°F	0 in
June	76°F	43°F	0 in
July	85°F	49°F	0 in
August	83°F	48°F	0 in
September	73°F	38°F	0.1 in
October	58°F	28°F	0.6 in
November	42°F	17°F	2.5 in
December	31°F	7°F	4.1 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter obtain a licence for hunt area 96 as a resident without preference points?: Yes. Wyoming residents draw hunt area 96 through a random draw with no preference points involved. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a draw where three quarters of licences go to those with preference points, ranked highest first, and a quarter go to a random draw within the nonresident pool. Every applicant to hunt this area must enter the draw specific to hunt area 96; there is no region licence or general pronghorn licence to fall back on if the draw is unsuccessful.
How much of hunt area 96 is ground a hunter can actually access?: About 609 square miles, or roughly 47% of the hunt area, is dependably open public ground on BLM, State Trust Land, and similar holdings where hunters can count on access. The southern portions include a checkerboard pattern of private and public land, but public sections remain generally accessible. Additional ground may open on enrolled private land through Sweetwater County Walk-In Area 3 during its open season, though enrollment is renegotiated annually.
Where in hunt area 96 are pronghorn most likely to be found?: The highest densities cluster west of Farson and Eden in and around agricultural areas, especially the alfalfa fields where irrigation makes vegetation more abundant. The western area also holds the best buck-to-doe ratios. Throughout the rest of the hunt area, pronghorn scatter at low densities across the sagebrush flats and draws, and many areas hold few animals at all.
What do the archery and rifle seasons on hunt area 96 allow a hunter to take?: Both seasons are hunts for any pronghorn — does, fawns, and bucks are all legal. The archery window runs August 15 through September 9, and the rifle season runs September 10 through October 31.
How does the terrain affect hunting in hunt area 96?: Hunt area 96 is almost entirely rolling sagebrush with slopes under 9 degrees, so walking and glassing are generally straightforward. The main physical challenge is the expanse of country a hunter must cover — pronghorn distribute sparsely across the flats, and many areas hold nothing. The clay-heavy soil becomes difficult when wet, which can limit vehicle travel during and after precipitation.

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