Unit A79 (Big Horn)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Pronghorn
Antelope Hunt Area 79, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Big Horn, covers about 1,250 square miles in Big Horn and Washakie counties. It belongs to WGFD's Copper Mountain antelope herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put pronghorn success here at 81.5%, with 146 hunters taking 119 pronghorn at about 6.4 days of hunting per animal. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Pronghorn Hunting in Unit A79
Antelope Hunt Area 79, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Big Horn, covers about 1,250 square miles in Big Horn and Washakie counties. It belongs to WGFD's Copper Mountain antelope herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put pronghorn success here at 81.5%, with 146 hunters taking 119 pronghorn at about 6.4 days of hunting per animal. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Pronghorn in Antelope Hunt Area 79
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names antelope hunt area 79 "Big Horn". It runs to about 1,250 square miles, in Big Horn (93%) and Washakie (7%) counties. WGFD reports these pronghorn as the Copper Mountain herd unit, which also takes in antelope hunt areas 76, 114 and 115. What WGFD publishes for the area is its boundary and its harvest; where the pronghorn stand inside it is our reading of the ground, and the two are kept apart below.
The line: Bighorn River and Nowood River
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 5 walks the line around antelope hunt area 79 corner by corner. It starts on the Bighorn River where it crosses the Wyoming-Montana state line. On the way round it follows U.S. Highway 16, and Bighorn River and Nowood River. That is a legal description, not a habitat map, and it is the text a warden reads you against. The full text is in Section 5 of that chapter, with this year's season dates and license limitations in Section 2.
Not the same ground as the other hunt area 79s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 79 also belongs to its elk and deer hunt areas 79. None of them shares a county with this one. A license is good only in the hunt area of its own species, so this page is about the antelope area, and the cards at the foot of the page link the others.
Ground WGFD opens: Medicine Lodge and Renner
WGFD administers 3 Wildlife Habitat Management Areas inside or across the line, including Medicine Lodge (12,721 acres), Renner (15,509 acres) and Yellowtail (19,203 acres). Its Access Yes program enrolls a Hunter Management Area here that list antelope among their species — Yellowtail (19,487 acres). WGFD also lists 7 Walk-In Areas covering about 4,857 acres open for antelope, among them Big Horn 64, Big Horn 38 and Big Horn 35. WGFD's 2026 regulations open Access Yes land only for the species and dates listed for each area, with each area's own rules on WGFD's site and no motorized travel unless WGFD says otherwise.
High ground inside the line: Crooked Creek Hill, Lake Ridge and Bald Ridge
Named high points inside antelope hunt area 79 include Crooked Creek Hill at 9,620 feet, Lake Ridge at 8,835 feet, Bald Ridge at 8,782 feet, Mexican Hill at 8,233 feet and Lowmiller Bench at 7,950 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Pronghorn stay on the open rolling ground and leave the timber alone.
Holding ground: Markham Draw, Dorn Draw and Vopats Canyon
Below them sit Markham Draw at 6,391 feet, Dorn Draw at 6,391 feet, Vopats Canyon at 6,082 feet, Sand Springs Draw at 5,642 feet and Myers Spring Draw at 5,636 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past.
Water: Willow Springs, Sheep Springs and Harmon Springs
Named water inside the line includes Willow Springs, Sheep Springs, Harmon Springs, Roundup Spring, Little Spring and School Section Spring. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit A79 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Lake Ridge (8,835 ft), Mexican Hill (8,233 ft), Medicine Lodge Big Game Winter Range (7,730 ft), Horse Mountain (7,270 ft)
Holding ground: North Fork Bear Gulch (7,388 ft), Corral Gulch (7,335 ft), Allen Draw (6,532 ft), Renner WHMA, Medicine Lodge WHMA
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Pronghorn in Antelope Hunt Area 79
Pronghorn Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 81.5% pronghorn success in antelope hunt area 79: 119 animals taken by 146 active hunters over 756 days of hunting, or 6.4 days per animal. By residency, residents 76.6% (85 taken by 111) and nonresidents 97.1% (34 taken by 35).
These are WGFD's own estimates from its hunter survey, for this hunt area and season only — not a statewide average. One season isn't a trend, so check the current report before you read one into it.
Pronghorn Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — General Type 0 either sex (resident) | 20 | 77 | 26.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 0 either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 9 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (resident) | 12 | 125 | 9.6% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 34 | 0.0% | — |
| Archery — Type 9 either sex (resident) | 37 | 150 | 24.7% | — |
| Archery — Type 9 either sex (nonresident) | 1 | 27 | 3.7% | — |
Data from 2026 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number. This agency publishes no point thresholds, so the Pts column stays blank and these are pool odds, not what a point total draws.
Open in Draw Odds EngineWyoming Game and Fish's 2026 demand report for pronghorn in antelope hunt area 79, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 9, residents: 150 first-choice applicants for 37 licenses, 24.7% drawn
- Type 1 (any antelope), residents: 125 first-choice applicants for 12 licenses, 9.6% drawn
- Type 0 (any antelope), residents: 77 first-choice applicants for 20 licenses, 26% drawn
- Type 1 (any antelope), nonresidents: 34 first-choice applicants for 0 licenses, 0% drawn
- Type 9, nonresidents: 27 first-choice applicants for 1 license, 3.7% drawn
Wyoming residents draw pronghorn licenses without preference points; nonresidents draw part of their quota on points, highest balance first (Chapter 44, Section 19), and the nonresident figures above are from WGFD's random draw. WGFD publishes no preference-point level at which a hunt draws, so none is given here. There are 1 more type-and-residency rows for this area in 2026. Every figure was checked against WGFD's demand-report PDFs on 2026-08-10.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Wyoming antelope hunt area 79?
What is the pronghorn success rate in antelope hunt area 79?
Is antelope hunt area 79 the same ground as elk hunt area 79?
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Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-25.
- Chapter 5 — Antelope Hunting Seasons (2026) — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Name and legal boundary of antelope hunt area 79, Season dates, license types and limitations by hunt area · accessed 2026-10-25
- Antelope 2025 Harvest Report — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Hunters, harvest, percent success and days per animal for pronghorn in antelope hunt area 79, The same by license type and residency · accessed 2026-10-25
- WGFD draw results and odds — demand reports 2021-2026 — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: First-choice applicants, licenses and percent drawn, by license type, residency and year · accessed 2026-08-10
- Chapter 44 — Regulation for Issuance of Licenses, Permits, Stamps, Tags, Preference Points and Competitive Raffle Chances — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Which licenses are drawn on preference points (Section 19), When preference points are deleted · accessed 2026-10-25
- 2026 Antelope, Deer and Elk Hunting Regulations — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Access Yes Walk-In and Hunter Management Area rules · accessed 2026-10-25
- WGFD ArcGIS feature services — hunt areas by species, CWD sampling areas, WHMAs, Public Access Areas, Hunter Management Areas, Walk-In Hunting Areas — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Mapped outline of the hunt area, Herd unit and square miles, WHMAs, Public Access Areas, Hunter Management Areas and Walk-In Areas inside the area · accessed 2026-10-25
- TIGERweb State_County — Wyoming county boundaries (used only to measure which counties a hunt area lies in) — U.S. Census Bureau · supports: Which counties the hunt area lies in, and in what share · accessed 2026-10-25