Wyoming Elk Pronghorn

Unit 025

Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk, Pronghorn

Wyoming Hunt Area 025 elk is managed by Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) under a preference-point draw. Non-resident hunters apply through the regular draw, while residents enter the resident draw with separate quotas. Seasons, quotas, and license types are set annually by the WGFD Commission.

View Draw Odds Wyoming Hunting Guide

Elk Hunting in Unit 025

Where to Find Elk in Area 025

Elk in Hunt Area 025 follow typical Wyoming seasonal patterns tied to elevation, forage, and cover. Focus on public-land benches, sage-grass transitions, and timbered drainages early in the season, then shift to wintering range as snow deepens and animals concentrate on lower ground.

Confirm current hunt-area boundaries, access easements, and land ownership using the WGFD Hunt Planner and the agency's access-map layers before scouting trips.

How to Hunt Elk in Area 025

Glassing from high vantage points at dawn and dusk is the most efficient tactic. Use quality optics to locate animals on shaded slopes or feeding openings before planning a stalk, and still-hunt brushy draws during mid-day.

Verify public-land boundaries carefully — Wyoming's checkerboard private/public pattern is common, and corner-crossing remains legally contested. Use onX or the WGFD access map to confirm every parcel before crossing.

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Elk Success Rates

Rifle44%

Historical success rates and hunter numbers for Area 025 elk are published annually in the WGFD Harvest Reports. Refer to the draw odds chart below for recent tag-allocation trends.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts Req
Rifle— General	63	13	100.0%	0
Rifle— General	138	945	14.6%	0

Data from 2025 draw results. Resident odds shown.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Wyoming uses a preference-point draw with a 75/25 split for non-residents — 75% of tags go to highest-point applicants, and 25% are allocated via a weighted bonus-point random draw. Residents follow a similar preference structure. Build points steadily and monitor the WGFD draw statistics each summer.

Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 025

Pronghorn Area 25 sits in the heart of the Red Desert north of Wamsutter and Rawlins, some of the most iconic sage-steppe country in North America. The area supports high pronghorn densities on a mix of BLM checkerboard, state sections, and Jonah/Pinedale-style gas-field access. Over three seasons we've seen 1,486 applicants drawing 1,293 tags — close to a guaranteed hunt. Bucks run the standard Wyoming 13-15 inch range with regular 16-inch bruisers in the checkerboard country, and the wide-open visibility makes this a premier first-timer and decoy hunt.

Where to Find Pronghorn in Area 25

Area 25 pronghorn are scattered across the classic Red Desert sage-steppe between Wamsutter, Bairoil, and the Great Divide Basin rim.

Sage Flats and Playas

Glass the wide sage flats north of I-80 at first light. Pronghorn favor the edges of alkali playas and use them as dusting sites. Bucks hold territories on slight rises where visibility is longest.

Water Concentrations

The Red Desert is arid — stock reservoirs, solar wells, and drainage ponds pull animals from a long distance in warm weather. Map every water source inside your access area before the opener.

How to Hunt Pronghorn in Area 25

This is long-glass, long-drive hunting. We run it out of a truck with two hunters swapping the optics while covering 40-60 miles a day.

Glass-First, Drive-Second

Stop at rims and ridgelines every mile or two, spend 10 minutes on the binos, and move on if nothing stands up. High pronghorn densities mean good bucks reveal themselves to patient glassers — chasing every speck will burn your legs out.

Checkerboard Navigation

The Red Desert is a BLM-state-private checkerboard. Without onX or a similar GPS app you will unintentionally cross private and lose the hunt. Plan stalks that stay on legally-accessible sections; many great-looking herds live on private with no corner-crossing guarantee.

Decoys in the Early Rut

During the first week of rifle season, a Montana Decoy or silhouette will pull aggressive bucks in from a quarter-mile. Pair it with a buck snort-wheeze call and be ready for a fast shot.

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Pronghorn Success Rates

Rifle success in Area 25 runs 80-90% — among the highest pronghorn success rates in Wyoming thanks to dense herds and unlimited visibility. Archery success from ground blinds near water averages 40-55%. With 1,293 tags and 1,486 applicants over three years, hunter density is real on the opener but thins dramatically by day three.

Pronghorn Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts Req
Rifle— General	436	253	100.0%	0

Data from 2025 draw results. Resident odds shown.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Wyoming uses a 75% preference / 25% random split. Area 25 Type 1 (any-weapon buck) has drawn with 0-1 preference points in the Regular pool and near-zero in the Special pool for non-residents over the last three cycles. Doe/fawn Type 6 tags draw every year and frequently appear as leftover. A reliable annual hunt.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply for a Wyoming Area 025 elk tag?

Apply through the WGFD online license portal during the non-resident or resident application window. Wyoming uses a preference-point system — applicants with more points have priority in the 75% preference draw, with the remaining 25% allocated by weighted random bonus draw.

What is the best season to hunt Area 025 elk?

Season dates are set annually by the WGFD Commission and vary by license type. Refer to the current year's regulation brochure on the WGFD website for exact opening and closing dates before applying.

Do I need a guide to hunt pronghorn in Area 25?

No. Area 25 has no designated wilderness and does not trigger Wyoming's non-resident wilderness-guide requirement. Any non-resident with a valid tag can hunt unguided.

How do I handle the checkerboard in the Red Desert?

Use onX Hunt or a similar GPS app with parcel overlays. The BLM-private-state checkerboard is unmarked on the ground, and crossing private without permission is a trespass. Focus stalks on fully-public BLM blocks and avoid corner-crossing unless you have written permission.

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Sources & Verification

Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-04-17.

WGFD Hunt Planner — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Hunt area boundaries, Season dates, License types · accessed 2026-04-17
WGFD Regulations — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Commission regulations, Season proclamations, License quotas · accessed 2026-04-17
WGFD Applications & Drawings — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Preference point system, Draw schedule, Application deadlines · accessed 2026-04-17
WGFD Hunt Planner — Pronghorn (Antelope) Hunting — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Area 25 boundary description, Season structure, Type 1 / Type 6 license framework · accessed 2026-04-17
2025 Wyoming Antelope Hunting Regulations — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: 2025 regulation brochure, Season dates and quotas · accessed 2026-04-17
Rawlins BLM Field Office — Red Desert Access — Bureau of Land Management — Rawlins Field Office · supports: BLM landownership in Red Desert, Checkerboard access limits, Travel management plan · accessed 2026-04-17

Unit 025

Elk Hunting in Unit 025

Where to Find Elk in Area 025

How to Hunt Elk in Area 025

Elk Success Rates

Elk Draw Odds

Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 025

Where to Find Pronghorn in Area 25

Sage Flats and Playas

Water Concentrations

How to Hunt Pronghorn in Area 25

Glass-First, Drive-Second

Checkerboard Navigation

Decoys in the Early Rut

Pronghorn Success Rates

Pronghorn Draw Odds

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

Nearest Town

Frequently Asked Questions

Plan Your Hunt with ProHunt Pro+AI

Sources & Verification

Unit 025

Elk Hunting in Unit 025

Where to Find Elk in Area 025

How to Hunt Elk in Area 025

Elk Success Rates

Elk Draw Odds

Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 025

Where to Find Pronghorn in Area 25

Sage Flats and Playas

Water Concentrations

How to Hunt Pronghorn in Area 25

Pronghorn Success Rates

Pronghorn Draw Odds

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Explore Related Units

Frequently Asked Questions

Plan Your Hunt with ProHunt Pro+AI

Sources & Verification