Wyoming Unit 109 Pronghorn Antelope Hunting Guide

Wyoming Unit 109 is a limited-quota pronghorn antelope unit that draws attention from hunters chasing the state's reputation for strong buck numbers and wide-open terrain. Every hunt in this unit runs through the draw — there is no general season here, which means every hunter afield, resident or nonresident, has gone through Wyoming's application process to secure a tag. For hunters researching Wyoming Unit 109 pronghorn antelope hunting opportunities, understanding the harvest trends, tag structure, and access realities before applying is essential to deciding whether this unit deserves a spot on the application list.

Spanning 313,953 acres with elevation ranging from 3,628 to 8,591 feet, Unit 109 offers a broad elevation gradient that's unusual for a pronghorn unit — most antelope country tends to sit in the lower, flatter bands of that range, with the higher elevations likely representing ridgelines or foothill transitions rather than core habitat. With only 12% public land, this unit is overwhelmingly private ground, a fact that shapes nearly every practical decision a hunter will make here.

HuntPilot Analysis: Is Unit 109 Worth Applying For?

The honest answer is that Unit 109 is a mixed bag, and the data pulled together by HuntPilot points to a unit in decline on the harvest side, even as it maintains a stable tag structure for one of its two hunt types.

Look at the four-year harvest trend first. In 2022, 360 hunters put in the effort and 234 came home with an animal — a 65% success rate. That number slid to 59% in 2023 (366 hunters, 215 harvested), then dropped more sharply to 47% in 2024 (287 hunters, 135 harvested), and settled at 45% in 2025 (319 hunters, 145 harvested). That's a 20-point swing over four seasons, and it's not noise — it's a consistent downward trend across three consecutive years. Whatever is driving it, whether herd dynamics, access pressure, or weather patterns affecting animal distribution, hunters need to walk into this unit with tempered expectations compared to what Unit 109 offered just a few years ago.

The tag quota picture adds another layer. Type 1 tags were cut from 250 in 2025 down to 200 for 2026 — a 20% reduction. That's a meaningful signal from Wyoming Game and Fish that this unit's population or hunter-density targets needed correcting. Type 6 tags, by contrast, have held steady at 150 across 2024, 2025, and 2026, suggesting the agency sees a different story on that side of the ledger. Hunters should pay close attention to which hunt type they're applying for, since the trajectory of tag numbers differs substantially between the two.

On trophy potential, the counties overlapping Unit 109 carry a moderate history of trophy-class pronghorn production. That puts this unit in the middle of the pack — not a unit known for producing a steady stream of record-book bucks, but not devoid of trophy history either. Given that record-book entries are logged at the county level and shared with neighboring units in the same county footprint, hunters shouldn't assume a buck taken in Unit 109 specifically accounts for every entry attributed to the surrounding area — but the moderate designation still tells a hunter that genuinely mature bucks have come out of this general area with some regularity, just not at the volume seen in the state's premier trophy units.

The buck:doe ratio data is where hunters need to apply some skepticism. The average across four survey years (2021-2024) comes in at 32:100, which is a modest ratio and, notably, does NOT trip the small-sample-size warning that inflated ratios often do. A 32:100 average buck:doe ratio is on the lower end for pronghorn herds and suggests a population that may be running buck-light relative to healthier benchmark units elsewhere in the state. Combined with the declining harvest success trend, this ratio reinforces a picture of a herd under some pressure rather than one trending toward abundance.

Putting it together: Unit 109 is not a unit to apply for based on peak trophy potential or booming herd health. It may still be worth a look for hunters holding points who want antelope hunting in a true limited-quota unit with no general-season competition, but the declining harvest trend and modest buck:doe ratio mean this should not be a top-tier pick for hunters chasing their best shot at a mature buck. Hunters serious about applying should weigh Unit 109 against other options with more favorable recent trends before committing points to it.

Herd Health & Population Trends

The wildlife survey data for Unit 109 spans four survey years from 2021 through 2024, with an average buck:doe ratio of 32:100. This is a straightforward number without the red flags of an inflated single-year outlier, which makes it a more trustworthy indicator of actual herd composition — but it's not an encouraging one. A ratio in the low 30s per 100 does suggests fewer mature bucks relative to the doe population than hunters would find in a unit with a genuinely robust buck segment.

This ratio lines up with the harvest trend described above. A declining success rate over three straight years (65% in 2022, down to 45% in 2025) paired with a modest buck:doe ratio paints a consistent, if not particularly encouraging, picture of the pronghorn herd in and around Unit 109. Hunters should treat this as a unit where the population may be stabilizing at a lower density of mature bucks rather than one poised for a rebound, though only continued survey data in future years will confirm the trajectory.

Harvest Success Rates

Success rates in Unit 109 have moved in a clear direction over the past four years of available data:

• 2022: 360 hunters, 234 harvested — 65% success
• 2023: 366 hunters, 215 harvested — 59% success
• 2024: 287 hunters, 135 harvested — 47% success
• 2025: 319 hunters, 145 harvested — 45% success

This is a meaningful decline — nearly 20 percentage points from the 2022 high to the 2025 figure. Hunter numbers have fluctuated as well, dropping from 366 in 2023 to 287 in 2024 before climbing back to 319 in 2025, which suggests the unit may be seeing some self-correction in applicant interest as word of lower success rates circulates. Hunters applying for Unit 109 today should plan around a success rate in the mid-40% range based on the two most recent years, not the 60%+ rates the unit produced just a few seasons ago.

Trophy Quality

Trophy data for Unit 109 points to moderate trophy potential. The counties overlapping this unit have produced trophy-class pronghorn over time, but the record isn't deep enough to place Unit 109 among the state's elite trophy units. Hunters should remember that record-book entries are credited to the county rather than the specific hunt unit, meaning any trophy bucks attributed to this area may have actually been taken in a neighboring unit sharing the same county boundaries. For hunters whose primary goal is a shot at an exceptional, record-caliber buck, Unit 109's moderate trophy history suggests it's a reasonable option but not a unit to prioritize purely for trophy potential over others with stronger documented production.

Access & Terrain

Access is the single biggest practical challenge in Unit 109. With only 12% of the unit's 313,953 acres classified as public land, the overwhelming majority of this unit sits in private ownership. That reality should reshape how hunters plan a hunt here: DIY access options are genuinely limited, and hunters without connections to private ground or a plan for securing walk-in access should expect a much harder hunt than the unit's overall acreage might suggest. This is not a unit where hunters can simply study a map and expect wide-open public access the way many of Wyoming's antelope units offer.

The elevation range of 3,628 to 8,591 feet is broad for a pronghorn unit, hinting at varied terrain — likely encompassing lower sagebrush flats and basins typical of antelope habitat along with higher foothill or ridge terrain at the unit's upper elevations. There is no wilderness acreage in Unit 109, so wilderness-specific access restrictions and Wyoming's nonresident guide requirement for wilderness areas simply don't apply here — that's one less complication for nonresident hunters to navigate.

Given the low public land percentage, hunters serious about applying should prioritize researching exactly where the public parcels sit relative to access roads and neighboring private ground before investing points in this unit. HuntPilot's public land mapping tools can help hunters visualize exactly how fragmented or consolidated that 12% public footprint is before committing to an application.

How to Apply

Every hunt in Unit 109 runs through Wyoming's draw system — there is no general-season option here, so residents and nonresidents alike must apply and be drawn to hunt pronghorn in this unit. Wyoming's draw structure includes both a preference-point pool, where the highest point holders draw first, and a separate points-blind random pool that runs alongside it. In that random pool, points do not improve a hunter's odds — every applicant stands on equal footing regardless of accumulated points.

Wyoming residents build preference points for pronghorn over years of unsuccessful applications, and those points carry weight specifically in the preference pool. Nonresidents also accumulate points but should understand that a successful draw consumes those accumulated points, meaning the point count resets and the rebuilding process starts over for a future application.

Hunters should also note the two distinct hunt types available in Unit 109: Type 1 tags (quota recently cut from 250 to 200 for 2026) and Type 6 tags (holding steady at 150). These are separate draw pools with separate quotas, and hunters should check which hunt type corresponds to buck versus doe/fawn opportunity before applying, since that distinction materially affects what a hunter can expect to harvest.

Application dates, fees, and current draw odds change every cycle and are not included here. For the most current deadlines, fees, and draw odds for Unit 109, check HuntPilot's Wyoming state page, or consult the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's published draw reports directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is harvest success like in Wyoming Unit 109? Success rates have declined significantly over the past four years of available data, from 65% in 2022 down to 45% in 2025. The two most recent years (2024 and 2025) both sit in the mid-40% range, which hunters should treat as the more realistic expectation going forward rather than the higher success rates the unit posted in 2022 and 2023.

What is the terrain like in Unit 109? The unit spans a broad elevation range from 3,628 to 8,591 feet across 313,953 total acres, suggesting a mix of lower sagebrush basin terrain typical of pronghorn habitat along with higher foothill country at the unit's upper elevations. There is no wilderness acreage in this unit.

How big are the pronghorn in Unit 109? Trophy data indicates moderate trophy potential for the counties overlapping this unit. Some trophy-class bucks have come from the broader area historically, but the production isn't deep enough to rank Unit 109 among Wyoming's top trophy pronghorn units. Hunters should view this as a unit with reasonable but not exceptional trophy upside.

Is Unit 109 worth applying for? Based on the available data, Unit 109 is a modest pick rather than a priority unit. The declining harvest success trend over three consecutive years, a modest buck:doe ratio of 32:100, and only 12% public land access all argue for caution. Hunters holding points may still consider it for guaranteed limited-quota opportunity, but those prioritizing herd health or easier access should compare it against other units before committing an application.

Is Unit 109 a good unit for DIY public-land hunters? Not particularly. With just 12% of the unit classified as public land, the majority of Unit 109 is privately held. DIY hunters without arranged access to private ground will face real constraints, and should carefully map the available public parcels using tools like HuntPilot's land-ownership overlays before applying, rather than assuming ample walk-in opportunity.