Bighorn Sheep · Area 17 · Type 6
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Black outline = this hunt area; thin gray = neighbouring hunt areas.
Hunt-area boundaries: WGFD BighornSheepHuntAreas GIS layer. Basemap © OpenFreeMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. GIS overview only; the WGFD regulation text governs.
Season dates (2026)
| Special archery dates | Regular season dates | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 15 – Aug. 31 | Oct. 1 – Nov. 15 | Ewe or lamb |
Commission quota: 35 (total licenses for this hunt set in regulation; WGFD’s draw reports split licenses across resident / nonresident / special pools, so per-pool draw numbers on this site will not add up to this total in a simple way). Source: WGFD Commission Regulation Ch. 9, Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat Hunting Seasons (2026), PDF p. 2. Last checked 2026-11-03.
Draw odds (2026, first choice)
- Nonresident regular · ewe/lamb: 4 licenses for 179 first-choice applicants — roughly 2% estimate.
- Resident regular · ewe/lamb: 31 licenses for 816 first-choice applicants — roughly 4% estimate.
Applicants & licenses (2026)
| Pool | Licenses | 1st choice | 2nd | 3rd | Ratio estimate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nonresident · regular · all · Ewe/lamb | 4 | 179 | 0 | 0 | 2.2% | WGFD PDF |
| resident · regular · all · Ewe/lamb | 31 | 816 | 0 | 0 | 3.8% | WGFD PDF |
Draw odds PDFs: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/33780/download?inline · https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/33781/download?inline
Trend & 2027 outlook
Estimate based on past WGFD draw results, not a WGFD prediction. Straight-line fit through every year with data (needs 3+ years). 2027 quotas are not set yet; quota changes and new regulations can change everything.
Nonresident · regular · ewe/lamb
- → Odds: 2% (2023) → 1% (2024) → 2% (2025) → 2% (2026), 4 yrs · 2027: likely about 2%
- 1st-choice applicants: 47 (2023) → 140 (2024) → 102 (2025) → 179 (2026); licenses: 1 (2023) → 2 (2024) → 2 (2025) → 4 (2026)
- ⚠ Quota changed 2 → 4 from 2025 to 2026 — a quota change can break the trend.
Resident · regular · ewe/lamb
- → Odds: 3% (2023) → 3% (2024) → 4% (2025) → 4% (2026), 4 yrs · 2027: likely about 4%
- 1st-choice applicants: 352 (2023) → 618 (2024) → 719 (2025) → 816 (2026); licenses: 11 (2023) → 18 (2024) → 28 (2025) → 31 (2026)
- ⚠ Quota changed 28 → 31 from 2025 to 2026 — a quota change can break the trend.