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Nevada hunting units: tags, harvest and seasons by unit group

The Nevada Department of Wildlife divides the state into 124 hunt units and draws big game tags by unit group. In 2025, NDOW issued 11,033 antlered mule deer tags (3,991 successful hunters), 1,353 antlered elk tags (716 successful) and 3,231 horns-longer-than-ears antelope tags (2,161 successful), by NDOW's 2025 hunt statistics. The 2026 main draw closed May 13, 2026.

Data updated October 2026. Tags and harvest: NDOW hunt statistics 2022 to 2025. Seasons: NDOW's 2026-2027 regulation and its January 2026 amendment. Draw dates: NDOW CR 26-01. Land: BLM.

Map of Nevada's hunt units in NDOW's three regions: Western unshaded, Eastern light, Southern dark, closed areas gray
Western Region unshaded, Eastern light, Southern dark; gray areas are closed to hunting. Larger units are numbered.

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When is Nevada's big game draw?

Every Nevada big game tag in the main draw is applied for online at ndowlicensing.com. For 2026, NDOW set these dates in its regulation CR 26-01 (all deadlines at 11 p.m. Pacific time):

What2026 date
Restricted nonresident guided mule deer draw, applications dueMonday, March 9, 2026
Restricted nonresident guided mule deer draw, results byFriday, March 20, 2026
Big game main draw, applications dueWednesday, May 13, 2026
Big game main draw, results byFriday, May 29, 2026
Big game second draw, applications dueMonday, June 16, 2026
Big game second draw, results byFriday, June 26, 2026

Source: NDOW CR 26-01 Amendment #1, 2026 application deadlines and draw result dates. NDOW has not published the 2027 big game draw dates yet; this page will show them when it does.

The order NDOW fills tags in the main draw

  1. Silver State tags
  2. Partners in Wildlife tags
  3. Junior mule deer antlered, or junior antlered or antlerless, where offered
  4. At the same time, in no set order: Rocky Mountain, California and Nelson (desert) bighorn rams, antlered elk, antelope with horns longer than the ears, antlered mule deer, mountain goat, bear and antlered moose
  5. At the same time: antlered elk depredation hunts and management bighorn rams
  6. At the same time: California and Nelson bighorn ewes, antlerless elk, antelope with horns shorter than the ears (adult and junior) and antlerless mule deer
  7. Spike elk
  8. Antlerless elk depredation hunts

Source: CR 26-01 Amendment #1, "Big Game Main Draw Order".

Nevada's big game by species

Species, main huntUnit groups with a pageQuota, 2025Tags issuedHunters afieldSuccessful hunters
Mule deer (Mule Deer Antlered)4211,05011,0339,5683,991
Elk (Elk Antlered)161,3611,3531,282716
Pronghorn antelope (Antelope Horns Longer Than Ears)333,2473,2312,9722,161
Desert bighorn sheep (Desert Bighorn Sheep Any Ram)38220216211187
California bighorn sheep (California Bighorn Sheep Any Ram)840403937
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Any Ram)23333
Mountain goat (Mountain Goat Either Sex)318181713
Moose (Moose Antlered)12222
Black bear (Black Bear Either Sex)142423512

Source: NDOW Big Game Hunt Statistics (2022 to 2025; 2025 from NDOW's 2025 hunt data workbook). Statewide totals are NDOW's 2025 hunt rows for each species' main hunt added together, every residency and weapon.

Mule deer: 42 unit groups

Elk: 16 unit groups

Pronghorn antelope: 33 unit groups

Desert bighorn sheep: 38 unit groups

California bighorn sheep: 8 unit groups

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep: 2 unit groups

Mountain goat: 3 unit groups

Moose: 1 unit group

Black bear: 1 unit group

When are Nevada's 2026 big game seasons?

Nevada sets its seasons two years at a time. The 2026-2027 dates below are the ones NDOW's regulation gives most often for each hunt; many unit groups have their own early, mid or late seasons, which their pages list.

Hunt, 2026-2027Most common dates
Mule deer, archery (hunts 1341, 1342)August 10 to September 9 in 40 unit groups
Mule deer, muzzleloader (hunts 1371, 1372)September 10 to October 4 in 33 unit groups
Mule deer, any legal weapon (hunts 1331, 1332)October 5 to November 5 in 14 unit groups; others split October 5 to 20 and October 21 to November 5
Antelope horns longer than ears, any legal weapon (hunts 2151, 2251)August 22 to September 7 in 31 unit groups
Antelope, archery (hunt 2161)August 1 to 21 in 20 unit groups, August 1 to 14 in 12
Elk antlered, any legal weapon (hunts 4151, 4251)November 6 to 20 in 11 unit groups, November 21 to December 4 in 7
Elk antlered, archery (hunts 4161, 4261)August 25 to September 16 in 11 unit groups
Desert bighorn ram, any legal weapon (hunt 3151)November 20 to January 1 in 25 unit groups
California bighorn ram (hunt 8151)September 1 to October 31 in 8 unit groups
Mountain goat (hunt 7151)September 1 to October 31
Moose, antlered (hunt 10151)September 1 to November 30

Source: NDOW Commission Regulation 25-07, 2026-2027 big game seasons, with Amendment #2 (January 2026). Each unit group's page lists its own dates.

NDOW's three regions

RegionCountiesHunt unitsPublic land
WesternCarson City, Churchill, Douglas, Humboldt, Lyon, Mineral, Pershing, Storey, Washoe3473.4%
EasternElko, Eureka, Lander, White Pine4780.1%
SouthernClark, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Nye4377.6%

How much of Nevada is public land?

Inside NDOW's hunt unit map, 77.1% of the ground is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules: BLM 66.1%, national forest 8.1%, national wildlife refuge 2.1%, Bureau of Reclamation 0.6% and state land 0.2%. Another 6.8% is military and Energy Department land, closed to the public except where the agency allows a hunt.

BLM land is open to hunting unless it is posted or closed for a reason such as a military range. Much of northern Nevada along the old railroad grant is a checkerboard of public and private sections; a public section may touch no public road.

National wildlife refuges set their own rules: Sheldon and the Desert National Wildlife Range have hunts of their own, and other refuges limit or close hunting. Great Basin National Park and Death Valley are closed to hunting, as are the Nellis range and the Nevada National Security Site.

Measured by FilledTag from BLM Surface Management Agency map (national, limited scale).

Wildlife management areas with their own page

Alkali Lake WMA, Bruneau WMA, Carson Lake Pasture WMA, Fernley WMA, Franklin Lake WMA, Humboldt WMA, Key Pittman WMA, Mason Valley WMA, Overton WMA, Scripps WMA, Steptoe Valley WMA, W.E. Kirch WMA.

Questions hunters ask

How do Nevada hunting units work?

NDOW numbers its hunt units 011 to 291 and issues big game tags by unit group: one tag is good in every unit of its group, for the season and weapon printed on it. Groups differ by species, so a unit can sit in one group for mule deer and another for elk or antelope. Every page here follows NDOW's own groups.

When is the Nevada big game draw in 2026?

Applications for the 2026 main draw were due by 11 p.m. Pacific time on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, with results by May 29. The second draw closed June 16, with results by June 26 (NDOW CR 26-01).

What is NDOW's draw rate?

NDOW's hunt statistics give a draw rate for each hunt: the quota divided by the demand, where demand counts tags awarded plus unsuccessful first-choice applicants. NDOW calls it a relative measure that does not account for bonus points. The unit group pages show it exactly as NDOW publishes it.

How many mule deer tags does Nevada issue?

NDOW issued 11,033 antlered mule deer tags in 2025 against a quota of 11,050, across every unit group, residency and weapon. 9,568 hunters went afield and 3,991 were successful, by NDOW's 2025 hunt statistics. Each group's page shows its own hunts.

Can nonresidents hunt elk in Nevada?

Yes, in the unit groups where NDOW offers nonresident antlered elk tags (hunt 4251 for any legal weapon). Several groups are resident only; each elk page shows which residencies NDOW issued tags to in 2025.

Get a Nevada hunt plan when they open

Hunt plans for Nevada are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.

Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Nevada included.

Where these numbers come from

FilledTag is not part of the Nevada Department of Wildlife. NDOW's hunting pages are the final word on every rule.

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