North Dakota deer, elk and pronghorn hunting: units, lottery and land

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department runs deer gun hunting in 38 units, elk in 8 and pronghorn in 18. In the 2026 deer gun lottery it made 39,100 licenses available by unit, and 67,019 residents applied for them as a first choice. NDGF's survey counted 36,353 deer gun hunters taking about 20,877 deer in 2025. The 2026 deer gun season runs November 6 to 22.

Data updated October 2026. Lottery: NDGF 2017 to 2026. Harvest: NDGF 2025. Seasons: NDGF 2026-27. Land: NDGF map layers, 2026.

When are North Dakota's 2026 big game seasons?

Dates from NDGF's 2026-27 season table. The deer gun season is the same in every unit; elk seasons differ by unit, and the antlerless elk seasons in August and September are on private land only. Pronghorn licenses are good with a bow first, then with a gun or bow.

Source: NDGF 2026-27 season dates.

How does North Dakota's deer lottery work?

Deer gun, muzzleloader and pronghorn licenses are drawn in NDGF's first lottery. The 2026 deer gun application closed June 3, 2026, and the pronghorn application closed August 5. Elk, moose and bighorn sheep applications closed March 25, 2026. Elk and pronghorn licenses are for residents only.

An applicant who does not draw a first choice in the first lottery earns a bonus point for the next year, in any unit and for any deer type. NDGF enters an application more times as points build: twice the points plus one for points one to three, and the points cubed plus one from four points on, so four points mean 65 entries and nine points 730. Points are kept as long as the hunter applies at least every other year, and they are lost when the first choice is drawn. NDGF's own note: each drawing is still random, and for licenses such as antlered mule deer many applicants hold the same points.

Before the resident drawing, NDGF takes out gratis licenses for landowners and, for deer, 1% of the licenses for nonresidents, who draw only against other nonresidents. Each unit's page shows how many licenses were left for residents, how many residents asked for that unit first, and how many drew at each bonus point level.

How many deer, elk and moose were taken in 2025?

Deer gun: 36,353 hunters took about 20,877 deer, 57% success, from 42,300 licenses made available. Bow: 22,944 hunters took 6,610 deer (5,590 whitetails, 1,020 mule deer). Muzzleloader: 665 hunters took 215 white-tailed deer. Elk: 929 hunters took 576 elk (62% success). Moose: 281 hunters took 245 moose (87%).

Sources: NDGF, 2025 Deer Season Summarized; NDGF, 2025 Big 3 Harvest Statistics. NDGF publishes the deer harvest statewide, not by unit.

North Dakota's deer units

Every deer gun unit with its 2026 licenses, first-choice resident applicants, public land and PLOTS acres. Northern Coteau: 8 units; Red River: 4 units; Sheyenne-James: 6 units; Southern Coteau: 4 units; Missouri River: 4 units; Slope: 6 units; Badlands: 6 units.

Lottery: NDGF deer lottery statistics. Land measured by FilledTag from NDGF PLOTS Guide map layers (WMAs, PLOTS, trust land, federal land).

North Dakota's elk units

Sources: NDGF elk lottery statistics; NDGF, 2025 Big 3 Harvest Statistics.

North Dakota's pronghorn units

NDGF set 1,310 pronghorn licenses in 18 units for 2026, after flying 15,292 survey miles; it counted 12% more pronghorn than in 2025. Only residents may apply.

Sources: NDGF pronghorn lottery statistics; NDGF, 2026 Pronghorn Season Set.

How much of North Dakota is open to hunting?

By the maps NDGF publishes, 3,108,315 acres of North Dakota, 6.9%, are public land open to hunting under each manager's rules, and PLOTS adds 938,212 acres of private land open to walk-in hunting from 3,859 tracts. The most PLOTS acres: Burleigh County (56,293), Slope County (55,441), Golden Valley County (40,689), Grant County (35,179) and McLean County (34,694).

PLOTS (Private Land Open To Sportsmen) is private land the owner has opened to walk-in hunting through NDGF; NDGF's PLOTS Guide map shows each tract. Nonresident bowhunters may hunt only private land (not PLOTS) during the first nine and a half days of the deer bow season, by NDGF's 2026 season table.

State trust land is open to walk-in hunting unless the Department of Trust Lands lists a tract as closed; some tracts ask that the lessee be told first. National wildlife refuges are open only where each refuge's rules allow, and national park land is closed to hunting.

North Dakota's wildlife management areas

NDGF manages 253 named wildlife management areas covering 224,361 acres. The largest: Lonetree WMA (32,339 acres), Lewis and Clark WMA (12,152 acres), Audubon WMA (10,780 acres), Wakopa WMA (7,173 acres) and Killdeer Mountains WMA (6,995 acres). Every WMA of 1,000 acres or more has a page: Adam and Teresa Raab, Apple Creek Bottoms, Audubon, Cavalier County, Charles V. Pulver, Chase Lake, Cottonwood Creek, Dawson, Deepwater Creek, Douglas Creek, Erie Dam (Brewer Lake), Graner Bottoms, Harris M. Baukol, Hille, Hofflund, Hyatt Slough, Indian Creek, Jay V. Wessels, Johnson's Gulch, Killdeer Mountains, Kimball Bottoms, Lewis and Clark, Lonetree, MacLean Bottoms, North Beulah Mine, Painted Woods, Pembina Hills, Prairie Chicken, Rice Lake, Riverdale, Robert L. Morgan, Schmidt Bottoms, Tewaukon, Trenton, Van Hook, Wakopa, Wild Prairie, Wild Rice, Wolf Creek, de Trobriand.

Hunting land by county

Each county's page lists its PLOTS land, WMAs, public land and units: Adams, Barnes, Benson, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Burleigh, Cass, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Dunn, Eddy, Emmons, Foster, Golden Valley, Grand Forks, Grant, Griggs, Hettinger, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McHenry, McIntosh, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Nelson, Oliver, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Ransom, Renville, Richland, Rolette, Sargent, Sheridan, Sioux, Slope, Stark, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill, Walsh, Ward, Wells, Williams.

Questions hunters ask

When is deer gun season in North Dakota in 2026?

November 6 to 22, 2026, in every deer unit, by NDGF's 2026-27 season table. The deer bow season runs September 4, 2026 to January 3, 2027, the youth season September 18 to 27, and the white-tailed muzzleloader season November 27 to December 13.

How do bonus points work in North Dakota?

An applicant who does not draw a first-choice license in the first lottery earns a bonus point. NDGF enters the application more times as points build: for points one to three, twice the points plus one; from four points on, the points cubed plus one. Points are lost when the first choice is drawn, and kept as long as the hunter applies at least every other year.

Can nonresidents hunt deer in North Dakota?

Yes. NDGF sets aside 1% of the deer gun licenses for nonresidents, who draw only against other nonresidents, and sells nonresident bow licenses. Nonresident bowhunters may hunt only private land, not PLOTS, during the first nine and a half days of the bow season. Elk and pronghorn licenses are for residents only.

What is PLOTS?

Private Land Open To Sportsmen: private land the owner has opened to walk-in hunting through NDGF. NDGF's 2026 PLOTS map shows 3,859 tracts covering about 939,000 acres, and its PLOTS Guide shows where each one is.

How many elk were taken in North Dakota in 2025?

NDGF reports 929 elk hunters took 576 elk in 2025, 280 bulls and 296 cows or calves, a 62% success rate. Unit E3 had the most hunters, 364.

Where these numbers come from

• Lottery: NDGF deer lottery statistics; NDGF elk lottery statistics; NDGF pronghorn lottery statistics, and their archives.
• Harvest: NDGF, 2025 Deer Season Summarized; NDGF, 2025 Big 3 Harvest Statistics. Seasons: NDGF 2026-27 season dates.
• Units: NDGF hunting unit maps. Land: NDGF PLOTS Guide map layers (WMAs, PLOTS, trust land, federal land); NDGF PLOTS Guide map (2026).

FilledTag is not part of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. NDGF's hunting pages are the final word on every rule.

Every state South Dakota Montana Colorado units