Unit 014 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt unit · 499 sq mi
Draw hunts — squared bonus points
Every hunt here is a draw hunt, named by its weapon, what may be taken and its dates. In Nevada's draw an application is given one random number plus extra random numbers equal to its bonus points squared, and tags go to the lowest numbers first, so more bonus points always improve a hunter's chance but never guarantee a tag. Residents and nonresidents have separate quotas.
What hunting Unit 014 is like
Unit 014 is rolling country with some steeper breaks, running from around 3,900 feet up to 9,000 feet, with a typical elevation around 5,500 feet. The country is almost entirely shrub and brush, with a bit of grass and meadow mixed in at the lower and mid elevations and a touch of conifer and pinyon-juniper showing up higher up. Slopes are mostly gentle to moderate, with only a small steep component and nothing classed as rugged.
Public land dominates here: essentially the entire unit is BLM ground. That said, owning the ground is not the same as reaching it easily — some of this public land sits behind private parcels, so access takes planning rather than being a given. The Poodle fire burned a small share of the unit in 2020, and by the time any of the seasons below come around, that ground is five to eight years removed from the burn — brush and saplings have grown in thick, often standing five feet or better, with increasing deadfall from toppled burned trees. That regrowth hides animals easily.
All three deer seasons here are archery, muzzleloader, and any-legal-weapon hunts for antlered bucks, drawn through Nevada's bonus point system, with resident and nonresident pools kept separate and point totals tracked by category.
Mule deer hunts in Unit 014 (2026-27)
Each row is a hunt, told apart by its weapon, what may be taken and its dates. Draw difficulty is in words from the 2025 draw results: good, fair, long or very long odds, read for a hunter with no bonus points and for one holding 5 bonus points, in each pool. A hunt that covers only part of a unit says so under its name.
| Hunt | Dates | Legal deer | Resident | Nonresident | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | August 10 – September 9 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Long odds 5 points: Good odds | Nonresidents can apply No draw odds shown | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Muzzleloader | September 10 – October 4 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Long odds 5 points: Good odds | Nonresidents can apply No draw odds shown | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition, Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Any legal weapon | October 5 – November 5 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | Nonresidents can apply No draw odds shown | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
"No nonresident tags" means a nonresident cannot draw that hunt. "No draw odds shown" means that pool has tags for the hunt but too little draw history to put its odds in words. Odds are per application, never a promise, and a hunter with no bonus points can draw. A hunter needs no particular number of points for any hunt.
Archery · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · August 10 – September 9
Archery season here runs through the heart of summer into early September, while bucks are still in velvet and typically bachelored up in small groups. The best approach is to glass hard at first light to find a buck, watch where he beds for the day, and then make a stalk in the middle of the day while he's bedded down in shade — north-facing slopes and shady pockets are worth checking first. A mature buck needs very little water, so a small seep or an occasional rainstorm can be enough. Evening glassing often turns into a watch-and-return play rather than an evening stalk, and if a buck seems to vanish, it pays to check the small crevices and draws nearby before giving up on him. Resident hunters face long odds at zero bonus points but good odds with 5 bonus points.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · September 10 – October 4
By the muzzleloader season, bucks are shedding velvet and sliding from the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, and their patterns start to shift. Early in the season the routine still holds — glass at dawn, mark a bed, stalk at midday, then glass again in the evening — but as the season wears into October bucks grow increasingly nocturnal and harder to catch moving in daylight. Most are still holding in the same country they occupied through summer, so hunters who scouted that ground earlier have an edge. Resident hunters see long odds at zero bonus points, improving to good odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 5 – November 5
The any-legal-weapon season opens with bucks already deep into their nocturnal fall pattern and runs into the start of the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, when deer may begin migrating toward the ground they will use during the rut. The smart play is to glass the country between where bucks spent the summer and where they're likely headed, rather than waiting on them to show in the open. November averages about 2.5 inches of snowfall with lows near 28°F. Resident hunters face very long odds at zero bonus points and long odds even with 5 bonus points, making this the toughest draw of the three seasons.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,900–9,000 ft, typically around 5,500 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 59% gentle · 32% moderate · 9% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~497 sq mi
Habitat & cover
What grows here, by elevation. Each band adds to 100% on its own — these are shares of that band, not of the region.
Lower elevations
- Shrub and brush89%
- Grass and meadow9%
- Other cover1%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush91%
- Grass and meadow8%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush88%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper8%
- Grass and meadow4%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Recent fires
Wildfires in the last several seasons that burned a meaningful share of Unit 014. Fire perimeters show how much of the region burned, not how hot — and closures change through the year, so check current fire closures and restrictions before you go.
- Poodle fire, 2020 — about 5,500 acres in the region (2%).
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 100% of Unit 014 is public land by ownership — BLM. Ownership is not the same as legal access: public land can be reachable only across private ground, and some parcels are closed or restricted.
- BLM100%
- Other land<1%
- Private<1%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 84°F, lows around 54°F
- September — highs around 76°F, lows around 47°F
- October — highs around 62°F, lows around 37°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 48°F, lows around 28°F, about 2.5 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 39°F, lows around 22°F, about 4.9 in of snowfall
Unit 014 mule deer hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get a mule deer tag in Unit 014?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for one of the antlered mule deer hunts offered in Unit 014 — archery, muzzleloader, or any legal weapon. Tags are not sold over the counter; every hunt listed for this unit is awarded through the draw, with separate quotas for residents and nonresidents.
How hard are the hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Draw difficulty is tracked separately for each pool, and resident odds for Unit 014 range from long odds at zero bonus points up to good odds with 5 bonus points on the archery and muzzleloader hunts, while the any-legal-weapon hunt stays tougher even with points in hand. In Nevada's draw an application is given one random number plus extra random numbers equal to its bonus points squared, and tags go to the lowest numbers first, so more bonus points always improve a hunter's chance but never guarantee a tag.
Can a nonresident hunt Unit 014?
Nonresidents can apply for the archery hunt (August 10 to September 9), the muzzleloader hunt (September 10 to October 4) and the any-legal-weapon hunt (October 5 to November 5); no draw odds are shown for them.
Does Nevada have bonus points, and how do they work?
Nevada uses bonus points rather than preference points, and a hunter earns one by applying unsuccessfully or by purchasing a point instead of applying in a given category. Antlered mule deer points are tracked separately from points in other hunt categories, and a hunter only banks a point if they hold an active hunting or combination license at the time of the draw. Missing two consecutive years of applying in a category causes those points to be lost.
How much of Unit 014 is public land?
Nearly the entire unit — about 497 of its 499 square miles — is BLM public land, though reaching some of it can mean crossing private ground first.
Data sources & methodology
- Nevada Department of Wildlife — 2026 Big Game Application FAQ — how the draw works, how bonus points are earned, squared and lost, and how many hunt choices an application takes
- Nevada Department of Wildlife — 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 big game hunting seasons (Commission Regulation 25-07) — season dates, weapons and legal animals for each group of units
- Nevada Department of Wildlife — Bonus point and application choice trends — the draw results behind the draw-difficulty words
- USGS / MRLC — National Land Cover Database — habitat and cover classes by elevation band
- USGS PAD-US — Protected Areas Database of the United States — land ownership and access
- PRISM Climate Group — 1991–2020 normals — fall weather
- National Interagency Fire Center — wildfire perimeters — recent fires, their size and where they burned
Draw difficulty is a qualitative reading of the modelled chance from the 2025 draw results for each pool, not published odds. Rut phases are borrowed regional timing, not Nevada-specific dates. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories. Confirm every rule with the Nevada Department of Wildlife before you apply.