Unit 021 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt unit · 437 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 021 is like
Unit 021 is rolling country, with some steeper breaks, running from around 4,000 feet up to 8,000 feet in elevation. Most of the ground is gentle to moderate, and cover is shrub and brush and grass and meadow. The Baccarat fire burned about 4% of the unit in 2020, and by the seasons described here that ground is five to eight years post-fire: thick brush and saplings now stand five feet and higher with building deadfall, which hides animals easily.
About 60% of Unit 021 is BLM public land, but public ownership alone does not guarantee an easy walk in — some of that ground is reachable only by crossing private land, so access still takes planning. About 6% of the unit is tribal land, which is closed to public hunting and is not opened by a state tag. Private land makes up roughly a third of the unit, and getting onto it is on the hunter to arrange; a small remainder is other land, neither public nor private.
All three mule deer hunts here are for bucks only, with resident and nonresident tags following separate quotas and both pools at very long odds at zero bonus points on every hunt. Five bonus points helps a resident on the archery and muzzleloader hunts but changes little for a nonresident or on the late any-legal-weapon hunt.
Mule deer hunts in Unit 021 (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 | December 1 – December 10 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | Late Rut / Winter Consolidation |
| Muzzleloader | December 11 – December 20 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | Late Rut / Winter Consolidation |
| Any legal weapon | December 21, 2026 – January 1, 2027 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | — |
"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) · December 1 – December 10
Archery hunters in the first ten days of December are hunting bucks in the late rut and winter consolidation phase, when bucks are rutting and often found near does rather than off on their own. Glassing early and late in the day pays off, and if snow has fallen, fresh tracks are worth following since weather can push deer down out of the higher ground onto more open, glassable terrain. The legal animal is an antlered buck only. Draw odds for this archery hunt are very long at zero bonus points for both residents and nonresidents, but a resident holding 5 bonus points sees good odds while a nonresident at the same point level still faces very long odds.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · December 11 – December 20
The muzzleloader hunt running December 11–20 falls in the same late rut and winter consolidation phase as the archery season, so the same rutting behavior applies: bucks are often found with or near does, and a push of weather can move deer onto lower, easier-to-glass ground. Snow on the ground is worth watching for fresh buck tracks, and working the morning and evening light remains the best approach. Only antlered bucks are legal. Draw odds sit at very long for both pools at zero bonus points, improving to long odds for a resident with 5 bonus points while a nonresident at that same level stays very long.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · December 21, 2026 – January 1, 2027
The late-season any-legal-weapon hunt from December 21 through January 1 runs through a cold stretch, with January averaging about 1.9 inches of snowfall and December around 1.6 inches, both with lows near 25°F. The terrain matters here: the rolling ground with its steeper breaks, the mix of shrub and brush and grass and meadow, and whatever access a hunter has worked out across the public and private mix of the unit. Only antlered bucks are legal, and draw odds stay very long for both residents and nonresidents at zero bonus points and with 5 bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,000–8,000 ft, typically around 5,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 64% gentle · 28% moderate · 8% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~263 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.
Across the unit
- Shrub and brush51%
- Grass and meadow38%
- Other cover10%
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 021. 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.
- Baccarat fire, 2020 — about 10,000 acres in the region (4%).
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 60% of Unit 021 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.
- BLM60%
- tribal land6%
- Other land1%
- Private33%
About 6% of this unit is tribal land, which is closed to public hunting and is not counted as huntable. Your tag does not open it.
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 84°F, lows around 55°F
- September — highs around 76°F, lows around 49°F
- October — highs around 64°F, lows around 40°F
- November — highs around 51°F, lows around 31°F, about 1 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 42°F, lows around 25°F, about 1.6 in of snowfall
Unit 021 mule deer hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get a mule deer tag in Unit 021?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for one of the bucks-only hunts tied to this unit, choosing archery, muzzleloader, or the any-legal-weapon season. Tags are not sold over the counter; every mule deer hunt here is awarded through the draw, with residents and nonresidents drawing from separate quotas.
How hard are the hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Yes, it differs. At zero bonus points every hunt in Unit 021 runs very long odds for both residents and nonresidents, but holding 5 bonus points lifts a resident to good odds on the archery hunt and to long odds on the muzzleloader hunt, while a nonresident at that same point level still faces very long odds on every hunt including the late any-legal-weapon season.
Can a nonresident hunt here?
Yes. All three mule deer hunts in Unit 021 have a nonresident pool, drawn separately from the resident quota. Nonresident odds are very long on every hunt, both at zero bonus points and with 5 bonus points.
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, with mule deer points kept as their own separate total from other hunt categories. 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. A bonus point only counts if the hunter holds an active hunting or combination license at the time of the draw, and points are lost if a hunter skips applying for two years running.
How much of Unit 021 is public land, and is any of it closed to a state tag?
About 60% of the unit is BLM public land, with roughly a third in private ownership and a small share classed as other land. About 6% is tribal land, which is closed to public hunting and is not opened by holding a state tag, so that ground is off limits no matter what a hunter draws.
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.