Unit 045 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt unit · 400 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 045 is like
Unit 045 is rolling country, with some steeper breaks, running from low benches near 3,700 feet up to high points close to 9,800 feet, with a typical elevation around 5,400 feet. Across the unit the ground is mostly gentle to moderate going, with a smaller steep component and nothing that qualifies as truly rugged. Cover is dominated by shrub and brush at every elevation band, with grass and meadow mixed in throughout and a touch of conifer and pinyon-juniper showing up at the mid and higher elevations.
Public land is effectively the whole picture here: essentially all of Unit 045's 400 square miles sits in BLM ownership. That said, ownership on paper is not the same as a walk-in gate — some of that BLM ground is boxed in or threaded by private parcels, so a hunter should plan routes rather than assume open access everywhere.
Three mule deer hunts run through Unit 045 across the year, all for antlered bucks only, each drawn separately and each carrying its own odds for residents and nonresidents.
Mule deer hunts in Unit 045 (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: Good odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Long odds 5 points: Good odds | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Muzzleloader | September 10 – October 4 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Fair odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Good odds 5 points: Good odds | 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: Good odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | 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 opens in August while bucks are still in velvet and bachelored up in small groups, holding through the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase and into the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase by early September. Summer scouting and glassing carry this hunt — deer need very little water in this shrub-and-brush country, so a small seep or a passing rainstorm can be enough to hold a buck nearby. The pattern is simple and repeats daily: glass at first light to find a buck and mark where he beds in shade or on a north-facing slope, then either stalk him at midday while bedded or watch him into the evening and come back for him the next morning. Residents face good odds on this hunt whether they carry zero or five bonus points, while nonresidents start with long odds at zero points that improve to good odds with five.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · September 10 – October 4
By muzzleloader season bucks have mostly shed velvet and are transitioning out of the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, so the daily rhythm still holds but gets tighter and later — bucks bed earlier and may stay down until after dark, and a buck that seems to vanish is often just tucked into a nearby crevice or draw. The same glass-first-light, stalk-at-midday, watch-at-dusk approach still works, with most deer still holding near the country they used all summer, though toward the back half of the season bucks grow noticeably more nocturnal. Residents move from fair odds at zero bonus points to good odds with five, and nonresidents hold good odds at both levels on this hunt.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 5 – November 5
The any-legal-weapon season runs through the heart of the nocturnal buck period and into the start of the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, so bucks are harder to catch moving in daylight and a hunter does best treating this as transition-zone hunting — glassing the ground between summer range and the country they may use for staging ahead of the rut. November averages about 1.3 inches of snowfall with lows near 26°F. Residents face very long odds at zero bonus points and good odds with five, while nonresidents face very long odds at zero and long odds with five.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,700–9,800 ft, typically around 5,400 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 53% gentle · 30% moderate · 17% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~400 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 brush83%
- Grass and meadow16%
- Other cover1%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush89%
- Grass and meadow10%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper1%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush82%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper12%
- Grass and meadow6%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 100% of Unit 045 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%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 88°F, lows around 53°F
- September — highs around 79°F, lows around 45°F
- October — highs around 65°F, lows around 34°F
- November — highs around 51°F, lows around 26°F, about 1.3 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 41°F, lows around 19°F, about 4.1 in of snowfall
Unit 045 mule deer hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get a mule deer tag in Unit 045?
Every mule deer tag in Unit 045 comes through Nevada's draw rather than over the counter. A hunter applies for one of the three weapon-specific buck hunts offered in the unit, and residents and nonresidents are drawn from separate quotas. There is no walk-up tag available here for any season.
How hard are the hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
It varies by hunt and by pool. All three hunts have both a resident and a nonresident pool. Odds range from long to good on archery and muzzleloader depending on bonus points held, while the any-legal-weapon hunt swings from very long odds at zero points to good odds with five for residents and to long odds with five for nonresidents.
Can a nonresident hunt every season in Unit 045?
Yes. All three buck hunts in Unit 045 have a nonresident pool. Nonresident odds are long at zero bonus points on archery and good on muzzleloader, while the any-legal-weapon hunt from October 5 to November 5 runs very long odds at zero bonus points and long odds with 5 bonus points.
Does Nevada use bonus points, and how do they work for this unit?
Yes, Nevada uses bonus points rather than preference points, and mule deer points are tracked separately from points for any other hunt category. A point is earned by applying unsuccessfully or by purchasing one instead of applying, but 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. 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.
Which seasons in Unit 045 fall during the rut, and how much of the region is public land?
None of the three mule deer seasons in Unit 045 fall during the Primary Rut phase; all three run earlier, through summer, early fall, and into pre-rut staging at the latest. On the land side, essentially the entire 400 square miles of the unit is BLM public land, though that ownership does not guarantee simple access since some parcels can only be reached across private ground.
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.