Unit 065 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt unit · 977 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 065 is like
Unit 065 is rolling country, with some steeper breaks, running from around 4,800 feet up to nearly 8,800 feet. Most of the ground is gentle to moderate, with only a small sliver of steep slope. Cover across the unit leans heavily toward shrub and brush with a good share of grass and meadow mixed in, and only small pockets of riparian and conifer and pinyon-juniper.
Public land makes up roughly two-thirds of the unit, all of it BLM-managed, with the remainder in private ownership. That public share sounds generous, but some of it can only be reached by crossing private land, so a hunter still needs to sort out legal access before counting on a piece of ground. Two fires have burned into the unit's history: the County Line fire of 2018 took in about 13,000 acres, and the Cedar fire of 2020 burned roughly 6,000 acres. Both are now five to eight years past, old enough that the burned ground has grown back thick with brush and saplings standing five feet or better, with deadfall building each year, which hides animals easily.
All three mule deer seasons here are draw hunts.
Mule deer hunts in Unit 065 (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: Very long odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Muzzleloader | September 10 – October 4 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair 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 opens while bucks are still in velvet and running in small bachelor groups, a pattern that holds into early-to-mid September before shifting into the velvet shed and early fall transition. Summer scouting and glassing matter more than anything else here — find a buck at first light, watch where he beds in shade or on a north-facing slope, then make a move on him at midday while he's bedded, or glass him again in the evening and come back for him the following morning. A mature buck needs very little water; a small seep or an occasional rainstorm can be enough. A buck that seems to vanish is often still close by, tucked into a small crevice or draw, so it pays to check the nearby cover rather than move on. For residents the draw is very long at zero bonus points but turns good with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents face very long odds at zero points and still face long odds even with 5.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · September 10 – October 4
By the muzzleloader opener bucks have shed velvet, and the season carries from the tail end of that transition into the early fall migration period when bucks turn increasingly nocturnal. Early on the pattern from summer still works — glass shady pockets and north-facing slopes in the morning, stalk a bedded buck at midday, or glass in the evening to pattern him for the next day — but as October arrives, daytime movement drops off and most bucks are holding in the same general country they used all summer. For residents the draw runs very long at zero bonus points and fair with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 5 – November 5
This season opens during the nocturnal buck phase and runs into the early pre-rut staging period, so bucks are harder to catch moving in daylight and are still mostly found near their summer ground early on. Toward the back half of the season, as deer may begin migrating toward rutting country, it's worth glassing the stretch of ground between where bucks summered and where they're headed. November averages about 5.1 inches of snowfall with lows near 23°F. For residents the draw is very long at zero bonus points and long even with 5 bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,800–8,800 ft, typically around 5,800 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 67% gentle · 29% moderate · 4% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~674 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 brush63%
- Grass and meadow32%
- Riparian3%
- Other cover2%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper1%
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 065. 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.
- County Line fire, 2018 — about 13,000 acres in the region (2%).
- Cedar fire, 2020 — about 6,000 acres in the region.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 69% of Unit 065 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.
- BLM69%
- tribal land<1%
- Other land<1%
- Private30%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 83°F, lows around 51°F
- September — highs around 73°F, lows around 42°F
- October — highs around 59°F, lows around 32°F, about 0.3 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 46°F, lows around 23°F, about 5.1 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 37°F, lows around 17°F, about 9.9 in of snowfall
Unit 065 mule deer hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get a mule deer tag in Unit 065?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for one of the three antlered mule deer hunts offered in the unit — archery, muzzleloader, or any legal weapon. There is no over-the-counter option; every tag here is awarded through the draw, and residents and nonresidents apply against separate quotas.
How hard are the hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Yes, residents and nonresidents draw from separate pools and the odds differ by hunt. On the archery hunt, for example, a resident with no bonus points faces very long odds but climbs to good odds with 5 bonus points, while a nonresident goes from very long odds at zero points to long odds with 5. For residents, the muzzleloader hunt runs from very long odds at zero bonus points to fair odds with 5, and the any-legal-weapon hunt from very long to long odds.
Can a nonresident hunt here?
A nonresident can apply for the archery antlered mule deer hunt in Unit 065, where both zero-point and 5-point odds are listed. Nonresidents can also apply for 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, earned by applying unsuccessfully or by purchasing a point instead of applying, and antlered mule deer points are tracked separately from points for 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 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 misses two years in a row of applying for that category.
Which seasons fall in the rut, and how much of the region is public land?
None of the three mule deer seasons in Unit 065 fall during the rut; all three run through pre-rut phases at the latest. About 69 percent of the unit is public land managed by the BLM, with the remaining roughly 30 percent in private ownership, though reaching public ground here can still require crossing private land.
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.