Unit 121 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt unit · 1,260 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 121 is like
Unit 121 is rolling country, with some steeper breaks, running from around 5,800 feet up to 10,500 feet. Most of the ground is gentle to moderate. Cover shifts with elevation: lower slopes are mostly shrub and brush with some riparian strips, mid elevations mix shrub and brush with conifer and pinyon-juniper, and the higher country is dominated by conifer and pinyon-juniper with pockets of shrub and brush and grass and meadow. The Goshute Cave fire burned about 31,000 acres inside the region, a small share of the total unit; across these seasons that burn is five to eight years past the fire and has grown back thick with brush and saplings standing five feet and more, with deadfall building as burned timber continues to fall.
Public land dominates Unit 121, with essentially the entire unit under BLM management. That said, public ownership does not mean open access everywhere — some BLM ground can only be reached by crossing private land, so a hunter should plan routes carefully rather than assume a public boundary means an easy walk-in.
Both residents and nonresidents can apply for every hunt in Unit 121, though each pool draws from its own separate quota and odds differ between them.
Mule deer hunts in Unit 121 (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 | 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: Good odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition, Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Any legal weapon | October 5 – October 20 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Any legal weapon | October 21 – November 5 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
| Archery | November 10 – November 20 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | Primary Rut |
"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
Early season archery hunting here falls across the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase and into the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, when bucks are still in velvet or just losing it and holding in small bachelor groups. Summer scouting and glassing matter more than anything else — bucks feed into the morning then bed in shade for most of the day, so working shady pockets and north-facing slopes is the way to find one, then stalking him at midday while bedded or picking him up again at last light. A buck that seems to vanish is often still there, tucked into a nearby crevice or draw. Resident hunters face long odds at zero bonus points but good odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents face very long odds at zero bonus points and long odds with 5 bonus points.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · September 10 – October 4
The muzzleloader season runs through the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase and into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, so the same bedding-and-glassing pattern from summer still works early on — bucks feeding into the morning, bedding in shade, and holding near where they spent the summer. As the season wears on into October, bucks grow steadily more nocturnal. Resident odds run very long at zero bonus points but good with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents see very long odds at zero bonus points and long odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 5 – October 20
This any-legal-weapon season sits entirely in the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, when bucks are increasingly nocturnal and mostly still holding near their summer range. Resident hunters face very long odds at zero bonus points but fair odds with 5 bonus points; nonresidents face very long odds at both zero and 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 21 – November 5
Spanning the back half of the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase and into the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, this season catches bucks still mostly nocturnal early on and deer may begin migrating toward their rutting ground as late October arrives. That staging movement means glassing the country between summer range and rut range can pay off in the back half of the hunt. November averages about 2.5 inches of snowfall with lows near 23°F. Both pools face very long odds at zero bonus points and very long odds with 5 bonus points.
Archery · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · November 10 – November 20
This late-season archery hunt lands in the Primary Rut phase, when bucks are actively rutting and often found near does rather than off on their own. Weather moving in can push deer out of the high country onto lower, more glassable ground, and fresh snow is a good time to cut fresh buck tracks; November averages about 2.5 inches of snowfall with lows near 23°F. The approach is to find the does first, since bucks are most likely with them or close by. Resident odds run very long at zero bonus points but fair with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents see very long odds at zero bonus points and long odds with 5 bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,800–10,500 ft, typically around 6,600 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 67% gentle · 22% moderate · 11% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~1,260 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%
- Riparian5%
- Other cover5%
- Grass and meadow1%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush69%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper27%
- Grass and meadow4%
Higher elevations
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper64%
- Shrub and brush30%
- Grass and meadow6%
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 121. 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.
- Goshute Cave fire, 2018 — about 31,000 acres in the region (4%).
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 100% of Unit 121 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 85°F, lows around 51°F
- September — highs around 76°F, lows around 43°F
- October — highs around 62°F, lows around 32°F, about 0.2 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 49°F, lows around 23°F, about 2.5 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 39°F, lows around 16°F, about 4.4 in of snowfall
Unit 121 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get a mule deer tag in Unit 121?
A hunter can get a mule deer tag in Unit 121 only through Nevada's draw, since every deer hunt in the unit is awarded by application rather than sold over the counter. Both resident and nonresident hunters can apply for each of the listed archery, muzzleloader and any-legal-weapon hunts.
How hard are the Unit 121 mule deer hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Draw difficulty varies by hunt and by pool: for example the early archery hunt runs long odds at zero bonus points for residents but very long odds at zero bonus points for nonresidents, and both pools improve with 5 bonus points. In general resident odds are better than nonresident odds at the same point level across these hunts, though neither pool is ever a sure thing.
Can a nonresident hunt Unit 121?
Yes, a nonresident can apply for every mule deer hunt listed in Unit 121. Nonresident odds run longer than resident odds at the same bonus point level, but the opportunity to apply exists for all five seasons.
Does Nevada have bonus points, and how do they work for Unit 121 mule deer hunts?
Nevada uses bonus points rather than preference points, and a hunter earns one by applying unsuccessfully or by purchasing a point instead of applying, provided the hunter holds an active hunting or combination license at the time of the draw. 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. Mule deer points are tracked separately from points held for any other hunt category, and points are lost if a hunter misses two years in a row of applying for that category.
Which Unit 121 mule deer seasons fall in the rut, and how much of the region is public land?
Only the November 10 to November 20 archery hunt falls in the Primary Rut phase; the August, September and both October-dated any-legal-weapon and muzzleloader hunts all occur before that phase begins. Essentially the entire unit, about 1,260 square miles, is BLM public land, though reaching some of it can require 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.