Unit 291 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt unit · 774 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 291 is like
Unit 291 is rolling country, with some steeper breaks: gentle slopes make up most of the ground, with a smaller share of moderate rises and a modest stretch of steeper terrain, and elevation runs from around 4,200 feet up to 9,500 feet. Lower elevations are dominated by shrub and brush with some riparian and grass and meadow mixed in, mid elevations are heavily shrub and brush with grass and meadow and a touch of conifer and pinyon-juniper, and the higher country opens into more grass and meadow and conifer and pinyon-juniper alongside the shrub and brush.
Public land makes up about two-thirds of the unit, managed by the BLM, but that ownership figure does not mean easy walking in from anywhere — some of that public ground is boxed in by private land and reaching it may mean crossing private property first. About 12% of the unit is tribal land, which is closed to public hunting entirely; a state tag does not open it. The remaining ground, roughly a fifth of the unit, is private, and hunting it is on the hunter to arrange. Two fires have touched the unit in recent years: the Numbers fire burned in 2020 and covered about 4% of the unit, and the Conner fire burned in 2025 and also covered about 4% of the unit. The Numbers fire ground is now five to eight years past the burn and has grown back thick with brush and saplings, offering cover but also tangled deadfall, while the Conner fire ground is still in its first year, with deer likely shifted to find water and feed and the burned ground itself still bare and prone to flash flooding and slick footing after heavy rain.
Three hunts run in Unit 291 across the year — archery, muzzleloader, and a late any-legal-weapon season — and all are drawn, with bonus points shaping a hunter's chances but never guaranteeing a tag.
Mule deer hunts in Unit 291 (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: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition, Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Any legal weapon | November 5 – November 30 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging, Primary Rut, Late Rut / Winter Consolidation |
"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
Through the archery season bucks are still working through summer patterns and into the early stages of losing their velvet, holding in small bachelor groups and feeding on forbs and browse. The best approach is to glass at first light to locate a buck, mark where he beds for the day, and either stalk him at midday or watch him again in the evening before returning the next morning. Once velvet sheds, bucks may bed earlier and stay put longer, so a buck that seems to vanish is often still nearby in a crevice or draw rather than gone. The hunt is for antlered bucks only, and resident odds run long at zero bonus points but turn good with 5 bonus points.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · September 10 – October 4
Muzzleloader season opens as bucks finish shedding velvet and carries into the stretch where they grow steadily more nocturnal, spending more of the day bedded and less time visible in daylight. Early mornings and evenings still produce sightings through glassing shaded pockets and north-facing slopes, but as October wears on most bucks hold close to the same ground they used through summer, just harder to catch moving. This is a buck-only hunt, and both residents and nonresidents face very long odds at zero bonus points that improve to fair odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · November 5 – November 30
By the time the any-legal-weapon season opens, deer may be migrating toward their rutting ground, with the rut underway as November progresses. Finding the does is the surest way to find a buck, since bucks will most likely be with them or nearby, and glassing early and late pays off, especially after snow puts down fresh tracks to follow. November averages about 1.5 inches of snowfall with lows near 27°F, and weather moving in can push deer out of the high country onto more glassable ground. This is a buck-only hunt, and odds run very long for residents at zero bonus points, improving only to long odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents face very long odds at both levels.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,200–9,500 ft, typically around 5,600 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 52% gentle · 37% moderate · 10% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~524 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 brush74%
- Other cover18%
- Riparian4%
- Grass and meadow3%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush86%
- Grass and meadow11%
- Other cover2%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper1%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush65%
- Grass and meadow19%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper16%
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 291. 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.
- Numbers fire, 2020 — about 18,000 acres in the region (4%).
- Conner fire, 2025 — about 18,000 acres in the region (4%).
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 68% of Unit 291 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.
- BLM68%
- tribal land12%
- Other land<1%
- Private19%
About 12% 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 89°F, lows around 50°F
- September — highs around 81°F, lows around 44°F
- October — highs around 69°F, lows around 35°F
- November — highs around 55°F, lows around 27°F, about 1.5 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 46°F, lows around 22°F, about 3.1 in of snowfall
Unit 291 mule deer hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get a mule deer tag in Unit 291?
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, with separate quotas for residents and nonresidents.
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. For residents, the archery hunt runs from long odds at zero bonus points to good odds with 5, the muzzleloader hunt from very long to fair, and the any-legal-weapon hunt from very long to long; more bonus points always improve a hunter's chances but never guarantee a tag.
Can a nonresident hunt mule deer in Unit 291?
A nonresident can apply for the muzzleloader or the any-legal-weapon hunt, both of which have nonresident draw odds: the muzzleloader hunt runs from very long odds at zero bonus points to fair odds with 5, while the any-legal-weapon hunt stays very long at both levels. Nonresidents can also apply for the archery hunt (August 10 to September 9); no draw odds are shown for it.
Does Nevada have bonus points, and how do they work here?
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 antlered mule deer points tracked separately from points for any other hunt category. 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 is earned only with 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 the category.
Which seasons fall in the rut, and how much of the region is public versus closed to a state tag?
Only the any-legal-weapon hunt, running November 5 through November 30, falls within the rut; the archery and muzzleloader hunts both run before it. About 68% of Unit 291 is public BLM land, but about 12% of the unit is tribal land that is closed to public hunting regardless of a state tag, and the remaining ground is private and requires a hunter's own permission to access.
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.