Units 041, 042 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt units drawn together · 3,878 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 Units 041, 042 is like
Units 041, 042 together form a stretch of gentle and rolling country, with the overwhelming majority of the ground classed as gentle terrain and only a small sliver of steep or rugged slope anywhere in the region. Elevations run from around 3,800 feet up to 8,200 feet, and a typical elevation around 4,700 feet. Cover across all elevation bands is dominated by shrub and brush, with grass and meadow making up a secondary share and a small amount of riparian cover at the lower elevations. The hunts below cover Units 041 and 042 together.
Public land makes up roughly 71% of the region, all of it BLM-managed. About 2% of the region is tribal land, which is closed to public hunting and requires the tribe's own permission to access at all — a state tag does not open it. The remaining ground, a little over a quarter of the region, is private, and because public parcels here are not always reachable without crossing private land, access should never be assumed to be simple just because the ownership map looks open.
Mule deer hunts in Units 041, 042 (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: Fair 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: Long odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Very long 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: 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
Early season archery hunting here falls across the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase and into the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, so bucks start out bachelored in small groups and still carrying velvet before shedding it as the season closes. Summer scouting and glassing matter more than any other tactic: deer are feeding on forbs and browse, watering lightly, feeding into the morning, then bedding in shade for most of the day, so working shady pockets and north-facing slopes is the way to find a bedded buck to stalk at midday or watch into the evening for a return the next morning. Once velvet sheds, habits hold steady but bucks may bed earlier and stay down until after dark, so a buck that seems to vanish is often still tucked into a nearby crevice or draw. A resident buck tag here carries fair odds at zero bonus points and good odds with 5 bonus points, while a nonresident starts at long odds and also reaches good odds with 5 bonus points.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · September 10 – October 4
By the muzzleloader season bucks are finishing the shed of velvet and sliding into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, which means the same bedding pattern from summer still applies early on — feed into the morning, bed in shade, check shady pockets and north-facing slopes, and still look for a buck that seems to disappear nearby rather than assume he moved off. As October opens, bucks grow steadily more nocturnal, and most are still holding near the same ground they used all summer, so sticking with country that produced earlier in the season continues to pay off even as daylight sightings get harder to come by. A resident buck tag runs long odds at zero bonus points and good odds with 5 bonus points, while a nonresident starts at very long odds and also reaches good odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 5 – November 5
The any-legal-weapon season opens deep into the nocturnal pattern of the Early Fall Migration phase and runs into the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase. Through October bucks become more and more nocturnal, with most still near where they spent the summer, and toward the end of October deer may begin migrating toward their rutting ground, so glassing the country between where they spent the summer and where they will be during the rut is the approach. November averages about 1 inch of snowfall with lows near 26°F. A resident buck tag here runs very long odds at zero bonus points and long odds with 5 bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,800–8,200 ft, typically around 4,700 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 74% gentle · 22% moderate · 4% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~2,746 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 brush75%
- Grass and meadow13%
- Other cover10%
- Riparian2%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush85%
- Grass and meadow14%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush83%
- Grass and meadow16%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 71% of Units 041, 042 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.
- BLM71%
- tribal land2%
- Other land<1%
- Private27%
About 2% 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 90°F, lows around 54°F
- September — highs around 81°F, lows around 46°F
- October — highs around 67°F, lows around 35°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 52°F, lows around 26°F, about 1 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 42°F, lows around 20°F, about 2.8 in of snowfall
Units 041, 042 mule deer hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get a mule deer tag in Units 041, 042?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for one of the buck hunts offered in the region — archery, muzzleloader, or any legal weapon. Each hunt is awarded through that draw rather than sold over the counter, and residents and nonresidents apply against separate quotas within the same draw.
How hard are the hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Yes, residents and nonresidents are scored against separate pools for every hunt in this region. Resident odds run from fair to very long odds at zero bonus points depending on the hunt, improving to good or long odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresident odds tend to start longer.
Can a nonresident hunt here?
A nonresident can apply for the archery and muzzleloader buck hunts in this region, where odds start at long to very long odds at zero bonus points and reach good odds with 5 bonus points. Nonresidents can also apply for the any-legal-weapon hunt (October 5 to November 5); no draw odds are shown for it.
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 in 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 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.
Which seasons fall in the rut, and how much of the region is public land?
None of the three buck seasons in Units 041, 042 fall during the rut; all three run through summer and fall phases that precede it. About 71% of the region is BLM public land, but roughly 2% of the region is tribal land that stays closed to any state tag, and the private 27% means some public parcels are only reachable by crossing 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.