Units 114, 115 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt units drawn together · 1,227 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 114, 115 is like
Units 114, 115 are hunted together as one region, rolling country with some steeper breaks that runs from about 5,000 feet up to over 12,000 feet. Most of the ground is gentle to moderate, with a smaller share of steep and rugged terrain. Lower elevations are dominated by shrub and brush with a little grass and meadow, mid elevations mix shrub and brush with conifer and pinyon-juniper, and the higher country flips to mostly conifer and pinyon-juniper with some shrub and brush remaining.
Public land makes up almost all of the region, managed by BLM and National Forest, with only a small slice in private hands. Ownership is not the same as access: some public ground can only be reached by crossing private land. Permission on the private inholdings is on the hunter to arrange ahead of time.
Every hunt listed here is a draw hunt, and there are four seasons: archery, two any-legal-weapon seasons and a muzzleloader season. Bonus points build separately for this category and shift the odds, but they never guarantee a tag in any single year.
Mule deer hunts in Units 114, 115 (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: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| 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 |
| Muzzleloader | November 10 – 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 | 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.
Some hunts take in these units together with other units, so they have their own guides. Check them too:
Archery · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · August 10 – September 9
Archery season opens in summer and runs into early September, a stretch when bucks are still in velvet and bachelored up in small groups across the shrub and brush and timbered country. Scouting and glassing pay off here — watching shady pockets and north-facing slopes at first light to find a bedded buck, then working a stalk in the middle of the day while he holds tight. Evenings call for the same glassing, often just to pattern a buck for a return trip the next morning rather than a same-day stalk. Resident odds run fair at zero points and good with five, while nonresident odds sit at very long with zero points and improve only to long with five, and the legal animal throughout is an antlered buck.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 5 – October 20
The first any-legal-weapon season falls in early-to-mid October, in the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, when bucks become more and more nocturnal and most are still near where they spent the summer. Resident odds are very long at zero points but climb to fair with five, while nonresident odds stay very long at both levels. The legal animal remains an antlered buck under any legal weapon.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 21 – November 5
The second any-legal-weapon season spans late October into early November, when 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 1.8 inches of snowfall with lows near 25°F. Both resident and nonresident odds run very long at zero points and stay very long even with five bonus points, and the hunt is for an antlered buck only.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · November 10 – November 30
The muzzleloader hunt runs from mid to late November, within the rut, when bucks are rutting. Finding the does is the surest way to find bucks, since bucks will most likely be with them or nearby. November averages about 1.8 inches of snowfall with lows near 25°F; weather moving in can push deer out of the high country onto more glassable ground, and fresh snow is a good time to look for fresh buck tracks. Resident odds run very long at zero points and long with five, while nonresident odds remain very long at both levels, and the legal animal is an antlered buck.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,000–12,100 ft, typically around 6,900 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 54% gentle · 32% moderate · 13% steep · 1% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~1,212 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 brush94%
- Other cover4%
- Grass and meadow2%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush78%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper21%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper74%
- Shrub and brush24%
- Other cover1%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 99% of Units 114, 115 is public land by ownership — BLM and National Forest. Ownership is not the same as legal access: public land can be reachable only across private ground, and some parcels are closed or restricted.
- BLM84%
- National Forest15%
- Private1%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 85°F, lows around 54°F
- September — highs around 76°F, lows around 46°F
- October — highs around 63°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.2 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 50°F, lows around 25°F, about 1.8 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 40°F, lows around 17°F, about 4.2 in of snowfall
Units 114, 115 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get a mule deer tag in Units 114, 115?
Yes, but only through Nevada's draw, since every mule deer hunt in this region is a limited-entry permit hunt rather than an over-the-counter tag. A hunter applies for a specific weapon and season combination, and residents and nonresidents are drawn from separate quotas.
How hard are the Units 114, 115 hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
It does differ: resident odds are generally better than nonresident odds for the same hunt, and both improve with bonus points but never to a guarantee. For example, archery is fair for a resident at zero points and good at five, while a nonresident sits at very long odds at zero points and only reaches long odds at five. Some of the any-legal-weapon and muzzleloader hunts stay very long for nonresidents even with points in hand.
Can a nonresident hunt here?
Yes, every season listed for Units 114, 115 has a nonresident draw option. The odds for nonresidents run long to very long across these seasons, though, so drawing is not assured even with bonus points built up.
Does Nevada have bonus points, and how do they work here?
Nevada uses bonus points, not preference points, and mule deer points are tracked separately from points in other hunt categories. A point is earned by applying unsuccessfully or by purchasing one instead of applying, and it only counts if 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.
Which Units 114, 115 seasons fall in the rut, and how much of the region is public land?
Only the muzzleloader hunt, running from mid to late November, falls within the rut; the archery hunt and both any-legal-weapon hunts take place before it. Public land covers almost all of the region under BLM and National Forest management, with only a small private share, but that public ground is not always simple to reach since some of it sits behind private inholdings.
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.