Units 151–156 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt units drawn together · 4,181 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 151–156 is like
Units 151–156 together hold rolling country that runs from around 3,800 feet up to roughly 10,200 feet, with a typical elevation near 5,800 feet. Most of the ground is gentle to moderate, with only a small steep or rugged share. Lower elevations run mostly shrub and brush with some grass, meadow and riparian strips; mid elevations are dominated by shrub and brush with a touch of conifer and pinyon-juniper; higher elevations carry more conifer and pinyon-juniper mixed with shrub and brush and grass. The hunts described below cover these units together as one draw group.
Public land makes up about 86 percent of the region, roughly 3,616 square miles, managed by the BLM and National Forest Service, with private land at about 12 percent. Ownership on a map is not the same as access on the ground — a block of public land here can sit behind private property, so reaching it takes real planning rather than an assumption that public means open. Permission for the private ground is on the hunter to arrange ahead of time.
Every season here is a draw hunt, and Nevada's bonus point system applies separately to this mule deer category from any other hunt a person might apply for. A bonus point accrues only when a hunter holds an active hunting or combination license at the time of the draw, and missing two years running of applying in this category causes a hunter's points to lapse. More points improve a hunter's position in the draw but never guarantee a tag, and the resident and nonresident pools are judged separately throughout the season list below.
Mule deer hunts in Units 151–156 (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: Good 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: Fair odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Long odds 5 points: Good 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: Long odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: 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: Fair odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | 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 holding in small bachelor groups through the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase, carrying into the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase by the close. Summer scouting pays off more than anything else — find a buck, watch where he beds, then work the stalk at midday while he's down, or glass evenings to mark him for a morning return. Bucks lean on forbs and browse and need very little water, so a seep or a recent rain can be enough to hold them; a buck that seems to vanish is often still there in a nearby crevice or draw. Residents face good odds at zero and at 5 bonus points, while nonresidents face long odds at zero bonus points that turn to good odds with 5 bonus points, and the legal animal throughout is an antlered mule deer buck.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · September 10 – October 4
Muzzleloader season carries from the tail of the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, so the early going still rewards the same glass-and-stalk pattern — bucks feeding into the morning, bedding in shade through the day, with north-facing slopes and shady pockets worth checking. As the season runs into October, bucks grow steadily more nocturnal, though most are still found near the same ground they held through summer. Residents see fair odds at zero bonus points improving to good odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents hold long odds at zero bonus points and good odds with 5 bonus points, hunting an antlered mule deer buck.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 5 – October 20
This any-legal-weapon season sits squarely in the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, when bucks are at their most nocturnal and hardest to catch moving in daylight, though most haven't yet left the country they summered in. Residents draw long odds at zero bonus points and good odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents face very long odds at zero bonus points and long odds with 5 bonus points, all for an antlered mule deer buck.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 21 – November 5
The latest any-legal-weapon season opens still in the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase but crosses into the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, when deer may begin shifting toward their eventual rutting ground — a hunter does well to glass the country between summer range and the staging areas deer will pass through. November averages about 1.7 inches of snowfall with lows near 26°F. Residents face very long odds at zero bonus points that improve to fair odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents face very long odds at both zero and 5 bonus points, hunting an antlered mule deer buck.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,800–10,200 ft, typically around 5,800 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 67% gentle · 27% moderate · 6% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~3,616 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 brush80%
- Other cover8%
- Grass and meadow7%
- Riparian5%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush85%
- Grass and meadow9%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper4%
- Other cover3%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush73%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper18%
- Grass and meadow8%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 86% of Units 151–156 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.
- BLM85%
- National Forest2%
- Other land<1%
- Private12%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 88°F, lows around 53°F
- September — highs around 79°F, lows around 45°F
- October — highs around 65°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 51°F, lows around 26°F, about 1.7 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 41°F, lows around 19°F, about 4.5 in of snowfall
Units 151–156 mule deer hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get a mule deer tag in Units 151–156?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for one of the archery, muzzleloader or any-legal-weapon seasons listed for this region. Every tag here is awarded through the draw rather than sold over the counter, and residents and nonresidents are drawn from separate pools.
How hard are the hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Yes, residents and nonresidents are judged separately in every season here. Archery is good odds for residents at zero and 5 bonus points, while nonresidents start at long odds and reach good odds with 5 bonus points. The later any-legal-weapon seasons get tougher for both pools, with the final season sitting at very long odds for nonresidents even with 5 bonus points.
Can a nonresident hunt here?
Yes, nonresidents have a pool in every season listed for Units 151–156, though the odds differ from the resident pool and generally run longer, especially in the later any-legal-weapon seasons.
Does Nevada have bonus points and how do they work?
Nevada uses bonus points, not preference points, and 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 accrues if the hunter holds an active hunting or combination license at the time of the draw, and a hunter who skips applying for two years running in this category loses accumulated points.
Which seasons fall in the rut, and how much of the region is public land?
None of the four seasons here fall during the rut; the latest only reaches the early pre-rut staging period toward its close. Public land covers about 86 percent of the region, roughly 3,616 square miles under BLM and National Forest management, with the remaining 12 percent in private hands requiring permission to hunt.
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.