Units 161–164 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt units drawn together · 5,786 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 161–164 is like
Units 161–164 are drawn together for mule deer, and the hunts described here cover all four units as a group. The country runs from roughly 4,600 feet up to nearly 11,900 feet, with a typical elevation around 6,800 feet, and the terrain is rolling, with some steeper breaks — gentle ground dominates by a wide margin, with only a small share of steep slope and none of it classed as rugged. Lower elevations are almost entirely shrub and brush, mid elevations stay mostly shrub and brush with a growing share of conifer and pinyon-juniper, and the higher country flips to being dominated by conifer and pinyon-juniper.
Public land accounts for essentially the entire region, managed by the BLM and the Forest Service. Ownership on a map is not the same as a clean approach on the ground — some of that public ground is reachable only by crossing private land, so access still takes some planning rather than being a given.
The four seasons here are archery, muzzleloader and two any-legal-weapon seasons, all for antlered bucks.
Mule deer hunts in Units 161–164 (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 |
| Muzzleloader | September 10 – October 4 | Antlered mule deer (bucks) | No points: 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: Good 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: Long 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 hunters in Units 161–164 come in during the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase and carry into the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, so bucks are still in velvet for much of the season and often bachelored in small groups before shedding later on. Summer scouting and glassing matter more than anything else here — bucks feed into the morning, then bed in shade for most of the day, which makes shady pockets and north-facing slopes the places to work. The standard approach is to glass at first light to locate a buck and mark where he beds, then close the distance in the middle of the day while he's still bedded, with evening glassing used either to set up a stalk or simply to pattern him for the next morning. Once velvet sheds late in the season bucks may bed earlier and stay put longer, so a buck that seems to vanish is often still nearby in a crevice or draw. Residents face fair 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, for this antlered mule deer buck hunt.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · September 10 – October 4
The muzzleloader season opens as the last velvet is shedding and runs into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, so the first days still reward the same shade-and-bedding approach as late archery, glassing shady draws and north slopes for a bedded buck to stalk at midday. As October arrives bucks grow steadily more nocturnal, though most are still holding in the same country they used through summer, so persistence on familiar glassing points pays off even as daylight sightings thin out. This is strictly an antlered buck hunt, and residents see long odds at zero bonus points improving to good odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents face 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 rifle season falls entirely within the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, when bucks are increasingly active after dark and harder to catch moving in daylight, though most haven't yet left the ground they summered on. Draw odds are tight on both sides for this antlered buck hunt: residents run very long at zero bonus points to good with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents stay at very long odds whether they hold zero or 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · October 21 – November 5
By the time this season opens, nocturnal buck behavior is giving way to the start of the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, and bucks may begin shifting from their summer ground toward where they'll rut, so glassing the country between those two areas can pay off in the back half of the hunt. November averages about 1.8 inches of snowfall with lows near 24°F. This is an antlered buck hunt only, and the draw is demanding throughout — residents see very long odds at zero bonus points easing to long odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents face very long odds at both zero and 5 bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,600–11,900 ft, typically around 6,800 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 66% gentle · 25% moderate · 9% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~5,760 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 brush93%
- Other cover6%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush84%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper15%
Higher elevations
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper57%
- Shrub and brush41%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 100% of Units 161–164 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.
- BLM64%
- National Forest35%
- Private<1%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 84°F, lows around 53°F
- September — highs around 75°F, lows around 45°F
- October — highs around 63°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 50°F, lows around 24°F, about 1.8 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 41°F, lows around 17°F, about 3.1 in of snowfall
Units 161–164 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get a mule deer tag in Units 161–164?
Yes, but only through Nevada's draw — there is no over-the-counter option for any of the archery, muzzleloader or rifle seasons covering these four units. A hunter applies for the specific weapon and season they want, and tags are awarded through the draw rather than sold directly.
How hard are the Units 161–164 hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Yes, residents and nonresidents draw from separate quotas, and the odds differ substantially between them. Archery draws fair to good odds for residents depending on bonus points but very long to long odds for nonresidents, while the later rifle seasons run very long for nearly everyone regardless of pool.
Can a nonresident hunt mule deer in this region?
Yes, nonresidents can apply for all four seasons listed for Units 161–164. That said, nonresident odds are long to very long across every season, even for an applicant holding 5 bonus points.
Does Nevada use bonus points for these hunts, and how do they work?
Nevada uses bonus points rather than preference points, and antlered 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, but only 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 in a row. 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 of these seasons fall in the rut, and how much of the region is public land?
None of the four seasons in Units 161–164 fall during the rut; all of them run through phases before the rut begins in mid-November. Public land covers essentially the entire region under BLM and Forest Service management, though reaching some of that public ground can still require crossing private land.
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.