Units 271, 272 Mule Deer Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt units drawn together · 1,696 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 271, 272 is like
Units 271, 272 together offer rolling country with some steeper breaks, running from about 1,100 feet up to about 8,100 feet. Most of the ground is gentle to moderate. Lower elevations open into grass and meadow mixed with shrub and brush and a little riparian cover, mid elevations are dominated by shrub and brush with grass and meadow filling the rest, and the higher country is mostly shrub and brush with a small amount of conifer and pinyon-juniper. The hunts described below cover Units 271, 272 together.
Public land makes up roughly 83 percent of the region, managed by the BLM and a State Wildlife Management Area. Another slice, about 13 percent, falls under National Park Service management, where hunting is allowed only in some areas and never in national parks or monuments — it is not ground a hunter can assume is open. Private land accounts for a small remainder, around 3.2 percent, and getting onto it is on the hunter to arrange. Because public land ownership does not guarantee easy access — some of it can only be reached by crossing private ground — a hunter should plan routes carefully rather than assume a straightforward walk-in.
The three mule deer hunts in this region span summer through late fall, and the draw treats each weapon and season as its own hunt with its own odds. Archery and muzzleloader hunts fall outside the rut, while the any-legal-weapon hunt in November reaches into the rut phases, which shapes both how deer behave and how hard the tag is to draw.
Mule deer hunts in Units 271, 272 (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 | 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) | Residents can apply No draw odds shown | Nonresidents can apply No draw odds shown | 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
Early season archery hunting here catches bucks still in velvet and often bachelored up in small groups through the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase, sliding into the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase by early September. Summer scouting and glassing matter more than anything else in this stretch — a mature buck needs very little water, so a small seep or an occasional rainstorm can be enough. The pattern is simple but demanding: glass at first light to find a buck and mark where he beds, then either stalk him at midday while bedded or watch him into the evening and return the next morning. Once velvet sheds, bucks keep the same habits but 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. Residents drawing this archery buck hunt face fair odds at zero bonus points and good odds with 5 bonus points.
Muzzleloader · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · September 10 – October 4
By muzzleloader season the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase is giving way to the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, and bucks that were predictable all summer start becoming noticeably more nocturnal as October wears on. Early in the season the same glassing routine still works — shady pockets and north-facing slopes hold bedded bucks worth a midday stalk, and evening glassing can set up a return the next morning. Most bucks are still near where they spent the summer. This is a muzzleloader hunt for antlered bucks only.
Any legal weapon · Antlered mule deer (bucks) · November 5 – November 30
The any-legal-weapon hunt opens during the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase and runs through the Primary Rut and into the Late Rut / Winter Consolidation phase. Glassing the country between where deer spent the summer and where they will be during the rut pays off in the opening days, and once the rut is underway, finding does is the surest way to find bucks, since bucks will most likely be with them or nearby. If substantial snow has moved in, deer can be pushed out of higher country onto ground that's easier to glass and reach, and fresh snow is a good time to cut fresh buck tracks early and late in the day. This hunt is the hardest to draw of the three: residents face very long odds at zero bonus points and long odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents face very long odds at both zero and 5 bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 1,100–8,100 ft, typically around 2,700 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 57% gentle · 29% moderate · 13% steep · 1% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~1,415 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
- Grass and meadow52%
- Shrub and brush35%
- Other cover11%
- Riparian2%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush65%
- Grass and meadow34%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush85%
- Grass and meadow9%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper6%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 83% of Units 271, 272 is public land by ownership — BLM and State Wildlife Management Area. Ownership is not the same as legal access: public land can be reachable only across private ground, and some parcels are closed or restricted.
- BLM83%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- National Park Service13%
- Other land<1%
- Private3%
Hunting is allowed on some National Park Service land but not in national parks or monuments — check where it is allowed.
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 102°F, lows around 73°F
- September — highs around 94°F, lows around 65°F
- October — highs around 81°F, lows around 54°F
- November — highs around 67°F, lows around 42°F
- December — highs around 56°F, lows around 34°F
Units 271, 272 mule deer hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get a mule deer tag in Units 271, 272?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for one of the three deer hunts covering these units — archery, muzzleloader, or any-legal-weapon. Each hunt and weapon type is drawn separately. There is no over-the-counter option for any of these hunts.
How hard are the hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
It varies a lot by hunt and by pool. The archery hunt runs fair odds at zero bonus points and good odds with 5 bonus points for residents, while the any-legal-weapon November hunt runs very long odds for residents at zero points and long odds with 5 points, and very long odds for nonresidents at both zero and 5 points. Residents and nonresidents are drawn from separate quotas, so one pool's odds say nothing about the other.
Can a nonresident hunt here?
A nonresident can apply for the any-legal-weapon hunt in November, which lists odds for both pools. Nonresidents can also apply for the archery hunt (August 10 to September 9) and the muzzleloader hunt (September 10 to October 4); no draw odds are shown for them.
Does Nevada have bonus points and how do they work?
Nevada uses bonus points, not preference points, and antlered mule deer points are tracked separately from points in any other hunt category. A bonus point is earned by applying unsuccessfully for the category, or by purchasing one instead of applying, but 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. Points are lost if a hunter skips applying for the category two years in a row.
Which seasons fall in the rut here, and how much of the region is public land?
Only the any-legal-weapon hunt, running November 5 through November 30, falls within the rut phases; the archery and muzzleloader hunts both run earlier in the year, outside the rut. About 83 percent of the region is public land under BLM and State Wildlife Management Area management, with another 13 percent under National Park Service management, where hunting is allowed only in some areas and never in national parks or monuments. The remaining roughly 3.2 percent is 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.