Unit 051 Elk Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt unit · 2,697 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. 2 hunts here have no nonresident tags; a nonresident cannot draw them.
What hunting Unit 051 is like
Unit 051 is gentle and rolling country, with the large majority of its ground classed as gentle terrain and only a small sliver of steep slope anywhere in the unit. Elevations run from low valley floors up near 9,700 feet, and cover shifts with that climb: lower elevations lean heavily to shrub and brush with grass and meadow and a touch of riparian growth, mid elevations split fairly evenly between grass and meadow and shrub and brush, and the higher country is again dominated by shrub and brush with smaller pockets of conifer and pinyon-juniper and deciduous forest. Little of this is technical hiking, but the scale of open ground and the amount of walking it takes to cover it make this foot country in practice.
About 72 percent of the unit is public land under BLM and National Forest management, which gives a hunter a large base to work with, though pockets of that public ground are reachable only by crossing private land, so access still has to be worked out rather than assumed. Roughly 1 percent is tribal land, which is closed to public hunting and does not open with a state tag. The remaining 28 percent is private, and permission there is on the hunter to arrange. The unit has also seen recent fire activity: the Martin fire burned about 214,000 acres here in 2018, now five to eight years back and regrown into thick, deadfall-littered brush that still hides animals well, while the McConnell, Calico, and Dutch Flat fires all burned ground within the unit in 2026 and sit in their first year of recovery.
Both elk seasons here fall in rut timing and both are draw hunts with no nonresident tags, so getting a tag depends entirely on the resident draw and the bonus points behind it.
Elk hunts in Unit 051 (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 elk | Resident | Nonresident | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muzzleloader | September 1 – September 16 | Antlered elk (bulls) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No nonresident tags | Rut Onset, Primary Rut |
| Any legal weapon | September 17 – September 30 | Antlered elk (bulls) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | No nonresident tags | Primary Rut |
"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.
Muzzleloader · Antlered elk (bulls) · September 1 – September 16
Hunting the muzzleloader season means working gentle, open country during the rut onset and into the primary rut, when bulls are engaged with the business of breeding across broad shrub and brush and grass and meadow flats. The terrain's low relief makes it possible to glass long distances, but the same openness means covering ground on foot to close the gap with a muzzleloader's range. Public land is extensive here, though some of it sits behind private parcels, so a hunter needs to sort out access before the season rather than during it. This hunt carries very long odds for a resident at zero bonus points, improving only to long odds even with five bonus points, and nonresidents cannot apply for it at all.
Any legal weapon · Antlered elk (bulls) · September 17 – September 30
By the time the any-legal-weapon season opens, the unit is deep into the primary rut, and the gentle, rolling ground continues to favor hunters willing to put in the miles across open shrub and brush and grass and meadow country rather than relying on steep terrain to pin animals down. The wider weapon allowance gives more flexibility in how a hunter closes distance on a bull in this kind of open ground. Access again depends on working out the boundary between the unit's large public share and the private land that borders or surrounds it. Draw odds for residents sit at very long regardless of whether a hunter holds zero or five bonus points, and nonresidents are not eligible for this hunt.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,700–9,700 ft, typically around 5,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 74% gentle · 20% moderate · 6% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~1,939 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 brush56%
- Grass and meadow26%
- Riparian9%
- Other cover9%
Mid elevations
- Grass and meadow50%
- Shrub and brush48%
- Other cover2%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush72%
- Grass and meadow23%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper3%
- Deciduous forest2%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Recent fires
Wildfires in the last several seasons that burned a meaningful share of Unit 051. Fire perimeters show how much of the region burned, not how hot — and closures change through the year, so check current fire closures and restrictions before you go.
- Martin fire, 2018 — about 214,000 acres in the region (12%).
- McConnell fire, 2026 — about 34,000 acres in the region (2%).
- Calico fire, 2026 — about 18,000 acres in the region (1%).
- Dutch Flat fire, 2026 — about 15,000 acres in the region.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 72% of Unit 051 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.
- BLM55%
- National Forest17%
- tribal land<1%
- Private28%
About 1% 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 87°F, lows around 52°F
- September — highs around 78°F, lows around 44°F
- October — highs around 64°F, lows around 35°F
- November — highs around 49°F, lows around 27°F, about 2.3 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 40°F, lows around 21°F, about 5.1 in of snowfall
Unit 051 elk hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get an elk tag in Unit 051?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for one of the unit's elk hunts, since every elk tag here is awarded by draw rather than sold over the counter. Applications are submitted by category — antlered, antlerless, or spike elk — and an applicant who draws one elk tag has every other elk application voided for that year.
How hard are the Unit 051 elk hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Both listed hunts are resident-only, since nonresidents may not apply for either the muzzleloader or the any-legal-weapon antlered elk hunt in this unit. For residents, the muzzleloader hunt runs very long odds at zero bonus points and long odds with five bonus points, while the any-legal-weapon hunt runs very long odds at either level.
Can a nonresident hunt every season in Unit 051?
No. Both of the unit's elk seasons, muzzleloader and any-legal-weapon, carry no nonresident tags, so a nonresident cannot draw either one regardless of bonus points.
Does Nevada have bonus points, and how do they work in this unit?
Nevada uses bonus points rather than preference points, and antlered, antlerless, and spike elk each keep their own separate point tally. A point is earned by applying unsuccessfully 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, and points are lost if a hunter skips applying in a category for two years running. 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 Unit 051 seasons fall in the rut, and how much of the region is public versus closed to a state tag?
Both the muzzleloader season (September 1–16) and the any-legal-weapon season (September 17–30) fall within the rut onset and primary rut phases. About 72 percent of the unit is public land managed by BLM and National Forest, roughly 28 percent is private land requiring the hunter's own permission, and about 1 percent is tribal land that is closed to public hunting and does not open with a state tag.
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.