Unit 113 Elk Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt unit · 674 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 113 is like
Unit 113 is gentle and rolling country, with the great majority of its ground gentle or moderate and only a sliver of steep terrain. Lower and mid elevations run almost entirely to shrub and brush with a trace of grass and meadow, while the higher ground mixes shrub and brush with conifer and pinyon-juniper. Most of the ground is gentle enough to cover on foot.
Public land makes up the large majority of the unit, managed by the BLM, but ownership is not the same as access: reaching public ground can mean crossing private land first, so a hunter should never assume a straightforward walk-in. About 16% of the unit is tribal land, which is closed to public hunting entirely — a state tag does not open it and a hunter needs the tribe's own permission to set foot there. Private land accounts for only about 1% of the unit, and getting permission there is on the hunter.
Unit 113 carries antlerless elk hunts across archery, muzzleloader and any-legal-weapon seasons, plus spike elk hunts restricted to residents, so a hunter's draw strategy depends heavily on which category and season fits their plans. Because residents and nonresidents draw from separate quotas, and because spike elk hunts here have no nonresident tags at all, a nonresident's options are narrower than a resident's across the year.
Elk hunts in Unit 113 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | August 1 – August 24 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Long odds 5 points: Good odds | Late Summer / Velvet, Pre-Rut Transition |
| Muzzleloader | September 17 – September 26 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No points: Long odds 5 points: Good odds | Primary Rut |
| Any legal weapon | September 27 – October 4 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | Primary Rut, Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
| Any legal weapon | September 27 – October 4 | Spike elk | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No nonresident tags | Primary Rut, Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
| Any legal weapon | December 5, 2026 – January 1, 2027 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | — |
| Any legal weapon | December 5, 2026 – January 1, 2027 | Spike elk | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | No nonresident tags | — |
| Any legal weapon Hunt area: 113N, North portion | January 2 – January 31, 2027 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | Nonresidents can apply No draw odds shown | — |
"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 this unit together with other units, so they have their own guides. Check them too:
Archery · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · August 1 – August 24
This stretch falls in the Late Summer / Velvet phase sliding into the Pre-Rut Transition phase, outside the rut. The draw sits at Very long odds at zero bonus points for residents and Long odds at zero bonus points for nonresidents, with both pools reaching Good odds with 5 bonus points.
Muzzleloader · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · September 17 – September 26
Running through the Primary Rut phase, this antlerless hunt falls in the rut, over open shrub and brush country on gentle ground. Residents sit at Very long odds at zero bonus points and Long odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents move from Long odds at zero bonus points to Good odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · September 27 – October 4
Spanning the tail of the Primary Rut phase into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, this antlerless hunt falls in the rut. Residents face Very long odds at zero bonus points and Long odds with 5 bonus points, and nonresidents see the same bands, Very long odds at zero bonus points moving to Long odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Spike elk · September 27 – October 4
This spike elk hunt covers the same Primary Rut phase into Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase stretch over gentle, open ground. This is a resident-only hunt, with no nonresident tags offered. The resident draw runs Very long odds at zero bonus points to Long odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · December 5, 2026 – January 1, 2027
This late antlerless hunt runs December 5 to January 1, with December snowfall averaging around 2.5 inches and lows near 16°F and January snowfall around 4.2 inches and lows near 17°F. A hunter working this stretch should check how much snow has actually built up before picking where to focus. Residents run Very long odds at zero bonus points to Fair odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents run Very long odds at zero bonus points to Long odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Spike elk · December 5, 2026 – January 1, 2027
Over the same late-season window, with December snowfall near 2.5 inches and lows near 16°F and January snowfall near 4.2 inches and lows near 17°F, this spike elk hunt covers the same open shrub and brush ground, so snow depth is worth checking. This resident-only hunt carries no nonresident tags. The resident draw runs Very long odds at zero bonus points to Fair odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · January 2 – January 31, 2027
Confined to the 113N North portion late in the year, this hunt runs through January with snowfall averaging around 4.2 inches and lows near 17°F, so a hunter filling this antlerless tag should check snow depth when scouting. The resident draw runs Very long odds at zero bonus points to Fair odds with 5 bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,300–9,700 ft, typically around 6,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 76% gentle · 20% moderate · 4% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~557 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 brush97%
- Other cover1%
- Grass and meadow1%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush98%
- Grass and meadow2%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush56%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper43%
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 Unit 113 is public land by ownership — BLM. 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%
- tribal land16%
- Private1%
About 16% 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 54°F
- September — highs around 77°F, lows around 44°F
- October — highs around 63°F, lows around 33°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 50°F, lows around 23°F, about 1.2 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 40°F, lows around 16°F, about 2.5 in of snowfall
Unit 113 elk hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get an elk tag in Unit 113?
Every elk hunt in Unit 113 is awarded through Nevada's draw rather than sold over the counter. A hunter applies for a specific weapon, season and legal animal — antlered, antlerless or spike elk — and each of those is its own category in the draw. An applicant can draw only one elk tag; drawing one voids any other elk applications that hunter has pending.
How hard are the hunts to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Yes, residents and nonresidents draw from separate quotas, and the odds differ by hunt and by pool. Some hunts favor one pool over the other at a given bonus point level, and spike elk hunts are closed to nonresidents entirely. A hunter should check the odds for the specific hunt, season and pool they intend to apply for rather than assume Unit 113 is uniformly easy or hard to draw.
Can a nonresident hunt every hunt here?
No. Nonresidents may apply for the antlerless elk hunts offered by archery, muzzleloader and any legal weapon, but both spike elk hunts in Unit 113 carry no nonresident tags at all. A nonresident is simply ineligible for those spike hunts, not just unlikely to draw them.
Does Nevada have bonus points, and how do they work?
Nevada uses bonus points, not 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 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 seasons fall in the rut, and how much of the region is public land open to a state tag?
The muzzleloader antlerless hunt and both any-legal-weapon hunts running September 27 to October 4 fall within the regional rut timing, while the August archery antlerless hunt runs before it. Public land under BLM management covers the large majority of Unit 113, but about 16% of the unit is tribal land closed to public hunting regardless of what tag a hunter holds. The remaining private land is a small share of the unit, though reaching public ground can still mean crossing private land first.
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.