Units 076, 077, 079, 081 Elk Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt units drawn together · 2,490 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 Units 076, 077, 079, 081 is like
Units 076, 077, 079, 081 are hunted together under one set of draw tags, and the ground across them is rolling, with some steeper breaks: gentle slopes dominate by far, with only a small sliver of steep country. Elevations run from about 4,600 feet up near 8,800 feet, and cover shifts with elevation — shrub and brush dominates at the lower end, grass and meadow opens up through the middle elevations, and conifer and pinyon-juniper appears as elevation climbs.
About 72 percent of the region, roughly 1,800 square miles, is BLM public land, with the remainder in private hands. Ownership on a map does not guarantee a walk-in route, since BLM ground here can still sit behind private parcels, so a hunter should expect to work out access rather than assume it. Four fires are on record inside the region: the Goose Creek fire (2018) burned about 64,000 acres, roughly 4 percent of it; the Hot Canyon fire (2025) burned about 13,000 acres, about 1 percent; and the Lost fire (2020) and the Goose fire (2019) each burned under 1 percent. Across these seasons the Goose Creek, Lost and Goose burns are five to eight years out, a stage when brush and saplings get very thick, hide animals easily, and deadfall builds each year, while the Hot Canyon burn is in its first year, when elk are likely in different places than they were in the summer.
Draw tags here split into separate categories for antlered elk, antlerless elk, and spike elk, each tracked on its own bonus point history, and a hunter applies by weapon, animal, and season rather than by a single region-wide tag.
Elk hunts in Units 076, 077, 079, 081 (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: Long odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Fair odds 5 points: Good odds | Late Summer / Velvet, Pre-Rut Transition |
| Archery | August 25 – September 16 | Antlered elk (bulls) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset, Primary Rut |
| Muzzleloader | September 17 – September 30 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Good odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Good odds | Primary Rut |
| Any legal weapon | October 1 – October 20 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery |
| Any legal weapon | October 1 – October 20 | Spike elk | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No nonresident tags | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery |
| Muzzleloader | October 22 – November 5 | Antlered elk (bulls) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | Post-Rut Recovery, Migration Transition |
| Any legal weapon | November 6 – November 20 | Antlered elk (bulls) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | Migration Transition |
| Any legal weapon | November 21 – December 4 | Antlered elk (bulls) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | Migration Transition, Winter Range |
| 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: Fair odds | — |
| Any legal weapon | December 5, 2026 – January 1, 2027 | Spike elk | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No nonresident tags | — |
"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 · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · August 1 – August 24
This archery antlerless hunt runs through the Late Summer / Velvet and Pre-Rut Transition phases, outside the rut. Resident odds run long at zero bonus points but turn good with five bonus points, while nonresident odds start fair and also reach good with five bonus points.
Archery · Antlered elk (bulls) · August 25 – September 16
This stretch runs from the tail of the pre-rut transition into rut onset and into the primary rut itself, and in the first week or two bulls are stripping their velvet and are still close to where they spent the summer, so sitting water or glassing for spot-and-stalk opportunities can be effective. Resident odds are very long at zero bonus points but improve to fair with five bonus points, while nonresident odds stay very long at both zero and five bonus points.
Muzzleloader · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · September 17 – September 30
Falling entirely inside the primary rut, this muzzleloader antlerless hunt falls in the rut. Resident odds run very long at zero bonus points but reach good with five bonus points, and nonresident odds follow the same pattern, very long at zero and good with five.
Any legal weapon · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · October 1 – October 20
Spanning the late rut and into post-rut recovery, this antlerless season calls for glassing feeding openings early and late in the day, walking likely areas for tracks and droppings through the slower hours, and staying patient on an area once sign shows elk are using it. Resident odds run very long at zero bonus points and stay long even with five bonus points, while nonresident odds move from very long at zero bonus points to fair with five.
Any legal weapon · Spike elk · October 1 – October 20
This spike elk hunt covers the same late rut and post-rut recovery window, a period when elk sign is worth tracking patiently, glassing open feed early and late and checking likely areas for tracks and droppings through the slower hours rather than moving on too fast. Resident odds run very long at zero bonus points and stay long even with five bonus points; nonresidents cannot draw this hunt at all.
Muzzleloader · Antlered elk (bulls) · October 22 – November 5
Covering post-rut recovery into the start of the migration transition, bulls recovering from the rut may settle into secluded areas where their needs are met without much travel, which can make hunting them similar to hunting mule deer, so glassing feed early and late and checking for tracks and droppings through the slower hours is the approach. November averages about 3.7 inches of snowfall with lows near 21°F. Resident odds run very long at zero bonus points and stay long with five bonus points, and nonresident odds stay very long at both levels.
Any legal weapon · Antlered elk (bulls) · November 6 – November 20
Set entirely in the migration transition, this hunt has bulls that may form bachelor groups again as elk begin transitioning toward wintering areas and large cow groups may become less concentrated, so fresh sign along that transition is worth more than old sign. November averages about 3.7 inches of snowfall with lows near 21°F. Both resident and nonresident odds run very long at zero bonus points and stay very long even with five bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlered elk (bulls) · November 21 – December 4
Running from the migration transition into the start of winter range, bulls may now be grouped together and wintering areas may be seeing the kind of repeated use that carries over year to year, so a hunter does well to use past sign to narrow down a search area and then confirm it with fresh tracks, droppings, or sightings before committing time there. November averages about 3.7 inches of snowfall with lows near 21°F, and December about 7.4 inches with lows near 14°F. Resident odds run very long at zero bonus points but ease to long with five bonus points, while nonresident odds stay very long at both levels.
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 averaging about 7.4 inches of snowfall and lows near 14°F and January about 8.9 inches with lows near 15°F, so snow depth is worth checking. Resident odds run very long at zero bonus points but reach fair with five bonus points, and nonresident odds follow the same climb, very long at zero and fair with five.
Any legal weapon · Spike elk · December 5, 2026 – January 1, 2027
This spike elk hunt runs December 5 to January 1, with December averaging about 7.4 inches of snowfall and lows near 14°F and January about 8.9 inches with lows near 15°F, so snow depth is worth checking. Resident odds run very long at zero bonus points and ease only to long with five bonus points; nonresidents are not eligible for this hunt.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,600–8,800 ft, typically around 5,900 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 67% gentle · 30% moderate · 3% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~1,800 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 brush86%
- Grass and meadow9%
- Other cover3%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush64%
- Grass and meadow29%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper6%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush60%
- Grass and meadow29%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper10%
Across the unit
- Shrub and brush81%
- Grass and meadow10%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper8%
- Other cover1%
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 Units 076, 077, 079, 081. 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.
- Goose Creek fire, 2018 — about 64,000 acres in the region (4%).
- Hot Canyon fire, 2025 — about 13,000 acres in the region.
- Lost fire, 2020 — about 7,100 acres in the region.
- Goose fire, 2019 — about 6,800 acres in the region.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 72% of Units 076, 077, 079, 081 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.
- BLM72%
- Private28%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 85°F, lows around 49°F
- September — highs around 74°F, lows around 41°F
- October — highs around 60°F, lows around 31°F, about 0.2 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 45°F, lows around 21°F, about 3.7 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 36°F, lows around 14°F, about 7.4 in of snowfall
Units 076, 077, 079, 081 elk hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get an elk tag in Units 076, 077, 079, 081?
Every elk hunt across these units is awarded through Nevada's draw rather than sold over the counter. A hunter applies for a specific weapon, legal animal, and season — antlered, antlerless, or spike elk — and if drawn, that tag is the hunter's only elk tag, since drawing one voids any other elk application. There is no guaranteed path in, but a hunter with no bonus points can still apply and can still draw.
How hard are the hunts here to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Difficulty varies widely by hunt: some archery and muzzleloader cow tags move from long or very long odds at zero bonus points to good odds with five bonus points, while nonresident odds on every bull hunt stay very long at both levels, and the November 6 to 20 bull hunt stays very long for residents too. Residents and nonresidents are drawn from separate quotas, and in a few hunts nonresident odds improve faster with bonus points than resident odds do, so the two pools do not always track each other.
Can a nonresident hunt every season offered here?
No. Nonresidents may apply for the archery, muzzleloader, and any-legal-weapon hunts for both antlered and antlerless elk, but the spike elk hunts in both October and the December-to-January window carry no nonresident tags at all, making those resident-only opportunities.
Does Nevada use bonus points, and how do they work here?
Nevada uses bonus points rather than preference points, and antlered, antlerless, and spike elk each carry their own separate point tally. 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 is earned only with an active hunting or combination license at the time of the draw, and points are lost if a hunter misses two years in a row of applying for that category.
Which seasons here fall during the rut, and how much of the region is public land?
The archery bull season, the muzzleloader cow season, and both October hunts for cows and spike elk fall within the rut's various phases, while the earliest archery cow season and the later muzzleloader and any-legal-weapon bull seasons fall outside it. About 72 percent of the region is BLM public land, with the rest in private ownership. Permission on the private ground is the hunter's to get.
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.