Units 078, 107 Elk Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt units drawn together · 504 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. One hunt here has no nonresident tags; a nonresident cannot draw it.
What hunting Units 078, 107 is like
Units 078, 107 are drawn together by Nevada's draw, and the hunts below cover these two units as one region. The ground is gentle and rolling, with a mean slope of about 7 degrees and almost no steep or rugged terrain by area, which makes most of it walkable foot country rather than climbing country. Lower elevations run heavily to shrub and brush, mid elevations mix shrub and brush with conifer and pinyon-juniper, and the higher country above is dominated by conifer and pinyon-juniper, so cover thickens as a hunter climbs from the valley floors toward the 9,200-foot high point.
About 60 percent of the region, roughly 304 of its 504 square miles, is BLM public land, with the remaining 40 percent in private hands. Public ownership does not mean easy access, since reaching BLM ground here can require crossing private land first, so a hunter has to sort out permission before assuming a tract is open. The Shafter fire burned about 5,100 acres inside the region in 2019, a small share of the total ground; by the time of these seasons it sits five to eight years out, old enough that the burn has grown back thick with brush and saplings standing five feet or better, hiding animals well, with deadfall building each year as burned trees fall.
Both seasons here run the same two weeks in the fall, one for antlerless elk and one for spike elk, and the two hunts use separate bonus point categories. A bonus point raises an applicant's odds in the draw but never guarantees a tag, and nonresidents are shut out of the spike elk category entirely while they remain eligible for antlerless elk.
Elk hunts in Units 078, 107 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any legal weapon | September 21 – October 4 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Good odds | Primary Rut, Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
| Any legal weapon | September 21 – October 4 | Spike elk | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No nonresident tags | Primary Rut, Late Rut / Early Post-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.
Some hunts take in these units together with other units, so they have their own guides. Check them too:
Any legal weapon · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · September 21 – October 4
This hunt falls across the Primary Rut and into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, a stretch when cow and calf groups are worth focusing on as they hold together through the rut and begin settling into the early post-rut pattern. Residents face very long odds at zero bonus points but see that improve to fair odds with 5 bonus points, while nonresidents move from very long odds at zero points to good odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Spike elk · September 21 – October 4
Spanning the Primary Rut and Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phases, this stretch is one where animals are still working through rut behavior before settling into the early post-rut period, giving a spike elk hunter a window to work the same ground where groups are concentrated. This is a resident-only hunt, with no nonresident tags available; residents sit at very long odds with zero bonus points, improving to long odds with 5 bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,600–9,200 ft, typically around 5,900 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 72% gentle · 22% moderate · 6% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~304 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 brush95%
- Other cover3%
- Riparian1%
- Grass and meadow1%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush74%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper23%
- Grass and meadow2%
Higher elevations
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper75%
- Shrub and brush23%
- Grass and meadow1%
Across the unit
- Shrub and brush76%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper18%
- Grass and meadow4%
- Other cover2%
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 078, 107. 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.
- Shafter fire, 2019 — about 5,100 acres in the region (2%).
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 60% of Units 078, 107 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.
- BLM60%
- Private40%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 76°F, lows around 51°F
- September — highs around 66°F, lows around 42°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- October — highs around 53°F, lows around 32°F, about 1.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 42°F, lows around 22°F, about 9.9 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 35°F, lows around 15°F, about 14.8 in of snowfall
Units 078, 107 elk hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get an elk tag in Units 078, 107?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for one of the elk hunts offered in this region, choosing between the antlerless elk hunt or the spike elk hunt since an applicant can be awarded only one elk tag. Once drawn, any other elk applications submitted that year become void.
How hard are the hunts here to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Draw difficulty differs by pool and by how many bonus points an applicant holds. On the antlerless elk hunt, both residents and nonresidents face very long odds at zero bonus points, but residents reach fair odds with 5 points while nonresidents reach good odds with 5 points. The spike elk hunt is resident-only, running from very long odds at zero points to long odds with 5 points.
Can a nonresident hunt every hunt offered in this region?
No. A nonresident can apply for the antlerless elk hunt, but the spike elk hunt has no nonresident tags at all, making it ineligible for nonresidents rather than merely difficult to draw.
Does Nevada use bonus points, and how do they work?
Nevada uses bonus points rather than preference points, and antlered, antlerless and spike elk each keep their own separate point category. A point is earned by applying unsuccessfully or by purchasing one instead of applying, but only while holding an active hunting or combination license, and a hunter loses points in a category after missing two consecutive years of applying in it. In the draw, an application gets one random number plus extra random numbers equal to its bonus points squared, and tags go to the lowest numbers first, so more 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 versus closed to a state tag?
Both the antlerless elk and spike elk seasons, running September 21 through October 4, fall across the Primary Rut and into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase. About 60 percent of the region's 504 square miles is BLM public land and the remaining 40 percent is private, figures that describe ownership only, since reaching public ground here 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.