Units 114, 115 Elk Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt units drawn together · 1,227 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 114, 115 is like
Units 114, 115 are drawn together for these elk hunts, and the country rolls from low valley floors up through mid-slope benches to high conifer and pinyon-juniper country above 10,000 feet. Overall the ground is rolling, with some steeper breaks rather than truly rugged, and most of it is foot country — a hunter who is willing to climb from a lower shrub and brush bench into the mid-elevation mix of shrub and brush and conifer and pinyon-juniper, and on up into the higher conifer and pinyon-juniper timber, will cover the elevations elk use through the fall. Lower elevations lean almost entirely to shrub and brush with a little grass and meadow, so open glassing country gives way to heavier cover as the elevation climbs.
Public land dominates the region at roughly 99 percent of its 1,227 square miles, managed by the BLM and the Forest Service, with only about 1.2 percent in private hands. That public share is not a guarantee of easy entry — some of that ground is reachable only by crossing private land, so a hunter should expect to work out access rather than assume it.
The hunts here split by weapon, legal animal and season, and each pulls from its own bonus point category — antlered, antlerless and spike elk never share a line in the draw. Earlier fall seasons land during the rut, while the late-season hunts run into winter, so a hunter choosing between them is really choosing between rut-season tactics and a colder, later hunt.
Elk hunts in Units 114, 115 (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 17 – September 26 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Fair odds | Nonresidents can apply No draw odds shown | 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: Fair 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: Long 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: Fair 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.
Some hunts take in these units together with other units, so they have their own guides. Check them too:
Muzzleloader · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · September 17 – September 26
This hunt falls in the Primary Rut phase, when cow and calf groups can be found concentrated and a hunter can work toward where they are gathered rather than scattered thin across the ground. Resident odds run Very long odds at zero bonus points and improve to Fair odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · September 27 – October 4
Spanning the Primary Rut phase into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, this hunt still finds cow and calf groups bunched before they begin to loosen up as the rut winds down. Draw odds run Very long odds at zero bonus points for both residents and nonresidents, improving to Long odds with 5 bonus points for each pool.
Any legal weapon · Spike elk · September 27 – October 4
This hunt also spans the Primary Rut phase into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, and a hunter looking for a spike elk can expect groups to still be loosely gathered early before beginning to break apart later in the window. This is a resident-only hunt, with odds running Very long odds at zero bonus points and improving to Fair odds with 5 bonus points; nonresidents cannot draw this hunt.
Any legal weapon · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · December 5, 2026 – January 1, 2027
Running into winter, this hunt puts a hunter filling an antlerless tag into cold, snow-prone country where accumulated snowfall — averaging around 4.2 inches in December and 4.4 inches in January, with lows near 17°F and 18°F — can push cow and calf groups to move toward lower ground. A hunter willing to work the lower benches as conditions build stands a better chance of finding animals concentrated there. Resident odds run Very long odds at zero bonus points and improve to Long odds with 5 bonus points; nonresident odds run Very long odds at zero bonus points and improve to Fair odds with 5 bonus points.
Any legal weapon · Spike elk · December 5, 2026 – January 1, 2027
This late hunt for a spike elk runs into winter conditions, where December and January snowfall averaging around 4.2 and 4.4 inches and lows near 17°F and 18°F can push groups toward lower ground as the cold sets in. A hunter willing to follow that shift toward lower elevations stands a better chance of connecting. This is a resident-only hunt, with odds running Very long odds at zero bonus points and improving to Fair odds with 5 bonus points; nonresidents cannot draw this hunt.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,000–12,100 ft, typically around 6,900 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 54% gentle · 32% moderate · 13% steep · 1% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~1,212 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 brush94%
- Other cover4%
- Grass and meadow2%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush78%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper21%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper74%
- Shrub and brush24%
- Other cover1%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 99% of Units 114, 115 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.
- BLM84%
- National Forest15%
- Private1%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 85°F, lows around 54°F
- September — highs around 76°F, lows around 46°F
- October — highs around 63°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.2 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 50°F, lows around 25°F, about 1.8 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 40°F, lows around 17°F, about 4.2 in of snowfall
Units 114, 115 elk hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get an elk tag in Units 114, 115?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for a specific weapon and legal animal combination in these units, since the hunts here are awarded only through the draw rather than sold over the counter. Each application falls into its own category — antlered, antlerless or spike elk — and a hunter who draws one elk tag has every other elk application voided for that year.
How hard are the hunts in Units 114, 115 to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
Draw difficulty varies by hunt, weapon and legal animal, and residents and nonresidents are judged against separate quotas, so one pool can run easier than the other on the same hunt. Several hunts here run Very long odds at zero bonus points and improve only to Fair or Long odds even with 5 bonus points, so no hunt here should be treated as an easy draw.
Can a nonresident hunt every season in Units 114, 115?
No. Draw odds for nonresidents are listed for the two any-legal-weapon antlerless hunts, but the spike elk hunts carry no nonresident tags and cannot be drawn by a nonresident at all.
Does Nevada have bonus points, and how do they work in this region?
Nevada uses bonus points, not preference points, and a hunter earns one by applying unsuccessfully in a category or by purchasing a point instead of applying, provided 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. Antlered, antlerless and spike elk each keep their own separate point count, and points are lost if a hunter misses two years in a row of applying in that category.
Which seasons in Units 114, 115 fall during the rut, and how much of the region is public land?
The muzzleloader antlerless hunt in September and the early any-legal-weapon antlerless and spike elk hunts running from late September into early October all fall during rut phases, while the December-into-January hunts run later into winter. Public land covers about 99 percent of the region's 1,227 square miles under BLM and Forest Service management, with only a small private share, though public ownership does not by itself guarantee easy access across the ground.
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.