Units 241, 242 Elk Hunting, Nevada
Nevada hunt units drawn together · 2,112 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. 6 hunts here have no nonresident tags; a nonresident cannot draw them.
What hunting Units 241, 242 is like
Units 241, 242 together hold hunts drawn as one region, and the country across them rolls from about 2,500 feet up to about 8,000 feet, with gentle to moderate ground making up most of the acreage and only a small share breaking into steep or rugged slopes. Cover shifts with elevation: lower ground is mostly shrub and brush with some grass and meadow, mid elevations carry more grass and meadow along with a growing share of conifer and pinyon-juniper, and the higher country turns to nearly half conifer and pinyon-juniper mixed with shrub and brush and grass.
Public land dominates here, with BLM managing almost the entire region, but ownership on paper is not the same as ease on the ground — reaching public ground can mean crossing private parcels, and access should never be assumed to be simple. Four fires have burned into the region: the Grapevine fire and the Kane Springs fire both burned in 2026 and are within their first year of regrowth, while the Twin fire and the Bishop fire, both from 2020, are now five to eight years out and have grown back thick with brush, saplings and building deadfall. Hunters working the newer burns may find elk moving through patches of unburned timber as green-up returns, while the older burns offer cover dense enough to hide animals at close range.
Every hunt listed here is a resident-only draw; nonresidents cannot apply for any of the elk hunts in Units 241, 242. Bonus points, built up separately for antlered, antlerless and spike categories, shift the odds toward better chances but never promise a tag, and a hunter with no points at all still has a chance to draw.
Elk hunts in Units 241, 242 (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 15 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Good odds | No nonresident tags | Late Summer / Velvet |
| Muzzleloader | August 16 – August 24 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Good odds | No nonresident tags | Pre-Rut Transition |
| Archery | August 25 – September 16 | Antlered elk (bulls) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No nonresident tags | Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset, Primary Rut |
| Muzzleloader | September 17 – September 30 | Antlered elk (bulls) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | No nonresident tags | Primary Rut |
| Any legal weapon | October 1 – October 20 | Antlerless elk (cows and calves) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Long odds | No nonresident tags | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery |
| Any legal weapon | November 6 – November 20 | Antlered elk (bulls) | No points: Very long odds 5 points: Very long odds | No nonresident tags | Migration Transition |
"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 15
This early season falls in the Late Summer / Velvet phase, outside the rut. The resident draw runs from Very long odds at zero bonus points to Good odds with 5 bonus points, and nonresidents cannot apply for this hunt.
Muzzleloader · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · August 16 – August 24
Moving into the Pre-Rut Transition phase, this antlerless hunt falls outside the rut. For residents the draw goes from Very long odds at zero bonus points to Good odds with 5 bonus points, with no nonresident tags available.
Archery · Antlered elk (bulls) · August 25 – September 16
This hunt opens in the Pre-Rut Transition phase and runs through Rut Onset and into Primary Rut, and early in the season bulls are stripping their velvet and are still close to where they spent the summer. Sitting water, or glassing for spot-and-stalk opportunities, can be effective in the first week or two. The resident draw runs Very long odds at zero bonus points and Long odds with 5 bonus points, and nonresidents are not eligible for this hunt.
Muzzleloader · Antlered elk (bulls) · September 17 – September 30
Falling entirely inside the Primary Rut phase, this hunt puts a muzzleloader hunter into rolling, brush-covered country, working the mix of gentle lower ground and steeper breaks that make up the terrain. The variety of cover across elevation bands, from open shrub and brush flats to denser conifer and pinyon-juniper higher up, gives a hunter room to work both open glassing country and closer cover. Public ground is not the same as access, so a hunter should confirm how to reach it. For residents, the draw sits at Very long odds at zero bonus points and remains Very long odds even with 5 bonus points, and there are no nonresident tags for this hunt.
Any legal weapon · Antlerless elk (cows and calves) · October 1 – October 20
Spanning the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut and Post-Rut Recovery phases, this stretch calls for glassing feeding openings in the low morning and evening light and walking likely ground through the slower midday hours to check for fresh tracks and droppings; once sign shows elk are using an area, it pays to keep hunting it rather than move on too quickly. There is nothing notable in the weather here to change that approach. The resident draw moves from Very long odds at zero bonus points to Long odds with 5 bonus points, and nonresidents cannot draw this hunt.
Any legal weapon · Antlered elk (bulls) · November 6 – November 20
By this late hunt the region sits in the Migration Transition phase, when bulls may regroup into bachelor bunches and elk generally begin transitioning toward wintering areas, and large cow groups may become less concentrated. Looking for current sign along the transition into wintering country is the key, since old sign from past years can point to good areas but only fresh evidence confirms elk are using them now. The resident draw holds at Very long odds at zero bonus points and stays Very long odds with 5 bonus points, and nonresidents have no tags available for this hunt.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 2,500–8,000 ft, typically around 5,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 52% gentle · 36% moderate · 12% steep · 1% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~2,105 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 brush84%
- Grass and meadow12%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper2%
- Other cover2%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush71%
- Grass and meadow16%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper13%
Higher elevations
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper48%
- Shrub and brush38%
- Grass and meadow13%
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 241, 242. 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.
- Grapevine fire, 2026 — about 26,000 acres in the region (2%).
- Twin fire, 2020 — about 26,000 acres in the region (2%).
- Kane Springs fire, 2026 — about 17,000 acres in the region (1%).
- Bishop fire, 2020 — about 13,000 acres in the region.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 100% of Units 241, 242 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.
- BLM100%
- Other land<1%
- Private<1%
Private land: permission is the hunter's to get.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 89°F, lows around 63°F
- September — highs around 82°F, lows around 55°F
- October — highs around 69°F, lows around 44°F
- November — highs around 56°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.4 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 47°F, lows around 27°F, about 1.2 in of snowfall
Units 241, 242 elk hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get an elk tag in Units 241, 242?
A hunter applies through Nevada's draw for a specific weapon and legal animal combination, such as archery antlerless or any-legal-weapon antlered elk. Only residents may apply for any of the elk hunts offered in this region, since none of the hunts here carry nonresident tags. Applying is the only path in; there is no over-the-counter option.
How hard are the hunts here to draw, and does it differ for residents and nonresidents?
For residents, odds vary significantly by hunt and by how many bonus points a hunter holds, ranging from very long at zero points to anywhere from good to still very long with 5 points depending on the hunt. Nonresidents cannot apply for any hunt in this region at all, so there is no odds comparison to make for that pool.
Can a nonresident hunt every hunt here?
No. None of the elk hunts in Units 241, 242 are open to nonresidents; every hunt listed for this region is resident-only. A nonresident hunter looking to hunt elk here currently has no hunt to apply for.
Does Nevada have 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 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 for that category 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 seasons here fall in the rut?
The archery antlered hunt from August 25 to September 16, the muzzleloader antlered hunt from September 17 to September 30, and the any-legal-weapon antlerless hunt from October 1 to October 20 all fall within rut-related phases. The archery and muzzleloader antlerless hunts in August, along with the November any-legal-weapon antlered hunt, fall outside those phases.
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.