New for 2023

State Information

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The Draw System

Nevada's 2023 Elk Breakdown

Nevada's 2023 Antelope Breakdown

NEVADA'S 2023 ELK & ANTELOPE APPLICATION OVERVIEW

Note: The application deadline for all Nevada species is May 10, 2023 by 11:00 p.m. PDT You can apply online here.

To view important information and an overview of Nevada’s rules/regulations, the draw system and bonus points, tag and license fees and an interactive boundary line map, check out our State Profile. You can also view the Species Profiles to access historical and statistical data to help you find trophy units.

Nevada is a fairly easy state to apply in. You will have to create an online account if you have not previously done so. That can be done by going here.

IMPORTANT DATES AND INFORMATION

*Applicants who want to build bonus points if they are unsuccessful in the draw will need to purchase a hunting license or hunt/fish combo license. If they do not, they will not be given a bonus point. Tag fees will only be charged if you are successful in the draw. You do not have to front tag fees when you apply.

Drought analysis, horn and antler growth

Nevada has been and will always be the driest state in the U.S. The years of 2019, 2020 and 2021 were extremely dry and several species are experiencing declining populations. Antler growth was definitely negatively impacted. Antelope and mule deer are among the hardest hit. Elk have fared somewhat better, but even those populations are stressed by the consecutive years of poor moisture. The winter of 2022 was better than previous years and the winter of 2022/2023 has been significantly better in terms of snowpack. This winter has put down record amounts of snow and every major mountain range is 200% plus annual median. Nevada’s antler and horn growth is largely dependent on moisture and, coming off of 2022, which was a decent year, the outlook for 2023 is very good. There is ample winter range and the moisture will certainly improve range conditions from the valley bottoms to the higher elevation summer ranges.

2021, 2022, 2023 Drought Analysis

2023

Nevada snow water equivalent update from April 13, 2023. Source: National Resources Conservation Service

Nevada drought monitor status from April 11, 2023. Source: United States Drought Monitor

2022

Nevada drought monitor status from April 5, 2022. Source: United States Drought Monitor

2021

Nevada drought monitor status from April 6, 2021. Source: United States Drought Monitor

UNDERSTANDING THE DRAW

Nevada has a random weighted bonus point draw system. Every applicant who applies has a chance to draw the tags they applied for; however, bonus points increase the chances of drawing over time in order to be successful in drawing a tag. The Nevada tag quota split for residents and nonresidents is approximately a 90/10 split.

Hunt Choices

Applicants can apply for up to five choices when they apply. When an application is considered in the draw, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) will attempt to allocate the first choice. If all permits are gone for that hunt, they will attempt to allocate the second choice. If all tags are gone for your second choice, they will attempt to award you a tag for your third choice. They continue through all five hunt choices before moving to the next applicant. Thus, applicants could draw any of their five hunt choices.

Due to this process, applicants should include hunts for all five choices to increase their chances of drawing a tag. Also, applicants should stagger their hunt choices from best hunt (worst odds) to better odds (decent hunt). If you were to apply inversely (best odds to worst odds), you are essentially wasting your latter hunt choices.

Bonus Points

Nevada has a bonus point system where applicants will receive one bonus point for each year they apply and are unsuccessful in the draw. You must buy a hunting license when you apply if you wish to receive a bonus point after the draw. Applicants who do buy the hunting license will not receive a bonus point. Bonus points are species specific. For example, you cannot apply bonus points you have accrued for mule deer towards an elk application. Applicants can apply for bonus points only if they do not want to select hunts. We recommend that applicants apply for hunts and not points only. Remember that the draw is random and odds are low and you will receive a point if you are unsuccessful in the draw.

The only reason not to apply for hunts is if you cannot afford the cost of the tag should you draw it or the time off of work.

Bonus points are squared in the draw. For example, if you have five bonus points, you will have 26 chances in the draw (5x5+1 (this year’s application) = 26). If an applicant draws a tag or fails to apply for two consecutive years, the bonus points will be purged.

Group Applications

Nevada allows hunters to apply on a group application for deer, antlerless elk and antelope (horns shorter than ears). Residents and nonresidents can apply together on a group application. Doing so does not increase odds for a nonresident; the nonresident tags will still come from the nonresident quota. Applying as a group does have the potential to negatively impact odds slightly as Nevada will not over-allocate tags to cover a group application if there are not enough tags to satisfy the size of the group. Bonus points for a group application are averaged and rounded to the nearest whole number.

If a group application has been drawn and the group wants to return their tags to have bonus points reinstated, every member of the group must return their tag.

Draw Order

The draw order allows applicants to apply for all species and sex that they wish to hunt without the issue of drawing a lower tiered tag. Applicants are only allowed to draw a single tag for each species.

Surrendering Tags

Within seven days of the results of the draw, applicants who successfully drew a tag can choose to electronically return their tag. Hunters who drew an elk or antelope tag can turn them back in up to one day prior to the start of the season. In this case, they will retain their bonus points and gain one for this year’s application.

Secondary Draw

Any remaining tags after the main draw will become available in a second drawing to both residents and nonresidents. If you apply and draw a tag in the second drawing, your bonus points will be purged. Online applications for the second draw are due by 11 p.m. on June 12, 2023.

Leftover and Returned Tag Process

All mule deer, antelope, black bear, elk, mountain goat, and bighorn sheep tags that remain after the secondary draw and any returned tags that have not been claimed by an eligible alternate will be listed and sold on a first come, first served basis on the NDOW licensing system. The first come, first served program generally opens in early July. Bonus points will be purged if you purchase a leftover or returned tag.

As previously stated, applicants who drew a tag can return their deer, elk, or antelope tags up until one day prior to their hunt starting. If the tag is not accepted by an alternate, it will be listed randomly on the first come, first served list and can be potentially purchased. New for 2023: in order to purchase a resident returned tag, you must be a resident of Nevada. A nonresident of Nevada can only purchase a tag that was originally drawn and returned by a nonresident.

More information can be found in the link here.

Note: we will have an updated Nevada first come, first served article later this summer when that tag system opens.

UNLOCKING NEVADA’S SYSTEM

Nevada has been one of — if not the best trophy — elk state in the West over the past several years. Some phenomenal bulls have been harvested and the outlook for 2023 is very good. Antelope hunting is also very good in Nevada and, with the bulk of almost every unit being public land, it’s a DIY hunter's dream. Every unit can offer a good chance at success and every year multiple 80” bucks are taken. Generally speaking, Nevada has taken a high quality, limited opportunity approach to game management mostly due to the fact that Nevada is historically a very dry state and carrying capacity is lower than other western states.

Because Nevada issues very few nonresident elk tags, the odds are not good to draw. If you decide to begin to apply in Nevada you must understand that under their current draw system, there is a high likelihood that you may never draw a bull elk tag. Currently, the best draw odds for nonresidents is around 11% to 12% and that is with around 25 years worth of bonus points. Antelope tags have better odds, but for the most part, it’s only marginally better than elk. Drawing an antelope tag should also be considered a long term goal. There are some archery antelope options that do have decent odds with 10 points of less.

In my opinion, applying in Nevada is a cost/value analysis for nonresidents. It is expensive for a nonresident to buy the license, apply and build points year after year. If you apply for all species and are willing to apply for primitive weapons or less than prime season hunts that have better odds, it likely is worth it. I personally look at Nevada as a state where you can hunt deer and possibly antelope with a bow every three to 10 years. That keeps me applying in hopes that I will also get lucky and draw an elk and/or bighorn sheep tag along the way. The quality is very good; the tags are just hard to come by.

A few application tips for Nevada: 1) Always apply for hunts and never points only. The draw is random; as long as you apply you have some chance. 2) Always include five choices for each hunt when you apply. NDOW considers all five of your choices and your odds of drawing any tag are slightly better if you include all five choices. 3) With five choices available, the first hunt selections on your application should be for great hunts or the hunt(s) you desire most. The last three selections can be a continuation of moving toward hunts that have progressively better odds. The reason for this method is that you never know when you will be one of the first applications considered and you want to draw the best possible hunt on your application.

Nevada is historically the driest state in the nation. Antler growth in Nevada is tied tightly to the amount of moisture the state receives and the winter of 2022/2023 has been one of the best ever. All major mountain ranges are sitting at over 200% of annual snowpack. The feed will be very good going into the spring and early summer months when bulls are packing on antler growth. Not every unit in Nevada regularly produces 350” plus caliber bulls, but every unit has the potential. There truly are no bad options and, with the moisture this year, it may be a good time to apply for hunts that offer potentially better odds and try to cash in your points.

Nevada offers archery, muzzleloader, early and late rifle hunts. The archery hunts in most units run from Aug. 25 to Sept. 16. These hunts allow hunters to hunt during the pre-rut stage where spot and stalk and ambush style hunting can be very effective. During the last few days of that, hunters should also get to hunt rutting bulls. There are a few unit groups that offer early archery dates from Aug. 16 to 31. These hunts are early and tag holders are unlikely to experience any portion of the rut. They are mostly spot and stalk and ambush hunting over water hunts. Also, for 2023, there is one unit group (161-164/171-173) that will offer a Sept. 17 to 30 hunt, which gives lucky tag holders an opportunity to hunt the heart of the rut. This should be an exceptional opportunity to hunt big bulls. It's worth noting that many of the archery hunts have worse draw odds than muzzleloader and even the rifle hunts.

The muzzleloader hunts generally run from Oct. 5 to 21. The rut will have begun to slow some; however, there is typically still good bugling and calling action. There are some units that offer a Sept. 17 to 30 muzzleloader hunt and one unit group with a Sept. 1 to 16 one. Overall, the muzzleloader hunts are very good.

There are both early and late rifle hunts that applicants can apply for. The early rifle hunts dates for most unit groups are still quite late, running from Nov. 6 to 20. There are some unit groups that offer earlier rifle dates that run from Oct. 22 to Nov. 5. The late rifle dates for most unit groups run from Nov. 21 to Dec. 4 with some units offering an additional hunt Nov. 6 to 20. The rifle hunts are post rut hunts where bulls will have moved away from cow/calf herds and will have searched out remote pockets to feed after the rut. These hunts still have good harvest success rates, but many of the biggest bulls may have broken tines. Also, several of the bigger bulls will have been killed during the archery and muzzleloader hunts. The rifle hunts are still great hunts and, even though the odds are still terrible, they are generally better than the early archery and muzzleloader hunts.

CURRENT ELK HERD CONDITION

Nevada’s elk population peaked in 2015 at 18,500 elk estimated statewide. Since then, the population has declined. In 2022, the estimate was approximately 12,500 elk. The years of 2019, 2020 and 2021 were very dry and the calf recruitment was negatively affected. Hopefully, with an exceptional water year in 2023, herds will have an opportunity to begin to rebound.

Managing Points and Expectations

Maximum bonus points for elk: 30

What Can Applicants Expect with Zero Bonus Points?

Study our standalone Draw Odds page and adjust your individual point value to see what your best odds are for drawing a tag or planning for a future hunt. The odds of drawing get better with the more points you have.

For nonresidents applying for the first time in Nevada, the odds of drawing a bull elk tag are very poor. Out of the 11 archery hunts, the best odds were for Unit Group 061/071 at .06%. All but one muzzleloader hunt had odds of less than .01%. One muzzleloader hunt had odds of .02%, which was 161-164/171-173. Seven rifle hunts had .02% odds. The rest were .01% or less. I suggest picking hunts that meet your trophy potential, terrain and preferred weapon and apply.

Resident odds with no points are not much better than the nonresidents. The best odds for an archery bull hunt were .55% in Unit 075. The best muzzleloader odds were for Unit Group 108/131/132 at .45%. Rifle odds are generally a bit better, but even still, the best odds were for the late rifle hunt in 104/108/121 at .48%. Once again, pick the hunts with good trophy potential and for the seasons you want to hunt and hope for some luck in the draw.

What Can Applicants Expect with 5 to 10 Points?

Unfortunately, for nonresidents with five points, there are no hunts that have odds higher than 2%. The archery hunts in 061/071 had odds of 1.6%. No other hunt had odds that were better than 1%. Moving to 10 bonus points, that same archery hunt had odds of 5.9%. The muzzleloader and late rifle hunt in Unit Group 161-64/171-173 both had 2.4% odds with 10 points. Unit Group 072-074 archery hunt had 2.6% odds while the late rifle hunt for that same unit group had 2.4% odds for the late rifle hunt. Those hunts are your best options for the later choices on your application. Swing for the fences with your first choice and then stagger them accordingly.

Within this point range, it’s good to be a resident of Nevada because there are some decent odds of drawing a tag if you want to. The archery hunts in 061/071 had 53% odds with five points. The archery hunt in 072-074 had 53% odds with five points. Archery in Unit 075 had 13% odds. Several other archery hunts had odds between 3% to 10%. Muzzleloader hunters might consider Unit Group 104,/108/121 (11%) and 108/131/132 (9.2%). The best rifle hunt odds with five points was for the late hunt in Unit Group 104/108/121 at 12%.

As you move to 10 bonus points, there were eight archery hunts with 20% or better odds. The best of which are likely Unit Groups 076/077/079/081, 078/105-107/109 and 161-164/171-173. The best muzzleloader hunt odd with 10 points were for Unit Groups 104/108/121, 108/131/132 and 111-115. Unit Groups 108/131/132 had 23% early rifle odds and the late hunt in 104/108/121 had 39% odds. Stagger your choice with the best possible hunts in the state as your first few choices. The hunts noted above are some of the best options for your final choices.

What Can Applicants Expect with 15 plus Points?

Nonresidents with this many bonus points have a decision to make. Nevada has great trophy potential in many units, but those areas still offer odds that are less than 1%. Out of the 44 hunts a nonresident could apply for in 2022, 17 still had odds of less than 1% with 15 points. Only four hunts had odds of greater than 5%. Those hunts are the archery hunts in 061/071 and 072-074. The late rifle hunts in Units 072-074 and 161-164/171-173 both had 5.3% odds.

If you draw one of those areas, will it provide the type of hunt you are looking for? Nonresident applicants with 15+ points should decide if Nevada is purely a trophy state for elk or if they want to try to apply for one of the mid-tier units and just get a chance to go hunting. Review the draw odds, Filtering 2.0 and the unit profiles to make the best selection for you.

Residents who have built 15+ bonus points should really focus on the highest quality hunts. My personal opinion is that with draw odds being poor and a seven-year waiting period after you draw, applicants should focus on the best areas because they may not draw more than a few elk tags ever in Nevada. Archery hunters might consider 111-115 with 27% odds, 221-223 with 36% odds, 104/108/121 with 22%+ odds, 108/131/32 with 20%+ odds and 062-064/66-068 with 20%+ odds or 231 with 26%+ odds. There are also some incredible muzzleloader hunts in those same units with 30%+ draw odds. For rifle hunters, I would once again swing for the fences with your first few choices 108/131/132, with the understanding that early rifle and 104/108/121 late rifle are worth some research. Overall, once applicants have built 15+ points, my advice would be to apply for the high trophy quality tags as your first choices. Remember that if you draw a tag, you have the option to scout prior to your hunt and, if you are not able to find a bull of the caliber you desire, you can turn your tag back in just before your hunt and regain your points.

Nevada has had a few really dry years and, with prolonged drought, antelope populations are susceptible to die off. Statewide, the populations have suffered with the current estimate 2% lower than it was in 2021. My hope is that the moisture that has hit during the winter of 2022/2023 will significantly help range conditions. If the moisture continues for a few years, populations will rebound quickly given the fact that antelope often produce twins and even triplets. The trophy potential is good in Nevada and almost every unit can produce an 80”+ buck. The traditional great areas in northwestern Nevada have struggled and are not providing the hunts that it’s known for. Overall, most areas are going to produce 70” to 75” bucks with the potential for better; however, those bigger bucks can be hard to find. Nevada is a good antelope state and, as long as you are applying for other species, you should definitely be applying for antelope as well.

CURRENT ANTELOPE HERD CONDITION

Managing Points and Expectations

Maximum bonus points for antelope: 28

What Can Applicants Expect with Zero Bonus Points?

Residents who are willing to bowhunt have some really good odds even with no bonus points. Archery hunts in Units 072/074/075 had 30%odds. Unit 141/143/151-156 had 20% odds and 032/033 had 16% odds.

Muzzleloader hunters might consider Units 015 and 066 with 6.8% and 7.6% odds. Rifle hunters do not have any hunts that have odds greater than 1%.

For nonresidents, there are many different archery hunts in the state that have very few applicants. The odds are still low given the fact that Nevada does not issue many nonresident tags. The archery hunt odds are better, but not by much. All but one hunt have odds that are still less than 1%. The best odds were for the archery hunt in Units 141/143/151-156 with 2.4% odds. The rifle and muzzleloader hunts all have less than 1% odds. Applying for a muzzleloader or rifle hunt should be considered a long term application strategy.

What Can Applicants Expect with 5 to 10 Points?

For residents, there were 32 archery hunts to apply for — of those, 20 had 20%+ draw odds. Within those, there are some good trophy units with high harvest success rates, including Units 011, 041/042, 067/068, 181-184 and 072/074/075, which had greater than 99% draw odds.

Explore the odds and use the filters in your Insider account to explore those options.

Rifle and muzzleloader hunters also have great odds of drawing a hunt within this point range. Some of the most noteworthy options include 067/068, 251, 171/172/173, 012/013/014 and 011. Once again, explore the odds and stagger your choices from the best hunt (worst odds) to good hunt (better odds) with your one through five hunt choices.

Nonresidents should consider the archery hunts. There were 10 archery hunts with 10%+ draw odds with five points. The best odds for a nonresident were for the archery hunts in Units 141/143/151/152/153/154/155/156 with 47% odds, 072/074/075 with 22% odds and 035 with 20% odds. The areas with better trophy potential have archery odds typically in the 1% to 10% range. There are several other good options. Compare the hit list above in this article with the standalone draw odds for the best option for you.

Nonresident firearm hunters should strongly consider the muzzleloader hunts. The odds are much better than the rifle hunts. Review the odds and harvest success from the GOHUNT hit list above and make sure that you apply for a hunt at all five choices.

ADDITIONAL APPLICATION OPPORTUNITIES

NEVADA SILVER STATE TAG

For an additional $24, you can select to be included in the Silver State tag drawings, which would make you eligible for the one permit per species drawing each year that allows the recipient the opportunity to hunt any public land across the state from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31—just like the governor’s tag. The Silver State elk tag application fee is $29.

NEVADA DREAM TAGS

Nevada Dream Tags are another shot at drawing the hunt of a lifetime for mule deer, antelope, desert bighorn sheep, California bighorn sheep, elk and black bear in Nevada. Dream Tags are similar to SuperTags and Super Raffles in other western states. This drawing is open to both residents and nonresidents. After purchasing a $11.75 Resource Enhancement Stamp, you can then buy an unlimited number of raffle tickets for $5.75 each for as many species as you want. You can enter the Dream Tag raffle here.