Nevada Elk

Nevada is always a top state at producing big bulls. Every year, there are a handful of 380-400” bulls harvested in the state, and 2024 had some giant bulls harvested in multiple units throughout the state. Not every unit is producing 350”+ bulls, but almost every unit has the potential to do so. Nevada is a must-apply-for state for anyone who dreams of having a big bull on their wall.

Mother Nature sure is funny. The 2022/2023 winter was really tough with a pile of snow. The 2024/2025 winter has been the opposite with mild, dry conditions throughout most of the central and southern elk habitat throughout Nevada. Luckily, the state has been getting a bunch of storms firing in since the middle of March. Most of the central and southern areas are still going to be in a drought, but each one of these storms is helping.

The archery hunt is typically the best time to put your tag on a giant bull. Nearly every unit in Nevada can produce a 350” bull on the archery hunt. Most archery hunts in Nevada run August 25–September 16, which doesn’t sound that great for the rut, but elk tend to rut earlier here than other states, and these are great rut hunts for mature bulls during September. Units 061 and 062 can be tough without the aid of the rut as these seasons take place August 16–31.

Five of the muzzleloader hunts will take place during some phase of the rut. Those units are 061, 062, 072, 078, and 161. For this year, the muzzleloader hunt in 072 was moved to October 5–21 and unit 161 was rotated to September 13–30. The muzzleloader hunt in 161 is going to be awesome with a couple giant bulls being harvested. The rest of the muzzleloader hunts are going to start October 22nd. Most of the mature bulls have pulled off the cows by October 22nd and can be difficult to find as they are not moving much at all.

All of the elk units available to non-residents have rifle hunts, with the exception of unit 062 with just one hunt. Unit 061, which opens on October 5th, is the only rifle hunt that will have a little rut activity. A few rifle hunts open October 22nd, but most are in November and into December, which can make for some cold weather hunting. These rifle hunts can be physically demanding as none of the bulls are typically in easy spots and have been pushed around and up higher on the mountains from preceding elk and deer hunts.

Nevada is one of the top elk states in the West, but it comes with very steep draw odds. Anyone who wants a big bull should be applying for elk here, and if you are already applying for other species, it is an absolute must as it is only another $19 application fee. The one thing we emphasize is that you need to be applying in the draw rather than applying for points since Nevada does not have a preference draw and these tags are so difficult to draw.

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