North Dakota’s 2023 Deer Gun Application Overview

The Peace Garden State is home to all sorts of wildlife; however, the primary target for most big game hunters is whitetail deer and mule deer. Whitetail deer can be found statewide while mule deer are generally found in scattered populations throughout the western half of the state. With the archery draw already behind us, we’re going to take a look at the deer gun draw opportunities for both residents and nonresidents. Although the overall public land percentage is much lower than most western states, it might not be on most people's radar, yet good quality bucks are taken every year. The deer gun lottery offers muzzleloader and rifle opportunities; however, there are some specifics that hopeful applicants and hunters need to be aware of. We will take a closer look at these opportunities below.

State Information

To view important information and an overview of North Dakota’s rules/regulations, the draw system, tag and license fees and an interactive boundary line map, check out our State Profile.

Important Dates and Information

Hunter Education

Proof of hunter education certification must be presented when buying or applying for a hunting license. Official courses offered by other states and Canadian provinces meet these requirements. See the North Dakota state website for exemptions and classes available.

Drought Conditions in North Dakota

2023

Compared to 2022, there hasn’t been a huge drastic change like a lot of other states across the West. However, 2023 has seen some improvements. The northwest corner of the state has seen the biggest change, going from a severe drought to abnormally dry. Overall, this year should see better feed, followed by better antler growth amongst both deer species.

2022

North Dakota’s Deer Gun Lottery

North Dakota’s deer gun lottery has two license types to apply for: muzzleloader and rifle. Since they both have their own point categories, you are allowed to submit one application for each.

Muzzleloader

Muzzleloader licenses are available for both antlered or antlerless whitetail deer. There are no muzzleloader seasons for mule deer. Applicants who hold a muzzleloader tag can hunt in any of the units that are open across the entire state. The muzzleloader tags must be drawn through the public lottery and are available to both residents and nonresidents.

Rifle

All rifle licenses for deer are issued through a public lottery that is available to both residents and nonresidents. Rifle tags are unit specific so hunters will not have the ability to hunt adjacent units like the muzzleloader tags. As with many other states, the rifle hunts carry the worst odds of all available licenses for deer. Available specie types for rifle are below:

The Points System

North Dakota uses a cubed bonus point system for the deer draw where tags are never guaranteed, but your odds of drawing increase exponentially year after year. Under the deer draw, an applicant can miss applying for a year without losing points; however, the applicant loses bonus points by failing to apply for two consecutive years. Bonus points are only used for first choice licenses while second choice options will not affect your point count.

Any applicant unsuccessful in drawing his or her first choice permit in the drawing receives a bonus point for next year's lottery. In years two, three and four, the points are doubled and, for years five and beyond, they are cubed to increase the applicant's chances of drawing a permit.

License and Tag Fees

All applicants are required to purchase a general game and habitat license ($20) in order to apply. If unsuccessful in the draw, then all but the application fee is refunded.

Party Applications

Party applications are accepted for deer licenses and the maximum party size is five. Group points default to the lowest point value present in the party. As an example, if three members have four points each, but one member has one point, then the party will apply with one point. All party members must list the same unit on their application.

North Dakota’s 2023 Whitetail Deer Breakdown

Hands down, the chief deer export for North Dakota is going to be big whitetail bucks. With the amount of private lands and agricultural development in this state, whitetail deer have nearly everything they need to get big and the record books prove that. Some great hunting opportunities can be found on public lands; however, the best hunting — and most repeatable success — will be found on private lands.

The remaining whitetail deer units in the state all have less than 25% public land available to hunt. Utilizing GOHUNT Maps to find access, walk-in areas or property information is going to be key in a state like this. Finding a place to hunt before you apply is something to consider.

RESIDENT EXPECTATIONS

As a resident of North Dakota, the world is your oyster. For the antlered deer gun lottery, there are a total of 46 units to choose from for antlered whitetail deer and one of those is the statewide muzzleloader license. Luckily, you have a really great chance of drawing most units with only one to three points and there were seven units that were drawn with no points. The muzzleloader license is a little more difficult to draw, but your odds start to look a little better once you reach the five-point level.

For antlerless whitetail deer, out of the 42 units, 38 of those have 100% odds at the zero point level. So there is plenty of opportunity for a meat tag. The antlerless muzzleloader license also has much better odds than the antlered license. From zero to two points, you have a 40% to 95% chance of drawing.

NONRESIDENT EXPECTATIONS

The biggest thing to remember for nonresidents is that the outfitter draw has the first shot at these licenses. Make sure that you dive into our Draw Odds page and to ensure that you’re applying for units with enough licenses. Aside from that, there was only one unit that was 100% at zero points. Out of the 45 rifle units, only about half of them were drawn between the two and five point levels. The rest of the units either didn’t have any licenses left after the outfitter draw or it took well over five points to have a reasonable chance at drawing. For the muzzleloader license, you should start to see decent odds once you reach the six-point level. Remember that with the North Dakota draw system, you always have a chance.

For antlerless whitetail deer, you have a total of 10 units that can be drawn with zero points and that includes the statewide muzzleloader whitetail license. Surprisingly enough, a lot of units really get hit hard by the outfitter draw; however, the odds of drawing the remaining ones are in your favor.

Check out your draw odds here

North Dakota’s 2023 Mule Deer Breakdown

You’ll find the most limited options as a nonresident hunter when looking at mule deer hunts. All licenses available to nonresidents for mule deer must be drawn, but these tags are attainable. Overall trophy potential is so-so, but this can be a great option for good, fun hunting with a chance at a mature deer. You’ll find more public land in the more prolific habitat units on the western edge of the state so the DIY hunter will have some options.

The remaining mule deer units in the state all have less than 25% public land available to hunt. Utilizing GOHUNT Maps to find access, walk-in areas or property information is going to be key in a state like this. Finding a place to hunt before you apply is something to consider.

RESIDENT EXPECTATIONS

Just like the antlered whitetail deer licenses, residents have the same advantage when it comes to the antlered mule deer licenses. Out of the 20 units available, all but two units have decent odds at the zero point level. Most of them can be drawn between zero and three points.

For antlerless mule deer, pretty much every unit is up for grabs. Only one unit was below 100% draw odds at zero points for the 2022 season.

NONRESIDENT EXPECTATIONS

For the nonresident, the antlered mule deer licenses are a little more difficult to draw than the whitetail deer licenses. Out of the 20 units available, there is only about 10 of those that give you reasonable odds between the two-point level and the five-point level. Regardless, there is always a chance, so while you are building points, you might as well apply for the units you really desire.

For antlerless mule deer, your odds of drawing are greatly improved. There are a total of eight units that have 100% odds with zero points. If you are looking for a meat license and especially if you have a place to hunt, these licenses might be worth looking at.

Check out your draw odds here

2023 Tag Quotas per License Type

Tag Allocation

Residents obviously have the upper hand when it comes to their share of the tag quota. However, nonresidents only have a shot at about 1% of its available deer licenses per unit — a staggeringly low number when compared to other states. However, it is a guaranteed quota that’s set aside for the nonresident pool.

The Downside to North Dakota’s Draw System

With North Dakota, there is one fact in the nonresident draw that applicants really need to watch for. North Dakota offers licenses to various outfitters throughout the state that are available through the draw. These licenses are taken from the nonresident pool of allocated licenses and the outfitter draw takes place before the general public draw. At times, outfitters can draw all of the nonresident licenses available for a given hunt/unit, leaving no licenses available for nonresident applicants. Typically, you’ll see the greatest impact of this in the rifle seasons.

2023 Tag Quotas per License Type

In the table below, you’ll find the 2023 available licenses for each license type going into the deer gun lottery. This is a reflection of the licenses leftover after the outfitter draw.

Licenses Available per Unit

Now that the outfitter draw has been conducted and they’ve taken their chunk of the nonresident quota, the department of game and fish now has a list of all available licenses left for each unit. We highly recommend that you take a look at those lists to verify that the unit you plan to apply for has enough tags available. Head over to https://gf.nd.gov/licensing/availability/deer and have a look where they have the available licenses broken down by license type and unit.