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Nevada Elk Breakdown

Nevada Antelope Breakdown

NEVADA'S 2024 ELK & ANTELOPE APPLICATION OVERVIEW

Note: The application deadline for all Nevada species is May 8, 2024 by 11:00 p.m. PT You can apply online here.

State Information

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 purchase the hunting license, 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

2024

2023

2022

2021

The draw system

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 being successful in the draw over time. The Nevada tag quota split for residents and nonresidents is approximately a 90/10 split. 

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 not 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 antelope 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, so you have a chance to draw 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 (5 x 5 + 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.

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.

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 will be conducted in the following 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 10, 2024. 

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. For 2024, 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.

UNLOCKING NEVADA’S SYSTEM

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. If you buck the odds and draw an elk or antelope tag in Nevada, the opportunity to tag out on a trophy animal is very good. The primary issue for nonresidents is that there are very few permits issued and the odds of drawing are extremely tough. 

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 — even for archery hunts in mid- to low-tier trophy quality areas. Antelope permits are also tough to draw, but the odds for some archery antelope hunts are better. 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 may be 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: 

For the most part, Nevada has chosen a quality over quantity management strategy in regards to how it allocates bull elk tags. The odds of drawing a tag are extremely low, but the opportunity to harvest a phenomenal bull is good. Once again, I would suggest that the decision to apply in Nevada for elk and other species is a cost/value judgment. Nonresidents might only draw one Nevada bull elk tag in their life and it’s possible — given the number of applicants and their draw system — that you may never draw. I would suggest that if you are only interested in applying for elk as a nonresident and are fairly new to the system, you should save the cost of the license you must purchase to apply and build points and put that into a savings account. You could put that money towards a landowner tag in another state in the future. If you are applying for all species, it’s still worth it in my opinion to apply in Nevada, which gives you the chance to draw for those other species as well. Not every unit in Nevada offers the chance at giant bulls, but every unit in the state can and does produce 350” class bulls. In some units, that caliber of bull can be tough to find, but every unit in the state will offer hunters the opportunity to see several bulls and a good age class.   There are certainly top-tier units. I have included those below in the hit list table below. Nevada is having a good moisture year and I anticipate 2024 being a great year for antler growth. 

The archery seasons in Nevada are early, mostly running from Aug. 25 to Sept. 16. There are also a few hunts that have even earlier dates, running from Aug. 16 to Aug. 31. The August hunt dates are less than ideal for hunting bugling bulls, but the opportunity to spot and stalk while they are still in summer range and patterns is underrated. Hunting water during those early dates is also very effective. With most of the hunts ending by Sept. 16, the last week of the hunt can be good for rut action. The archery hunts do offer you the first crack at bulls that have been unpressured throughout the summer months. 

Muzzleloader hunts primarily occur in late October when bulls will have pulled away from cow and calf herds. This time of year can be hard to turn up a specific bull consistently. The later muzzleloader hunts are still good hunts, but you will need to cover ground and be willing to put time in behind binoculars. There are three muzzleloader hunts in the northeastern portion of the state that occur in September when bulls will be rutting. Those are worth considering if you are looking for a rut firearm hunt. 

The rifle hunts occur late in the season when the weather is often cold and bigger bulls are in smaller bachelor herds or completely solo. One benefit of the later hunts is that much of Nevada is big, open terrain and glassing is highly effective. It’s worth noting that even though the late rifle hunt odds are still poor, they are generally better than they are for archery, muzzleloader and early rifle hunts. 

Overall, Nevada is a dream elk state and any tag is a good one. The odds of drawing are terrible. Don’t plan on drawing, but if you do get lucky, put the time and effort into it and make the most of it. Remember that the draw in Nevada is random — as long as you apply you have a chance!         

CURRENT ELK HERD CONDITION

Managing points and expectations

Maximum bonus points for elk: 32

Nevada antelope populations are down slightly throughout most of the state and there are pockets where drought has definitely negatively impacted numbers more heavily. The number of tags that were offered in 2023 was down slightly for archery and muzzleloader hunters, but stable with some increases for rifle hunters. This year, a similar number of tags will be offered compared to 2023. While populations have declined slightly, the trophy quality has held steady, and Nevada produces great antelope bucks every year that will exceed the 80” mark. With the mild winter and improving drought conditions, I anticipate this year will be a very good year for horn growth. Historically, there have been units that produced bigger bucks, but in the past couple years, there seems to be some bigger bucks being taken in lesser known units. The point is that any antelope tag in Nevada is a good tag and, if a hunter is willing to put significant time and effort into hunting several days, they have a high likelihood of shooting a great buck.  

Nevada offers archery, muzzleloader and rifle hunts. Most hunts allow hunters to hunt during some portion of the rut. Early archery hunters can use water to their advantage to ambush hunt or attempt to spot and stalk one of the most challenging animals in the West. The rifle hunts have very high harvest success numbers, but the key to killing a great buck is being patient and looking over a number of bucks until you find the one you like. If you are hoping to hunt an area with better trophy potential, pay attention to the hunts and units with good 15”+ horn height percentages in the table below. Draw odds for antelope tags in Nevada are not good, but they are better than other species like elk and bighorn sheep. There were 15 archery antelope hunts that offered 10% plus draw odds at the 6 point level. Understandably, 10% odds for an archery antelope tag after applying and building points for 6 years is not good, but the trophy potential is and, if you apply for all species in Nevada, I think it’s worth it. The rifle and muzzleloader odds are, again, very low.

CURRENT ANTELOPE HERD CONDITION

Managing points and expectations

Maximum bonus points for antelope: 28

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.