Nevada Unit 105 Mule Deer Hunting Guide

Nevada Unit 105 sits within a large, high-elevation landscape spanning 464,428 acres, ranging from 5,574 feet up to 10,225 feet, and offers hunters an overwhelmingly public-land experience — 93% of the unit is open to public access, with zero designated wilderness acreage. For mule deer hunters weighing where to spend hard-earned points or a first-time Nevada application, Unit 105 deserves a serious look based on the combination of terrain, access, and tag trends detailed below.

This unit's acreage and elevation swing — more than 4,600 feet of vertical relief from valley floor to peak — creates the kind of habitat diversity that mule deer thrive in: sagebrush benches and lower foothills give way to timbered mid-elevation slopes and open alpine basins near the top. With almost the entire unit in public ownership, DIY hunters have room to roam and the ability to get away from access roads, which multiple hunters familiar with Nevada's backcountry consistently point to as the key to finding better bucks in units like this one.

Nevada's mule deer draw system is unlike most western states, and Unit 105 is no exception in terms of how tag numbers have moved recently. Understanding those trends, along with what's known about harvest and trophy potential, is essential before deciding whether to spend points here.

HuntPilot Analysis: Is Unit 105 Worth Applying For?

The tag data for Unit 105 tells a clear story: quotas expanded significantly heading into the 2025 season across nearly every hunt type in this unit. The ALW-Mule Deer Antlered S1 hunt jumped from 293 tags in 2024 to 600 in 2025 — a 105% increase. The ALW-Mule Deer Antlered S2 hunt saw an identical jump, also moving from 293 to 600 tags. The ALW-Mule Deer Antlered S3 hunt grew from 79 to 120 tags, a 52% increase. The AR-Mule Deer Antlered Early hunt nearly doubled, rising from 260 to 516 tags (98%), while the AR-Mule Deer Antlered Late hunt doubled outright from 15 to 30 tags. The M-Mule Deer Antlered hunt increased from 130 to 243 tags, an 87% jump.

The one exception is the Guided Antlered hunt series, which stayed essentially flat or saw minor cuts: Guided Antlered S1 dropped slightly from 17 to 15 tags (a 12% cut), while S2 held steady at 17 and S3 held steady at 4.

What this means for applicants: Nevada's wildlife managers have substantially expanded opportunity in Unit 105 across nearly every non-guided hunt category. That's a meaningful signal — more tags generally means either a healthy herd able to support more harvest, or a management shift to increase hunter opportunity, or both. Either way, this is a unit trending toward more accessible draw odds relative to recent years, though hunters should always verify current-year odds directly rather than assuming last year's trend continues indefinitely.

On trophy potential, the counties overlapping Unit 105 carry a strong history of trophy-class mule deer production. That's a meaningful data point for hunters chasing a genuine trophy buck rather than just a tag to fill the freezer — this isn't a unit propped up purely on opportunity; it has a real trophy pedigree behind it. Combined with the terrain diversity (nearly two miles of elevation change) and the near-total public access, Unit 105 stacks up as a unit worth serious consideration for both resident hunters looking for a quality season and nonresidents willing to invest points.

The caveat, echoed by experienced Nevada hunters, is that this state's draw can be unpredictable — a low-point applicant can occasionally draw a coveted tag while a high-point holder misses out elsewhere. Hunters should treat any given year's draw as somewhat unpredictable and focus on picking a unit that matches their scouting time and physical capability, which is exactly the approach worth taking with a big, vertically diverse unit like 105.

Harvest Success Rates

The available harvest data shows a wide swing between the two most recent reporting years. In 2025, Unit 105 recorded 2,220 hunters afield with 775 total harvested, for a 35% unit-wide success rate. In 2024, a much smaller sample of 21 hunters produced 8 harvested animals, for a 38% success rate.

The dramatic difference in hunter numbers between these two years (21 vs. 2,220) suggests these figures may represent different hunt types or reporting scopes within the unit rather than a direct year-over-year comparison of the same hunter pool. Regardless, a success rate in the mid-to-high 30% range in the larger, more representative 2025 sample is a solid, realistic baseline for hunters to plan around — this is not an easy-limit unit where success is guaranteed, but it's also not a unit where tag holders are chronically skunked. Hunters should go in expecting a legitimate hunt that rewards scouting and effort rather than a guaranteed walk-up harvest.

Trophy Quality

Trophy data available for the counties overlapping Unit 105 indicates a strong history of trophy-class mule deer production. That means this is not a unit propped up only by tag volume — hunters with the time to scout and the discipline to pass on immature bucks have a real shot at connecting with a genuine trophy-caliber animal here.

That said, trophy records are logged at the county level and are shared across all units overlapping those counties, not attributed exclusively to Unit 105. Big bucks recorded in these counties could have been taken anywhere within the overlapping boundaries, including neighboring units. Hunters should treat this as evidence that the broader region has good genetics and habitat capable of producing mature deer, not as a guarantee that any specific drainage within Unit 105 itself is holding a giant.

Anecdotal hunter reports reinforce this general picture — experienced Nevada hunters note that most units in the state hold mature bucks if hunters are willing to get away from roads and pressure, with the biggest, most consistent trophy production concentrated in a handful of well-known southeastern units. Unit 105's trophy data suggests it belongs in the conversation as a strong regional producer, even if it isn't necessarily the top unit in the state.

Access & Terrain

Unit 105 is about as favorable as it gets in terms of public land access — 93% of the unit's 464,428 acres is publicly accessible, meaning DIY hunters have the freedom to roam widely without needing to negotiate private land access or lease arrangements. With 0% wilderness designation, there are no additional guide requirements or wilderness-specific access restrictions to navigate; hunters can drive, hike, or pack in as their equipment and stamina allow, without the added logistics that come with true wilderness boundaries.

The elevation range — 5,574 feet at the low end up to 10,225 feet at the highest points — is substantial, spanning nearly 4,650 vertical feet. This kind of range typically means hunters will find lower-elevation sagebrush and pinyon-juniper habitat transitioning into mid-elevation aspen and conifer stands, with true alpine terrain at the top. That vertical diversity gives mule deer plenty of room to shift with weather, feed availability, and hunting pressure throughout the season, and it gives hunters options: those willing to climb into the high country away from access roads are the ones most likely to find bucks that haven't been pushed around by lower-elevation traffic.

Given the size of this unit — well over 450,000 acres — scouting time matters enormously. Hunters serious about finding a mature buck should use available mapping tools, including HuntPilot's public land overlays, to identify drainages and elevation bands worth focusing on before ever setting foot in the unit, then verify those observations with boots-on-the-ground scouting trips ahead of the season.

How to Apply

That license fee requirement is critical and easy to overlook — Nevada requires hunters to hold a valid hunting license before they can even submit a draw application, meaning the true up-front cost of applying includes the license fee in addition to the application fee itself.

Given the sizable tag increases seen across most hunt types heading into 2025, hunters should check the HuntPilot Nevada state page (/states/nv) or the Nevada Department of Wildlife's own bonus point and draw odds resources for the most current, unit-specific draw statistics before finalizing an application strategy.

Application dates and fees change every draw cycle. For the current deadlines, fees, and draw odds, see HuntPilot's Nevada page at /states/nv.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the terrain like in Nevada Unit 105? Unit 105 spans a dramatic elevation range from 5,574 feet to 10,225 feet across 464,428 acres, meaning hunters encounter everything from lower sagebrush and foothill terrain to high alpine basins near the unit's peaks. With 93% public land and no wilderness acreage, access is broad and unrestricted, though the size of the unit means serious scouting is required to locate productive pockets away from roads and pressure.

What is harvest success like in Unit 105? The most recent large-sample data, from 2025, shows a 35% unit-wide success rate across 2,220 hunters, with 775 total deer harvested. A smaller 2024 sample showed a 38% success rate. Hunters should expect a moderate, realistic success rate rather than a guaranteed harvest, with outcomes likely tied closely to scouting effort and willingness to hunt away from easy access points.

How big are the mule deer in Unit 105? The counties overlapping Unit 105 carry a strong history of trophy-class mule deer production, according to available trophy records. Because those records are tracked at the county level and shared with neighboring units, they reflect the broader region's genetic and habitat quality rather than a guarantee specific to Unit 105's boundaries alone — but the data supports treating this as a unit with real trophy potential for hunters willing to put in scouting time.

Is Unit 105 worth applying for? Based on the available data, yes — Unit 105 combines heavily expanded tag quotas across most hunt types heading into 2025 (with several hunt categories seeing tag counts increase by 50-105%), a strong regional trophy history, near-total public land access at 93%, and a substantial elevation range that supports diverse deer habitat. It's a unit that rewards hunters who can commit scouting time to a large landscape, and the recent tag trend suggests improving opportunity for both residents and nonresidents.

Does Unit 105 require a guide for nonresident hunters? No. Unit 105 has 0% wilderness designation, so Wyoming-style wilderness guide requirements do not apply here — Nevada does not impose a similar statewide guide mandate for nonresidents in this unit. Hunters should still confirm current access rules directly with Nevada Department of Wildlife before planning a DIY trip.