Nevada Pronghorn Mule Deer

Unit 015 (Buffalo Hills and the Smoke Creek Mountains)

Nevada Hunting Guide — Pronghorn, Mule Deer

Unit 015 lies north of Reno and west of Gerlach, about 1,200 square miles of Washoe County that's almost all public land with a very limited road network. Antelope key on springs and upper-elevation summer range around Willow, Garden and SOB lakes and the Buffalo Creek forks. Densities are lower, the roads are rough and rocky, and facilities are scarce.

View Draw Odds Nevada Hunting Guide

🏔️

38%

Public Land

⛰️

3,850–6,089 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 015

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Nevada Unit 015 guide around your hunt: three ranked spots with morning, afternoon and evening plays, a day-by-day plan, topo maps with every pin numbered, a camp and access plan, the legal and retrieval rules for this unit, shot discipline, a meat-care and pack-out plan, and a pre-trip checklist. Every coordinate sits on land recorded as public.

Pronghorn guide Mule Deer guide

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Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 015

Where to Find Pronghorn in Unit 015: Buffalo Creek, Painter Flat and the Summer Lakes

Willow Lake, Garden Lake, SOB Lake and the Buffalo Creek forks

Water drives antelope here during the hunting season, and springs, which give both water and green feed, are where NDOW says to concentrate. The upper-elevation summer ranges are the main areas: Willow Lake, Garden Lake, SOB Lake, the middle and west forks of Buffalo Creek and Painter Flat. Paul's Camp, Jones Flat and Boulder Flat are worth a look too. In wet years the Dry Valley Rim also supports decent numbers.

Lower densities, and bucks that leave the roads

Mature bucks live in Unit 015, but NDOW says to expect some difficulty finding them because densities are generally lower. Pressure moves them. During some of the later hunts, pronghorn shift away from roads to avoid hunters, so you'll need to walk away from the track to find them.

Fire has changed some ground as well. In 2020 the Poodle Fire burned about 1,971 acres across Units 014 and 015. The sheet doesn't say how antelope have used that burn since, so treat it as country to scout rather than a sure thing. The springs and summer ranges above remain NDOW's core recommendation.

The ground NDOW draws for this tag

A pronghorn tag for this group is good in unit 015, about 1,190 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Washoe County. The named ranges inside the line are Smoke Creek Mountains, Sand Range and Buffalo Hills. The highest named points are Rowland Mountain (6,905 ft), Poodle Mountain (6,810 ft) and Burnt Mountain (6,729 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 3,848 feet. We don't print a land-status split for Nevada groups, because the figures we held didn't come from BLM's surface-management data; check BLM's current map for private parcels before you cross a fence or a cattle guard. GNIS names 100 springs inside it, Table Spring, Soda Springs, Cottonwood Spring and Currant Spring among them.

Unit 015 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

The lay of it

3,850–6,089 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,660 ft ; peaks can run higher.
1,190.3 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

Water on the ground

116 tanks
173 springs
4,559 stream segments
26 lakes

Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Poodle Mountain (6,810 ft), Button Mountain (6,684 ft), Buffalo Hills (6,643 ft), Black Butte (6,409 ft)

Holding ground: Little Sawmill Basin (5,936 ft), Jones Flat (5,900 ft), Boulder Flat (5,861 ft), Byers Spring, Deer Spring

Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.

How to Hunt Pronghorn in Unit 015: Highway 447, Smoke Creek Road and rough rock

Highway 447 and the Smoke Creek Road

From Reno, drive north on Highway 447 to Gerlach. From there, Highway 447 reaches the northern part of the unit and the Smoke Creek Road, which is good gravel, reaches the south. Coming from Cedarville, California, head south on Highway 447. Less than 5 percent of the unit is private, so public access is good, but the road network is very limited and the roads are very rough and rocky. In bad weather especially, many areas can only be reached by four-wheel drive or ATV. Carry extra gas, spare tires, tire chains and water. NDOW expects hunters to get off established roads to find game.

Remote camps and hauled water

This is remote country with few facilities. Fuel, food, vehicle repair and motels are in Cedarville, Susanville and Gerlach. There are no developed campgrounds. Hunters usually camp near tree cover or perennial water close to where they're hunting, and NDOW recommends tent camps. Trailers and RVs are stuck on the better valley-floor roads and have a longer drive each day. Drinking water usually has to come from home or the nearest town. Burn restrictions have been common in past seasons, so call the local BLM office about campfires before you go.

The 2025 season in NDOW's own numbers

NDOW's 2025 Big Game Hunt Data is the hunter survey behind these figures: who drew, who went, who filled a tag. Success there is NDOW's own figure, successful hunters over hunters afield.

Horns longer than ears, any legal weapon, Aug 22 - Sep 07: 65 resident and 7 nonresident tags. 67 hunters went afield and 48 filled their tag (72%). Hunters reported 2.7 days afield on average. 22% of the resident bucks had horns of 15 inches or longer.
Horns longer than ears, archery, Aug 01 - Aug 14: 30 resident and 3 nonresident tags. 27 hunters went afield and 9 filled their tag (33%). Hunters reported 4.7 days afield on average. 29% of the resident bucks had horns of 15 inches or longer.
Horns longer than ears, muzzleloader, Aug 15 - Aug 21: 8 resident tags. 6 hunters went afield and 0 filled their tag (0%). Hunters reported 2.8 days afield on average.

Roads in and the nearest towns

The longest named roads through the group are Surprise Valley Road, CR 447, Buckhorn Road and High Rock Road. Our road inventory counts roughly 29 miles of pavement, 76 of gravel and 33 of high-clearance or four-wheel-drive track. The nearest towns are Gerlach (23 mi), Standish (38 mi) and Herlong (39 mi), measured from the centre of the closest unit in the group.

Getting in and staying out: unit 015

Named routes and what they need

Surprise Valley Road — 43.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
CR 447 — 28.3 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Buckhorn Road — 17.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
High Rock Road — 7.8 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Tuledad Road — 3.8 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Smokey Creek Ranch Road — 2.5 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Gerlach — 23.1 mi · no services listed
Standish — 38 mi · no services listed
Herlong — 38.8 mi · no services listed
Patton Village — 39.5 mi · no services listed
Doyle — 45.4 mi · fuel

Season weather and signal

Jan45° / 19° · 1.4" precip
Aug93° / 52° · 0.2" precip
Sep85° / 43° · 0.3" precip
Oct71° / 33° · 0.4" precip
Nov55° / 23° · 0.8" precip
Dec43° / 16° · 0.9" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 26% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Nevada rules that decide your day

Summarised from NDOW regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Motorized retrieval

Nevada has no general off-road retrieval allowance; travel stays on existing routes.

Tagging

Validate and attach the tag before the animal is moved.

Leaving meat

Wasting edible meat is illegal.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting within 5,000 feet of an occupied dwelling without permission in some counties; no shooting from or across a highway.

Pronghorn: where to put the shot

Broadside, straight up the front leg, a third of the way into the body. Pronghorn are shallow-chested and the lungs sit forward.

Shots to refuse

Range it, then range it again. Open country makes 400 yards look like 250.
Wait for the buck to stop. Nobody kills a running pronghorn cleanly on purpose.
Mind the backdrop. A miss carries a long way across a flat.

Plan the carry: roughly 30– 45 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — one large cooler with ice already in it. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Pronghorn Success Rates

Horns longer than ears, any legal weapon: 48 of 67 hunters afield (72%); Horns longer than ears, archery: 9 of 27 hunters afield (33%); Horns longer than ears, muzzleloader: 0 of 6 hunters afield (0%). Figures are NDOW's own, from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

Pronghorn Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Early Season buck only (resident)	65	544	11.9%	—
Rifle — Early Season buck only (nonresident)	7	369	1.9%	—
Archery — Early Season buck only (resident)	30	41	73.2%	—
Archery — Early Season buck only (nonresident)	3	25	12.0%	—
Muzzleloader — Early Season buck only (resident)	8	11	72.7%	—

Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number. This agency publishes no point thresholds, so the Pts column stays blank and these are pool odds, not what a point total draws.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

From NDOW's 2025 Big Game Hunt Data. Demand is NDOW's count of tags awarded plus first-choice applicants who did not draw; its draw rate is tags over demand.

Horns longer than ears, any legal weapon — Residents: 544 demand for 65 tags, a 11.9% draw rate; Nonresidents: 369 demand for 7 tags, a 1.9% draw rate.
Horns longer than ears, archery — Residents: 41 demand for 30 tags, a 73.2% draw rate; Nonresidents: 25 demand for 3 tags, a 12.0% draw rate.
Horns longer than ears, muzzleloader — Residents: 11 demand for 8 tags, a 72.7% draw rate.

NDOW's hunt data publishes no points-required figure, so none is given here.

Mule Deer Hunting in Unit 015

Unit 015 covers about 1,190 square miles of Washoe County west of Gerlach, taking in the Buffalo Hills, the Smoke Creek Mountains and the Sand Range. NDOW's mule deer sheet describes open country that glasses well, a thin road network, and a late December hunt that leans on deer migrating in from California. It's remote, so come self-sufficient.

Where to Find Mule Deer in Unit 015: Mixie Flat, Painter Flat and the Buffalo Hills Creeks

Mixie Flat to Painter Flat, and the canyon creeks

NDOW names three places to concentrate in Unit 015: the ground between Mixie Flat and Painter Flat, Wilcox and Willow canyons, and Buffalo and Parsnip creeks. Upper-elevation deer country here is mountain mahogany, bitterbrush, big sagebrush and western juniper. The wetter sites, near perennial water and in pockets on northeast slopes, usually carry small aspen stands, and those stands give deer cover.

NDOW also says this hunt area is open compared with eastern Nevada, which suits glassing. Spend your first hours behind binoculars rather than walking the brush.

Red Mountain, Twin Peaks and the late December hunt

The late hunt works with a different set of deer. NDOW says most deer in the unit during the late season are migrants from California, and densities swing with how severe the winter is. Red Mountain and Twin Peaks can hold deer then. Late-season hunters should look for them in big sagebrush, Mormon tea, bitterbrush, black sagebrush and fourwing saltbush.

One more landmark to know: the 2020 Poodle Fire burned about 1,971 acres along the boundary between Units 014 and 015.

The ground NDOW draws for this tag

A mule deer tag for this group is good in unit 015, about 1,190 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Washoe County. The named ranges inside the line are Smoke Creek Mountains, Sand Range and Buffalo Hills. The highest named points are Rowland Mountain (6,905 ft), Poodle Mountain (6,810 ft) and Burnt Mountain (6,729 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 3,848 feet. We don't print a land-status split for Nevada groups, because the figures we held didn't come from BLM's surface-management data; check BLM's current map for private parcels before you cross a fence or a cattle guard. GNIS names 100 springs inside it, Table Spring, Soda Springs, Cottonwood Spring and Currant Spring among them.

Unit 015 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

The lay of it

3,850–6,089 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,660 ft ; peaks can run higher.
1,190.3 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

Water on the ground

116 tanks
173 springs
4,559 stream segments
26 lakes

Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Poodle Mountain (6,810 ft), Button Mountain (6,684 ft), Buffalo Hills (6,643 ft), Black Butte (6,409 ft)

Holding ground: Little Sawmill Basin (5,936 ft), Jones Flat (5,900 ft), Boulder Flat (5,861 ft), Byers Spring, Deer Spring

Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.

How to Hunt Mule Deer in Unit 015: Highway 447, Smoke Creek Road and a Thin Road Network

Highway 447 and the Smoke Creek Road

From Reno, take Highway 447 north to Gerlach. From there, the northern part of the unit is reached off 447 and the southern part by the Smoke Creek Road, which NDOW calls good gravel. Coming from Cedarville, California, head south on 447. Less than 5 percent of the unit is private, so public access is good. The catch is the road network, which is very limited.

Many hunting areas can only be reached by four-wheel drive or ATV, especially in bad weather. Carry extra gas, spare tires, tire chains and water. NDOW expects you to hike off established roads to find deer, and the limited roads make that truest in the late hunt.

Camping in remote country

There are no developed campgrounds. Hunters usually camp near tree cover or perennial water close to where they're hunting, and NDOW recommends tent camps. Trailers and RVs are confined to the better roads on the valley floors, which means a longer drive each morning. Bring drinking water from home or the nearest town. Fuel, food, vehicle repair and motels are in Cedarville, Susanville and Gerlach. Burn restrictions have been in place in many past seasons, so check with the local BLM office about campfires before you go.

The 2025 season in NDOW's own numbers

NDOW's 2025 Big Game Hunt Data is the hunter survey behind these figures: who drew, who went, who filled a tag. Success there is NDOW's own figure, successful hunters over hunters afield. NDOW ran 1 more mule deer hunt on this group, smaller ones; the draw panel lists them.

Antlered, any legal weapon, Dec 11 - Jan 01: 10 resident and 1 nonresident tags. 10 hunters went afield and 6 filled their tag (60%). Hunters reported 5.7 days afield on average. 80% of the bucks residents took carried four or more points on a side.
Antlered, muzzleloader, Sep 10 - Oct 04: 5 resident and 1 nonresident tags. 5 hunters went afield and 3 filled their tag (60%). Hunters reported 4.3 days afield on average. 50% of the bucks residents took carried four or more points on a side.
Antlered, archery, Aug 10 - Sep 09: 3 resident and 1 nonresident tags. 3 hunters went afield and 0 filled their tag (0%). Hunters reported 2.0 days afield on average.
Junior, seasonal weapon restriction, Aug 10 - Oct 04; Dec 11 - Jan 01: 4 resident tags. 3 hunters went afield and 2 filled their tag (67%). Hunters reported 1.7 days afield on average. 0% of the bucks residents took carried four or more points on a side.

Roads in and the nearest towns

Getting in and staying out: unit 015

Named routes and what they need

Surprise Valley Road — 43.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
CR 447 — 28.3 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Buckhorn Road — 17.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
High Rock Road — 7.8 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Tuledad Road — 3.8 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Smokey Creek Ranch Road — 2.5 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Gerlach — 23.1 mi · no services listed
Standish — 38 mi · no services listed
Herlong — 38.8 mi · no services listed
Patton Village — 39.5 mi · no services listed
Doyle — 45.4 mi · fuel

Season weather and signal

Jan45° / 19° · 1.4" precip
Aug93° / 52° · 0.2" precip
Sep85° / 43° · 0.3" precip
Oct71° / 33° · 0.4" precip
Nov55° / 23° · 0.8" precip
Dec43° / 16° · 0.9" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 26% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Nevada rules that decide your day

Summarised from NDOW regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Motorized retrieval

Nevada has no general off-road retrieval allowance; travel stays on existing routes.

Tagging

Validate and attach the tag before the animal is moved.

Leaving meat

Wasting edible meat is illegal.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting within 5,000 feet of an occupied dwelling without permission in some counties; no shooting from or across a highway.

Mule Deer: where to put the shot

Broadside or quartering away, on the back edge of the front leg about a third of the way up the body.

Shots to refuse

Nothing behind or overlapping the animal you picked.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have shot a three-shot group into a paper plate from the rest you are carrying.
Pass the shot you are talking yourself into.

Plan the carry: roughly 40– 120 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two large coolers. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Mule Deer Success Rates

Antlered, any legal weapon: 6 of 10 hunters afield (60%); Antlered, muzzleloader: 3 of 5 hunters afield (60%); Antlered, archery: 0 of 3 hunters afield (0%); Junior, seasonal weapon restriction: 2 of 3 hunters afield (67%). Figures are NDOW's own, from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

Mule Deer Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Late Season bull/buck only (resident)	10	123	8.1%	—
Rifle — Late Season bull/buck only (nonresident)	1	178	0.6%	—
Rifle — Limited Entry either sex (resident)	3	6	50.0%	—
Rifle — Limited Entry either sex (resident)	1	0	0.0%	—
Rifle — Limited Entry antlerless (resident)	5	8	62.5%	—
Rifle — Early Season either sex (resident)	4	8	50.0%	—
Archery — Early Season bull/buck only (resident)	3	9	33.3%	—
Archery — Early Season bull/buck only (nonresident)	1	5	20.0%	—
Muzzleloader — Early Season bull/buck only (resident)	5	14	35.7%	—
Muzzleloader — Early Season bull/buck only (nonresident)	1	10	10.0%	—

Open in Draw Odds Engine

From NDOW's 2025 Big Game Hunt Data. Demand is NDOW's count of tags awarded plus first-choice applicants who did not draw; its draw rate is tags over demand.

Antlered, any legal weapon — Residents: 123 demand for 10 tags, a 8.1% draw rate; Nonresidents: 178 demand for 1 tag, a 0.6% draw rate.
Antlered, muzzleloader — Residents: 14 demand for 5 tags, a 35.7% draw rate; Nonresidents: 10 demand for 1 tag, a 10.0% draw rate.
Antlered, archery — Residents: 9 demand for 3 tags, a 33.3% draw rate; Nonresidents: 5 demand for 1 tag, a 20.0% draw rate.
Junior, seasonal weapon restriction — Residents: 8 demand for 4 tags, a 50.0% draw rate.
Guided antlered, any legal weapon — Nonresidents: 3 demand for 1 tag, a 33.3% draw rate.

NDOW's hunt data publishes no points-required figure, so none is given here.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Water

GNIS names 100 springs inside the group. Desert springs go dry; carry water and treat what you find.

🛣️

Road Conditions

Surprise Valley Road, CR 447 and Buckhorn Road are the longest named roads in the group. About 29 mi paved, 76 mi gravel, 33 mi high-clearance or 4WD.

🥾

Terrain Difficulty

Named features run from 3,848 to 6,905 ft across the unit.

🌦️

Weather

Season normals from the group's largest unit: Sep 85/43°F, 0.3 in.; Oct 71/33°F, 0.4 in.; Nov 55/23°F, 0.8 in.; Dec 43/16°F, 0.9 in..

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Nearest Town

Gerlach (23 mi), Standish (38 mi), Herlong (39 mi)

📋

Permit Notes

A tag for this group is good only inside units 015. Check NDOW's current regulations for season dates before you go.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which units does a Nevada pronghorn tag for 015 cover?

NDOW draws it as one unit group: unit 015, about 1,190 square miles in Washoe County. The tag is good anywhere inside that line and nowhere outside it.

What was hunter success for pronghorn on units 015 in 2025?

On NDOW's largest 2025 pronghorn hunt here, the horns longer than ears hunt (any legal weapon), Aug 22 - Sep 07, 48 of 67 hunters afield filled their tag, 72%. That is NDOW's figure from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

How hard is the pronghorn draw for units 015?

For the horns longer than ears hunt (any legal weapon) NDOW counted 544 resident demand for 65 tags in 2025, a 11.9% draw rate, and 369 nonresident demand for 7, 1.9%. NDOW publishes no points-required figure in that data.

Which units does a Nevada mule deer tag for 015 cover?

NDOW draws it as one unit group: unit 015, about 1,190 square miles in Washoe County. The tag is good anywhere inside that line and nowhere outside it.

What was hunter success for mule deer on units 015 in 2025?

On NDOW's largest 2025 mule deer hunt here, the antlered hunt (any legal weapon), Dec 11 - Jan 01, 6 of 10 hunters afield filled their tag, 60%. That is NDOW's figure from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

How hard is the mule deer draw for units 015?

For the antlered hunt (any legal weapon) NDOW counted 123 resident demand for 10 tags in 2025, a 8.1% draw rate, and 178 nonresident demand for 1, 0.6%. NDOW publishes no points-required figure in that data.

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Sources & Verification

Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-25.

Hunt Information Sheet — Pronghorn antelope, 015 — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Access, Recommended hunting areas, Biologist comments · accessed 2026-10-25
2025 Nevada Big Game Hunt Data — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Seasons, quotas and tags issued, Demand and draw rate by residency, Hunters afield, successful hunters and hunter success, Days hunted · accessed 2026-10-25
NDOW Hunt Unit Boundaries — unit groups (ArcGIS) — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Units 015, 1,190 square miles · accessed 2026-10-25
Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the group — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Smoke Creek Mountains, Sand Range, Buffalo Hills, Rowland Mountain 6,905 ft, Poodle Mountain 6,810 ft · accessed 2026-10-25
Hunt Information Sheet — Mule deer, 015 — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Access, Recommended hunting areas, Biologist comments · accessed 2026-10-25