Nevada Mule Deer Bighorn Sheep Elk Pronghorn

Unit 051 (Santa Rosa Range, Osgood Mountains and Owyhee Desert)

Nevada Hunting Guide — Mule Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Pronghorn

Unit 051 covers about 2,693 square miles of Humboldt County, reached north from Winnemucca on Highway 95 and toward Paradise Valley on Highway 290. NDOW's sheet says most of the harvest comes from the Santa Rosa Range, where it usually takes one to two feet of snow to push deer out of the high basins. The Osgood Mountains and Owyhee Desert are often overlooked.

View Draw Odds Nevada Hunting Guide

🏔️

72%

Public Land

⛰️

4,378–8,885 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 051

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Nevada Unit 051 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.

Mule Deer guide Bighorn Sheep guide Elk guide Pronghorn guide

Free accounts get one report a year with the top spot unlocked. ProHunt Pro includes unlimited reports, all three spots, the full camp plan, and GPX/KML downloads for onX and Google Earth. Prefer to see one first? Open the builder and pick any unit.

Mule Deer Hunting in Unit 051

Where to Find Mule Deer in Unit 051: the Santa Rosa high basins, Eight-mile and the Osgoods

Eight-mile drainage and the north Santa Rosas

Most of the harvest comes from the Santa Rosa Range and its drainages. Deer there usually need one to two feet of snow before they leave the high basins. Given when the hunts fall, the higher elevations are where to look. On the north end of the unit, the Eight-mile drainage and the country north and east of it offer a lot of ground to cover.

Santa Rosa Peak to Paradise Peak

At the far south end of the range, near the wilderness, look at the upper ridges from Santa Rosa Peak south to Paradise Peak. NDOW says getting off the roads and hiking into that country is worth the effort.

The Osgood Mountains, Owyhee Desert and Humboldt River

Hunters often overlook the Osgood Mountains and the Owyhee Desert. The Osgoods are very open, with very few trees, but they can still give you chances at deer. The Humboldt River drainage offers some limited opportunity as well. There's private ground along it, though, so know whose land you're on before you hunt there.

The ground NDOW draws for this tag

A mule deer tag for this group is good in unit 051, about 2,693 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Humboldt County. The named ranges inside the line are Red Hills, Santa Rosa Range, Ararat Hills, Calico Mountains, Osgood Mountains and Hot Springs Range. The highest named points are Granite Peak (9,705 ft), Santa Rosa Peak (9,650 ft) and Paradise Peak (9,427 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 4,305 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 61 springs inside it, Seep Spring, Bug Brush Spring, Meadow Spring and Halfway Spring among them.

Unit 051 terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

4,378–8,885 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,510 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
2,692.8 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

Water on the ground

191 tanks
221 springs
749 stream segments
18 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: Granite Peak (9,705 ft), Santa Rosa Peak (9,650 ft), Paradise Peak (9,427 ft), Buckskin Mountain (8,721 ft)

Holding ground: Windy Gap (7,400 ft), Buttermilk Summit (7,355 ft), Mahogany Pass (6,990 ft), The Trees Spring, Anderson Springs

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 051: Highway 95, Highway 290 and the road to Golconda

Highway 95, Highway 290 and Interstate 80 to Golconda

From Winnemucca, Highway 95 north runs the whole west side of the unit. Highway 290 toward Paradise Valley is the other way into the Santa Rosa Range. For the Osgood Mountains or the Hot Springs Range, Interstate 80 to Golconda is the best route. Main and secondary roads are in fairly good shape, but you'll want a high-clearance four-wheel drive for most of the unit.

The Santa Rosa wilderness at the south end

About 31,000 acres of wilderness at the southern end of the Santa Rosa Range is closed to motor vehicles. If you hike the upper ridges toward Paradise Peak, you'll be on foot.

Lye Creek campground and the Paradise Hill store

McDermitt and Orovada have food, gas and lodging. The Paradise Hill convenience store, where Highways 95 and 290 meet, sells gas and food, while Paradise Valley has limited food and no gas. Lye Creek, a primitive Forest Service fee site in the Santa Rosa Range with water, tables, fire pits and toilets, is the only developed campground in the area. Chukar and other upland seasons are generally open during the regular deer hunt, and the Santa Rosas have creek trout fishing; check the regulations for open waters.

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 2 more mule deer hunts on this group, smaller ones; the draw panel lists them.

Antlered, any legal weapon, Oct 05 - Nov 05: 121 resident and 8 nonresident tags. 116 hunters went afield and 77 filled their tag (66%). Hunters reported 6.0 days afield on average. 51% of the bucks residents took carried four or more points on a side.
Antlered, archery, Aug 10 - Sep 09: 55 resident and 6 nonresident tags. 57 hunters went afield and 8 filled their tag (14%). Hunters reported 7.0 days afield on average. 38% of the bucks residents took carried four or more points on a side.
Junior, any legal weapon, Oct 05 - Nov 05: 40 resident tags. 37 hunters went afield and 26 filled their tag (70%). Hunters reported 4.0 days afield on average. 50% of the bucks residents took carried four or more points on a side.
Antlered, muzzleloader, Sep 10 - Oct 04: 30 resident and 3 nonresident tags. 28 hunters went afield and 16 filled their tag (57%). Hunters reported 4.1 days afield on average. 69% of the bucks residents took carried four or more points on a side.

Roads in and the nearest towns

The longest named roads through the group are US 95, Kelly Creek Road, I 80 and 18. Our road inventory counts roughly 44 miles of pavement, 61 of gravel and 86 of high-clearance or four-wheel-drive track. The nearest towns are Paradise Valley (9 mi), Orovada (23 mi) and Golconda (35 mi), measured from the centre of the closest unit in the group.

Getting in and staying out: unit 051

Named routes and what they need

US 95 — 24.6 mi · Paved (all rigs)
Kelly Creek Road — 20 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
I 80 — 17.9 mi · Paved (all rigs)
18 — 9.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Dutch Flat Road — 9.3 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Hinkey Summit Road — 8.1 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

Paradise Valley — 8.5 mi · no services listed
Orovada — 22.5 mi · no services listed
Golconda — 35.2 mi · no services listed
Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe — 37.7 mi · no services listed
Winnemucca — 38.5 mi · groceries, lodging

Developed camps

Lye Creek Campground
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Chimney Reservoir Campground

Season weather and signal

Jan42° / 18° · 1.5" precip
Aug91° / 48° · 0.2" precip
Sep82° / 40° · 0.5" precip
Oct68° / 30° · 0.8" precip
Nov53° / 23° · 1" precip
Dec41° / 17° · 1.7" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 21% 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.

Pro Members Only

Upgrade to Pro to unlock this section

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Mule Deer Success Rates

Antlered, any legal weapon: 77 of 116 hunters afield (66%); Antlered, archery: 8 of 57 hunters afield (14%); Junior, any legal weapon: 26 of 37 hunters afield (70%); Antlered, muzzleloader: 16 of 28 hunters afield (57%). Figures are NDOW's own, from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

Mule Deer Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Mid Season bull/buck only (resident)	121	1,100	11.0%	—
Rifle — Mid Season bull/buck only (nonresident)	8	425	1.9%	—
Rifle — Mid Season antlerless (resident)	25	766	3.3%	—
Rifle — Limited Entry either sex (resident)	50	93	53.8%	—
Rifle — Limited Entry either sex (resident)	2	0	0.0%	—
Rifle — Limited Entry either sex (nonresident)	16	0	0.0%	—
Rifle — Limited Entry antlerless (resident)	65	137	47.4%	—
Rifle — Mid Season either sex (resident)	40	75	53.3%	—
Archery — Early Season bull/buck only (resident)	55	80	68.8%	—
Archery — Early Season bull/buck only (nonresident)	6	54	11.1%	—
Muzzleloader — Early Season bull/buck only (resident)	30	49	61.2%	—
Muzzleloader — Early Season bull/buck only (nonresident)	3	22	13.6%	—
Muzzleloader — Early Season either sex (resident)	25	6	100.0%	—

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.

Antlered, any legal weapon — Residents: 1,100 demand for 121 tags, a 11.0% draw rate; Nonresidents: 425 demand for 8 tags, a 1.9% draw rate.
Antlered, archery — Residents: 80 demand for 55 tags, a 68.8% draw rate; Nonresidents: 54 demand for 6 tags, a 11.1% draw rate.
Junior, any legal weapon — Residents: 75 demand for 40 tags, a 53.3% draw rate.
Antlered, muzzleloader — Residents: 49 demand for 30 tags, a 61.2% draw rate; Nonresidents: 22 demand for 3 tags, a 13.6% draw rate.
Junior, SWR-Prmtve — Residents: 6 demand for 25 tags, a 100.0% draw rate.
Guided antlered, any legal weapon — Nonresidents: 96 demand for 5 tags, a 5.2% draw rate.

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

Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit 051

Unit 051 covers about 2,700 square miles of Humboldt County, and its California bighorns live in four subpopulations in the Santa Rosa Range north of Winnemucca. The Eight-mile and Three-mile drainages hold the largest and most-hunted herd, the south end gets very little pressure, and Hinkey Summit and Calico Mountain round out the list. High-clearance four-wheel drive is recommended across most of the unit.

Where to Find California Bighorn Sheep in Unit 051: Eight-mile, Three-mile and Calico Mountain

The Eight-mile and Three-mile drainages

NDOW counts four subpopulations of bighorns in this unit. The largest, and the most popular with hunters, uses the Eight-mile and Three-mile drainages in the northern Santa Rosa Mountains.

Sawtooth Mountain to Porcupine Creek

The south end of the range holds a good population that gets very little hunting pressure. NDOW describes it as the country from Sawtooth Mountain south to Porcupine Creek on the west side. Both this area and the northern drainages are tough to hunt, with rough terrain.

Hinkey Summit to Martin Creek, and Calico Mountain

The area from Hinkey Summit to Martin Creek is worth a look. Rams have been taken there in the past, and smaller populations remain. The last area NDOW says not to overlook is on the northeast side: Calico Mountain and its Capitol Peak, where the herd is doing well with many ewes.

All four areas offer ram opportunities, and which one is best can change from year to year. Timing shapes the search. Early in the season rams and ewes run in separate groups. Later, rams start looking for ewes as the rut begins, from late October through mid-November, which is when a herd with many ewes, like Calico Mountain's, may be worth a look.

The ground NDOW draws for this tag

A bighorn sheep tag for this group is good in unit 051, about 2,693 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Humboldt County. The named ranges inside the line are Red Hills, Santa Rosa Range, Ararat Hills, Calico Mountains, Osgood Mountains and Hot Springs Range. The highest named points are Granite Peak (9,705 ft), Santa Rosa Peak (9,650 ft) and Paradise Peak (9,427 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 4,305 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 61 springs inside it, Seep Spring, Bug Brush Spring, Meadow Spring and Halfway Spring among them.

Unit 051 terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

4,378–8,885 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,510 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
2,692.8 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

Water on the ground

191 tanks
221 springs
749 stream segments
18 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: Granite Peak (9,705 ft), Santa Rosa Peak (9,650 ft), Paradise Peak (9,427 ft), Buckskin Mountain (8,721 ft)

Holding ground: Windy Gap (7,400 ft), Buttermilk Summit (7,355 ft), Mahogany Pass (6,990 ft), The Trees Spring, Anderson Springs

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 California Bighorn Sheep in Unit 051: Highway 95, State Route 290 and Lye Creek

Highway 95 and State Route 290

From Winnemucca, drive north on Highway 95, which runs along the whole west side of the Santa Rosa Range and the unit. The south and east sides are reached from State Route 290 toward Paradise Valley. Primary and secondary road access is relatively good, but NDOW recommends high-clearance four-wheel drive for most of the unit.

Paradise Peak Wilderness

About 31,000 acres of wilderness cover the southern end of the range, in the Paradise Peak Wilderness, which is closed to motorized vehicles. That's the same end of the range as the lightly hunted Sawtooth Mountain to Porcupine Creek country, so check the wilderness boundary before you plan a route there. Contact the Forest Service for details.

NDOW calls bighorn hunting very difficult. Know the unit, be physically prepared and keep all your gear in good working order.

Supplies and the Lye Creek campground

McDermitt and Orovada have food, gas and lodging. The Paradise Hill convenience store, at the junction of Highways 95 and 290, sells gas and food. Paradise Valley has limited food and no gas. The Forest Service's Lye Creek campground in the Santa Rosa Range is the only developed site, a primitive one with water, tables, fire pits and toilets. Trout fishing is possible in the range, but check which waters are open.

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.

Any ram, any legal weapon, Sep 01 - Oct 31: 2 resident tags. 2 hunters went afield and 2 filled their tag (100%). Hunters reported 3.5 days afield on average.

Roads in and the nearest towns

Getting in and staying out: unit 051

Named routes and what they need

US 95 — 24.6 mi · Paved (all rigs)
Kelly Creek Road — 20 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
I 80 — 17.9 mi · Paved (all rigs)
18 — 9.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Dutch Flat Road — 9.3 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Hinkey Summit Road — 8.1 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

Paradise Valley — 8.5 mi · no services listed
Orovada — 22.5 mi · no services listed
Golconda — 35.2 mi · no services listed
Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe — 37.7 mi · no services listed
Winnemucca — 38.5 mi · groceries, lodging

Developed camps

Lye Creek Campground
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Chimney Reservoir Campground

Season weather and signal

Jan42° / 18° · 1.5" precip
Aug91° / 48° · 0.2" precip
Sep82° / 40° · 0.5" precip
Oct68° / 30° · 0.8" precip
Nov53° / 23° · 1" precip
Dec41° / 17° · 1.7" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 21% 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.

Bighorn Sheep: 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.

Pro Members Only

Unlock Pro tactics for Unit 051 bighorn

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Bighorn Sheep Success Rates

Any ram, any legal weapon: 2 of 2 hunters afield (100%). Figures are NDOW's own, from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Early Season ram only (resident)	2	873	0.2%	—
Rifle — Early Season ram only (nonresident)	1	2,836	0.0%	—

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.

Any ram, any legal weapon — Residents: 873 demand for 2 tags, a 0.2% draw rate.

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

Elk Hunting in Unit 051

Unit 051 covers about 2,693 square miles of Humboldt County north and east of Winnemucca. NDOW's elk sheet puts nearly all the hunting in the Santa Rosa Range and its drainages, from the Eight-Mile Drainage in the north to Abel Creek in the south. The Osgood Mountains and Hot Springs Range only come into play when heavy snow moves elk.

Where to Find Elk in Unit 051: Santa Rosa Range Drainages from Eight-Mile to Abel Creek

Three stretches of the Santa Rosa Range

NDOW's elk sheet for Unit 051 is short, but it's clear about direction: most of the harvest comes out of the Santa Rosa Range and the drainages that drop off it. Within the range the sheet names three stretches worth your time. At the north end, start around the Eight-Mile Drainage. The second is the country running from Hinkey Summit over to the Coal Pit Peak area. The third is the south end of the range, where NDOW points to the drainages from Indian Creek down to Abel Creek.

That's three long pieces of canyon country on one range, and the sheet doesn't rank them. The south-end drainages share the bottom of the range with its wilderness, so how you plan to get in may decide which stretch you start in. Whichever you choose, NDOW's point holds: the Santa Rosas and their drainages are where elk are taken.

The Osgood Mountains, Hot Springs Range and Fairbanks

Away from the Santa Rosas the sheet turns cautious. It lists the Osgood Mountains, the Hot Springs Range and Fairbanks as places that may offer limited opportunity, and only during heavy snow events. Treat them as a fallback if a storm moves animals, not as a first plan.

The ground NDOW draws for this tag

A elk tag for this group is good in unit 051, about 2,693 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Humboldt County. The named ranges inside the line are Red Hills, Santa Rosa Range, Ararat Hills, Calico Mountains, Osgood Mountains and Hot Springs Range. The highest named points are Granite Peak (9,705 ft), Santa Rosa Peak (9,650 ft) and Paradise Peak (9,427 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 4,305 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 61 springs inside it, Seep Spring, Bug Brush Spring, Meadow Spring and Halfway Spring among them.

Unit 051 terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

4,378–8,885 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,510 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
2,692.8 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

Water on the ground

191 tanks
221 springs
749 stream segments
18 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: Granite Peak (9,705 ft), Santa Rosa Peak (9,650 ft), Paradise Peak (9,427 ft), Buckskin Mountain (8,721 ft)

Holding ground: Windy Gap (7,400 ft), Buttermilk Summit (7,355 ft), Mahogany Pass (6,990 ft), The Trees Spring, Anderson Springs

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 Elk in Unit 051: Highway 95, Highway 290 and the Golconda Route

Highway 95, Highway 290 and the wilderness at the south end

NDOW's directions start in Winnemucca. Highway 95 north runs along the west side of the unit, and Highway 290 toward Paradise Valley is the other main way in; the sheet says both get you into the Santa Rosa Range. If a snow event has you looking at the Osgood Mountains or the Hot Springs Range, Interstate 80 to Golconda is the route it recommends.

Primary and secondary roads are relatively good. Even so, NDOW recommends a high-clearance four-wheel drive for most of the unit. Roughly 31,000 acres at the southern end of the Santa Rosa Range is wilderness and closed to motorized vehicles, so any hunt there is on foot from the boundary.

Fuel, food and Lye Creek campground

Plan fuel before you leave pavement. Paradise Valley has limited food and no gas. The Paradise Hill convenience store at the junction of Highways 95 and 290 has gas and food, and McDermitt and Orovada offer food, gas and lodging. Lye Creek campground in the Santa Rosa Range is the only developed site in the area, a primitive Forest Service camp with water, tables, fire pits and toilets; NDOW lists the fee at $8 a day. Trout fishing is open on some Santa Rosa creeks, so check the fishing regulations for which waters.

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.

Antlered, any legal weapon, Sep 17 - Sep 30: 2 resident tags. 2 hunters went afield and 2 filled their tag (100%). Hunters reported 2.5 days afield on average. 50% of the resident bulls had six or more points on a side.
Antlered, muzzleloader, Sep 01 - Sep 16: 2 resident tags. 2 hunters went afield and 1 filled their tag (50%). Hunters reported 7.5 days afield on average. 0% of the resident bulls had six or more points on a side.

Roads in and the nearest towns

Getting in and staying out: unit 051

Named routes and what they need

US 95 — 24.6 mi · Paved (all rigs)
Kelly Creek Road — 20 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
I 80 — 17.9 mi · Paved (all rigs)
18 — 9.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Dutch Flat Road — 9.3 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Hinkey Summit Road — 8.1 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

Paradise Valley — 8.5 mi · no services listed
Orovada — 22.5 mi · no services listed
Golconda — 35.2 mi · no services listed
Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe — 37.7 mi · no services listed
Winnemucca — 38.5 mi · groceries, lodging

Developed camps

Lye Creek Campground
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Chimney Reservoir Campground

Season weather and signal

Jan42° / 18° · 1.5" precip
Aug91° / 48° · 0.2" precip
Sep82° / 40° · 0.5" precip
Oct68° / 30° · 0.8" precip
Nov53° / 23° · 1" precip
Dec41° / 17° · 1.7" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 21% 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.

Elk: 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. That is lungs, and on a quartering-away angle it picks up the far shoulder.

Shots to refuse

No straight-on and no straight-away shots. An elk's chest is deep and the margin is small.
Nothing standing behind or overlapping the animal you picked. A pass-through kills the elk behind it too.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have put three shots in a paper plate off the sticks you are actually carrying. Not the farthest you have ever hit anything.
Scope on 3–4x. A herd fills a 12x field of view and you lose the animal you picked.

Identification:On an antlerless tag, legal means no antler of any kind through the skin. A spike looks exactly like a cow until it turns its head. If you can't see the head, don't shoot.

Plan the carry: roughly 150– 220 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two to four large coolers, plus bagged ice from town. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

Pro Members Only

Unlock Pro tactics for Unit 051 elk

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Elk Success Rates

Antlered, any legal weapon: 2 of 2 hunters afield (100%); Antlered, muzzleloader: 1 of 2 hunters afield (50%). Figures are NDOW's own, from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Early Season bull/buck only (resident)	2	543	0.4%	—
Rifle — Late Season bull/buck only (resident)	3	90	3.3%	—
Rifle — Mid Season antlerless (resident)	3	196	1.5%	—
Rifle — Late Season antlerless (resident)	4	315	1.3%	—
Muzzleloader — Early Season bull/buck only (resident)	2	24	8.3%	—

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: 543 demand for 2 tags, a 0.4% draw rate.
Antlered, muzzleloader — Residents: 24 demand for 2 tags, a 8.3% draw rate.

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

Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 051

Unit 051 covers about 2,693 square miles of Humboldt County, from the Santa Rosa Range out to the Owyhee Desert. NDOW's pronghorn sheet calls the herd very scattered, with groups on both sides of the Santa Rosas. Its suggestions run from the Eight-Mile Drainage foothills and Tom Basin to the Red Hills, the Ararat Hills in wet years, and the North Fork of the Little Humboldt.

Where to Find Pronghorn in Unit 051: Eight-Mile Foothills, Tom Basin and the Ararat Hills

West side: the Eight-Mile Drainage and the foothills

Pronghorn can be very scattered in Unit 051, and NDOW says groups have been seen on both the west and east sides of the Santa Rosa Range. On the west side, the sheet points to the country around the Eight-Mile Drainage and south along the foothills of the range.

Tom Basin, the Red Hills and the Ararat Hills

Moving east, look from Tom Basin over to the Red Hills. The Ararat Hills can offer a great opportunity, depending on how much moisture the unit has had, so check conditions before you count on them.

Farther out, NDOW describes the Owyhee Desert and the North Fork of the Little Humboldt drainage, on BLM and Forest Service ground, as great areas to explore with plenty of opportunity. Last on the list is the Martin Creek basin, which offers limited opportunity and seems to be better earlier in the season.

With animals this spread out, the list works best as a route. Cover several of these areas before settling on one, and let what you see decide where you spend opening morning. The seasons here all fall between early August and early September, so there's little time to shift plans once the hunt starts.

The ground NDOW draws for this tag

A pronghorn tag for this group is good in unit 051, about 2,693 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Humboldt County. The named ranges inside the line are Red Hills, Santa Rosa Range, Ararat Hills, Calico Mountains, Osgood Mountains and Hot Springs Range. The highest named points are Granite Peak (9,705 ft), Santa Rosa Peak (9,650 ft) and Paradise Peak (9,427 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 4,305 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 61 springs inside it, Seep Spring, Bug Brush Spring, Meadow Spring and Halfway Spring among them.

Unit 051 terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

4,378–8,885 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,510 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
2,692.8 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

Water on the ground

191 tanks
221 springs
749 stream segments
18 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: Granite Peak (9,705 ft), Santa Rosa Peak (9,650 ft), Paradise Peak (9,427 ft), Buckskin Mountain (8,721 ft)

Holding ground: Windy Gap (7,400 ft), Buttermilk Summit (7,355 ft), Mahogany Pass (6,990 ft), The Trees Spring, Anderson Springs

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 051: Highway 95 North, High-Clearance Roads and Lye Creek

Highway 95 north from Winnemucca

NDOW's route into Unit 051 is Highway 95 north from Winnemucca. Primary and secondary roads give relatively good access, but a high-clearance four-wheel drive is recommended for most of the unit. About 31,000 acres at the southern end of the Santa Rosa Range is wilderness and closed to motorized vehicles.

For mapping, the sheet points to the U.S. Geological Survey's 1:100,000-scale Quinn River Valley and Osgood Mountains sheets, and to the many 7.5-minute topographic maps covering the unit. The Winnemucca office of the Bureau of Land Management handles map orders, and NDOW's website lists more map resources.

Fuel, food and the only developed camp

Winnemucca has gas, food, lodging and emergency medical care. McDermitt and Orovada offer food, gas and lodging, and the Paradise Hill convenience store at the junction of Highways 95 and 290 has gas and food. Paradise Valley has limited food and no gas, so don't count on filling up there.

The Lye Creek campground in the Santa Rosa Range is the only developed site in the area. It's a primitive Forest Service camp with water, tables, fire pits and toilets, at $8 a day. If you have spare time, there's creek fishing for trout in the Santa Rosas; check the regulations for closed waters.

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. 68 hunters went afield and 56 filled their tag (82%). Hunters reported 2.8 days afield on average. 23% of the resident bucks had horns of 15 inches or longer.
Horns longer than ears, archery, Aug 01 - Aug 14: 25 resident and 3 nonresident tags. 23 hunters went afield and 10 filled their tag (43%). Hunters reported 4.8 days afield on average. 0% of the resident bucks had horns of 15 inches or longer.
Horns longer than ears, muzzleloader, Aug 15 - Aug 21: 6 resident tags. 5 hunters went afield and 3 filled their tag (60%). Hunters reported 2.8 days afield on average. 67% of the resident bucks had horns of 15 inches or longer.

Roads in and the nearest towns

Getting in and staying out: unit 051

Named routes and what they need

US 95 — 24.6 mi · Paved (all rigs)
Kelly Creek Road — 20 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
I 80 — 17.9 mi · Paved (all rigs)
18 — 9.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Dutch Flat Road — 9.3 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Hinkey Summit Road — 8.1 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

Paradise Valley — 8.5 mi · no services listed
Orovada — 22.5 mi · no services listed
Golconda — 35.2 mi · no services listed
Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe — 37.7 mi · no services listed
Winnemucca — 38.5 mi · groceries, lodging

Developed camps

Lye Creek Campground
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Chimney Reservoir Campground

Season weather and signal

Jan42° / 18° · 1.5" precip
Aug91° / 48° · 0.2" precip
Sep82° / 40° · 0.5" precip
Oct68° / 30° · 0.8" precip
Nov53° / 23° · 1" precip
Dec41° / 17° · 1.7" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 21% 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.

Pro Members Only

Unlock Unit 051 antelope tactics

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Pronghorn Success Rates

Horns longer than ears, any legal weapon: 56 of 68 hunters afield (82%); Horns longer than ears, archery: 10 of 23 hunters afield (43%); Horns longer than ears, muzzleloader: 3 of 5 hunters afield (60%). 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	575	11.3%	—
Rifle — Early Season buck only (nonresident)	7	229	3.1%	—
Rifle — Limited Entry either sex (nonresident)	5	0	0.0%	—
Archery — Early Season buck only (resident)	25	27	92.6%	—
Archery — Early Season buck only (nonresident)	3	10	30.0%	—
Muzzleloader — Early Season buck only (resident)	6	9	66.7%	—

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: 575 demand for 65 tags, a 11.3% draw rate; Nonresidents: 229 demand for 7 tags, a 3.1% draw rate.
Horns longer than ears, archery — Residents: 27 demand for 25 tags, a 92.6% draw rate; Nonresidents: 10 demand for 3 tags, a 30.0% draw rate.
Horns longer than ears, muzzleloader — Residents: 9 demand for 6 tags, a 66.7% draw rate.

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

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

⛺

Camp Sites

Developed campgrounds in the group: Lye Creek Campground, Chimney Reservoir Campground.

💧

Water

GNIS names 61 springs inside the group. Desert springs go dry; carry water and treat what you find.

🛣️

Road Conditions

US 95, Kelly Creek Road and I 80 are the longest named roads in the group. About 44 mi paved, 61 mi gravel, 86 mi high-clearance or 4WD.

🥾

Terrain Difficulty

Named features run from 4,305 to 9,705 ft across the unit. More than 4,000 feet of relief, so plan the pack-out before the shot.

🌦️

Weather

Season normals from the group's largest unit: Sep 82/40°F, 0.5 in.; Oct 68/30°F, 0.8 in.; Nov 53/23°F, 1 in.; Dec 41/17°F, 1.7 in..

🏘️

Nearest Town

Paradise Valley (9 mi), Orovada (23 mi), Golconda (35 mi)

📋

Permit Notes

A tag for this group is good only inside units 051. Check NDOW's current regulations for season dates before you go.

Pro Members Only

Upgrade to Pro to unlock this section

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Frequently Asked Questions

Which units does a Nevada mule deer tag for 051 cover?

NDOW draws it as one unit group: unit 051, about 2,693 square miles in Humboldt County. The tag is good anywhere inside that line and nowhere outside it.

What was hunter success for mule deer on units 051 in 2025?

On NDOW's largest 2025 mule deer hunt here, the antlered hunt (any legal weapon), Oct 05 - Nov 05, 77 of 116 hunters afield filled their tag, 66%. That is NDOW's figure from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

How hard is the mule deer draw for units 051?

For the antlered hunt (any legal weapon) NDOW counted 1,100 resident demand for 121 tags in 2025, a 11.0% draw rate, and 425 nonresident demand for 8, 1.9%. NDOW publishes no points-required figure in that data.

Which units does a Nevada bighorn sheep tag for 051 cover?

NDOW draws it as one unit group: unit 051, about 2,693 square miles in Humboldt County. The tag is good anywhere inside that line and nowhere outside it.

What was hunter success for bighorn sheep on units 051 in 2025?

On NDOW's largest 2025 bighorn sheep hunt here, the any ram hunt (any legal weapon), Sep 01 - Oct 31, 2 of 2 hunters afield filled their tag, 100%. That is NDOW's figure from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

How hard is the bighorn sheep draw for units 051?

For the any ram hunt (any legal weapon) NDOW counted 873 resident demand for 2 tags in 2025, a 0.2% draw rate. NDOW publishes no points-required figure in that data.

Which units does a Nevada elk tag for 051 cover?

NDOW draws it as one unit group: unit 051, about 2,693 square miles in Humboldt County. The tag is good anywhere inside that line and nowhere outside it.

What was hunter success for elk on units 051 in 2025?

On NDOW's largest 2025 elk hunt here, the antlered hunt (any legal weapon), Sep 17 - Sep 30, 2 of 2 hunters afield filled their tag, 100%. That is NDOW's figure from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

How hard is the elk draw for units 051?

For the antlered hunt (any legal weapon) NDOW counted 543 resident demand for 2 tags in 2025, a 0.4% draw rate. NDOW publishes no points-required figure in that data.

Which units does a Nevada pronghorn tag for 051 cover?

NDOW draws it as one unit group: unit 051, about 2,693 square miles in Humboldt County. The tag is good anywhere inside that line and nowhere outside it.

What was hunter success for pronghorn on units 051 in 2025?

On NDOW's largest 2025 pronghorn hunt here, the horns longer than ears hunt (any legal weapon), Aug 22 - Sep 07, 56 of 68 hunters afield filled their tag, 82%. That is NDOW's figure from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.

How hard is the pronghorn draw for units 051?

For the horns longer than ears hunt (any legal weapon) NDOW counted 575 resident demand for 65 tags in 2025, a 11.3% draw rate, and 229 nonresident demand for 7, 3.1%. NDOW publishes no points-required figure in that data.

Free Hunt Planning Tools

🎰 Nevada Draw Odds Unit-level tag success rates 📅 Application Timeline Deadlines for all 9 states 🦌 Rut Forecast Peak rut timing by species 💰 Hunt Cost Calculator Budget your entire hunt

Plan Your Hunt with ProHunt Pro

Unlock advanced tactics, the Tag-to-Trail Planner, AI hunt strategy assistant, and personalized camp and trip execution plans.

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Sources & Verification

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

Hunt Information Sheet — Mule deer, 051 — 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 051, 2,693 square miles · accessed 2026-10-25
Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the group — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Red Hills, Santa Rosa Range, Ararat Hills, Granite Peak 9,705 ft, Santa Rosa Peak 9,650 ft · accessed 2026-10-25
Hunt Information Sheet — California bighorn sheep, 051 — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Access, Recommended hunting areas, Biologist comments · accessed 2026-10-25
Hunt Information Sheet — Elk, 051 — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Access, Recommended hunting areas, Biologist comments · accessed 2026-10-25
Hunt Information Sheet — Pronghorn antelope, 051 — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Access, Recommended hunting areas, Biologist comments · accessed 2026-10-25