Unit 076, 077, 079, 081 (Windermere Hills, Delano Mountains and the Toano Range)
Nevada Hunting Guide — Elk
Units 076, 077, 079, 081 cover about 2,487 square miles of Elko County, mostly BLM land with a band of checkerboard private sections through the middle. NDOW's sheet spreads elk across Ninemile Mountain, the Murdock Mountains and the Windermere Hills in Unit 077, Cedar Mountain and the Delano Mountains in Unit 081, and the north Toano Mountains late in the season.
Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 076, 077, 079, 081
Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Nevada Unit 076, 077, 079, 081 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.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 076, 077, 079, 081
Units 076, 077, 079, 081 cover about 2,487 square miles of Elko County, mostly BLM land with a band of checkerboard private sections through the middle. NDOW's sheet spreads elk across Ninemile Mountain, the Murdock Mountains and the Windermere Hills in Unit 077, Cedar Mountain and the Delano Mountains in Unit 081, and the north Toano Mountains late in the season.
Where to Find Elk in Units 076, 077, 079, 081: Ninemile Mountain, Cedar Mountain and the Delanos
Ninemile Mountain to the Windermere Hills in Unit 077
In Unit 077, NDOW lists Ninemile Mountain, the Murdock Mountains, the Windermere Hills, the North Pequop Mountains and the Twelve Mile area as good places to look for elk.
Bluff Creek, Cedar Mountain and the Delano Mountains in Unit 081
Unit 081 has good concentrations of elk between Bluff Creek, Cedar Mountain and Cedar Mountain Draw, and quite a few more in the Delano Mountains. Later in the season, look for groups on the northern end of the Toano Mountains in Unit 079.
Water through August and September
In August and September, elk stay tied to water. The group has plenty of it, from perennial streams and small springs to artificial water developments. Start with a map that shows the water, the roads and the lay of the land, and narrow it down from there.
Distribution can shift fast. Summer thunderstorms and fall snowstorms are common through the seasons, and either one can quickly change where elk travel. Hunting pressure moves them too: push elk hard up high, and they may switch to using the valleys. They'll also shift to take advantage of grass greening up in recovering burns.
The ground NDOW draws for this tag
A elk tag for this group is good in units 076, 077, 079 and 081, about 2,487 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Elko County. The named ranges inside the line are Leach Range, Windermere Hills, Granite Range, Delano Mountains, Goose Creek Mountains and H D Range. The highest named points are Knoll Mountain (8,734 ft), China Mountain (8,321 ft) and Murdock Mountain (8,297 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 5,083 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 106 springs inside it, Sand Spring, Black Rock Spring, Prather Springs and Rock Spring among them.
Unit 076, 077, 079, 081 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Knoll Mountain (8,734 ft), Granite Range (8,321 ft), Blanchard Mountain (8,178 ft), Middle Stack Mountain (8,095 ft)
Holding ground: Tripon Pass (7,119 ft), Devils Pass (6,954 ft), Agort Pass (6,882 ft), Dairy Valley Springs, Buck 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 Units 076, 077, 079, 081: checkerboard ground and shifting elk
Elk Success Rates
Antlerless, any legal weapon: 57 of 135 hunters afield (42%); Antlerless, any legal weapon: 69 of 136 hunters afield (51%); Antlerless, archery: 17 of 80 hunters afield (21%); Antlered, any legal weapon: 53 of 81 hunters afield (65%). Figures are NDOW's own, from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — Late Season bull/buck only (resident) | 145 | 2,079 | 7.0% | — |
| Rifle — Late Season bull/buck only (nonresident) | 17 | 979 | 1.7% | — |
| Rifle — Mid Season antlerless (resident) | 135 | 1,881 | 7.2% | — |
| Rifle — Mid Season antlerless (nonresident) | 15 | 134 | 11.2% | — |
| Rifle — Late Season antlerless (resident) | 135 | 819 | 16.5% | — |
| Rifle — Late Season antlerless (nonresident) | 15 | 112 | 13.4% | — |
| Rifle — Mid Season spike only (resident) | 20 | 528 | 3.8% | — |
| Rifle — Late Season spike only (resident) | 20 | 256 | 7.8% | — |
| Archery — Early Season bull/buck only (resident) | 45 | 130 | 34.6% | — |
| Archery — Early Season bull/buck only (nonresident) | 5 | 228 | 2.2% | — |
| Archery — Early Season antlerless (resident) | 90 | 147 | 61.2% | — |
| Archery — Early Season antlerless (nonresident) | 10 | 14 | 71.4% | — |
| Muzzleloader — Mid Season bull/buck only (resident) | 25 | 112 | 22.3% | — |
| Muzzleloader — Mid Season bull/buck only (nonresident) | 3 | 42 | 7.1% | — |
| Muzzleloader — Early Season antlerless (resident) | 70 | 163 | 42.9% | — |
| Muzzleloader — Early Season antlerless (nonresident) | 6 | 16 | 37.5% | — |
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 EngineFrom 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.
- Antlerless, any legal weapon — Residents: 1,881 demand for 135 tags, a 7.2% draw rate; Nonresidents: 134 demand for 15 tags, a 11.2% draw rate.
- Antlerless, any legal weapon — Residents: 819 demand for 135 tags, a 16.5% draw rate; Nonresidents: 112 demand for 15 tags, a 13.4% draw rate.
- Antlerless, archery — Residents: 147 demand for 90 tags, a 61.2% draw rate; Nonresidents: 14 demand for 10 tags, a 71.4% draw rate.
- Antlered, any legal weapon — Residents: 511 demand for 75 tags, a 14.7% draw rate; Nonresidents: 339 demand for 9 tags, a 2.7% draw rate.
- Antlered, any legal weapon — Residents: 1,568 demand for 70 tags, a 4.5% draw rate; Nonresidents: 640 demand for 8 tags, a 1.3% draw rate.
- Antlerless, muzzleloader — Residents: 163 demand for 70 tags, a 42.9% draw rate; Nonresidents: 16 demand for 6 tags, a 37.5% draw rate.
NDOW's hunt data publishes no points-required figure, so none is given here.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Which units does a Nevada elk tag for 076, 077, 079, 081 cover?
What was hunter success for elk on units 076, 077, 079, 081 in 2025?
How hard is the elk draw for units 076, 077, 079, 081?
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Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-25.
- Hunt Information Sheet — Elk, 076, 077, 079, 081 — 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 076, 077, 079, 081, 2,487 square miles · accessed 2026-10-25
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the group — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Leach Range, Windermere Hills, Granite Range, Knoll Mountain 8,734 ft, China Mountain 8,321 ft · accessed 2026-10-25