Unit 202 (Wassuk Range above Walker Lake)
Nevada Hunting Guide — Bighorn Sheep
Unit 202 covers about 890 square miles of Mineral, Mono and Lyon counties, with the Wassuk Range rising west of Walker Lake. NDOW's desert bighorn sheet lists a string of canyons from the top of Mount Grant north to Deadman Canyon, and notes that tagholders are granted access to the restricted Hawthorne Ammunition Depot. Expect steep, rocky country and a lot of climbing.
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Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit 202
Unit 202 covers about 890 square miles of Mineral, Mono and Lyon counties, with the Wassuk Range rising west of Walker Lake. NDOW's desert bighorn sheet lists a string of canyons from the top of Mount Grant north to Deadman Canyon, and notes that tagholders are granted access to the restricted Hawthorne Ammunition Depot. Expect steep, rocky country and a lot of climbing.
Where to Find Desert Bighorn Sheep in Unit 202: Mount Grant to Deadman Canyon on the Wassuk Range
Mount Grant north to Deadman Canyon
NDOW's list of hunt areas for Unit 202 runs south to north along the Wassuk Range. It starts at the top of Mount Grant, the highest named summit in the group. Next come Cottonwood Canyon and Dry Creek. Farther north is Copper Canyon, then the bottom of Cat Canyon, and finally Deadman Canyon.
NDOW ties two of those canyons to landmarks below them: Dry Creek sits above Sportsman's Beach, and Copper Canyon above Tamarack Beach. Use those names to orient yourself from the roads at the foot of the range, where the sheet says most hunting effort begins.
Wassuk habitat west of Highway 95
The occupied bighorn habitat NDOW describes is in the Wassuk Range west of Highway 95, just minutes north of Hawthorne and west of Walker Lake. East of the highway is the U.S. Army's Hawthorne Ammunition Depot, a restricted area that tagholders are granted access to. The sheet doesn't name places on the depot ground or say how sheep use it, so its canyon list on the Wassuk is the guidance to work from.
That list spans a big spread of country, from a high summit down to the bottom of a canyon. Decide early whether you're hunting high or low, because the two mean very different days.
The ground NDOW draws for this tag
A bighorn sheep tag for this group is good in unit 202, about 890 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Mineral County and Lyon County. The named ranges inside the line are Wassuk Range, Cambridge Hills, Gray Hills and Anchorite Hills. The highest named points are Mount Grant (11,256 ft), Cory Peak (10,503 ft) and Big Indian Mountain (10,056 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 4,216 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 40 springs inside it, Lost Spring, Mud Spring, Powell Canyon Spring and Willow Spring among them.
Unit 202 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 4,360–8,621 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 6,325 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
- 890.4 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.
Water on the ground
- 6 tanks
- 57 springs
- 26 stream segments
- 6 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: Powell Mountain (9,523 ft), Braly Peaks (9,508 ft), Buller Mountain (9,426 ft), Mount Hicks (9,393 ft)
Holding ground: Lucky Boy Pass (7,990 ft), Esmeralda Ravine (7,394 ft), Long Valley (7,297 ft), Twilight Spring, Hussman 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 Desert Bighorn Sheep in Unit 202: Hawthorne, the Ammunition Depot and Steep Wassuk Canyons
Bighorn Sheep Success Rates
Any ram, any legal weapon: 5 of 5 hunters afield (100%); Any ram, archery: 1 of 1 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 — Late Season ram only (resident) | 3 | 261 | 1.1% | — |
| Rifle — Mid Season ram only (resident) | 5 | 462 | 1.1% | — |
| Archery — Mid Season ram only (resident) | 1 | 29 | 3.4% | — |
| Archery — Early Season ram only (resident) | 1 | 51 | 2.0% | — |
Data from 2022 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.
- Any ram, any legal weapon — Residents: 462 demand for 5 tags, a 1.1% draw rate.
- Any ram, archery — Residents: 51 demand for 1 tag, a 2.0% 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 bighorn sheep tag for 202 cover?
What was hunter success for bighorn sheep on units 202 in 2025?
How hard is the bighorn sheep draw for units 202?
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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 — Desert bighorn sheep, 202 — 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 202, 890 square miles · accessed 2026-10-25
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the group — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Wassuk Range, Cambridge Hills, Gray Hills, Mount Grant 11,256 ft, Cory Peak 10,503 ft · accessed 2026-10-25