Unit 242, 271 (Mormon Mountains and East Mormon Mountains)
Nevada Hunting Guide — Bighorn Sheep
Units 242, 271 sit in southern Lincoln County along the Utah border north of Interstate 15. Unit 271 carries the main desert bighorn herd, in the Mormon and East Mormon Mountains, much of it inside the Mormon Mountains Wilderness. The terrain is rugged rock, cliff and canyon, and NDOW says to be ready to hike several miles and pack a ram out.
Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 242, 271
Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Nevada Unit 242, 271 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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Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit 242, 271
Units 242, 271 sit in southern Lincoln County along the Utah border north of Interstate 15. Unit 271 carries the main desert bighorn herd, in the Mormon and East Mormon Mountains, much of it inside the Mormon Mountains Wilderness. The terrain is rugged rock, cliff and canyon, and NDOW says to be ready to hike several miles and pack a ram out.
Where to Find Desert Bighorn Sheep in Units 242, 271: Mormon Mountains Springs and Guzzlers
The Mormon Mountains and the East Mormons
Unit 271 is the primary unit, with a large herd in the Mormon and East Mormon Mountains. Sheep can be found throughout the Mormons, and occasionally on Moapa Peak and in the East Mormons. The country is rugged: rocky ridges and cliff faces, steep canyons and rimrock, with desert shrub at the bottom grading to mountain brush and pinyon-juniper higher up.
Horse, Wiregrass and Hackberry springs, Davies Spring and Whitmore Mine
Water is the thread. Sources range from small springs and catch basins to artificial water developments, and NDOW says the bighorns are often tied to those developments in hot, dry conditions because they're more reliable than the natural springs. The sheet names specific areas to consider: the Horse Spring, Wiregrass Spring and Hackberry Spring guzzler areas, Davidson Peak in the East Mormons, the Davies Spring area and the Whitmore Mine area. Learn the water on a map before you go.
Unit 242 is a different story. NDOW reports only rare sightings there, in the north Tule Springs Hills and on Lime Mountain in the southeastern part of the unit, tied to the Snow Spring water source.
The ground NDOW draws for this tag
A bighorn sheep tag for this group is good in units 242 and 271, about 1,937 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Lincoln County and Clark County. The named ranges inside the line are East Mormon Mountains, Clover Mountains, Tule Springs Hills, Mormon Mountains and Cedar Range. The highest named points are Sawmill Mountain (7,619 ft), Elly Mountain (7,465 ft) and Jacks Mountain (7,405 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 2,598 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 72 springs inside it, Carson Spring, Willow Spring, Quaking Aspen Spring and Sams Camp Spring among them.
Unit 242, 271 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Clover Mountains (7,619 ft), Elly Mountain (7,465 ft), Jacks Mountain (7,405 ft), Mormon Peak (7,384 ft)
Holding ground: Jacks Pass (6,820 ft), Panaca Summit (6,730 ft), Miller Flat (6,228 ft), Mud Springs, Gourd 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 Units 242, 271: I-15 interchanges, Lyman Crossing and the wilderness
Bighorn Sheep Success Rates
Any ram, any legal weapon: 2 of 3 hunters afield (67%). 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) | 2 | 245 | 0.8% | — |
| Rifle — Late Season ram only (nonresident) | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
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 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: 245 demand for 2 tags, a 0.8% 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 242, 271 cover?
What was hunter success for bighorn sheep on units 242, 271 in 2025?
How hard is the bighorn sheep draw for units 242, 271?
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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, 271, 242 — 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 242, 271, 1,937 square miles · accessed 2026-10-25
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the group — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: East Mormon Mountains, Clover Mountains, Tule Springs Hills, Sawmill Mountain 7,619 ft, Elly Mountain 7,465 ft · accessed 2026-10-25